Isn't It Grand?

Boomers pride themselves on doing things differently--taking chances their predecessors didn't and finding new ways to approach things. Unlike their parents, most won't accept the moniker "senior." "The first thing I'm struck by when we look at boomers is how incongruous the notion of being a grandparent is with the idea of being a baby boomer," says J. Walker Smith, a managing partner at market research firm Yankelovich Partners and co-author of Rocking the Ages (HarperBusiness). "This generation doesn't think of itself as having attained the kind of maturity that constitutes the traditional image of a grandparent."

So how can you deal with this attitude when marketing to boomer grandparents? Although you must be careful not to lump all boomers into one market, certain themes resonate with the group as a whole. "Generational appeal is especially relevant when you're talking about baby boomers because this generation has been told for 30 years that it's a cohort," says Smith. We know boomers are fond of their pop culture heritage, they're highly educated, constantly busy, and they grew up surrounded by marketing ploys. Here are ways those central ideas can translate into a marketing strategy for attracting boomer grandparents:

• Remember when . . . : A boomer turning 50 this year grew up in the idyllic 1950s and came of age in the tumultuous late 1960s. Combine this recipe for nostalgia with their fascination with all things retro and remind boomers they're part of a "special" generation, and you just might stumble onto a marketing goldmine. "[Buying a nostalgic product] says something about boomers when they give it to their grandchildren," says Smith. "The retro appeal has resonance with the way they fondly remember their youth."

Burger King, for example, uses pop hits from past decades as background music for its advertisements. Earlier this year, The William Carter Company purchased the rights to use drawings by John Lennon for a line of children's clothing. These companies are using nostalgia in the present tense, mating the 1960s and 1970s with today's culture--and grabbing the attention of baby boomers and their grandkids alike.

"The reason adults give these gifts to their grandchildren is that they evoke memories," says Kellie Krug of Restoration Hardware, a Corte Madera, California-based home furnishings retailer that targets the baby boom market. As customers wander through one of Restoration Hardware's 65 stores, they may discover Sock Monkey, a stuffed-sock puppet, perched on an antique chest, or a vase full of kazoos that serves as a dining room table centerpiece. "They say `I had one of these when I was a kid, so I want my child or grandchild to have one as well,' " says Krug.

• Acting up:The moment a boomer admits to being old, they feel they're admitting to turning into their parents. "You want to show vigorous, energetic people [in your marketing]," explains Smith. "When you talk about baby boomers and youth, it's not so much about their waistline or gray hair. It's being active, and all the corollary notions of that: trying new things, being willing to experiment, not being afraid of change, always reinventing things as you go along."

Baby boomer grandparents want to purchase toys they can get involved with, whether it be a game they can play with their grandchild or a craft set to assemble together. Boomers want more experiential products. They don't want to merely present their grandchildren with an object, they want to participate in the impact of the gift as well, says Rybarski.

• Using your head:You can count on boomers to be very involved in their grandchildren's education. They want to help their grandchildren do well in school, giving them even better educational opportunities than they had while growing up. "It's not just about how can make your grandchildren more effective in what they're trying to do," says Smith. "[It's] about how you can help your grandchildren be better people."

When marketing to boomers regarding their grandchildren's education, appeal to their brainpower. "Boomers were better educated than their parents--not by just a little, but by a lot," Smith says. "So appeal to that boomer sense of smarts: This is the new way, the smarter way, the safer way, the more innovative way to be a grandparent."

• Time's up: Since many boomers are becoming grandparents at a young age, and won't be retiring any time soon, quality time spent with their grandkids is very important to them. "For baby boomer grandparents who are still working, a huge problem is, `How can I [fit] my grandchildren into a very full, stressful life?' " says Rybarski.

The goal here is speed and ease. For starters, get right to the point in your marketing materials, and make your product or service as convenient as possible to purchase. "Focus purely on the benefit, and create a call-to-action for more information," advises Jesse R. Slome, author of Publicist's Guide to Senior Media (Promoworks). "Your ads and direct mail should be short--just establish a benefit and need, and then start a dialogue." The subject of that dialogue can be a Web site, catalog or toll-free number that allows customers to obtain more information and order products for their grandchildren any time, day or night.

Hanna Andersson Corp. uses the Web in addition to its catalog to attract new customers. "Customers are really busy today, and they want to have an experience that's fast, pleasant and efficient," says Gun Denhart, 53, who founded her Portland, Oregon, mail order company in 1984 to sell Swedish-made clothes for kids. "The Web is fast. If you know what you want, you can go in and find a gift in five minutes."

• Keep it real:Boomers know how to spot a sales pitch. "The 45-plus age group is the most marketing-savvy group in our history because they've had 45 years or more to be exposed to marketing," says Rybarski. "The one thing we've found is they're very marketing-resistant. They don't like the concept of being sold."

The remedy for such a problem, Rybarski says, is to market solutions, not products, and present them with authenticity. To offer a soft touch rather than a hard sell, the Hanna Andersson catalog includes photos of Denhart and her son's family. Denhart's pictured playing with her grandson in a nearly identical blue sweatshirt and shorts. On the page after the family photos, there's a testimonial letter from a happy customer.

Stephen Gordon, the founder and CEO of Restoration Hardware, writes all the company's product signage and catalog descriptions himself, often using brief stories of how an employee found a particular item and why it moved him or her to ask Gordon to carry it in the store. "The product signage helps the unexpected items like the kazoo make sense in our store or in our catalog," says Krug. "That personal story is really the connection that draws in the customer."

This article was originally published in the May 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Isn't It Grand?.