Pet industry veteran Kristen Levine, the president and founder of Kristen Levine Pet Living is pleased to announce the launch of her Pet Living 50+ marketing program, a pet and longevity market collaboration with Mary Furlong & Associates and Dog Bone Marketing Solutions. The new program aims to assist pet-positive companies in building brand loyalty and engagement with pet lovers, age 50-plus.
PHOTO COURTESY OF FETCHING COMMUNICATIONS
Baby Boomers are the largest and most affluent consumer segment, and according to the American Pet Products Association, also the fastest growing demographic of pet parents in the United States. Additionally, pet spending has risen significantly after 1997, as the eldest Boomers became of empty nest age. For this reason, pet industry marketing experts cite Boomers as generous contributors to the triple digit boom in pet spending over the past 15 years, from $17B in 1997 to upwards of $60B in 2014.
“According to AARP, Americans age 50+ control a whopping 80% of all net worth,” says Levine. “With the amount this demographic spends on their pets, natural overlaps exist in both markets. I can’t think of many companies that can afford to ignore the Boomer demographic.”
Photo Courtesy of Pet Living 50+
I am particularly interested in this subject since I am a “woman of a certain age” shall we say? I happen to fall smack dab into the boomer category and the concept of marketing to Pet Parents 50+ is long over due! I am incredibly interested in this topic and I decided to send some questions to Kristen and she was kind enough to answer!
What made you get involved/create this initiative? Aren’t you too young?
Too young, I wish! Technically, I’m 2 years shy of being a boomer. But I’m close enough and I’m married to and surrounded by boomers in my life. I got involved because I watched my parents go through some life changes, struggles in their 50s and 60s and noticed how their pets helped them cope with the changes. Additionally, pet and veterinary companies are always talking about how the Baby Boomer is their target market, or one of them, as they are the largest, most affluent group of pet parents in the US. However, few of these businesses actually have a strategy to market directly to people 50+. (By the way, boomers are those born 1946-64 and they are age 50-68 right now).
How are companies planning on changing their ad campaigns to appeal to boomers? (I have 20+ years of former newspaper advertising experience, so this interests me)
Primarily, print ad changes include appropriate images. Images of active, healthy people in their 50s and 60s, with their pets. There’s a shortage of these images in stock photography. It’s either young people or old people… but that’s changing! Think of the Viagra or Cialis commercials— they depict boomers that look great and feel great—so they are more relatable to us than the “senior citizen” images.
What percent of boomers own pets? Do they usually adopt or purchase pets from breeders?
That’s a tricky question because no one is actually tracking the boomer segment in terms of how many pets they have, or their tendencies. However, Bob Vetere of the APPA was quoted last year saying that boomers are the fastest growing demographic of pet parents. I think it’s safe to say that 60-65% of boomer households have a pet or pets. As far as how they obtain them, I’m not aware of those statistics, but would love for someone to do a survey to find out!
Will new products be created that are geared towards boomers (who may experience physical challenges as they age, which would hinder their flexibility in caring for their pets)
Yes, some products are already being developed with that in mind, but my prediction is that it will become much more prevalent. One of my goals for the Pet Living 50+ program is that it will make pet and veterinary companies more aware of the special, unique needs of pet parents 50+ so that life will be easier with them as we age, and therefore, we can keep them longer!
Have companies thought of having “Boomer Discounts” for pet products? Good idea! I’m not aware of any, however, Petplan pet insurance just entered into an exclusive partnership with AARP to offer members discounts on pet insurance. So, maybe they will pave the way for others to do so. Pet Living 50+ will introduce other pet and vet companies to opportunities with AARP and it’s membership base.
I am ecstatic that brands are FINALLY noticing as well as marketing to the Baby Boomers!
I thank Kristen for taking the time to answer my questions!
You can visit Kristen at Kristen Levine Pet Living
and at Pet Living 50+
I was not compensated for this post. I was told about this new program and because it is relevant to my life, I chose to share.