When I was creating boutique hotels, one of my lessons was that people in the 1980s were moving into an era that could be defined as “You are where you sleep.” When someone asked you where you were staying, it was an indicator of your personality and maybe even your values, much like a car purchase. Prior to this time, the big hotel chains thought people just wanted predictability.
So, each time we created one of our 52 Joie de Vivre hotels (each with its own name), we imagined a magazine (or maybe a hybrid of two) and distilled 5 adjectives that defined that magazine, since both magazines and boutique hotels are niche-oriented and lifestyle-oriented. The magic was in realizing that the biggest fans of those hotels got an “identity refreshment” from staying at the hotel as, for example, a Hotel Vitale fan felt more modern, urbane, fresh, natural and nurturing by staying there (based upon the hybrid of Dwell and Real Simple magazines). And, our revelation was that the ages of these customers could vary wildly since we were connected with the psychographics, not the demographics of the customer.
Fast forward to 40 years later and Amazon has recently published a report called Beyond the Generational Divide which makes a similar case. Generational labels like “Millennials” or “Boomers” have long been a staple in marketing strategies, but are they the most effective way to understand your audience? Here are some of the key messages in the report shown graphically. In sum, maybe it’s time Madison Avenue started marketing to 60-year-olds like they do to 30-year-olds (if they have a common interest).
-Chip