Demographics can be broken down into many compartments or niches. Traditional
demographic categorizing can be divided into age, income and gender. The most striking difference in
demographics are by age. The generations that exist today in America are diverse in their background
and influences that affect buying decisions. Yet, there is one factor that unites them, the desire to
believe. They have the desire to trust and want to trust corporations, government, media and non-
governmental organizations.
Many factors have gone into each generation’s buying habits and willingness to trust
others in position of leadership. The information disseminated in the media affects each
generation in different ways. Events that occur in every decade that affect the level of cynicism
can be seen. Ron Zemke describes the differences in generations in the book Generations at
Work. (Zemke, 2000)
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Greatest Generation - The “Greatest Generation” was generally born between 1915 and 1935. Their
formative years were spent during the Great Depression; many of them served their country during
World War II either in the war effort here at home or overseas in the military service. They have retired
over the past twenty years. This generation has provided our nation with a great number of innovators
and entrepreneurs. After World War II the Greatest Generation started some of the most successful
companies in the country, or added to the success of the environmental movement we saw in the
1960′s with the Wilderness Act or the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act of
the 1970′s. Veterans of the 110th Mountain Division from World War II typify this type of innovation.
Some of those members of the 110th went on to start some of the top outdoor recreational facilities in
the West, developed the running shoe for Nike and were leaders in the Sierra Club (Shelton, 2003). - The Greatest Generation exhibits certain buying habits. Generally speaking they have highbrand loyalty, quality and believability of products is important in their buying process. They aregenerally financially conservative. They are also the instruments in the largest transition of wealth toanother generation in the world’s history. (Zemke, 2000)
- Baby Boomers – Born between 1940 and 1955, the Baby Boomers grew up during the Cold War andhave been bombarded with consumerist messages from birth. They are the first generation to bemarketed to literally from the cradle to the grave. They have high purchasing power and have workedhard and want the “good life” that has been promised to them. They exhibit mid-level brand loyalty.Baby Boomers research products and ideas before they buy into them. Family is important. As theygrow older they are caring for children and sometimes their own parents simultaneously. They arelooking at how they will spend the rest of their lives and what kind of legacy they will leave behind. Thisdemographic group is either in the retirement stage from the work force or rapidly approaching it. Theyhave large amounts of discretionary income.
- 40 Something’s – Born between 1955-1965, they are currently involved heavily in the work force.40 Something’s have owned an average of 3 different homes. They have mid to heavy levels ofdiscretionary incomes. Heavy emphasis and focus on family as most of their children are still at home.They can be motivated to change brand allegiances in consumer habits. 40 Something’s rely greatly onthe Internet as a source of information for not only concepts and ideas in society but purchasing goodsand services as well.
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Generation X – Born between 1965 and 1975. This generation generally exhibits a strong sense of
individualism. They have young families at this point and are heavily involved in the work force. This
generation is the first one to have grown up in the digital age and the period in which disposable
products were marketed. They also have been exposed since an early age to massive amounts of
information from a wider variety of sources than precious generations. -
Nexters – also known as Millennials- Born since 1975. Nexters exhibit the highest level of computer
literacy and low discretionary income due to their level in the workforce. They will spend money on
products after research was done on the Internet. Nexters are extremely cynical, probably due to the
massive amounts of marketing targeted at them. They question authority and the status quo.
One striking side of demographics is that such a small percentage of the population can have a
drastic influence on the economy, political elections and public sentiment. Mark Penn points out in his
book Micro trends that one percent of the population, 3 million people, can powerfully shape society.
Think of a demographic as a fraction of the population. 3 million people is a large city in America. What
if three million people were targeted to change their buying habits? Those habits that exist could
radically affect an entire industry or an entire social behavior. Ideas that Bill McKibben (2007) exposed
in his book Deep Economy such as food sources, transportation and purchasing of eco-friendly products
could be marketed to the American population. This marketing to a niche demographic is done
everyday. The best selling car in America in 2006 was purchased by barely 300,000 people. We are
seeing a trend developing in 2007 that the Prius and Honda Civic hybrid are set to break US sales records
(Job, 2007). This consumer behavior could signal a change in environmental consuming. Karl Rove was
able to catapult George Bush into the White House by targeting religious minded conservatives and
turning them out to vote in the 2000 and 2004 presidential election. (Cannon, 2005) This group of the
population is relatively small in comparison to the whole population. Niche demographic marketing
could be effective for the environmental movement. If an organization could zero in on a small
demographic niche, choose the appropriate media and then dominate the media, people could be
swayed into taking action on a well-defined issue.
All of this cynicism in the public shows why private industry has stepped up it’s marketing efforts
to sell more products and to encourage their own corporations to be accepted in the marketplace.
Private Industry has reacted to the change that has occurred in the marketplace. They expanded
product lines, established new market niches and developed entire new markets. They have done
this with effective marketing. Marketing itself has adapted and changed over time to accommodate
clients of the marketing industry’s needs. Successful private industry capitalized on methods of
communication, which focused on enumerating the benefits that products have for consumers.
While adaptation to market changes was occurring in the private industry sectors,
environmental groups continued to do business as usual. Cynicism is being overcome by effective,
long lasting marketing in the private sector. They are using strong Primary and secondary appeals.
Consistency and proper budgeting are also occurring.
Careful precision and planning must be made in identifying the proper demographic
that could be motivated to change. It takes selection of the proper media to reach that identified
demographic. It takes advertising messages that will identify primary probable appeals and
secondary appeals to justify the decision made by consumers. It takes enough budget to
dominate a media and use it for the long haul. Cynicism must be overcome with truth in
messaging. It takes research, direction, creativity, market knowledge, focus and commitment.
