The New Demographics

This fascinating article "The Changing Face of the American Consumer", published in this week's Ad Age, by Peter Francese, outlines the leading demographic trends as summarized from the US Census data and details specific advise on how savvy marketeers may deal with these shifts. Francese, the founding publisher of American Demographics Magazine, is a reliable source for this kind of thoughtful analysis.
We all know that the U.S. population is trending older as the baby boomer generation continues to age, and that immigration is changing the face of our nation, particularly in the west. But, other insights by Francese are truly surprising--the analysis of female demographics and what this means for spending trends is very interesting. As, is the information about trend differences based on geography.
The most obvious insight is the section on teens and mobility. Any marketer can look around today's city streets and realize that teens, tweens and young adults are primarily interacting through their cell phones. Those of us immersed in the tech world are all ready well aware of the profound changes this will mean for all of us as time moves on.
One of the most interesting points made is that right now, the marketers trying to reach this burgeoning, mobile younger demographic is older, and in many cases, much older.
And, that's a clear disconnect.