How cell phone service providers can effectively market to Baby Boomers

Connecting With Boomers

Currently, the majority of creatives in the advertising industry, as well as, businesses that create their own advertisements and commercials, do not effectively connect with and/or market products to Baby Boomers (Carpenter, 2004). One primary reason, according to Carpenter, and Stroud (2007) involves the failure to recognize the value of specifically pitching products to the Baby Boomer generation in advertising efforts. As this DRP explored how cell phone service providers may better appeal to Boomers through TV commercials, the researcher also noted a number of other reasons business fail to effectively connect with Boomers, recounted later in this chapter.

During the sixth chapter of this DRP, this study's summary section, the researcher provides a number of vital, substantive details of the research conducted during the previous research chapters. Through the quest to determine ways cell phone service providers may effectively connect with Baby Boomers, and in turn through the utilization of TV commercials, cultivate and nurture this group as customers for particular cell phone service providers, the researcher explored one primary, and three sub-research questions, initially presented during the initial chapter of this study.

Recount of Research Questions

For the primary research question, the researcher proposed to address the query:

How can businesses effectively market to Boomers in advertisements, particularly TV, to help ensure they experience more certain fiscal futures? While exploring the literature to secure the answer this primary research question, the researcher simultaneously sought to specifically answer the following three sub-questions:

What conceptions and misconceptions relating to Boomers must businesses, and advertising creatives overcome in advertisements, particularly TV, to successfully tap into wants and needs Boomers possess/project?

What tactics and strategies can cell phone service providers, as well as, creatives in the advertising industry who serve them, utilize to best connect with Boomers' to win their allegiance for advertised products and/or services?

How can cell phone service providers, as well as, creatives in the advertising industry who serve them, conceive and create more captivating, credible connections in their advertising efforts in advertisements, particularly TV, to improve their success with Baby Boomers?

Review of Methodology

For the methodology of this qualitative DRP, the researcher chose to utilize the case study methodology. This study, as Dereshiwsky attests regarding the case study, did not purport to focus on discovering "a universal, generalizable truth, nor...cause-effect relationships" (Dereshiwsky, as cited in Case Studies, 2008). The researcher instead focused on exploration and description, albeit, the researcher's examination of relevant literature did, in turn reveal several generalizable truths relating to effectively marketing to Boomers. As proposed at the start of this DRP, the researcher did, in fact, conduct a methodical search through a myriad of Internet sources including two, subscription databases, Questia Media database, and Highbeam Research database, to ultimately access and analyze 20 credible sources,. All 20 sources utilized during this study may be readily accessed by other researchers. After retrieving relevant resources, with the aim to address the research questions designed for this DRP, the researcher then cataloged correlating information into sections; utilizing key words from the research questions to denote separations. After this separation step, the researcher then reviewed the researched information with the intent to analyze and condense the massive amounts of information into more manageable segments. For the next step, the researcher then developed the information retrieved during the literature review into Chapters III - V. For the final step of the methodology for this DRP, the researcher utilized information previously presented in the study to formulate this final chapter.

The Summary

Generational Considerations

Four generations of consumers currently live in the U.S., Slahor (2007). These include: (a) the Millennials: "Born 1981 and onward." (b) the Generation Xers: "Born 1965-1980." - the Boortiers, also known as the Baby Boomers: "Born 1946-1964." (d) the Matures: "Born before 1946."

Of the four generations currently living in the U.S., businesses would be wise to value Baby Boomers, Brown (2007), as well as Kim and Lowry (2005) attest, as they compose a vital group of consumers. Davis (2005) also stresses the Boomers' value and contend that they ought to be the most sought-after group by American marketers. Ironically, however, even though Boomers make up a potentially profitable consumer group for advertisers and business to present their products to, contemporary conceptions and misconceptions relating to Boomers frequently alienate Boomers from businesses. Stereotyping Boomers as less competent than their younger counterparts, Harris and Edelman (2006) point out, constitutes one sure way to alienate this group.

Debunking Myths about Boomers Life for the majority of Boomers, contrary to one contemporary misconception, does not end when they reach age 50, Harris (2003) argues. The four following misconceptions regarding Boomers, noted in Figure 2 of this DRP's Chapter III, according to Carpenter (2004) need to be debunked. The majority of Boomers are all gray-haired or bald, yet they would prefer not to be gray-haired and/or have a full head of hair.

Boomers do not know how to program a VCR, or much less know how to effectively operate all of a new cell phone's features.

Due to their age-related illnesses and/or deteriorating bodies, Boomers never attempt to try new things.

Boomer is "decrepit, a buffoon, or both" (Harris, 2003, pp. vii-viii).

Relating to Different Age Groups

Nyren (2005) challenges the misconception by Davis (2005) that Boomers want to feel 30-years-old again. McDaniel (2001) points out that in representing different stages of the life cycle, what matters most is not a person's age or the characterization of his/her generation but that he/she learns to communicate with other individuals in different generations. The heart of a society's cohesion, stability, and permanence, according to McDaniel, depends on generational relations between different ages; between both young and older age groups.

Both Boomers and younger generations appear to be interested in active lifestyles, Harris (2003, p.81) stresses. Both generations engage in sports such as basketball, individuals in both groups practice weightlifting, and both groups have individuals who play videogames. In their desire to be healthy, both groups routinely participate in other activities, including aerobic exercise, as well as hiking and backpacking.

The desire to be healthy without exerting excessive energy, Harris (2003) notes, most likely is not limited to Boomers, but may be a human trait. Elliott (2004) suggests one more common ground Boomers may share with other generations: The love-hate relationship they have with advertising (Smith, as cited in Elliott, ¶ 5). In every generation, according to the 2004 Yankelovich Partners' survey, individuals have concerns regarding the increasing obtrusiveness by advertisers (Elliot) as Toossi (2002) stresses that consumer demand fuels the U.S. economy (¶ 5), and with the Boomers, as Carpenter (2004) points out, constituting the generation that controls 70% of the wealth in the U.S., as well as 50% of the country's discretionary spending, businesses and creatives need to take note to know what Boomers want and/or need.

Conceiving Connections between Cell Phone Service Providers and Boomers

In the battle for consumers, businesses, including cell phone service providers, and advertising creatives who do not pay attention to relevant research, according to Nyren (2005), prove to be dangerous as generals who choose to disregard enemy signals' decodes (p. 127). Including facts from credible research presents one particularly viable strategy that advertising creatives and cell phone service providers can utilize to convey their message to Boomers. Consideration of relevant research, along with utilizing talent to develop positive, attractive advertising concepts, Nyren reasons, provides businesses and creatives with even more ammunition to win Boomers as customers. For advertising strategies to be effective, they cannot continue to conduct business the way it did not succeed in the past. Two primary reasons, noted earlier in this DRP, Harris and Edelman (2006) asset, contribute to advertisers missing connections with Boomers: (a) Advertisers set social contexts that Boomers feel alienated from; (b) Advertisers presenting characters in commercials that Boomers are not able to relate to.

In light of this information, it follows then, that for advertisers to connect with Boomers, they need to create commercials with/in social contexts as environments Boomers can readily relate to, and portray characters in TV commercials that Boomers can and want to relate to.

Conclusion

Age Matters

Rather than attempting to connect with Boomers by appealing to their reported quests to remain forever young, cell phone service providers could merit better responses if they, instead appealed to the wealth of knowledge the Boomers possess the researchers suggests. The researcher experienced a mixed reaction to the contention that regarding targeting more than one consumer group (generation) in a TV commercial. In some environments, the researcher suggests, this could prove to be a positive move, while on the other hand, due to varying perceptions held by different generations, the researcher reasons that this tactic could, in fact, "backfire" and further alienate the Boomer generation. Merging a number of generations together in one commercial would require, the researcher attests, sensitive and/or humorous components contributing to the scenes. As both Boomers and younger generations share interests in active lifestyles, showing Boomers competing against individuals in a younger generation in a sports' activity could work for good in a TV commercial. The further revelation of the Boomers winning the competition, the researcher contends, could also help the cell phone service provider better connect with the Boomers. In addition, this type commercial could enhance the younger generation's understandings of the generation born before them. TV commercials relating health enhancing strategies and tactics could also particularly appeal to Boomers. Developing ways to present these and other messages aimed to solicit Boomers business through TV commercials, albeit, without being obtrusive may present the ultimate challenge to cell phone service providers. As an employee of Verizon Wireless, the researcher believes that a number of the contemporary TV commercials Verizon Wireless currently airs do strive to relate to Boomers. The researcher also admits, however, that Verizon Wireless, as well as numerous other prominent cell phone service providers need to enhance their capabilities in this area. (Stefano, need something more personal added here)

Paying Attention Pays

To keep TV commercials from exploding and doing damage, rather than the intended good they are created for, cell phone service must invest energy and effort into "codes" that research reveals about Boomers.

In the process of creating more positive, profitable advertising concepts, the researcher concurs with the contention that cell phone service providers, or any other business seeking to connect with Boomers, cannot conduct business the same way they conducted it in the past. Setting social contexts Boomers can readily connect with, and presenting the commercial's message in a unique, yet in a manner relevant to Boomer's wants and needs, the researcher reasons, appear to be another primary point cell phone service providers need to consider when crafting TV commercials.

As a result of implementing the best practices noted in this DRP, the researcher contends, cell phone service providers may begin to better connect with Boomers. In turn, as the cell phone providers begin to connect more, and more effectively market to Boomers in advertisements, particularly TV, their vested interests will more likely help ensure they experience more certain fiscal futures.