Long Gloves and Tweed

Have you ever been out someplace and seen an older woman dressed up in tweeds, long gloves, and a hat? You probably didn’t give her much thought but she is a perfect example of what’s happened to a lot of media and marketers. At one point in time, she was fashionably outfitted and may even have stood out for her good taste. Today, she’s an anachronism. You see, the world changed and she didn’t.

Ralph Waldo Emerson had it right when he wrote about foolish consistency and little minds.  While I know that some consistency is far from foolish, the fact is that doing business as you did a few years ago, or even a few months ago, is nuts.  If you assume your target audience hasn’t changed, you’re wrong.  One example is that people of my generation, the Boomers, behave differently than did our parents when they were our age.  If you think your target’s media habits haven’t changed, you’re wrong.   Not only are their content choices far more segmented but the manner in which that content is consumed has fragmented as well.  Shopping habits have changed.  There’s far more product research being done, most of it online and much of it peer-based.

The world has changed and maybe you haven’t.  How are you engaging?  Where are you in the conversation?  Why are you still wearing long gloves?