How Consumers' Motivating Values Change by Season of Life

While we tend to attribute the bulk of our actions to personal planning, the truth is much of what we do is predisposed by what is required to fulfill the primary developmental objective of the season of life through which we are passing.

Connecting deeply with consumers depends how completely and accurately marketing reflects the defining values of a particular season of life.

Nike and New Balance’s marketing offer a clear comparison of differences in season-of-life values.

Interestingly, the values reflected in New Balance’s marketing, which is oriented to the ascendant values of Fall, tend to resonate with consumers who are still in the Summer of their lives. In contrast, the values projected in Nike’s marketing tend to leave people in Fall indifferent to Nike’s marketing.

That is a point of considerable consequence, for with population growth stall or non-existent in 18-39 age groups, sales growth in many categories depends on increasing sales in multiple age groups. New Balance’s success in projecting values that resonate across generational divides led to it having faster growth rate in market share among consumers under age 40 than either Nike or Reebok.

(Click on exhibit to enlarge it.)
In the second half of life, men tend to reflect a more feminine bent in their values and behavior in the second half of life. Thus, the mind of the market has become much more feminine since people 40 and older became the adult majority.

Next: How Life Focus Changes by Season of Life

Comments

[Atare Agbamu]

David --
The present dominance of feminine values should be tempered by an equally valid observation: in the second half of life, women tend to reflect more masculine bent in their values. Nature seeks balance.
--Atare

[David Wolfe]

Atare: Absoutely true what you say about women taking on more of a masculine bent in the second half of life. Yet by all indications very few marketers know about this, much less how to reflect this fact in marketing communications. Readers who have a copy of my book, Ageless Marketing, will find a brief discussion of this little recognized but quite important fact at page 94.

[Liz]

I don't know if William Gibson is on your event horizon, but I wanted to share this insight with you:

I think OBL needed a logo moment, though, in terms of the ongoing validity of his global brand, and look what he's been able to pull off, with virtually no outlay: The world's full attention, as both candidates drop everything to respond.

You know who would've completely gotten OBL? Andy Warhol.