Brew on this. Baby Boomers and beer sales

Posted On August 15, 2013

Target marketing based on age groupings is nothing new – advertising companies have been doing it for ages. However, this approach by Heineken struck me as particularly interesting from a generational perspective. The Heineken Ideas Brewery is in itself a great concept for the younger generations as it is allows consumers to share thoughts directly with the brewery and plays into the Xer and Millennial desire to be recognized as individuals with individual wants.

Apparently the company wasn’t satisfied with its sales to the Boomer generation and decided to ask consumers their ideas for new products that would attract this sought-after demographic. The top six ideas are outlined here (note: not the official list) and are somewhat fascinating in what they say about people’s perceptions of Boomers.

Whether this product development crowd surfing yields a viable Boomer-targeted brew is still to be seen, but it is an interesting combination of a communication tactic typically targeting younger generations being used to specifically target older generations. If you read the blog post, results are mixed, but you have to hand it to the folks at Heineken for taking a shot.

Categories: Baby Boomers, Blog, Product Design