Youthful does not equal Young

Thanks to Chuck Nyren for telling me about this article.
It contains lot of the usual stuff but has some very interesting and revealing quotes.

I particularly liked the dialogue with Jim McDowell, CMO of BMW of North America. He sees BMW as the “brand of youth”. But: “this but it doesn't mean we're only for young people". If a BMW appeals to a baby boomer, “it's not because they're trying to recapture their youth. It's because they've never lost it."

They also tend to seek their children's approval more than previous generations. "Perhaps they do it as a way to maintain their youth, but the opinions of their children matters a lot to a baby boomer," says McDowell. "Frankly, if their children didn't think BMWs were cool, they might not either."

BMW's research, in fact, shows that its older customers are an awful lot like its more youthful buyers. "We see all of our customers as a psychographic, not a demographic," says McDowell. "They are active and fit and enjoy driving. They are people who achieve success very early in life. They're driven in terms of performance, both professionally and personally.

This makes a lot of sense and is supported by the research programme I have just completed with the media planning agency OMD. But more of that latter. Dick Stroud www.20plus30.com