Class Consumption

I received absolutely devastating news via email last night. I mean, devastating news – the kind of crushing information that makes you sit and ponder how cruel the world can be; questioning our very own chance for survival. This news came in the form of e-vite to my 30^th–year class reunion. Are you kidding me? I have officially been out of high school longer than nearly everyone with whom I work has been on Earth. And that, I tell you, is major suckage. “So, you graduated in 1978?” mused one of the 20-somethings at work, “Huh, that’s the year my parents got married.” Bitch.I am mixed about going back. Do I really want to see 47-year old versions of the young, vibrant, hopeful souls I knew back in the day? And think about the posturing... “I don’t want to go back, “said, my buddy, Jeff, a twice divorced high school friend of mine who has filed for bankruptcy two times in his life. “I, mean, I’m actually worse off than I was in high school.” When trying to console him about his many accomplishments, Jeff countered, “Thanks, dude, but at my age Lincoln was holding the Union together.”I am one of the people who make up the 75 million Baby Boomers in the U.S and 375 million more around the world. Every 7.5 seconds, a Boomer turns 50. If the purchasing power of this group in the U.S. alone were a GNP, it would be the size of Spain. But, there’s a problem, I am a Boomer only by birth. Here’s why:

The point is, you can’t just market to a group. (You can, but then you’re missing guys like me. And I spend.) In today’s marketing, a one-size-fit-all approach is best left for the spandex shorts section at WallMart. Successful marketers will be those who go beyond carpet-bombing communications and orchestrate a more laser-guided approach to audience dialogue.

In other words, that beer-drinkin’, bar brawlin’ good ole boy in the South might have the same political and philosophical beliefs as the Crystal drinkin’, thousand-dollar-dinner-a-night Wall Street boy, but try talking to them the same way and they’ll shut you down faster than my response to my 30-year class reunion invite.

-- Jeremy