Baby Boomer Purchasing Power

I frequently see students suffer from cognitive bias.  They define the world based on their own observations and experiences and it can be a challenge to help them break free of their own bias and look at the market more objectively.  Demonstrating this bias is pretty easy – just ask your students how Coca-cola should market a new beverage.  Chances are they’re going to answer the question based on what they think will be most effective for them and their peers but they need to think about it from a corporate perspective.  What’s the largest and/or most profitable target market?  Should they use a segmented strategy or combine multiple demographics together?

This Marketoonist cartoon and the accompanying narrative illustrates this idea.  The article says that Baby Boomers control 70% of disposable income in the US and spend ~50% of the consumer product dollars but only 5% of advertising dollars are directed at them.  What do your students think about that?