Wish List

This may seem like a teenager's wish list, but it is mine! Yes, my teens also want the same products (of course, pink is the preferred color for my daughter...my son would prefer black or blue)--but when they ask for them, my answer is always that they can get it AFTER I do! You know, "Mom, I want an Ipod." Or "Mom, I want a Razr Phone." Answer: "I want one, too! If anyone gets one first, it will be me!" Not to be selfish, but I no longer want to shower them with gifts while denying myself some really cool things. Ideally, I'll be able to buy ALL of us these products one day. Once I finish school, get employed, and work my way up the corporate ladder, that is. Oh, the dreams that we can weave when thinking of the future!

The point I am making is this: advertisers and businesses that want to make money need to realize that the people with the money are usually in the previously ignored over 40 group. Look at younger people today---midlife parents are buying these products for both their teenagers and themselves, the 20-something group is largely deep in debt with school loans and many still live at home with their middle-aged parents while trying to afford just the necessities in life, and the 30-somethings are getting careers going while taking on things like their first mortgages and other expenses (so they don't have a lot of dispensible income right now). Looking at the older group of retirees on fixed incomes, many cannot afford these products nor do they want to purchase what my grandmother calls "new-fangled contraptions." Of course, there are some within each group defying these trends, but it is pretty accurate for the most part. So who has the money, and where are the most people with the money found---the huge demographic known as the Baby Boomers, and their younger siblings, Gen X. And they are parents of Gen Y, so the older group is buying products for themselves and the younger group. THAT is the largest and wealthiest demographic!

This also applies to things like television and film. We LOVE to watch television and good movies! Gear the content to us, and we will raise your ratings and box-office numbers through the roof! We will buy the products advertised IF they are marketed to US! We like the same music as our teens do, so include us when trying to reel in audiences and consumers of music. We are SO not like our parents! They hated our tv, movies, and music! We LOVE to watch good shows and films with our teens, and we LOVE to dance and jam to great music together! Our sportscars will be blaring the loud music, and you'll have to look twice to see who is driving--the parents or the teens! So keep all of this in mind as you decide which demographic fits your "target audience." If making money is the key, then bring it on! We are ready to spend it if the products are right!