Are you missing out on the boomer market?

July 07, 2008

Dove's award-winning "pro age" advertising campaign and line of beauty products feature baby boomer-aged models who send the message that getting older is OK.

By Michelle Graff

Seattle—They number about 78 million and control a vast percentage of the country's assets.

In their younger years, they marched for civil and women's rights and against the war in Vietnam, and today, they are not growing old quietly.

"They" are the baby boomer generation, the segment of the population now between 43 and 62 years old who were born after World War II.

And they could be the group that pulls your jewelry store through the possibility of a recession, if you understand how they feel about aging and know what's important to them, namely, top-notch customer service and good old-fashioned personal contact.

Mary Brown, a partner at JWT Boom in San Francisco, the branch of the New York advertising firm that concentrates on reaching the boomer segment, says that many companies have just "woken up to the fact" that baby boomers are a large segment of the population that has money.

"I'm surprised it's taken this long," she says.

Over fifty and fabulous Though the traits of the baby boomer generation vary widely according to age, it is generally believed that they will reinvent what it means to "get old," Diamond Promotion Service (DPS) marketing executives said at a recent industry conference.

Advertisements aimed at the group reflect this attitude. Financial planning firm Ameriprise's ads star Dennis Hopper and show baby boomers building an eco-friendly desert home and constructing a sailboat. The tagline: "Dreams don't retire."

Skin-care products company Dove has made waves with its award-winning "pro age" ad campaign, which targets women over 50 and responds to their complaints about the negative stigmas attached to aging.

Dove Marketing Director Kathy O'Brien says the company's research showed that 91 percent of women over the age of 50 felt the media and advertising needed to do a better job of showing realistic images of older women.

"We set aside the anti-aging mentality and started thinking pro-age," she says. "Instead of making excuses, we simply featured the essence of women 50-plus. They look their age and they look stunning."

Brown says those who want to sell to baby boomers need to understand that boomers are young at heart.

Diamond Promotion Service statistics say 39 percent of married boomers and 61 percent of single boomers do not feel guilty about buying themselves diamond jewelry, such as this Kwiat diamond right-hand ring.

As the Ameriprise ads indicate, this is not a generation whose members are likely to make bingo night a habit.

At Kimberly and Co. Jewelers in St. Lucie West, Fla., owner Kimberly Johnson says the core customer base is between 45 and 60, and is typically out playing golf or tennis, or lunching with friends.

They are so on the go that Johnson says she switched to mobile billboard advertising to reach this restless demographic group.

While baby boomers don't necessarily think of themselves as stereotypical senior citizens, Brown says they are not in denial about their ages either. Therefore, retailers shouldn't be afraid to make subtle changes that will help out baby boomer customers, such as good, strong lighting and price tags printed large enough for boomers to read.

The personal touch Another important aspect of selling to boomers is understanding how to reach them outside the jewelry store.

Johnson says that she has found direct-mail pieces are a more effective way to reach baby boomers than e-mail blasts, which are better with the younger crowd.

Kimberly and Co. sends out mailings to remind customers of birthdays and anniversaries, and also sends thank-you notes. Johnson says many older customers actually bring the direct-mail pieces into the store with them.

Elliott Leavitt of Swalstead Jewelers in Orlando, Fla., says he, too, finds direct mail is better for reaching that boomer base, and so are personal telephone calls. Anytime a customer needs to pick up a repair, Swalstead staffers call that person until they hear a live voice rather than a voice mail message, and customers appreciate that extra effort.

Leavitt says baby boomers hold dear traditional family values, hearkening back to the days when families sat down to eat dinner together every night. That is what the store tries to echo through personal phone calls, direct-mail pieces and individual attention given to each customer who comes into the store.

"When they get here, we're going to roll out the red carpet," he says. "We're going to treat them like an individual."

This princess-cut solitaire necklace from De Beers is a statement piece with a classic design--two qualities that appeal to baby boomers, according to research.

Marking milestones One of the traits of the baby boomer generation noted by the DPS is the fact that they are a group that likes to commemorate experiences.

Brown says boomers, particularly women, may be caring for parents, children and grandchildren, and thus, are celebrating graduations, births and weddings, all at once.

"There are a whole lot of folks on her radar," she says of boomer women.

DPS research shows, in fact, that 10 percent of these women are buying diamond jewelry for other women, including daughters, mothers, friends, siblings and nieces.

Brown says retailers could offer a mother of the bride a trade-up program, where retailers encourage a woman whose daughter is getting married to increase the size of her own diamond ring.

Johnson at Kimberly and Co. says to appeal to the store's boomer base, the merchandise mix is purposefully middle-of-the-road: not too young and hip but not entirely classic either.

"We don't overwhelm our store with stuff that's so very trendy," she says.

Johnson says Andréa Candela and Fope are among the lines that sell well among boomers in her store. She says boomers also request a lot of custom work, which mirrors the DPS research that shows boomers like to be involved in a purchase.

BOOM TIME:
Fast facts on baby boomers and diamonds

—U.S. residents over the age of 50 control 75 percent of the country's assets.
—Between 2000 and 2020, the 55- to 74-year-old segment of the population is projected to increase by 74 percent.
—Recent Diamond Promotion Service statistics show that consumers between 50 and 64 years old bought more than 8 million pieces of diamond jewelry worth $6.6 billion—12 percent more than the 18- to 49-year-old segment.
—More than 25 percent of boomers own more than eight pieces of diamond jewelry.

Source: Diamond Promotion Service

—E-mail: michelle.graff@nationaljeweler.com

Editor's note: This story first appeared in the June 2008 print edition of National Jeweler.