The Futures Company

Siân Davies writes:

Henley Centre HeadlightVision is just embarking on a merger with the US research company Yankelovich - the market leaders in understanding the changing values and behaviours of US consumers.

While we’ve been negotiating I’ve had the good fortune to immerse myself in much of their research. One publication which stood out for me was ‘Generation Ageless‘, by J Walker Smith and Ann Clurman, Yankelovich’s leading commentators on generational marketing. Yankelovich coined the term ‘baby boomers’ in the 1960s when they first started collecting data on this influential generation. As Walker and Ann say: “Without notice or warning, in defiance of all trends and expectations, Baby Boomers exploded onto the American scene, and in the process changed everything”.

Reading Generation Ageless I was reminded of the extent to which the Baby Boomers have fuelled the growth of the US economy and many of the brands that are ubiquitous today. Would McDonalds be a global powerhouse in 2007 if suburban Baby Boomer kids and their families hadn’t developed a taste for fast burgers and fries in the 1960s? The 78 million Boomers in the US, together with all those aged 45+, account for 54% of total consumer spending. This represents a huge and complex market. Even minority Baby Boomer pursuits represent lucrative market niches, from dog walking to alternative health therapies.

The Baby Boomers still drive trends in the US, and are now changing ageing, as they have changed everything else in their orbit. But as the boomers age, and new generations come through, will ‘boomer’ brands such as McDonalds manage to adapt - or will new power brands come crashing through?