As this evening is the first night of Hanukkah, it is appropriate to light a candle celebrating the possibility of miracles. In the Jewish tradition, the celebration commemorates the victory of the Maccabees and the stage center miracle that while the Maccabees had only had enough oil to burn for one day, the oil burned for eight. In remembrance, Jews light one candle a night for eight nights.
Hummm—something that was supposed to have burned out defied the expectations and kept on going and going and going times eight. Sounds like baby boomers to me. (Okay, it’s a stretch…forgive me…)
That said, I do think that there’s something of a miracle afoot. Earlier this week, FH Boom released the results of two recent surveys, reporting that the demographic long out of favor with marketers—men and especially women 42 and up-- are no longer feeling as marginalized or invisible as they did ten years ago. The Fleishman-Hillard study indicated that 59 percent of boomers believe that companies are doing a better job today than they were 10 years ago when it comes to marketing their products and services to them. The results were echoed by a research study by Zoomerang, a division of MarketTools, Inc., that placed the percentage of boomers who are feeling the love from marketers even higher. (Thanks MarketTools, for doing the study that so enhanced the Webinar you invited me to do for your clients!)
The implications of this are enormous. Until as recently as a couple of years ago, the boomer women in my qualitative research studies reported feeling isolated from mainstream society. When a woman in her 50’s found herself caretaking declining parents, dealing with the unexpected, on-going challenges of raising adult children, facing her own health, financial and beauty issues, she thought she was the only one. Without advertising to reflect her presence, and lacking the dollars advertising brings in to support media that would address her issues publicly, she felt disconnected from others. Ever resourceful, she was finding her way through affinity groups on the Internet and spontaneous uprisings, such as the Red Hat Society. But still, she felt estranged from mainstream society.
Today, with 60-year-old Diane Keaton in a L’Oreal ad running in glossy magazines available at the corner magazine stand, we can safely say that the oil meant to burn for one day once again burns for eight!
So, I’ll light candles for the miracles of love, health, family, friends, happiness and so on and on. But this year, there will be at least one candle designated for the miracle that 42-60 is now the new 18-34 and that boomer women, in particular, are feeling the love.
Carol Orsborn