The latest Kellen newsletter asks some pointed quetions about marketing to the new Boomer / Senior. As someone who thinks too much about Millennials, they’re interesting.
Here’s some outtakes:
THE NEW SENIOR MARKET
“The days of reaching the age of sixty and fading into the background are long gone.”
“It’s hard to believe that until recently, marketing demographic data was segmented into four age categories:
18-24
25-34
35-49
50-plus”
“50-plus? What could a 50-year-old possibly have in common with an 80-year-old?”
“The first Boomers turned 60 in 2006 – By 2020, the over-65 population is expected to double from what it is today – By 2030, one out of five people in the U.S. will be age 65 or older
And they have made it clear that they will not be making a quiet exit: Boomers are embarking on second careers, going back to school, and participating in philanthropic activity in droves.”
“marketers are now beginning to tap 60 years of age and over celebrity spokespersons to pitch mainstream products, not Depend and Geritol”
“vocabulary commonly associated with marketing to seniors: ‘Senior citizen?’ ‘Golden years?’ ‘Elderly?’ These terms are verboten to Boomers, so be on the lookout for a whole new marketing vocabulary to emerge in the next few years.”
“Successful marketing to this generation is a work in progress … they cannot be ignored. Just about every marketer should consider this developing segment an essential target audience.”
Stephen
Recent Comments
- Grant Castillou on AI Will Never Be Conscious
- Bombkarnia on Blind spots: A review of cognitive biases by the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service
- Phil Shapiro on Artificial Emotional Intelligence: Some Thoughts by Stephen Abram, MLS
- Frank on The Death of the Public Library
- oldhuai on 20th Anniversary of Stephen’s Lighthouse
Categories
Archives
- June 2026
- May 2026
- April 2026
- March 2026
- February 2026
- January 2026
- December 2025
- November 2025
- October 2025
- September 2025
- August 2025
- July 2025
- June 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005

3 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.
Well, for starters, what a 50-year-old could have in common with an 80-year old is annoyance at being labeled as old and ready to die (also AARP membership, for that matter).
As a pre-boomer, I find all of the generational labels more harmful than helpful, and “senior citizen” is an invitation for a swift kick.
“Grown-up” might do it…
‘Grown up’ – kinda cuts it perhaps – except a lot of the over 50’s I know are busy trying to relive their childhoods – at least the fun part! So maybe a focus on having fun with learning and a regonition and engagement with the wealth of prior life experience and knowledge in developing programming and service delivery would be useful.
‘Seasoned citizens’ are people who have been through numerous seasons of life and their wisdom and experience is valuable enough to share with others.