Vivian Boyko, a 69-year-old grandmother from Saskatoon, is taking TikTok by storm. She joined the social media platform to promote her book about a time-travelling granny, but after her first video received millions of views and thousands of followers, it became much more.
Boyko is now considered an “Oldfluencer,” part of a growing group of people over 58 who are putting a new spin on aging.
The baby boomer generation, born between 1946-1964, is healthier, wealthier, and more influential than any age group before them, and they are proving that age is just a number.
Despite being told by her three sons that her TikTok passion would fizzle out, Boyko now has millions of views and 378,000 followers worldwide.
She is living out her bucket list, tackling new challenges, and shredding age stereotypes along the way. The baby boomers are the largest economic driver in Canadian and U.S. culture, with Canadians over 55 controlling 60% of consumer spending.
Despite their economic influence, only a small portion of marketing dollars is spent on this demographic.
Brands are starting to notice and realize the importance of appealing to multiple audiences.
For example, during the pandemic, the Quebec government used Oldfluencers to deliver COVID-19 awareness messages on social media, and the campaign went viral, receiving 35 million views from all over the world.
Caddis Eyewear is another example of a brand embracing the aging demographic. Its campaigns are designed for those over 40 who need glasses and feature real people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, along with their stories and feelings about aging.
The CEO, Tim Parr, wants to redefine what it means to age in modern and contemporary culture, and the company has received support from celebrities like Katie Couric, Gwyneth Paltrow, Matthew McConaughey, and Jimmy Kimmel.
Experts agree that age should matter to companies. David Soberman teaches strategic marketing at Rotman School of Management and calls healthy, active baby boomers a marketer’s paradise.
Companies focused on categories with an older demographic have done better recently, and Jeff Weiss, CEO of Age of Majority, a research firm that helps companies market to active agers, says that it doesn’t make sense why more companies don’t target this demographic.
Award-winning jazz singer Molly Johnson, at 63, is another example of someone who is embracing their age.
She stopped colouring her hair to reflect the authenticity of her music, and her label, Universal Music Canada, calls her a legacy artist.
Melissa Davey, at 65, is also embracing aging. After winning a day on set with film director M. Night Shyamalan, she decided to pursue her dream of becoming a film director.
Her current project, “Climbing into Life,” shares the story of Dierdre Wolownick, who, at 66, became the oldest woman to climb El Capitan in Yosemite National Park and did it again at 70. Davey’s message is that pursuing your dreams is always possible.
The baby boomer generation is changing the way we think about aging, and brands and companies should take notice.
Whether it’s Vivian Boyko taking TikTok by storm, Caddis Eyewear embracing the aging demographic, or Melissa Davey pursuing her dream, the message is clear: age is just a number, and it’s never too late to pursue your passions.
