Boomers: Just What Kind of Sandwich Generation Are We?

Two stories from over the weekend that typify why it is so difficult to peg the Boomer Consumer into one overall classification.

First up is an op/ed piece from a younger Boomer, Mary Sanchez, of The Modesto Bee. Thinking about her older mother, she is worried about the impact Boomers growing older will have on Social Security, Medicare and everything else.

She writes:

"Soon the boomers will face their own mortality. Like my mother, everyone who reaches their "golden years" deserves to live them in dignity. But for that to happen, boomers need to begin seriously considering how they will live out their last years and, yes, how they will die."

Pretty grim stuff and something obviously on the minds of many Boomers.

But then there's this piece from Kristy Gray of the Jackson Hole Star Tribune, that portrays another side of today's Boomer: kicking butt. She writes about her bald-headed 50-year-old boss showing her up at a Kick Boxing class at the local health club.

The boss doesn't sound like a Boomer contemplating how he will die. In fact, he's doing what he can to keep on living, and living healthy.

This "Middlesence" for Boomers comes with a range of emotions and motivations. Marketers need to identify the mind-set of their Boomer Consumers and segment their marketing efforts accordingly, in order to best connect with them.