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found: Meet the Joneses
'Twixt Boomers and Gen-X--and unlike either
By Gabriel Spitzer
There is a vast generation of adults, ages 35-46, who for years have had to choose between The Beatles and Nirvana.
Truth be known, they'd probably take Bryan Adams over either Lennon or Cobain.
They represent one-fourth of all adults in America, and they are neither Baby Boomers nor Gen-Xers. They've fallen somewhere between, as one might a ditch, unnoticed and without a name.
But, wait, here comes Jonathan Pontell and a book titled "Generation Jones."
Pontell is himself a Joneser--an odd tag for any generation but one he is happy to explain. He's also an author, marketing consultant and pop-culture expert.
He expects you'll be hearing a lot more from his sort in the coming years.
"We are that large, awakening generation between the Boomers and Generation X," he says.
Generation Jones is distinguished by it pragmatism, its tempered skepticism, but perhaps most importantly by the quality of "Jonesing"—slang for a longing or craving.
"That concept resonates for people in this generation. We were given huge expectations growing up during the height of postwar optimism, and then not many of them were met.
"There’s a lot of yearning in this generation. The word ‘commitment’ was used a great deal during our childhood. So in a sense we feel owed," Pontell explains.
There are 53 million Jonesers out there, they spent $1.4 trillion last year, and nearly 90 percent of them don’t identify with either the Boomers or the Xers.
Rather, as Pontell explains, they feel "in-between" and perhaps a little lost.
The Jonesers were too young in the '60s to really internalize the idealism claimed by the Boomers, and they watched those same idealists sell out in the 1980s when everybody dove for the cash.
"Jonesers sold out along with everybody in the '80s, but with us it was a very conscious thing. Not only did we admit we were selling out, we wanted to make sure everybody saw it," says Pontell.
So where have these guys been?
"It’s surprising to a lot of us, why it took so long. This generation declared our existence back in the '70s, but we were ignored by a country that was burnt out by the impact of the Boomers. America wasn’t ready yet in the '70s," says Pontell.
Moreover, it doesn’t help that most media are run by the Boomers, says Pontell.
Take, for example, the aforementioned Joneser icon, singer Bryan Adams.
His famous anthem "Summer of ’69" was originally titled "Summer of ’75."
It reportedly got kicked back six years under pressure from the Boomer-owned record company, even though Adams himself was only eight years old in the summer of 1969.
"There’s been a reticence among Boomers to let the next generation have the spotlight," says Pontell.
Too bad for the Jonesers? Perhaps. But too bad, really, for the media and for advertisers, who are only now waking up to this generation of consumers.
Austin-based Shane Media was one of the first agencies to pick up on Pontell’s research, and they have pioneered efforts to market to Jonesers. It’s still rather puzzling to them why the media have taken so long to recognize the Jonesers.
"Now we’re smack in the middle of the prime buying demographic, and at the peak of our purchasing power. People are starting to sit up and notice that this generation has the money and has the numbers, and they’d better start making some inroads. You don’t want to miss this, whether you’re selling radio or shower curtains," says Keith Rovell, a programmer and consultant for Shane Media (and another Joneser).
The first piece of advice that Pontell has for advertisers is to ditch the whole obsession with the 25-54 demo, which he calls a "shotgun approach."
That age range includes Xers, Jonesers and Boomers, all of whom want different things.
Jonesers are busy, practical and media-savvy. But that doesn’t mean that advertisers’ messages are lost on them.
"I think there’s an opportunity there for media and marketers, in that Jonesers are at a point of stock-taking. While that feeling is typical of middle age, I think with Jonesers it’s much more of an active hunger. I think they’re more open to switching brands, they’re open to switching channels. I think they’re gettable, and they won’t be this gettable in 10 years," says Pontell.
But marketers also must keep in mind that their messages need to be quick, concise and no-nonsense.
"We have very firmly ingrained B.S. detectors. When people try to bullshit us or exaggerate claims, it turns off Jonesers. You have to go out of your way to be real, or at least to seem like you’re being real."
Shane Media has been busily applying Pontell’s insights to media, particularly to radio. One trick Rovell uses to reach Jonesers is to use nostalgia.
"Jonesers are jonesing for their own nostalgia. So one thing you can do is use nostalgia in your marketing. Images from the Brady Bunch, bold fonts and bright colors, Hanna Barbera cartoons—that sort of thing will bring a smile to their faces," says Rovell.
One way or another, people are starting to get the message. Since Pontell came out with his book last year, Generation Jones has gotten play on over 500 television, radio and print media outlets. Universities teach courses on it. During the election, nearly all the presidential candidates called the Jonesers by name (George W. Bush even gave Pontell one of his trademark nicknames: "Mr. Jones").
As Pontell puts, it, Generation Jones has not yet spoken, but it’s clearing its throat.
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Generational preferences |
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Baby Boomers |
Generation Jones |
Generation X |
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Woodstock |
Live Aid |
Lollapalooza |
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Sputnik |
Apollo |
Challenger |
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Peace Symbol Necklace |
Mood Ring |
Nose Ring |
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Drive-ins |
Drive-thrus |
Drive-bys |
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Viet Nam War |
"Star Wars" |
Persian Gulf War |
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Rolling Stone |
George |
Details |
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Anti-War Protests |
No Nukes Campaign |
"Boxers or Briefs?" |
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IBM |
Apple |
Microsoft |
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"All You Need is Love" |
"Born to Run" |
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" |
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"The Graduate" |
"St. Elmo’s Fire" |
"Reality Bites" |
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Tom Hayden |
Tom Hanks |
Tom Green |
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Drink OJ |
OJ Runs |
OJ Walks |
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San Francisco |
Austin |
Seattle |
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The Cleavers |
"The Brady Bunch" |
"The Simpsons" |
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Oliver Stone |
Quentin Tarantino |
Kevin Smith |
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JFK |
Jimmy Carter |
Jesse Ventura |
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LSD |
Grass |
Ecstasy |
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Coke |
New Coke |
Classic Coke |
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| Source: Jonathan Pontell, GenerationJones.com | ||||
-Gabriel Spitzer is a staff writer for Media Life.
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