Peter Levitan & Co.

The New Business of Advertising

baby boomer

Gen X, Millennials And Gen Y: Will They Work In Advertising?

· · 1 Comment

“Are Advertising Agencies Cool Enough For Millennials?”  is a Talent Zoo interview I just did with with Michael Donahue of the 4A’s. The interview discusses the millennial generation and how advertising agencies are going about wooing and keeping this younger generation of Mad Men.

The interview got me thinking about the definition of Millennials, Gen X and Gen Y.

These are demographic terms that we seem to toss about but may not actually be clear about. So, to be clear(er)…

Gen X are the post-Baby Boomers born between 1965 and 1984. Gen Y and Millennials are essentially the same group and they were born between 1981 and 2000. These are the kids, you know the soccer playing, hip-hop listening, Brooklyn, Austin and Portland-bound, kids of the Boomers.

Untitled1And for a lighter perspective, here is how BuzzFeed views the subject:

“22 Signs You’re Stuck Between Gen X And Millennials — You’re not Gen X, but you’re not Gen Y either. Here’s what it’s like being caught in between two generations.”

Best Places To Retire (Really?)

· · 2 Comments

“Best Places to Retire” is one of those standard go-to magazine and website articles designed to capture the dreams of Baby Boomers. I get it. They  usually include a mix of criteria like cost-of-living; climate; the economy; health care; recreation and occasionally culture.

Me? I need culture. I need intellectual stimulation not another discussion about someone’s daily hike. Here is a story. I was crossing Broadway on New York’s upper west side a few years ago and stopped to talk with an elderly woman sitting on a bench on the strip that divided the roadway. I asked her why she lives in New York. She said, “I feel free because I can get anywhere on buses or hop in a cab; I can have food and wine delivered right to my door; I have hundreds of restaurants to choose from; the best bagels in the world; the best medical care; I am surrounded by people and energy; I can go to Lincoln Center, the opera, museums, plays all at a discount and people like you stop to talk. Why would I live anywhere else?” By the way, Selma had one big advantage… she lives in a rent control apartment.

You know what? New York is NEVER listed as a best place to live in these articles. Not in US News, Forbes, CNNMoney, CBS News or AARP. What’s up with this? I mean, does living in Utah sound enticing? Guess what? It makes some lists? Have you ever been to Provo? In the winter? Tried to buy a bagel?

OK, New York and a couple of other major cultural centers do make a list. In this case on a smart website from the Milkin Institute’s Best Cities for Successful Aging. Check it out.

 

 

Baby Boomers May Opt For Communes (Again)

· · 3 Comments

I didn’t ever live in a commune. I visited a few in the 1970’s in California, Massachusetts and Vermont. But the lifestyle just didn’t do it for me. A bit too cozy?  Too “hippy”? Too smiley? Too many vegetables? Who knows. But, it did occur to me recently that people over, say 60, could actually start to think through the benefits of communal living to share costs, space and to connect. As many people realize, it gets harder and harder to connect once you’ve gotten past college, having kids in school and even moving around the country. It is simply more difficult to make close friends.

So, when I saw the article “Baby boomers may opt for communal living again” I did a Huh! Like, why not?

The article points out that we are witnessing a significant societal shift: millions of people are heading to 65+ (10,000 turn 65+ every day), they don’t live near their kids and they want independence. But, that independence does not have to mean living alone (or, oh shit, in a retirement home.)

Baby Boomers said that they were going to change the world. Well, they are: “By force of sheer volume, the (baby boomers) who in 1968 thought they would change the world by 2028 actually will,” said Andrew Carle, founding director of the Program in Senior Housing Administration at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

What might I want in a communal experience?

Scenario 1: I see myself living in a tropical land (Chiang Mai Thailand?; San Miguel de Allende Mexico)  in my own cabin in a chain of cabins that share communal services. Food, gardening, media…. brains, conversation, who knows.

Scenario 2: I live in an apartment in a large house in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg. This one is a bit more about intellectual stimulation.

The bottom line is that my buddies and I could share some universal services, living costs and laughs. Sure sounds better than moving into Happy Acres Nursing Home.

 

 

 

 

Are Bernanke And The Fed Killing Baby Boomers Via Low Interest Rates?

· · 1 Comment

It is very hard for most of us to remember the days when your savings could safely grow via double digit interest rates. In the 1980’s you could generate 18%, in the 1990’s 8%. Today? How does 1.05% for a 1 year CD sound?

18% wow. Hey, if you had just $200,000 in savings you would have generated $36,000 per year in cash and add that to say $25,000 in Social Security and you could live real well in Mexico on an annual income of $60,000. I know you can do math. But, I like this one. if you had $1,000,000 in retirement savings then your bank or bond would send you $180,000 per year. Now we are talking France.

Today? Nada baby. Assuming a 2% rate of inflation you are way screwed if you have moved a good chunk of you dough into under 2% yielding fixed income securities. You are running a negative program.

Could the Fed’s monetary policy be killing people? All I know is that suicides by Baby Boomers 65+ is on the increase.

Credit Card Debt: Who Owes The Most? Baby Boomers Or Gen X / Gen Y?

· · 1 Comment

It might make sense to think that the younger generation uses their credit cards more than most and are sitting on some serious credit card debt but, they are not the leaders. Baby Boomers, according to the report The Plastic Safety Net from the public policy outfit Demos, are winning here.

The group with the highest credit card debt is the 65+ crowd who owe on average $9,283.

Those Gen X and Gen Y  folks? They owe $2,982 for 18-24 yer olds and $5,156 for 24-34 year olds.

A key implication? Many Baby Boomers are heading into their retirement years broke and out of work. Is this alarmist? Yes. Is it true? Yes. Want more? The average total retirement savings for Baby Boomers is $78,000  — try stretching that over 10, 20 or 30 years.