Generational Differences: How to Market to Each Generation

Baby Boomers

For years, Baby Boomers have been the core target audience for casinos. Gen Xers have more recently graduated to be part of that group, and now Millennials are aging up and inching into that audience. Each generation has unique nuances to the way they absorb information, communicate, and respond to marketing and advertising.

During the recent Native Nations Events Casino Hotel Development Conference, we were part of a panel that discussed the differences of marketing to each generation. In this three-part series, we will explore the takeaways from that panel. What makes Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials unique and how to break through to generate trips and awareness with each audience.

Let’s Begin with the Boomers!

Born: 1946-1964

Age: 58-75

Relevance: Core Audience

Behaviors:

Approaching or in Retirement
More Leisure Time

Messaging:

Used to seeing casino information presented a certain way
Sounding personal is OK, but not casual
Clear communication but don’t alienate them by shifting too youthful

Tactics:

Traditional and digital advertising
Fastest current digital adoption and continues to grow. (Other demos took to digital first but their adoption growth has ebbed where Boomer usage continues to grow).

The pandemic saw reduced visitation from higher age ranges and return has been slower than others. With willingness to visit increasing, it might be time for a reactivation campaign specifically targeted towards Boomers who have been absent.

1960's

1970's

While the trend in branding is a shift towards a more youthful feel, promotional messaging should remain consistent as this audience is used to seeing information the same way for years. They understand our $100k promotion means the entire prize pool adds up to $100k. Millennials have a different take on that, but that’s for another post.