Logo

TV Land Focuses on Baby Boomers

Feb 3, 2008  •  Post A Comment

Baby boomers are the largest and most affluent adult consumer group, and a key question for TV programmers is how best to reach these people. That question was on the minds of TV Land researchers when they undertook a major study to determine the true value of this sometimes overlooked demographic.
“The research showed that advertisers weren’t giving baby boomers the recognition they deserve,” said Tanya Giles, senior vice president of research for TV Land. “A large portion of sales and marketing focus was given to people who were younger than the baby boomer generation, which is odd considering there are so many baby boomers and they are so affluent. We set up the research to demonstrate the true value of this underserved market.”
CTAM has recognized TV Land’s effort, “Boomography: The Who, What, Where, Why and How of the Power Demo,” as a finalist in the organization’s annual case-study competition, to be presented at the CTAM Research Conference Feb. 6-8 in Los Angeles.
The baby boom generation is composed of individuals born between 1946 and 1964; Nielsen characterizes baby boomers as those who are currently between 40 and 59. “That’s what we concentrated on: people in their 40s and 50s,” said Ms. Giles. “TV Land saw a real growth opportunity if we catered to this generation,” she said. “Our network has always concentrated on content. We’ve celebrated classic TV, but we wanted to evolve to a network that could concentrate and celebrate the audience that watches our content. In our case, that’s baby boomers.”
Working with AgeWave and Harris Interactive, TV Land designed the methodology for the research. “We did focus groups first because we wanted that to be our ideation for the survey. We met with baby boomers and heard how they felt about a variety of topics from technology to advertising,” Ms. Giles said.
Based on the information gleaned from the focus groups, a nationwide online survey was created and administered to 4,220 adults; of that number, the largest group measured was the 40- to 59-year-olds.
The TV Land study produced three main findings. “First, baby boomers are chameleon consumers. They buy for more people than anyone else—their kids, themselves and their aged parents—so they have to make a lot of choices,” Ms. Giles said.
In addition to the volume of buying they do, they also are spending more than any other demographic. “They are constantly changing their consumer needs because they have so many people to shop for,” she said. “They are constantly making brand choices.”
The second finding involved technology. “We call it the ‘Joy of Tech.’ Boomers are not too old so that they don’t understand it, and they’re not young enough to take it for granted,” Ms. Giles said. “Baby boomers are the one generation that can really appreciate the awe and inspiration technology provides.”
Boomers, the research showed, enjoy re-creating the experience of watching TV the way they did when they were children. They’re more inclined to create a digital nest, with a big-screen TV, hi-def, surround sound and other technical innovations, than they are to watch TV programs on an iPod.
The third finding was that baby boomers are turned on but tuning out. “They’re growing increasingly frustrated and dissatisfied with the TV and advertising choices that they have. Boomers are noticing that marketers and advertisers are not speaking to them directly,” Ms. Giles said. “They estimate that only one in four ads that they see are directly targeting them. When they recognize an advertiser not addressing them, they don’t pay attention. They are less likely to buy that product.”
Based on these findings, TV Land made changes in its messaging and programming. “It’s been a huge stepping stone in the evolution of where TV Land is going. We’re trying to evolve away from being a content-focused, classic-TV-focused channel. We’re thinking about our audience and how we can be an entertainment destination for baby boomers,” said Ms. Giles.
TV Land created a new series of promotional commercials aimed at the baby boomers, starting with what boomers are called. “We never use the word baby boomer on air because only 17% of boomers actually identify with that term,” Ms. Giles said. “We saw that as a rejection of that term, so we asked what term best describes them and 57% of boomers said that they feel like they’re part of the TV generation. The tagline is now ‘TV Land: TV for the TV generation.’”
“Our on-air communication really speaks to where baby boomers are situated,” she said. “We did commercials called the ‘Couch’ series. Because a lot of the baby boomers have their kids and a lot of them still have their parents alive, we call them the sandwich generation.”
The “Here for the TV Generation” promo commercials depict three generations of viewers: a 15-year-old boy, his 40-something dad and the 40-something’s senior citizen father. Each segment highlights how the baby boomer, who’s sandwiched between his teenager and his father, has his own unique attitude about life and specific pop-culture references; he is the child of the TV era.
In presentations, Ms. Giles has reported on the Boomography study. “The advice that we give is that they need to truly cater to baby boomers,” she said. “Speak to baby boomers at their life stage, other than their age—in other words, don’t speak to a number. And don’t speak to stereotypes of what you think a 50-year-old is, because baby boomers have shattered stereotypes of what it means to be a certain age. Boomers can only be an opportunity, so why not speak to them? Why not expand your business to include this really vital consumer group?”
Ms. Giles is looking forward to the conference: “CTAM is really a gathering of all my peers, and to be recognized for a study that was really impactful, that had something really strong to say and had solid methodology, I’m thrilled. It’s very exciting.”

35 Comments

  1. Three cheers for your research on this cohort – my colleague and I have also discovered that the me generation has turned into the we generation. And through our articles, blog and newsletters, we focus on the practical and emotional needs of Sandwiched Boomers. No matter how well these caregivers face the challenges of children growing up and parents growing older, without some nourishment for themselves, no one gets fed.

  2. TV Land is not for the baby boomers, they want more action..please don’t fix what isn’t broken..The ‘boomers’ will come to tv land when they are older..Thank you ever so much for Andy Griffith and Cosby, give us more…

  3. Please keep tv land as it has always been, 30 minute sitcoms, movies can be found elsewhere in abundance.. tv land is for Cosby, Andy, Beaver, Jefferson’s, also please consider adding roseanne and home improvement,,many, many thanks for showing back to back andy and cosby, please don’t show the same ones repeatedly, there are many out there,,please give us an andy and cosby marathon.

  4. Well, it’s been about six years since I even thought about these things. Brings some thoughts to mind and also reminds me I need to get off my rump. You most likely didn’t intend it that way, but I’m pleased to have run across ya!

  5. Wonderful to read!

  6. Good post, thanks

  7. Whats up, This article is very interesting and enjoyable to read. I am a big follower of the things blogged about. I also enjoy reading the replies, but I notice that most of people should keep on topic to try and add more to the original blog post. I would also recommend everyone to bookmark this url to your favourite website to help get the word out. Thanks

  8. Thank you for a great post

  9. Good post, thanks

  10. Nice!! Great Ifo. Great People. Great Blog. Thank you for all the great sharing that is being done here.

  11. Great blog!! You should start many more. I love all the info provided. I will stay tuned 🙂

  12. Nice!! Great Ifo. Great People. Great Blog. Thank you for all the great sharing that is being done here.

  13. Love all the opinions expressed here! How is everyone? Love how everyone expresses whatr they feel 🙂

  14. I love the expression. Everyone needs to express there own opinion and feel free to hear others. Keep it up 🙂

  15. I really like the colors here on your blog. did you design this yourself or did you outsource it to a professional?

  16. I would like to start my own blog one day. This was a really nice blog that you made here. Keep up the success 😛

  17. I saw something about this on television at the weekend. Thanks for putting more meat on the bones

  18. Nice blog here! Also your website loads up fast! What host are you using? I wish my website loaded up as fast as yours lol

  19. Amazing freakin blog here. I almost cried while reading it!

  20. Hi. First of all – wonderful blog! Secondly this information was also good and interesting to read, but I don’t think everything you have said is how it is in reality. I will need to google about few things you have mentioned in your artcile to make sure. But anyway thanks for trying and good luck on writing other articles. P.S sorry for bad English, I aren’t English native speaker.

  21. Good day. First of all – fantastic blog! Secondly this article was also good and interesting to read, but I don’t think everything you have said is how it is in reality. I will need to google about few things you have mentioned in your artcile to make sure. But anyway thanks for the great effort and good luck on writing other articles. P.S sorry for bad English, I aren’t English native speaker.

  22. You make blogging look like a walk in the park! I’ve been trying to blog daily but I just cant find writing material.. you’re an inspiration to me and i’m sure many others!

  23. Great blog!! You should start many more. I love all the info provided. I will stay tuned 🙂

  24. Excellent to read from a man who really can talk about it.

  25. Way to focus and straight to your point, i love it. Keep up the work people. Dont let anyone stop us bloggers.

  26. Great wordpress blog here.. It’s hard to find quality writing like yours these days. I really appreciate people like you! take care and see you soon

  27. Nice!! Great Ifo. Great People. Great Blog. Thank you for all the great sharing that is being done here.

  28. This is the best blog I’ve ever seen in my life! I really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day to share your this with everyone.

  29. Are you aware that this page is broken on IE7 and IE8? Footer is in the center of the page.

  30. You make blogging look like a walk in the park! I’ve been trying to blog daily but I just cant find writing material.. you’re an inspiration to me and i’m sure many others!

  31. Neat blog layout! Very easy on the eyes.. i like the colors you picked out

  32. Attractive do the job. The creativity is marvelous, but far more so because the recycling aspect is so important and timely. Kudos to you Mark for such inspiring artwork.

  33. I agree that Meridith as well as New York Public Library would be the best of 2009. My Small Pony, not so much. Nonetheless, th is was a strong roundup of finest and worst, though.

Leave a Reply to SEO Techniques Cancel Reply

Email (will not be published)