On January 1, 2006, the oldest Baby Boomer will turn 60. Then, for the next nineteen years, one Boomer will turn 60 about every 7.5 seconds. Representing nearly one-third of the U.S. population, this demographic tidal wave will affect Holiday gift giving with greater impact than the aging of any previous generation. Many Boomers have an abundance of material possessions but feel a scarcity of what, to them, matters most.
1. Boomers want respect.
Millions of Boomers have been struggling with the decline of status. For some, this means premature disruption of careers due to layoffs or downsizing. They are facing the holidays without the normal sources of self-respect, including a flourishing career and current standing within a profession or business network. Other Boomers are watching their nests empty as children fly away to colleges and careers. For others, health concerns, such as obesity, are eroding self-esteem and optimism.
Gift Strategies
Money can’t buy respect; neither can traditional holiday gifts such as clothing, electronics and jewelry. Respect springs from acknowledgement, appreciation, and attention. For the Boomer struggling with the unfair exigencies of mid-life, give gifts that say, « You matter. » This could be as simple as a home-cooked dinner party for a few close friends. Or give a six-month membership to a fitness gym that offers rejuvenation programs such as circuit training and yoga. For the more ambitious gift giver, consider purchasing a video biography, being offered by entrepreneurial production companies, which will give the recipient a chance to put his or her life into a more positive context.
2. Boomers want communication
Boomers grew up in a communal generation. They crowded elementary school classrooms and popularized the modern rock concert. They learned sensitivity training in college. They are nostalgic about long-term friendships, and many appreciate the networking power of today’s communication technologies.
Gift Strategies
For someone who loves to chat with relatives and friends, give her a portable headset for her computer and point her to a free Internet telephone subscription from Skype (www.skype.com). For the recently divorced, consider giving a membership in one of the online dating services such as www.eharmony.com or www.match.com, or the more exclusive organizations that arrange fancy blind dates for couples of six or eight. For the well-to-do, buy a high-end ticket package to one of the elite rock group events, such as Paul McCartney or the Rolling Stones, and include a few old friends from college days.
3. Boomers want a richer life
In the hearts of mature adults, success does not mean more material possessions. Many feel a poverty of time and flexibility to embrace life’s sublime experiences. Many are sandwiched between their aging GI Generation parents and their Twixter teens and young adults. Boomers lives are overflowing with duties and responsibilities and career demands. Recent surveys corroborate the increasing significance of experiences over possessions; success today means stable marriages, fitness and opportunities to travel.
Gift Strategies
For time impoverished Boomers, peak experiences provide welcome relief. For those with impossibly tight schedules, mini-events include trips to day spas for rejuvenation, three-day vacations and a historical/cultural tour of a neighboring city. A rich one-day experience could begin on a Wednesday; include a leisurely breakfast at a favorite haunt, then a trip to an art museum and finally an afternoon movie and dinner. For those itching with wanderlust, a surprise reunion at a destination resort, including a few old friends, could become the keystone event of the year.
Boomers today yearn for more than the extrinsic benefits of material possessions. Most have an abundance of stuff. Meaningful Holiday gifts involve experiences, connections, memories, and self-respect.
In his influential Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers: Perceptions, Principles, Practices, Predictions (2005, Paramount Market Publishing, Inc.) Brent Green presents new insights about how companies can more effectively prepare for the demographic impact of a rapidly aging workforce.
Visit www.MarketingtoBoomers.com
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