What is demography? Why is the demographic environment of major interest to marketers? Discuss the changing age structure of the U.S. population

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Demography is the study of human populations in terms of size, density, location, age, gender, race, occupation, and other statistics. The demographic environment is of major interest to marketers because it involves people, and people make up markets. Marketers can learn much about human populations in terms of changing age and family structures, geographic population shifts, educational characteristics, population diversity, and other statistics. Based on age structure, the U.S. population can be categorized into several generational groups; the three largest among them are the baby boomers, Generation X, and the Millennials. The baby boomer market of 78 million people is one of the most powerful forces shaping the marketing environment. Considerably smaller than the boomer generation that precedes them and the Millennials who follow, the Generation Xers are a sometimes overlooked consumer group. Although they seek success, they are less materialistic than the other groups; they prize experience, not acquisition. For many of the Gen Xers who are parents, family comes first—both children and their aging parents—and career second. From a marketing standpoint, the Gen Xers are a more skeptical bunch. They tend to research products before they consider a purchase, prefer quality to quantity, and tend to be less receptive to overt marketing pitches. They are more likely to be receptive to irreverent ad pitches that make fun of convention and tradition. The Millennials (or Generation Y) are the 83 million children of the baby boomers born between 1977 and 2000. One thing that all Millennials have in common is their comfort with digital technology. They don't just embrace technology; it's a way of life. Rather than having mass-marketing messages pushed at them, the Millennials prefer to seek out information and engage in two-way brand conversations. Generation Zers make up important kids, tweens, and teens markets that influence almost $200 billion of their own and parents' spending. They are utterly fluent with technology and take it for granted. They are highly mobile, connected, and social. They blend the online and offline worlds seamlessly as they socialize and shop.