“A general understanding of those aged under 25 and over 54 is lacking,” said McDonough. “Many of the long-held beliefs about these groups’ purchasing and media habits are just plain wrong.”

The over-55 age group is important not only because of their growth rate, but also because their value as consumers and their relevance as media users.

“The misconception is that spending drops for people in this age group, and that they’re set in their ways,” added Stagaman. “But those in the 55+ age group are just as likely to switch brands as those aged 25-54, and the two groups’ buying rates almost match.”

The 55+ age group logs the most hours watching TV per day (6.5 hours), and also spends 85 minutes per day online—15 more minutes than those in the 12-24 age group. And in both groups, 75 percent are online and watching TV simultaneously, which can double ad recall.

Marketers tend to underestimate the value of those under 25 as well. “This age group is extremely important as a point of entry for products and brands,” said Stagaman. Capturing the culture and attitudes of those in this group allows manufacturers and retailers to establish and build their brands with these consumers as they age.

In order to speak to the under 25 age group effectively, marketers must keep in mind that the young consumer population grows more ethnically diverse every day. By January 2012, almost half of the under 25 market will be multicultural.

The key opportunity with young consumers falls around the fact that they hold significant sway over household purchases, including food, clothing, movie tickets and fast food. Often they’re considered the default family experts on major household electronic purchases. In fact, when purchasing tablets (88%) and smartphones (72%), the great majority of families rely on the influence of younger consumers when selecting a brand.

Those under 25 and over 54 need to be an integral part of the marketing mix, not only because of their growth rates, but because of their value as consumers and relevance as media users. Taking a closer look reveals incredible opportunities. “Overall, we need to adjust our marketing mix as we understand who we are truly reaching,” says McDonough, “…and more importantly who we’re missing.”

Born between the years 1946-1964, the oldest of the Boomers are beginning to retire. But today’s middle aged and older consumers are different than their predecessors. The conventional wisdom that they spend little, resist technology and are slow to adopt new products needs to be re-assessed. Boomers are an affluent group who adopt technology with enthusiasm (think about the number of parents or grandparents who regularly send e-mails or upload photos to Facebook and other sites). They have also shown a willingness to try new brands and products.

Boomers should matter to marketers and CPG companies because they spend 38.5% of CPG dollars. Yet it’s estimated that less than 5% of advertising dollars are currently targeted towards adults 35-64 years old (which includes the latter half of Generation X in addition to Boomers). With most marketers generally targeting 18-49 year olds, more than half of the affluent Boomer demographic is ignored entirely.

“Boomers should be as desirable for marketers as Millennials and Gen-Xers for years to come; they are the largest single group of consumers, and a valuable target audience. As the U.S. continues to age, reaching this group will continue to be critical for advertisers,” said Pat McDonough, Senior Vice President, Insights, Analysis and Policy at the Nielsen Company.

Consider these Nielsen facts about Boomers:

• Dominate 1,023 out of 1,083 consumer packaged goods categories
• Watch the most video: 9:34 hours per day
• Comprise 1/3 of all TV viewers, online users, social media users and Twitter users
• Time shift TV more than 18-24s (2:32 vs. 1:32)
• Are significantly more likely to own a DVD player
• More likely to have broadband Internet access at home

And if you think that the web sites Boomers visit are entirely different than those visited by adults age 18-34, you’d be mistaken: 8 of the top 10 web sites are the same:

At a time when most analysts are predicting much slower growth in consumer spending, manufacturers and marketers need to look at every opportunity to grow market share. Boomers can represent tremendous potential to those who know how to reach them.

During this period, households with broadcast only (i.e., no cable or satellite service) TVs declined from 11.5 percent to 10.9 percent while cable or satellite service has increased slightly from 88.5 percent to 89.1 percent.  This increase may be related to the upcoming transition to digital television that was originally set to take place in February 2009.

Satellite service grew modestly as well, from 28.0 percent to 28.8 percent.  Cable or satellite service with pay channels, such as HBO, Showtime and Cinemax, has grown steadily over the five quarters, from 47.0 percent to 49.4 percent.

Digital Video Recorders (DVR) have grown in popularity over the last five quarters, with 28.9 percent of households owning a device, up from 21.3 percent in Q4 2007.  20.2 percent of homes have one DVR, while 8.7 percent have two or more devices. Homes capable of receiving high definition television jumped from 12.9 percent on Q4 07 to 23.4 percent in Q4 08.  Video game console ownership increased from 37.8 percent to 39.0 percent, while homes containing personal computers with internet access increased from 70.9 percent to 73.8 percent.  More than 54 percent of households had one or two TVs, 24.9 percent owned three TVs while 20.8 percent owned four or more sets.

“At this point, we have no indication that economic factors are causing homes to cancel their cable subscriptions or cut back on DVR, HD, gaming or Internet capabilities.  These segments have remained steady – or in some cases, increased – over the five quarter period we studied,” said Pat McDonough, senior vice president of Planning Policy & Analysis at Nielsen.  “That said, one factor that may be masking any economic component is the digital transition.  It may have been necessary for some homes to invest in new equipment to prepare for the conversion.”

In terms of device usage, Nielsen found no significant increases or declines in TV viewing, DVR playback, DVD playback or video game console use, suggesting that the economy has had no measureable impact on these activities.

According to a separate Nielsen survey, the Home Technology Report, consumers continue to purchase new technologies for home entertainment.

The Home Technology Report telephonically surveyed 1,433 people in Q4 2008.