August 24, 2005
Great ideas, Jay. I'm wondering if there is an online data bank of all these ideas to attract younger audiences to cultural organizations. Why don't you set one up? You could start with symphony orchestras. You could canvas them all and ask them to submit their ideas to the data bank. Then everyone would have access to the ideas...which would, in turn, spawn more ideas. And the respective orchestras could report back on the success of each initiative. Since orchestras are not competitive, this should be easy to put together. It's virtually a no-cost idea bank. Maybe it could be done under the auspices of whatever national league of orchestras exists.
Short Takes
The Hispanic online population grew 43% from 2003 to 2004, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.
Meanwhile, the non-Hispanic Internet population is flattening out.
Gamers are moving from TV to gaming. A recent survey shows a 4.5 hour DEcrease in the time hardcore gamers spent watching TV each week.
Meanwhile, those hardcore gamers spent 5.4 hours MORE per week playing video games.
And here's a gaming number that came as a surprise to me: It is women over 40 who spend the most time per week playing online games - 9.1 hours vs. 6.1 for men in that age group.
60 is the new 30
Earlier this week, Gap opened a new store concept called Forth & Towne, offering clothing for women over 35.
Forth & Towne joins Talbots, Ann Taylor, and Chico's in appealing to an older demographic. And the numbers certainly support this commitment by the folks at Gap.
Baby boomers - those born between 1946 and 1964 - are hitting 60 just about now. They've got serious money, lots of energy, and they're a significant market segment that is all-too-often overlooked.
Baby boomers spent $42.7 billion on apparel last year, compared with teenagers who spent $20 billion.
Households headed by someone aged 55-64 have a median net worth that's about 15 times greater than the median net worth of households of the under 35 age group.
As the boomers hit 60, their interests and needs are going to be very different than previous generations. There's a great opportunity for smart marketers to develop products and services specifically designed for this very lucrative market segment.
posted by David Rawle @ 8:11 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Hi there...I'm weighing in on this from the baby abyss b/c I think this new "fill the gap" idea targeting boomer women is pretty savvy, but I question whether it'll work. That is, can Forth & Towne successfully win over women who are 35+ (those who once wore their clothes at the Gap so they might be jaded thinking the clothes will be too kiddish) AND win over those closer to the top of the age bracket--the 50-60-somethings who have never worn Gap but only know them as kid/adolescent clothes? I don't think these groups of women are the same at all...so I wonder how they'll market to both and do so successfully. I keep thinking: Do 35+ers dress like 50-60-somethings? Maybe moreso than in the past, but I'm not convinced.
I do, however, believe there's a hole to fill marketing to boomer women w/ respect to clothes, but I'm curious to see how they're going to sway the Talbot's and Casual Corner shopper to try the "New Gap" which is how I think it may be perceived by many women. I wonder what their advertising/marketing will be like, b/c I think it'll be key to their success...first impressions. All in all, though, I think it's a terrifically smart biz move, though.
I'm in the 50-60 bracket and I can remember when Gap carried classics like white shirts that weren't cheap flimsy imported crap. Their line was well made for the price and you saw women of all ages buying it. I still get tshirts and jeans there but that's about it. So my only alternative is Chico's and Talbot's? Double ugh. Why can't we have the old Gap back?
AS the Gap is desperate to reclaim all of us buying boomers they had in their hands years ago....we are not so easily seduced back. The best thing they could do is invest in "fit models" so when they are desiging on a computer that then sends the files to their cut & sew factory in China they should keep in mind that clotehs actually need to drape and FIT the customer, especially a boomer customer. I have one word of advise for the Gap...learn from Urban Outfitters & Anthropoligie on how to keep your customer happy.
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