Big chill: Internet's
left-out generation
Baby boomers are big web users who spend big bucks
By Heidi Dawley
Mar 18, 2008
Talk about spoiled. Since birth baby boomers have consumed America's attention, as if no generation had come before, their wants and passions reshaping the nation in their image at every turn, whether in music, politics, sex or fashion.
“They're used to having 100 percent focus on them 100 percent of the time,” says Ann Fishman, president of Generational Targeted Marketing.
With one exception, the internet.
For all their size, and their wealth and their influence, baby boomers feel left out of the internet experience, and to a surprising degree they are. The medium targets the young. There are far fewer sites targeting people between ages 44 and 62.
Yet boomers are an incredibly attractive audience for marketers, as a new report reveals.
Going for them is sheer size. They represent 43 percent of online users. They're also highly affluent, being of an age when they're at or near reaching their maximum earning power.
According to the study, from Jupiter Research, 34 percent of boomers live in households with incomes of $75,000 a year or more. That's versus 31 percent of nonboomers.
Boomers are also heavier users of the internet for searching out product information, and they make more online purchases than nonboomers.
The report, which was based on a survey of about 3,500 people, found that 57 percent of boomers said they purchased products or services over the web monthly or more frequently in the past year, versus 54 percent for nonboomers.
Likewise, 56 percent researched products or services over the internet, compared to 50 percent for nonboomers. Plus, 5 percent more boomers researched travel and 6 percent more entered contests or sweepstakes.
And that raises an interesting question: Why aren’t marketers putting more effort into targeting boomers?
As a recent Burst Media survey found, the internet is a younger-targeting medium, both in the eyes of younger users and boomers. Three fourths of people 18 to 34 thought the internet focused on folks their age, while just one in three people over 45 thought the web was targeting their needs and interests. Among folks 55 and older, that share sank to just one in five.
A lot simply has to do with perception.
“It has simply become a given, a self-evident truth that the internet is for the young,” says Robert Thompson, a pop culturalist and director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. “But what we perceive is not necessarily the truth.”
But certainly another factor is that marketers tend to focus on the young because they are the trend-setters. If it's cool with kids, it becomes cool with older consumers, who look to kids to tell them the hot look, the hot new words and the hot trends in music, books and the arts.
Never mind that the real taste-makers may be older. The ads will feature young people because young sells better. Youth still rules, but it's a different youth, and no longer the boomers.
That has to come as a shock to a generation that, as Fishman of Generational Targeted Marketing notes, grew up in an era where every ad message seemed targeted to them. It's not hard to understand that sense of alienation.
“Just because boomers are aging, the rest of the world isn’t going to change with them. They will continue to focus on youth,” says Fishman.
“Boomers are an attractive market, not to be overlooked. But they did create the targeting of the youth market.”
But the biggest reason there's less targeting to boomers is that they are the mass market. In a sense every ad targeting the general population is targeting boomers. Once rebels, boomers, by virtue of their size, their age and income, are now the anchors of society, its bedrock.
They are talked to more than ever, on the internet and offline. They simply may not realize it. Or they choose not to.
***
Meanwhile, in online ratings for the week ended March 9, according to Nielsen Online, Google claimed the top spot among parent companies, followed by Microsoft, Yahoo, Time Warner and News Corp. Online. The top five brands were Google, Yahoo, MSN/Windows Live, Microsoft and AOL Media Network.
Experian Group Limited overtook usual No. 1 advertiser NexTag with 6.6 million impressions to the latter’s 6.3 million. With 34 million ads served, Yahoo was again the top advertising site, well ahead of No. 2 MSN at 3.5 million.
Sessions per person per week were even to the previous week at 17, and domains visited per person were down two to 39. PC time per person was flat compared with the previous week, at 18 hours and 6 minutes.
|
Top 25 parent companies
Through March 9 |
|
#
|
Parent
|
Unique Audience (000)
|
Reach %
|
Time Spent per Person (hh:mm:ss)
|
|
1
|
Google
|
91,996
|
64.3
|
0:35:15
|
|
2
|
Microsoft
|
88,437
|
61.9
|
0:47:00
|
|
3
|
Yahoo!
|
78,301
|
54.8
|
1:05:52
|
|
4
|
Time Warner
|
72,400
|
50.6
|
1:21:38
|
|
5
|
News Corp. Online
|
43,080
|
30.1
|
0:49:52
|
|
6
|
eBay
|
35,690
|
25.0
|
0:50:10
|
|
7
|
InterActiveCorp
|
30,348
|
21.2
|
0:13:44
|
|
8
|
Amazon
|
26,134
|
18.3
|
0:13:20
|
|
9
|
Landmark Communications
|
25,059
|
17.5
|
0:11:06
|
|
10
|
Wikimedia Foundation
|
24,066
|
16.8
|
0:09:30
|
|
11
|
Apple Computer
|
23,497
|
16.4
|
0:33:01
|
|
12
|
Walt Disney Internet Group
|
21,668
|
15.2
|
0:20:38
|
|
13
|
New York Times Company
|
20,901
|
14.6
|
0:11:51
|
|
14
|
AT&T Inc.
|
17,947
|
12.6
|
0:21:04
|
|
15
|
RealNetworks, Inc.
|
16,149
|
11.3
|
0:22:31
|
|
16
|
Verizon Communications
|
14,249
|
10.0
|
0:17:16
|
|
17
|
E.W. Scripps Company
|
13,470
|
9.4
|
0:06:12
|
|
18
|
CNET Networks
|
13,020
|
9.1
|
0:05:15
|
|
19
|
Comcast Corp.
|
12,948
|
9.1
|
0:31:46
|
|
20
|
Viacom Digital
|
12,523
|
8.8
|
0:26:07
|
|
21
|
Bank of America
|
12,508
|
8.8
|
0:25:28
|
|
22
|
General Electric
|
12,004
|
8.4
|
0:07:50
|
|
23
|
United Online
|
11,590
|
8.1
|
0:30:25
|
|
24
|
Facebook
|
11,256
|
7.9
|
0:32:07
|
|
25
|
CBS Corporation
|
11,048
|
7.7
|
0:14:31
|
|
Source: Nielsen Online
|
|
Top 25 brands
Through March 9 |
|
|
Parent
|
Unique Audience (000)
|
Reach %
|
Time spent per person (hh:mm:ss)
|
|
1 |
Google
|
83,880
|
58.7
|
0:27:34
|
|
2 |
Yahoo!
|
77,038
|
53.9
|
1:06:29
|
|
3 |
MSN/Windows Live
|
64,702
|
45.3
|
0:47:56
|
|
4 |
Microsoft
|
57,160
|
40.0
|
0:18:12
|
|
5 |
AOL Media Network
|
56,055
|
39.2
|
1:33:17
|
|
6 |
Fox Interactive Media
|
37,574
|
26.3
|
0:52:40
|
|
7 |
YouTube
|
34,355
|
24.0
|
0:22:51
|
|
8 |
eBay
|
30,149
|
21.1
|
0:53:04
|
|
9 |
Wikipedia
|
23,790
|
16.6
|
0:09:34
|
|
10 |
Apple
|
23,497
|
16.4
|
0:33:01
|
|
11 |
Weather Channel
|
22,688
|
15.9
|
0:11:27
|
|
12 |
Amazon
|
21,973
|
15.4
|
0:12:23
|
|
13 |
CNN Digital Network
|
18,197
|
12.7
|
0:18:35
|
|
14 |
Ask Search Network
|
16,983
|
11.9
|
0:13:06
|
|
15 |
Blogger
|
16,369
|
11.5
|
0:06:05
|
|
16 |
Real Network
|
16,149
|
11.3
|
0:22:31
|
|
17 |
About.com
|
14,626
|
10.2
|
0:03:18
|
|
18 |
AT&T
|
12,283
|
8.6
|
0:27:05
|
|
19 |
Bank of America
|
12,280
|
8.6
|
0:25:21
|
|
20 |
Facebook
|
11,256
|
7.9
|
0:32:07
|
|
21 |
Craigslist
|
10,942
|
7.7
|
0:37:50
|
|
22 |
Comcast
|
10,802
|
7.6
|
0:36:39
|
|
23 |
Chase
|
9,999
|
7.0
|
0:16:13
|
|
24 |
Verizon
|
9,226
|
6.5
|
0:15:30
|
|
25 |
Nickelodeon Kids and Family Network
|
8,709
|
6.1
|
0:34:15
|
|
Source: Nielsen Online |
|
Top 25 advertisers
(excludes house ads)
Through March 9 |
|
#
|
Company
|
Impressions (000)
|
|
1 |
Experian Group Limited
|
6,611,215
|
|
2 |
NexTag, Inc.
|
6,265,615
|
|
3 |
Vonage Holdings Corp
|
3,427,105
|
|
4 |
Netflix, Inc.
|
3,343,022
|
|
5 |
CoolSavings, Inc.
|
2,042,900
|
|
6 |
Free-Games-Online.com
|
1,792,939
|
|
7 |
Apollo Group, Inc.
|
1,469,872
|
|
8 |
Toyota Motor Corporation
|
1,317,223
|
|
9 |
Wachovia Corporation
|
1,199,374
|
|
10 |
Bank of America Corporation
|
1,072,270
|
|
11 |
Verizon Communications, Inc.
|
1,003,291
|
|
12 |
Echostar Communications Corporation
|
981,692
|
|
13 |
InterActiveCorp
|
877,173
|
|
14 |
AT&T Corp.
|
726,270
|
|
15 |
Privacy Matters
|
710,900
|
|
16 |
Time Warner Inc.
|
674,081
|
|
17 |
Scottrade, Inc.
|
583,929
|
|
18 |
HSBC Holdings plc
|
490,145
|
|
19 |
TaxACT
|
434,098
|
|
20 |
Deutsche Telekom AG
|
389,235
|
|
21 |
General Motors Corporation
|
379,762
|
|
22 |
Hydroderm Beverly Hills
|
374,728
|
|
23 |
E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corp.
|
367,289
|
|
24 |
Fidelity Investments
|
365,481
|
|
25 |
United Online, Inc.
|
365,265
|
|
Source: Nielsen Online, AdRelevance
Note: Nielsen Online, AdRelevance service estimated online advertising expenditures account for CPM-based image-based advertising. All reported estimated expenditures and impressions do not account for the following placement types: text only, paid fee services, performance-based campaigns, sponsorships, barters, in-stream ("pre-rolls") players, messenger applications, partnership advertising, promotions and email campaigns. AdRelevance currently does not report estimated spending for paid search advertising. Also, Nielsen Online, AdRelevance reporting data reflects advertising activity served on pages accessible via the World Wide Web and not within AOL's proprietary service. |
|
Top 25 advertising sites
(excludes house ads)
Through March 9 |
|
|
Company
|
Impressions (000)
|
|
1 |
Yahoo!
|
34,045,285
|
|
2 |
MSN
|
3,479,358
|
|
3 |
MySpace
|
1,893,084
|
|
4 |
AOL.com
|
1,213,024
|
|
5 |
eBay
|
868,157
|
|
6 |
MSNBC
|
865,227
|
|
7 |
The Weather Channel
|
662,259
|
|
8 |
Comcast.net
|
622,681
|
|
9 |
FOXNEWS.COM
|
559,336
|
|
10 |
CNN
|
542,815
|
|
11 |
NeoPets
|
537,090
|
|
12 |
Facebook
|
495,700
|
|
13 |
New York Times
|
479,566
|
|
14 |
IMDb
|
449,231
|
|
15 |
Photobucket
|
396,574
|
|
16 |
Amazon
|
335,032
|
|
17 |
ESPN.com
|
254,341
|
|
18 |
CNN Money
|
224,445
|
|
19 |
Juno
|
209,287
|
|
20 |
NetZero
|
198,100
|
|
21 |
EarthLink
|
197,772
|
|
22 |
Excite
|
175,110
|
|
23 |
Verizon Online
|
155,954
|
|
24 |
Reference.com
|
154,246
|
|
25 |
Drudge Report
|
154,137
|
|
Source: Nielsen Online, AdRelevance
Note: Nielsen Online, AdRelevance service estimated online advertising expenditures account for CPM-based image-based advertising. All reported estimated expenditures and impressions do not account for the following placement types: text only, paid fee services, performance-based campaigns, sponsorships, barters, in-stream ("pre-rolls") players, messenger applications, partnership advertising, promotions and email campaigns. AdRelevance currently does not report estimated spending for paid search advertising. Above data does not include any house advertising activity. Also, Nielsen Online, AdRelevance reporting data reflects advertising activity served on pages accessible via the World Wide Web and not within AOL's proprietary service. |
|
Average use
Through March 9 |
|
|
Current Week
|
Last Week
|
% Change
|
|
Sessions/Visits per Person
|
17
|
17
|
0
|
|
Domains Visited per Person
|
39
|
41
|
-4.88
|
|
PC Time per Person
|
18:06:53
|
18:03:34
|
0.31
|
|
Active Digital Media Universe
|
142,987,118
|
140,468,503
|
1.79
|
|
Current Digital Media Universe Estimate
|
221,294,038
|
220,765,807
|
0.24
|
|
Source: Nielsen Online |
|
|
|
