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NOVEMBER 14, 2005
Boomers: What Marketers (And BusinessWeek) Are Missing Thank you, Louise Lee, for "Love those boomers" (Cover Story, Oct. 24). It's about time marketers recognized just how valuable we are. I'm not wealthy, but I would spend a lot more if more products were geared to my age group. Walk through any mall, and 99% of the displays are aimed at teenagers and twentysomethings. I don't want to dress like Britney Spears, but I also refuse to dress like a granny. I can't tell you how many times I've just gotten frustrated and gone home -- money burning in my pocket. Wake up, America! Don't underestimate us boomers, especially female boomers. After all, guys, we're going to outlive you! Margaret Craig Alpharetta, Ga. There may be many 50-year-olds like myself who have found a way to feel like 25, with plans to live energetically to 150 -- God willing and given progress in biotech. Therefore, 10% or so of the boomer wave (8 million) may be extremely young investors, with the opportunity to accumulate incredible international wealth in the next 100 years. That's my theory, anyway, and I'm sticking to it -- 25 and holding. Thomas Jirgensohn East Wenatchee, Wash. A boomer lamentation: I don't pierce my parts. I don't want to expose my belly. I don't show my underwear in public. I'm sick of black. I want style, not bags. I want things that work as promised. I want phone calls returned. I want orders shipped accurately. Yes, it is about me, me, me. It is my, my, my hard-earned money, and it goes to those who respond to my needs. They are becoming fewer and very far between. Christy Stadelmaier Boston BusinessWeek has taken a leadership role in fully articulating the business possibilities ahead. However, your cover illustration is stereotypical and makes boomers appear fatuous and aged beyond their years. The matching swimsuits are way too un-boomer-like. It's not an uplifting illustration but one that reinforces negative perceptions of the generation. When you see this illustration, do you think of Oprah? Steve Jobs? Clarence Thomas? Bill Gates? Meg Whitman? You've diminished the import of this article with such imagery. Brent Green Denver "Love those boomers!" is a thorough and accurate look at the boomer mind-set. Your Do and Don't bullet points help describe our view of self. For instance, "don't" think we want to be 25 again and "do" appreciate that we are comfortable aging but want to look and be healthy. So I am curious why caricatures of what look like seventysomething persons were selected to represent my collective generation. You mentioned Christie Brinkley as an icon of the boomers, and as far as I can tell the art in no way resembles her. Perhaps you could add a final do and don't: Do assume we can spot insincerity when the art doesn't match the article -- and don't inaccurately portray what we look like. Janet M. Gourley La Verne, Calif. First, let's stop using "boomers" as a description. The connotation isn't pleasing. Booming waistline? Booming voice? Better to segment by lifestyle. There's no question that a 55-year-old NASCAR enthusiast/six-pack/fishing-boat/rod 'n' reel/RV lifestyler is different from a 55-year-old cruise-travel/white-wine/sailboat/ beachhouse lifestyler, even though there is "crossover." The key to convincing these disparate segments that a marketer knows what they are about is to depict product usage with models and actors who seem pleasantly realistic and satisfying. And if you don't want cynicism dominating opinion about your products and services, forget about "placements." That's a sure route to "I don't trust____." Barry Dennis Columbia, Md. As an observer of the radio business, it hasn't been a pretty view this year. Some of these decisions, such as blowing up an institution [beloved by boomers], WCBS-FM in New York, to try a fad format, would be the equivalent of nuking Macy's (FED ) and turning it into a really big Abercrombie & Fitch. (ANF ) Dave Hoeffel Lawrenceville, N.J. It's a truism in sales and marketing that it's far easier and less expensive to keep a customer than to win one. I, like many boomers, recently lost my parents. As executor I found that two major financial-services organizations were so unhelpful, incompetent, and even hostile in their policies and their execution that it was far simpler to liquidate the accounts than transfer ownership. The fact that many companies with gazillion-dollar marketing budgets go out of their way to antagonize new clients at one of the toughest times in their lives is baffling. These geniuses need to apply for refunds on their MBAs. Thomas W. Clearman Canton, Ga. You stated that the average pretax income for members of the baby boom generation is more than $57,000. Boomers ought to be flush with cash. Yet when President George W. Bush dared to suggest changes to make the Social Security system fairer to those under 50, the boomer media acted as if they would be eating cat food and using light bulbs for warmth if such a plan ever came to fruition. As a member of Generation X, it's bad enough that we've had to deal with boomers' moralizing, preening, and self-centeredness for 30 years -- now we must keep them in a lifestyle to which they've become accustomed. The U.S. would be better off if the boomers had listened to The Who and died before they got old. Paul McCrary Ridgewood, N.J. Soon, TV Advertisers Will Be Thanking Steve Jobs It's not movies Apple Computer Inc.'s (AAPL ) iTunes Store will revolutionize -- it's TV and the ad industry that fuels it ("Hollywood holds its breath," News: Analysis & Commentary, Oct. 24). Now you can buy last night's Lost for $1.99. Next you'll be able to get it for less in exchange for watching and interacting with targeted ads. The return-on-investment model Google Inc. (GOOG ) has championed, combined with the customer profiles of an Amazon.com Inc., (AMZN ) will let advertisers buy the exact eyeballs they want, with a feedback mechanism. Bandwidth and digital- rights issues will be solved as the $46 billion TV ad industry realizes that this is the future. Hollywood may be the last on this bandwagon, but there's no question that once again, Steve Jobs is leading it. David Esrati, Chief Creative Officer The Next Wave Dayton   How To Stop A Hurricane In Its Tracks Noting the various schemes you mention to "tame hurricanes" ("Herding hurricanes," Science & Technology, Oct. 24), a simpler and more practical way to deprive hurricanes of energy would be to lower the surface water temperature: Dump several thousand tons of a cryogenic liquid (e.g., liquid oxygen at -297F, or even colder liquid nitrogen or liquid hydrogen) in advance of an approaching hurricane. The U.S. Air Force has some 500 KC-135 tankers, each with a payload of some 80,000 pounds. A dozen tankers converted to carry and drop a cryogenic fluid, each flying, say, five missions, could drop 2,000 tons in front of a hurricane, significantly lowering the surface temperature of the water in its path. Depriving an advancing hurricane of its energy would also avoid the legal and political problems that could result from methods designed just to divert its direction. William Bailey Oakton, Va. Personality Tests Are No Substitute For Interviews I hope that everyone read the line "So far there's little evidence that personality profiling works" in "Better loving through chemistry" (Developments to Watch, Oct. 24). As a single person, I have experienced hilarious results with eHarmony. As a business/career coach and human resources consultant, I am horrified at the number of companies that are spending thousands of dollars and leaving themselves open to multimillion dollar discrimination lawsuits by using "personality tests" whose validity equals the tests used by these dating Web sites. If you can't be bothered to take the time to do a thorough job of vetting your candidates in person using known people-reading techniques, you don't deserve the title of manager. Victoria Leo Cary, N.C.
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