Give It Up for Differentiation

I was interviewed recently by Jean Van Ryzin of Selling to Seniors about my thoughts on the communications strategies that were in play this presidential election. Like any brand, in order to be successful and memorable, a campaign must employ clear, distinct messaging. Looking purely through a communications and marketing lens, I feel the Obama brand did a fantastic job when it came to communication strategy--both development and execution.

Rather than promote a series of varied ideas and complicated commitments, this campaign was laser focused—and remained that way. This simplicity and crystal clear messaging allowed Americans to boil down the platform and hold onto a clear understanding of what this candidate stands for. When it comes down to it, good positioning strategy is about what you are willing to give up to be differentiated from the competition. The Obama brand clearly accomplished this.

Check out the full article published by Selling to Seniors.

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Lori Bitter - President
JWT Boom - info@jwtboom.com

The Motrin Brouhaha

What a brouhaha that started, with angry moms posting their outrage everywhere, so much so that Motrin decided their best move was to pull the ad. In this case, the old adage “I don’t care what you say about me, as long as you spell my name right” certainly doesn’t hold true. A lot of moms have been vocal about a Motrin boycott, and are voting with their purchase decisions.

You can listen in on some of the conversation at MomsLikeMe.

So happy to see the voice of the consumer is alive and well. Compelling reasons for advertisers to be part of the conversation BEFORE inserting foot in mouth. Or in this case, asserting “baby as fashion statement”.

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Jim Hallock - Executive Creative Director
JWT Boom - info@jwtboom.com

Retirement Housing REdux

Quick: what image comes to mind with the works “retirement housing”?

I just love the concept behind the winner of a competition in Rotterdam for design in this category, “inspired by the forthcoming retirement of the hippie generation”, embracing this group’s denial of aging. Check out the color, design features, including hallways that look like Star Trek’s Enterprise. It’s a building on top of a water feature, with curvy (groovy?) “Gaudi-like” balconies with self-cleaning glass.

But I have just one question: What do they mean by the “recurrent grass theme” that runs through several parts of the project?


De Plussenburgh built by Arons en Gelauff Architecten www.aronsengelauff.nl. Photo by Jeroen Musch

Jim Hallock - Executive Creative Director
JWT Boom - info@jwtboom.com

How Will the Financial Crisis Affect Boomers?

We’ve been doing a lot of thinking about effect what the current financial crisis is having on Boomers--beyond the “duh” that everyone is pulling back, planning to retire later, and planning on spending less this holiday season.

And interesting report from Thrivent Financial “Boomers Beleaguered but Still Optimistic about Financial Well-Being”, fielded October 20-23, (which of course is so “yesterday” when it comes to the financial crisis, where things seem change hourly.)

Anyway, this survey claims that more than half (54%) of Boomers surveyed expect they “will have to delay their retirements as a result of market volatility.” And that they will cut back on holiday spending, giving to charity, and holiday travel plans.

But of interest, with all the doom and gloom, only 12% claim to have lost sleep over their evaporating nest eggs. Maybe it’s because this survey was taken in October, still early in the game. Or maybe we’re all still asleep and think we’ll wake up and see this was only a bad nightmare.

For me, I’m part of the 11% who are “stuffing themselves with comfort food” to deal with the stress. Will “The Boomer Workout” be the next hot product, to help us deal with all this stress eating?

What do you think will come out of the financial crisis? Would love to hear from you.

Welcome

Welcome to BOOMBOX, our agency blog about Boomers—what they’re thinking, what they’re doing, and what marketers are thinking and doing about them. First, as a matter of transparency and disclosure, I am the Creative Director at JWT BOOM. And all we do is focus on Boomers and consumers over 40. And yes, I am a Boomer.

We’ll be looking at trends, creative executions, and general observations about the 78 million of those people who the demographers have labeled “Baby Boomers”. There’re a lot of ‘em and there’s lots to say.

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Jim Hallock - Executive Creative Director
JWT Boom - info@jwtboom.com