Generation Gap or Life Stage Evolution? You Decide

I really want to share the cool insight that came out of my consumer groups but I can’t. I’m using it as the basis of the strategy for my client CACI. It’s pretty mind blowing…well for us planner folk. Maybe the non-ad people wouldn’t care.

Oh well, but I do need to share something. Otherwise, why read my blog? I tested two groups with one goal (of the groups) to determine who we would target. One group consisted of women 35-44 and the other 50-59. One thing I thought was interesting is that with the younger group they still felt the best was yet to come. The other group, however, looked back and said the perfect age was mid 30s early 40s. But what was more interesting was that the older group was more concerned with general beauty while the younger was dealt with individual issues (such as discoloration) as they came – taking a less holistic (pun and double entendre certainly intended) approach.

When I prompted the younger group with the stimuli --MORE ME THAN I HAVE EVER BEEN-- they thought of themselves as a person who has finally been validated because they realized what they didn’t know (no longer a smart ass 20 something…not my words, theirs). However, they still feel quite a bit of pressure to conform in certain ways (cosmetics helping them do this as a way to hide imperfection). The older group thought of themselves as more of a refined complete (whole) person. They are totally comfortable in their own skin (no pun intended this time). So when does this final transition happen? Will it happen for my younger group? For many years planners have discussed the gap between Gen Xers and boomers. Is this gap, I explored, simple a matter of life stage or is it a generation issue?

Thoughts?