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Baby boomers have 'formidable online presence'
Businesses have been advised to ignore obsolete stereotypes about "technophobic" baby boomers.New research from ThirdAge and JWT Boom reveals that people in their 40s, 50s and 60s in fact have a "formidable presence on the internet", which opens up a new and relatively unexplored avenue of online marketing.
Nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of ThirdAgers access the internet with a home broadband connection and 82 per cent use the technology to research information on health and wellness.
An overwhelming 92 per cent use the internet to gather information, 95 per cent use it to stay in touch with friends and 73 per cent do their shopping on the web.
Areas that have not appealed to this group include online gaming, downloading music, watching videos and writing blogs.
"Though some are striving to get more in touch with this compelling demographic, many marketers continue to do an ineffective job of building a trusted relationship with people who are over 40," said Sharon Whiteley, chief executive of ThirdAge.
"The conventional wisdom that boomers and mid-lifers are set in their purchasing habits and resistant to Marketing messages is a very costly myth. These generations have grown up in the information age; they will seek facts, data and peer input - and then, they will make up their own minds."
Integrated marketing plans may well be the best way to contact this particular demographic, as 92 per cent of respondents revealed that they visit websites after reading about them in print articles. Radio commercials are also important, directing 65 per cent of respondents to websites.
Search Marketing news posted on 27 March 2007
