"Most Valuable Generation"

Booming Boomers A new report by Nielsen, the "Most Valuable Generation," in collaboration with BoomAgers, shows that in five years, 50% of the U.S. population will be 50+. These consumers spend close to 50% of all CPG dollars, yet less than 5% of advertising is geared towards them. These high potential consumers have been largely unaddressed by marketers and advertisers since they started to age out of the popular 18-49 cohort. In the next five years, Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, are set to control 70% of the disposable income in the U.S., and they stand to inherit $15 trillion in the next 20 years. As they age out of the work force, 67% of Boomers plan to spend more time on their hobbies and interests, moving from a life of making money to one that is spending money. Taking their loyalty for granted, or forsaking them for being too loyal or set in their ways, are both risky approaches for marketers, opines the report. Boomers represent: 33% of all online users 33% of all social media and Twitter users 33% are heavy Internet users The temptation of conventional marketing is to follow a traditional bias, notes the report. Typically, once a group of consumers reaches the so-called "cut-off" age of 49, marketers "go back to go." They renew their focus on a new crop of 18-49's and they start all over again. The goal is to build a fresh group of lifetime loyalists and the strategy begins with an investment in penetration. Marketing to youth is traditional marketing wisdom because of the enormous results that the 18-49 demographic has delivered in the past, a time when it was comprised of an unprecedented 80 million, marketing-friendly Boomers. But now, the 50+ segment consists of close to 100 million consumers. Between now and 2030, the 18-49 segment is expected to grow +12%, while the 50+ segment will expand +34%. Sixty-three percent of Boomers still have at least one person in the household working full time. Boomers make the most money and they spend what they make. Boomers account for: 49% (nearly $230 billion) of total CPG sales 44% of the U.S. population 70% of U.S. disposable income 40% of customers paying for wireless service and 41% of those purchasing Apple computers. Boomers' brand loyalty levels are the same as other age groups. Boomers are no more likely to compare prices or use coupons than other consumers. Boomers' brand loyalty is influenced more by household size/need than predisposition. This is evidenced by the fact that they are more brand loyal in categories that are likely to have different brands for different household members. Internet users over the age of 50 are driving the growth of social networking as their usage of the social net has nearly doubled to 42% in the past year. Fifty-three percent of Boomers are on Facebook. They are also prolific online shoppers. A third of them shop online and the 50+ segment spends almost $7 billion when there. The Internet is their primary source of intelligence when comparison shopping for major purchases (e.g., cars or home furnishings). Forty-two percent of all travel is purchased online, and Boomers represent upwards of 80% of all premium travel. Boomers are the most valuable generation in the history of marketing and they are too valuable to ignore, concludes the report. The numbers on Boomers are big, and they add up to something that is very compelling. The authors suggest that if they're loyal consumers, do your best to keep them. If not, figure out a way to win them over before your competition does. (Source: The Center for Media Research, 08/21/12.)

Radio Advertising Works!

Most Listeners Stay with Radio Stations During Commercial Breaks Radio delivers more than 93 percent of its lead-in audience during the average commercial break, according to a new study of radio ratings data and commercial occurrence data conducted by Arbitron, Media Monitors and Coleman Insights. What Happens When the Spots Come On: 2011 Edition is a comprehensive update of a landmark 2006 study on the radio audience behavior during commercial breaks. Both studies took advantage of the increased precision of passive electronic measurement, both for radio audiences and for commercial occurrences. The 2011 study of minute-by-minute audience levels across 48 top radio markets again demonstrates that radio maintains its audience delivery during commercial breaks, contrary to the common misperception among advertisers, agencies and even radio executives that audiences during commercial breaks are a fraction of the numbers that were listening to the station just before the commercials began. For the 2011 study, Arbitron, Media Monitors and Coleman Insights analyzed 18 million commercial breaks, 62 million minutes of commercials and 866 stations for a year of audience data from all 48 PPM markets to compare the audience level for each minute of a commercial break to the audience for the minute before the commercials began. Key findings of the 2011 study include: • One to three-minute commercial breaks deliver radio audiences levels that are practically the same as the lead-in audience. The average minute audience during one-minute breaks is equal to the lead-in audience for that break; two-minute breaks deliver 99 percent of their lead-in average minute audiences; and three-minute breaks deliver 96 percent of their lead-in audience levels. • Longer spot breaks of four to six minutes-plus delivered an average minute audience that was nearly 90 percent of the lead-in audience. Four-minute breaks delivered 92 percent of the lead-in audience; five-minute breaks delivered 87 percent. Even spot breaks of six minutes or longer delivered an average minute audience that was 85 percent of the audience level before the commercials began. • Commercial breaks in morning drive deliver 97 percent of their lead-in audience, on average. The higher percentage during mornings is driven by shorter commercial breaks during morning compared with other time periods and the higher number of people who are first tuning in to radio early in the day than those who tune out. • Among teens and persons aged 18 to 24, radio delivers nearly 90 percent of its lead-in audience during commercial breaks. Among people age 65 and older, radio delivers 98 percent of the lead-in audience once the commercials come on. New findings unique to the more comprehensive 2011 study include: • There is little difference by market in terms of the average audience delivery during commercial breaks. Of the 48 markets studied, three markets with the highest percentage delivered an average of 95 percent of their lead-in audience levels during commercial breaks and the three markets with the smallest percentage delivered an average of 91 percent of their lead-in audience levels. • Audience delivery during commercial breaks was consistent throughout the year. Radio commercial breaks delivered between 93 percent and 94 percent of lead-in audience levels during each month of the year. These findings stand in stark contrast to the perceptions of the advertiser/agency industry and even of radio broadcasters about the impact of commercials on the radio audience. In a web poll conducted by Arbitron and Coleman Insights, people identifying themselves as members of the advertiser/agency industry (362 responses) said that, on average, the size of the audience during a radio commercial break is only 68 percent of the size of the audience before the commercial began. On average, respondents identifying themselves as members of the radio industry (1,178 responses) believe radio holds only 78 percent of the audience during commercials. "Radio does a remarkable job of maintaining its audience delivery when the commercials come on," said Bill Rose, senior vice president, Marketing, Arbitron Inc. "Now that the Portable People Meter service can track radio audiences across 48 top markets, we can now demonstrate how radio constantly replenishes its audience with new listeners during commercial breaks. "Today we know that the medium can deliver an average of 93 percent of its lead-in audience levels on a consistent basis, no matter the market, the daypart or the time of year." "The incredible ability of radio stations to deliver audiences during commercial breaks suggests that programmers should not obsess over their stations' spot placement strategies," said Warren Kurtzman, president and chief operating officer, Coleman Insights. "There is no doubt that running excessive commercial inventory can undermine a station's brand and hurt its long-term performance, but we see very little evidence that commercials cause nearly as much audience tune-out in the short term as many radio industry professionals believe." (Source: Arbitron, 12/07/11)