Can We Stop Fooling Ourselves? Generational Marketing is a Myth. So Let’s Really Understand Consumers and Get to Work.

I just left a conference in New York where a presenter gave a graphically attractive overview of Millennials (weren't they called “Gen Y" a few years ago?). Some key themes about this generation: they’re confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and open to change.

Super. So next time you encounter someone born between 1981 and 2000 you know what to expect, right? Now don’t get confused if you encounter what looks like a 45 year old or 65 year old that’s confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and open to change… they must be a Millennial and look more “mature” than their actual age.

I hope you’re thinking the same thing that I have for years- that’s absurd.

We have allowed this concept of generational marketing to grow in prominence over the past few years. We've invited “experts” to speak at our industry conferences and to train our staffs on how understanding generations is key for our success. I think it’s time we reject this outright as marketers.

Generational marketing is nothing more than the power of averages: looking at large groups of consumers banded together by the years they were born. The theory behind this propaganda is that because people “experienced” similar meaningful life events – war, economic downturns, national tragedies and victories – they are likely to have similar values to be tapped into and, thus, represent monolithic opportunities for marketers.

The concept of generational marketing really took off with the Baby Boomer generation, a huge cohort of nearly 77 million consumers that represents “an unprecedented opportunity.” A quick search on Google for the phrase “Baby Boomer Market” shows 1,320,000 results.

The Baby Boomer generation is comprised of those born between 1946 and 1964. This is a span of 18 years. Eighteen years. Just pause for a moment and ask yourself, “is this a segment?” Do they share similar addressable needs, wants, worries, and values? Are all 77 million Baby Boomers similar? Outside of the need for food, water, and shelter, my answer is a resounding “no.” But let’s not simply take my opinion on the matter.

Professors Stephanie Noble and Charles Schewe, in their 2001 paper “Cohort segmentation: An exploration of its validity,” sought to determine if an individual’s values are predictive of which generation they were born into. If generations indeed share similar values which unite them based on common experiences then doesn't it follow that we should be able to predict an individual’s generation based on one’s stated values? Identifying the industry and academic trend towards generational marketing, the authors aimed to actually collect empirical data to inform the discussion (as so little actually existed). Their findings? That only 45% of respondents could be correctly classified into their actual generations based on values. Harder to predict than a coin flip. But it gets more interesting when you look at the results by generation. The range of accurate predictions by generation ranged from a low of 0% (Generation X) to a high of 64% (Post War), with all other generations in between.

As marketers we are trying to understand our target consumers such that we can best identify their needs and create and convey a compelling, unique message that moves them to action. This applies to a product, service, company, or belief whose goals we are working towards. It’s really that simple. So how helpful, then, is looking at an 18 year time span of people and thinking about them as a monolithic group who all share the same beliefs? Do we really think that all people born in 1946 and 1964 have the same values in 2014?

Now don’t get me wrong- there is a role in our marketing lives for generational and demographic knowledge. There are needs that only exist for people of specific ages, genders, geographies, etc. First homes and cars are generally bought before the age of 40. Snow plows aren't really taking off in Miami. But outside of high level audience identification the value is really quite limited in terms of understanding any individual’s true needs. Knowing that Generation X members are “active, balanced, and happy” doesn't really provide insight for the marketer promoting the Ford Mustang, Coors Light beer, Revlon cosmetics, or Lay’s potato chips, does it?

Our true opportunity and focus should be to understand people’s core values and needs relative to the category that we are working in. For example, imagine you work for a CPG company and that a segment you are targeting is “value oriented.” Are these Baby Boomers? Or are they Gen X? Maybe Millennials? Let me check one of the hundreds of books and see which generation is value oriented. Oh yeah, they’re in every generation, every income bracket, every geography, and every ethnicity. They are found among current customers and prospects. Only by identifying consumers’ highest order within the category we are working in can we create differentiated, compelling solutions and campaigns.

Generational grouping, like demographics, are too often treated as a crutch due to easy access. It’s simple to look at a group of customers or prospects through the lens of age, marital status, product ownership, channel, and so on. Why? Because we have this data in our systems and it’s cheap and easy to obtain.

But we are shortchanging ourselves, our employers and our profession when we stop there. To help marketing be a driving force of organic, sustained growth for our companies we need to do the hard work of truly understanding those we aim to serve and no longer rely on generalities and averages of the masses.