Melbourne Herald Sun, Friday November 19, 2010
Baby boomers have taken an armchair ride through life. They've had everything - money, jobs, the youth revolution, drugs, rock 'n' roll, free love and lots of it. Now they want the education that they never needed to get in the first place.
This dominant demographic was spawned from the loins of returning soldiers at the end of World War II and the decade after it. There were lots of them, which is why the media picked the phrase "baby boom".
The world was rebuilding so there was plenty of work. They could walk out of school and straight into a job so there was not a lot of incentive for advanced learning. Money was plentiful, houses were cheap and they quickly set up their own home.
Meanwhile their belief that they knew best, and to never trust anyone over 30, created a noisy revolution. They marched against the Vietnam war; in France they rioted against authority. Their soundtrack was The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Doors and a hundred other bands whose music you still hear on the radio every day, today.
The necessary accompaniment was drugs and sex. Marijuana and acid were easy to get and not so legally constricted. The pill stopped babies, antibiotics cured VD, and AIDS did not exist, so sex ran riot.
They created new fashions - long hair, braided jackets, necklaces, high heels, and that was just the boys.
The girls wore mini skirts, burned their bras and demanded equality.
Work came easily so they changed jobs at the drop of a hat. Those who bothered to stay were quickly promoted.
They waited longer to have babies, and less of them, so the next arrivals - Generation X - were always overshadowed by their domineering parents.
They generated the movie stars we still flock to visit today. Ever noticed how many baby boomer films there are? Like Reds with Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren and Morgan Freeman, where all the heroes are over 60. Or TV shows like The Old Guys, and New Tricks with once-were-stars Dennis Waterman and James Bolam.
There's a whole new market out there for oldies, while 20 years ago you would scarcely see an over-40 on the screen.
Chemists are now awash with anti-ageing creams anti-oxidants. Motorised wheel-chairs are getting flashier.
Our boomers are by now rather bored with life as it plays and suddenly they are hankering after that education that they so casually tossed aside 45 years ago.
Even as colleges cope with a decline in foreign students, there is a surge in older people looking for education.
Locals enrolled into postgraduate programs have grown by 13 per cent, with master's degrees jumping by 18 per cent.
A report this week from researchers IBISWorld expects the leap in numbers to soften the pain of the import losses. In fact they are predicting $3 billion improvement over the next five years.
Baby boomers who have taken early retirement - either voluntarily or through redundancies - are studying business, commerce and the hospitality industry, as well as advanced professional development.
Others are taking their leisure in short courses at TAFEs. Encouraged by the reality boom on TV, shows like MasterChef, The Biggest Loser and Dancing With the Stars, many boomers have sought education to expand on a personal skill or hobby. So they are enrolling for study in the creative arts, cooking, health and wellbeing, and personal development.
They might have had an armchair through life, but the boomers aren’t about to sit back in one over their twilight years - they have no intention of going gently into that good night.
(Marketeer confesses to being a boomer himself.)
Showing posts with label Masterchef. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Masterchef. Show all posts
19 November, 2010
25 July, 2009
What’s the shelf life of a Master Chef medal?
Melbourne Herald Sun 25th July, 2009
Having won the Australian Masterchef contest, Julie Goodwin can rest assured that the award will last her for life and she will never be short of work or sponsors.
But for the rest of us just how long is the lifespan of an award? And in cool marketing terms, what’s it worth?
No doubt Julie’s win will sell lots of her cookbooks once she publishes, and draw a stream of customers into her restaurant. So yes you would call it bankable and worth much more than the prize on Sunday night.
Think about sports stars. An Olympic medal has no shelf life. Herb Elliot is still an Olympian even now he’s pushing 70, his wins as highly regarded as the recently minted medals of Stephanie Rice. They have both been able to make hay from the glint of the gold.
But what about advertising? A great deal of fuss is made about awards, whether the local ones like Award or Caxton, or the big international ones like Cannes or Clio.
Agencies proudly display them behind the reception desk as a hallmark of quality - “Look at how good we are”. However winning the gong does not always mean that the advertisements generated spectacular sales for the clients.
They are also time-sensitive. After a very few years the gloss pales. Let me confess that in my own case, introducing myself to new clients, I will mention Clio and Penguin awards - then quickly move the conversation on before someone asks me how long ago I won them. In this regard I know I’m not alone.
Contemplating this subject I read the label on a Dewar’s scotch (an aid to contemplation) to find that it displayed 14 gold medals from great international exhibitions. London to Paris to Cairo to Zurich and more. But they started in 1886 and ended in 1930.
Presumably anyone involved in the creation of those award-winning brews is long gone (one would hope). So how does that recommend today’s tipple?
Looking in my pantry I found a bottle of Lupi olive oil boasting a gold medal from somewhere in Italy - in 1880. Our own Cobram Estate olive oil is at least current, with Perth 2008 on its label.
Another honour used in marketing is the royal warrant. This is where a product is allowed to display a crest and “As appointed by...” on the label. Some companies, like Schweppes and Twinings, have had them for centuries.
Contrary to popular belief they don’t pay for them with truckloads of free tea and soft drinks - they are paid like any other tradespeople. These days a warrant needs to be renewed every five years and ends after the death of the grantor. So you cannot legally claim: “By appointment to King Edward VII”, and the Queen Mother’s favourites expired five years after her.
To get the nod you have to be pretty classy. The Queen includes Rolls Royce and Bentley, Aston Martin, Burberry, Royal Doulton, Jaguars, Steinway and Range Rover. Hm, obviously has a very large garage.
But it’s not only big-ticket items, the list includes trades like dry cleaners, fishmongers, and these days even computer software. In Australia Hardy Brothers the jewellers have showed off their crest for 80 years.
But the Royal Warrant can be lost too. Harrods were proud holders of appointments by the whole Royal Family. But in 2000 the Duke of Edinburgh had had enough of Mohamed al-Fayed’s accusations about “the murder” of his son and Princess Diana, and rescinded his warrant.
Al-Fayed blew a raspberry and removed all the royal coats of arms on his store, including those that had not expired. Prince Phillip blamed a "significant decline in the trading relationship" for the spat.
He’s not wrong - no royal has shopped in Harrods since Princess Diana’s death in 1997.
ray@ebeatty.com
Having won the Australian Masterchef contest, Julie Goodwin can rest assured that the award will last her for life and she will never be short of work or sponsors.
But for the rest of us just how long is the lifespan of an award? And in cool marketing terms, what’s it worth?
No doubt Julie’s win will sell lots of her cookbooks once she publishes, and draw a stream of customers into her restaurant. So yes you would call it bankable and worth much more than the prize on Sunday night.
Think about sports stars. An Olympic medal has no shelf life. Herb Elliot is still an Olympian even now he’s pushing 70, his wins as highly regarded as the recently minted medals of Stephanie Rice. They have both been able to make hay from the glint of the gold.
But what about advertising? A great deal of fuss is made about awards, whether the local ones like Award or Caxton, or the big international ones like Cannes or Clio.
Agencies proudly display them behind the reception desk as a hallmark of quality - “Look at how good we are”. However winning the gong does not always mean that the advertisements generated spectacular sales for the clients.
They are also time-sensitive. After a very few years the gloss pales. Let me confess that in my own case, introducing myself to new clients, I will mention Clio and Penguin awards - then quickly move the conversation on before someone asks me how long ago I won them. In this regard I know I’m not alone.
Contemplating this subject I read the label on a Dewar’s scotch (an aid to contemplation) to find that it displayed 14 gold medals from great international exhibitions. London to Paris to Cairo to Zurich and more. But they started in 1886 and ended in 1930.
Presumably anyone involved in the creation of those award-winning brews is long gone (one would hope). So how does that recommend today’s tipple?
Looking in my pantry I found a bottle of Lupi olive oil boasting a gold medal from somewhere in Italy - in 1880. Our own Cobram Estate olive oil is at least current, with Perth 2008 on its label.
Another honour used in marketing is the royal warrant. This is where a product is allowed to display a crest and “As appointed by...” on the label. Some companies, like Schweppes and Twinings, have had them for centuries.
Contrary to popular belief they don’t pay for them with truckloads of free tea and soft drinks - they are paid like any other tradespeople. These days a warrant needs to be renewed every five years and ends after the death of the grantor. So you cannot legally claim: “By appointment to King Edward VII”, and the Queen Mother’s favourites expired five years after her.
To get the nod you have to be pretty classy. The Queen includes Rolls Royce and Bentley, Aston Martin, Burberry, Royal Doulton, Jaguars, Steinway and Range Rover. Hm, obviously has a very large garage.
But it’s not only big-ticket items, the list includes trades like dry cleaners, fishmongers, and these days even computer software. In Australia Hardy Brothers the jewellers have showed off their crest for 80 years.
But the Royal Warrant can be lost too. Harrods were proud holders of appointments by the whole Royal Family. But in 2000 the Duke of Edinburgh had had enough of Mohamed al-Fayed’s accusations about “the murder” of his son and Princess Diana, and rescinded his warrant.
Al-Fayed blew a raspberry and removed all the royal coats of arms on his store, including those that had not expired. Prince Phillip blamed a "significant decline in the trading relationship" for the spat.
He’s not wrong - no royal has shopped in Harrods since Princess Diana’s death in 1997.
ray@ebeatty.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)