Communications Crossroads - Winter 2007 - (Page 14)

Baby Boomers Are Aging The baby boomer generation is so big that it changes the world every time it moves to a new phase of life. Now, that huge and powerful generation is moving toward retirement; the baby boomers will reach 65, retirement age, in 2011. But, as we well know from marveling at rock stars in their 60s, the Boomers are not exactly acting the way their parents did at that age. There’s another major demographic trend to contend with: People are living far longer than they once did. In fact, the US Census Bureau, in Demographic Trends in the 20th Century, reports that between 1960 and 2000, the fastest-growing US population group was 85 and over. (see Figure 1) What does all this mean to the telecom business? That the world is changing, and in unpredictable ways. Applying Demographics to Real People A danger of working with demographics is that it’s too easy to rely on simple labels attached to age and gender, and to ignore the subtleties that truly guide behavior. Take the expected level of comfort with technology. A simple analysis of age trends overlaid on past behaviors by age would tell us that interest in complex telephones, computers, and new gizmos, is about to diminish. But that simple analysis ignores the fact that the generation that’s about to retire has been assimilating new technology all its life. People who spent active professional lives connected by phone, cell phone, PDA, and computer aren’t likely to suddenly decide they only want landlines just because they’ve retired. A close look at the actual behaviors of the baby boomers and those older shows many of them are very interested in technology of all kinds. A recent British study showed that what they called “Silver Surfers” spent more time online than 18 to 24-year-olds. Verizon Wireless spokesperson Brenda Raney says, “This is the most diverse segment of people over 65 that we’ve ever seen … our goal is to provide service for all of these people.” And of course, while it’s tempting to focus entirely on the baby boomers, the truth is that those older than them are defying expectations, too. Products and Services All of this means that simple demographics aren’t much help in determining appropriate products and services to offer. Instead, carriers must understand both the interests and needs of the customers. There is not one undifferentiated gray market; rather, there are many market segments among those over 65. How do you decide what to offer to whom? Raney says, “Rather than marketing just to age, we tend to market to lifestyle.” Colin Petheram, AT&T’s Director of Constituency Relations, agrees. “What we’re ﬁnding is that we need to present imagery that they can relate to. I am personally an aging baby boomer, so I don’t necessarily relate to traditional images of seniors, but I can relate to looking forward to retirement.” Is there a difference between tech-savvy retirees and young people? Yes, says Raney. As any parent who has paid a teenager’s cell phone bill can tell you, the difference is “mainly volume of text messages used.” Network reliability means different things to different ages, too, she reports. At college age, it means, “Does my phone work at Six Flags? Does the phone work on my college campus?” For those over 65, it may mean keeping in touch via laptop while traveling in an RV. Figure 1: US population over age 65, 1960 to 2000 # in millions 40 30 20 10 0 1960 11 4.6 1 16.6 1970 12.4 6.1 1.6 20.1 1980 15.6 7.7 2.2 25.5 1990 18.1 10.1 3.1 31.3 2000 18.4 12.4 4.2 35 Preference for Simplicity Some prefer simplicity in their technology, whether by nature or because of age. As recently as last February, industry analysts were saying that a phone aimed at the older population and focusing on simplicity would be too obviously for the old and too uncool to appeal to anyone. Age 65-74 Age 75-84 Age 85+ Total 65+ Source: Ellen Gragg, based on Census Bureau ﬁgures 14 COMMUNICATIONS CROSSROADS www.ustelecom.org http://www.ustelecom.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Communications Crossroads - Winter 2007

Communications Crossroads Winter 2007 Up Front Contents Cover Story: Billing Redux Business Advantages: Reaching Consumers with Special Needs Technology Today: Femtocells: The Jury’s Still Out Industry Calendar Index to Advertisers TELECOMPAC

Communications Crossroads - Winter 2007

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