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The same but not alike

MediaPost Publications, 6/15/09

Abstract:

Marketers across all industries are looking for a shorthand method of understanding today's Boomer Consumer. Intuitively, marketers know it is unrealistic to group 76 million boomers into one overreaching archetype or single-minded characteristic. All boomers are different. But like all generations, they seem to share a set of similar core traits, formed when they came of age back in the late 1950s, '60s and early '70s.

In our work we've learned that Boomers on the whole are Driven, Transformational, and "Self" Centered.

• Boomers are Driven. Think rock band Queen: "I want it all and I want it now." Boomers want control and they want immediate satisfaction.
• Boomers are Transformational. They make change happen; they won't accept the status quo. 
• Boomers are "Self" Centered. They believe in entitlement and personal gratification. Their main question is, "What's in it for me?" Raised as the center of their home universe, boomers can thank Dr. Spock and their parents for this focus on themselves. In comparison, consider latch-key Generation Xers and their self-image. Many had to deal with both Mom and Dad working or single-parent homes while they were growing up. They are self-reliant and independent. Very different from boomers.

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