Baby Boomers to Advertisers: Don’t Forget About Us<br />“The group is the forgotten generation,” said Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys Inc. “Marketers<br />have gotten so hot for the millennial generation that they have essentially ignored boomers.”<br />Larry Light, a co-author of “Six Rules for Brand Revitalization”<br />and the chief executive of Arcature, a brand consulting company, added: “They’re just as large as the millennials in numbers.<br />“They want to learn and use the new technology, and they’re excited by it.”<br />Indeed, more than 60 percent of boomers owned a smartphone in 2016, according to a report by eMarketer for AARP,<br />and 73 percent of people 50 to 59 owned a smartphone and used it daily.<br />“They want to market to the cool segment, the modern segment, the ‘in’ segment,” Mr. Light said of marketers, many of whom are millennials themselves.<br />“If I have a millennial grandchild or child and want to keep up with what they’re doing, those kids are probably<br />not going to call me like I used to call my grandmother when I was a kid,” Mr. Gulbransen said.
