Baby Boomer travellers ignoring print as online and word of mouth dominates, survey finds
The bumper travel supplements in Australia’s weekend newspapers are being largely ignored by Baby Boomers both as a means of research and for influencing their holiday decisions, a Mumbrella-commissioned survey has found.
The data – which is likely to surprise many travel brands – shows an older demographic which is turning its back on print in favour of the web and word of mouth recommendations.
Print has long been regarded by the travel industry as fertile ground for reaching and influencing baby boomer travellers.
Research carried out for Mumbrella by leading online retirement platform YourLifeChoices found three quarters of the more than 6,000 respondents – 70% of whom were aged between 50 and 70 – head online when they first begin planning a holiday. Just 9% visit their travel agent, 7% use guide books, and only 3.5% turn to newspapers as their first port of call.
Furthermore, asked what most influences their travel decisions, less than 5% said travel editorial, behind advertising with 12% and online travel reviews on 27%. Almost 40% said personal word of mouth recommendation was the biggest influence.
YourLifeChoices publisher Kaye Fallick, who will exclusively reveal the extensive research at next week’s Mumbrella Travel Marketing Summit, said the findings appeared to question the value of earned media.
“Traditionally we had two levels of storytelling. Editorial was pure gold and advertising less ‘credible’ but supported editorial mentions,” Fallick said. “The hierarchy has changed. Word of mouth is best, travel reviews second, advertising third and editorial a very poor last.
“Does this now throw into question PR assumptions regarding earned advertising value?”
Of the fading role of newspapers as a first point for research, Fallick added: “One still hears at agency level that older people are starting to use digital sources but they are much further down the track than most marketers give them credit for.”
The study also found that advertisers often don’t understand the needs of the Baby Boomer generation with 70% of respondents saying brands only “sometimes” get it right.
Research to be revealed at the summit next week includes data on the value and trust of online travel reviews, how Baby Boomers view celebrity and influencer endorsements, their use of mobile and the role of TV advertising.
The Mumbrella Travel Marketing Summit takes place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney on April 5 with speakers including Virgin Australia chief marketing officer Inese Kingsmill, Expedia global senior VP, Media Solutions Team Noah Tratt and Qantas head of digital and entertainment Kristin Carlos.
To secure one of the last remaining tickets click here.
topics
Advertising
Kaye Fallick
Marketing
Mumbrella Travel Marketing Summit
oprint advertising
travel marketing
Travel Marketing Summit
YOURLifeChoices
This Baby Boomer thing that calls them (us) “older People”. These sorts of stories make it sound like the BB Generation is only just discovering technology. We were using it in the 70s, 80s and 90s.
We could email in 1985 for goodness sake.
I had a senior marketing guy from an international big ‘un in consumer software the other day tell me his Dad could use a browser. And proudly; “he is nearly 61”.
I have a close friend in their 70s who can run rings around most in Photoshop and video editing.
So ignore / disdain / feel sorry for / whatever / the BB Generation at your peril. It’s where all the smart kids are …
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Just jump on any bus or train and no one is reading print, they are all using phones or looking out the window!!
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Aren’t the Travel supps on Sat and Sun? When people are at home nd nip down the deli to get the weekend paper? #DevilsAdvocate
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Pssst David.
The BBs not only invented the microprocessor, personal computer, the mouse, coloured screens, touch screens, the mobile phone, the internet, wifi, email, laser and inkjet printers and so on … but to quote Vint Cerf (look him up) … in their spare time they put a man on the moon, so all you followers need to pull your fingers out and get on with it, as you have a lot of catching up to do.
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Love a bit of propaganda to stir controversy purelyu to drive numbers to a Travel Summit
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Print is still very much fertile ground for reaching and influencing baby boomer travellers.
Using independent national Roy Morgan single source data from the last 12 months tells a different story.
When filtering down to those looking to take a long trip in the next 12 months, over 64.5% of baby boomers have read a newspaper in the last 7 days and are much more likely to do so (Index 135) than the total population.
Furthermore they are also more likely to read the holiday and travel sections of the following newspapers than the general population. Weekend Australian (Index 198), Sunday Telegraph (Index 176), Sun Herald (Index 186). I won’t bore you with the full list.
Yes, there is no doubt that digital is playing an increasingly important role in influencing baby boomer travel decisions and we always recommend a digital strategy to support a traditional one. The great new is Boomers are media polygamists not digital monogamists, most are smart and can multitask.
Therefore independent research data does not support the claim that weekend newspapers are largely being ignored by baby boomers as a means of research and for influencing their holiday decisions.
Gill Walker, MD Evergreen Advertising,
Masters Thesis in Ageism in Advertising.
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We’re still getting significant enquiries when we run a print media ad.
It’s very difficult these days to know where we should be directing our fairly small marketing spend.
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