Boomers are aging, but we don’t want to be reminded of it. At 60, we think we’re 40. We’re starting to retire…but think we’re too young to retire.

Marketing to this crowd is tough, as insurance companies and other financial services companies have learned. Best’s Review reports that financial services marketers are attempting to walk a fine line with products and advertising messages targeting what it calls the “large and in charge” crowd—a reference to the size and disproportionate wealth of the Boomer generation.

Who’s doing what, according to Best’s:

Ameriprise research showed Boomers “want to engage with their financial adviser on a deeper, more emotional level” and tries to connect with the market through ads evoking aspirations and hopes. Soon after they retire, they’re looking for new adventures and challenges:

“What really makes a difference in whether people are able to handle that is if they have planned for it. How can we as a company help them to reach that point that they can work because they want to, not because they need to? It’s really interesting to think about retirement in that way.”

Ameriprise ads address the market with a mix of rock ‘n roll, aspirations and a sense of humor. The pitch: “dream-plan-track” financial services.

Allstate positions itself as a one-stop financial planning shop for middle-income baby boomers through its agent network. The focus is on products featuring flexibility and transparency of results.

Matt Thornhill of The Boomer Project tells Best’s the most frequent question he gets from insurance clients: “How do we even get boomers to talk about this? Because we start talking to them about life products, and they’re like, ‘Hey, when I get there.’ They’re in denial.”

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 17th, 2007 at 12:52 pm and is filed under Advertising, Financial Services. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.