Brent Green's "Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers"; When the "Sixties Generation" Reaches Sixty

By now most of us are well-versed in the statistical relevance of the baby boomer generation--including its size, wealth, and extraordinary influence on world events. In response, there have been no shortage of books studying every aspect of baby boomers and how to optimally market to them. However, most of these books fall short on explaining the values that define the boomer generation and how they distinguish them from other generations.

While Green's book is perhaps best used by the relatively small group of individuals who work in marketing departments, it is relevant to individuals considering setting out in new careers. A big part of launching a new business or transitioning careers is picking the right industry to move into ("all boats rise in a rising tide"). Even for those not in marketing nor contemplating a career change will find Green's book interesting if nothing else other than to better understand the world around us.

Of course the danger in talking about an entire generation is the necessary stereotyping that comes from aggregating otherwise individuals. Green has split baby boomers into two roughly equal groups, those born 1946 to 1955 (the "Leading-Edge Boomers") and those born 1956-1964 (the "Late Boomers"). Green focuses on the Leading-Edge Boomers but much is learned about both groups.

The book jacket promises to deliver:

"...all of the insights and strategies you need to achieve extraordinary business success as you determine what uniquely motivates Boomers and how to communicate with them in meaningful and mutually beneficial ways."

...and the book largely delivers on that promise. Green's anecdotes serve to support the points he makings and not as the foundation of them.

On a more personal note, I was interested in applying the book to LifeTwo and specifically in the way that we address the Leading-Edge Baby Boomer market. The section of "Baby Boomers at Midlife" seemed written for us. One of the attributes of midlife is an evaluation of one's life so far.

"Careers in crisis, mid-life economic shortcomings, unsatisfying marriages, waning physical prowess, and widespread boredom can foster musing daydreams about Vietnam protest marches, backpacking sojourns to Europe, bare-butt swimming parties, LSD mind trips, first love affairs, unfettered road trips, and Woodstock."

In other words, when hitting the midpoint of life, it's normal to reminisce. But when you were a member of the Sixties Generation, you might find yourselves remembering the idolized expectations that there held at that time for for a vastly improved world. Sadly and expectedly, most people's lives (not to mention society as a whole) ended up far short of the dreams of the Age of Aquarius. Adding political alienation and disenchantment to an otherwise troubling midlife transition and the result can easily be "restless stirring, the renaissance of experimentation, value conflicts, erratic behavior, role playing, depressive moods, grief reactions, and profound anxiety states."

That is not to say that the process is all negative. A reawakening (a "coming of age") can be a "harbinger of a more satisfying future." In Green's words:

Once again, it means honoring the nobler ideals of world peace, economic equality, egalitarian civil rights, human potential, and spiritual enlightenment. It means sharing a new, perhaps revitalized generational zeitgeist--that tenacious obsession with the perfectibility of the human condition. The stuff of truth."

This last part ties in quite well with our belief at LifeTwo that midlife transitions are all about doing what's necessary to have a more satisfying personal future. Midlife transitions might not seem all that great when everything in one's life appears to be upside-down (as it's hard to think about setting the best course for the future when you don't understand where you are now). But coming to terms with the past is an inescapable step of living moving forward. As Sara Davidson says in "Leap," it's a process we will all go through whether we want to or not.

Following Green's thinking, it's entirely possible that today's global warming debate is the perfect catalyst for the Leading-Edge Boomers to reignite their passion for improving the world in a way that many haven't felt since their adolescence. The values never went away but had been pushed behind a wall of personal responsibilities, career issues, and a sense of failure the first time around. This awakening is good news for boomers and the world in general. For marketers the message couldn't be more clear: Get on board or pick a new target market.

Amazon Link: Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers: Perceptions, Principles, Practices & Predictions