- Baby Boomers are the world’s wealthiest generation, but brands are failing to keep up with their increasingly digital media habits, according to WARC Media’s latest Global Advertising Trends report.
- Global Advertising Trends: Baby Boomers’ big digital shift outlines key considerations for brands wanting to tap into this generation.
Why the shift matters
Baby Boomers, defined as those born between 1946 and 1964 (i.e. those aged between 60 and 78 today), do not spend ever-greater amounts of time on social platforms. Instead, older generations are switching from offline versions of content media to their online extensions – be it connected TV or online press. This matters to marketers, because these formats are traded and measured differently, requiring a fresh approach to media planning.
As Alex Brownsell, Head of Content, WARC Media, explains, brands are obsessing over Gen Z, while the affluent Baby Boomer generation is undergoing a media revolution. “This requires advertisers to revisit long-held assumptions, and ensure digital media plans are tailored to older consumers’ increasingly unique habits.”
Things to know:
Baby Boomers’ switch to digital content accelerates
Marketers are in thrall to Gen Z, which may obscure substantial changes in media behaviour among older audiences. According to GWI, in 2024, over-55s globally will spend 54.4% of their media time with online media – including digital components of traditional channels (e.g. connected TV, digital audio and online press) – up from 47.0% in 2020.
WARC Media compared media consumption behaviour among 45-54s a decade ago with today’s 55-64s – representing those born between 1959 and 1970. In 2013, less than a third (31.6%) of all media time was spent with digital channels; in a decade, that share has grown by more than 20 percentage points to 53% in 2023, propelled largely by behavior changes brought on by COVID.
Social media remains appointment viewing for Boomers
Baby Boomers are building digital media experiences distinct from younger audiences. While Baby Boomers are spending a little more time on social platforms, it remains a small part of their overall media habits.
By next year, 55-64s in the US are forecast to spend 93 daily average minutes with social media, per GWI, up 43.1% on the 65 minutes of consumption recorded among 45-54s in 2015. However, other areas of digital consumption are growing much faster: online TV streaming is up 195.0% over the same period, with Baby Boomers switching to Netflix and YouTube on their TV screens.
Facebook continues to be older consumers’ preferred network: Baby Boomers make up the largest chunk (29%) of weekly Facebook users in the US, compared to only 9% of those accessing TikTok each week, according to YouGov.
In the UK, social media consumption has largely plateaued among the 55+ audience, with average daily minutes falling from 58.3 in 2015 to 52.2 last year. Highly mobile-penetrated China leads on time spent with social media each day, but there too Baby Boomer usage has ebbed in recent years.
Baby Boomers are least receptive to advertising
Baby Boomers have the lowest average levels of ad receptivity in a cross-generation comparison. Only 12% globally say that they feel ‘positive’ about advertising, significantly below the 47% benchmark for all consumers.
Just 4.5% of Baby Boomers have downgraded to an advertising-funded subscription video on demand (SVOD) tier on services like Netflix and Disney+, according to GWI, compared to more than a quarter (28.4%) of Gen Z respondents. Rising advertising loads on TV have also frustrated older audiences, although they appear more positive about newer social and video platforms (TikTok is their preferred option).
There’s a long-held assumption by many that older audiences are generally more attentive to advertising, but according to attention expert Prof Karen Nelson-Field of Amplified Intelligence, all age groups exhibit similar levels of active and passive attention due to the platform’s user experience. The average additional seconds of active attention by 55+ across media is 1.5.
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