Brands often focus on younger generations like Gen Z, while the baby boomer generation, born between 1946 and 1964, is spending an increasing amount of time on digital media. According to the WARC Media report 'Baby Boomers' big digital shift,' baby boomers now spend more time on digital channels such as connected TV and online newspapers, and this will account for more than half of their media time by 2024.
Social media remains a small part of consumption.
Their transition to digital media is rapid. In 2020, 47% of their media time was digital, and this share is growing. At the same time, 55- to 64-year-olds in the U.S. are expected to spend an average of 93 minutes per day on social platforms in 2024, an increase of 43% since 2015. Nevertheless, social media remains only a small part of their total media consumption, while the use of online TV streaming has increased much more rapidly. This shows an impressive growth of 195% since 2015, with platforms like Netflix and YouTube being particularly popular among baby boomers.
Brands need to adjust media plans to older consumers.
Despite these trends, brands continue to focus primarily on younger target audiences, which leads them to overlook the significant changes in the media behavior of baby boomers. Media planners need to let go of the traditional image of this group as predominantly offline consumers. Paul Bland from Havas Media Network emphasizes that baby boomers are actually experiencing substantial growth in digital consumption, and media planning must be adjusted accordingly. Nevertheless, baby boomers are the least receptive audience for advertisements. Only 12% of them view advertising positively, which is well below the average of 47%. Furthermore, they hardly utilize ad-supported subscription services, such as Netflix or Disney+. This calls for a revision of advertising tactics to better engage this affluent yet challenging-to-reach audience.
Opportunities for brands in digital shift
The digital shift of baby boomers presents significant opportunities for brands looking to target this changing demographic. In 2013, only 31.6% of the media time of 45-54-year-olds was spent on digital channels. For the current 55-64-year-olds, this has now risen to 53%.