At a recent gathering of MediaVillage contributors Advancing Diversity Podcast host, E.B. Moss, tapped the expertise of two highly regarded columnists: Michael Farmer and Peter Hubbell, for a 20-minute, unedited stream of brilliance. The topic is key to how ad agencies may survive or thrive, and impacts the very content we consume and the products we are encouraged to purchase: age bias and the longevity economy.

Problems were posed, and opinions and insights lobbed on this subject so allied with Jack Myers’ message: how the media  industry must advance diversity... and particularly why is it essential for the advertising community to not condescendingly say, “okay, Boomer,” but instead, “we need you, Boomers!”

Michael, while calm and charismatic, does not mince words on the state of the ad industry, as evidenced by the full title of his book, Madison Avenue Manslaughter: An Inside View of Fee-Cutting Clients, Profit-Hungry Owners and Declining Ad Agencies, and cautions in our conversation that, “agency CEOs ought to recognize the economic figures [the overwhelming percentage of disposable income in United States is held by baby boomers] and that they have not put together a staff that is capable of serving clients in all the dimensions that need to be served.”

As Peter, equally elegant (and the author of other well-titled books, such as The Old Rush), agrees and notes, “for all of the progress that has been made on inclusion, we are still excluding people of age.” Hence, the birth of Boomagers, the agency he built to target that very demographic, because, “we knew that the young clients would lack experience in the lives of baby boomers. But also, from an experience and consumer understanding, we knew that they wouldn't be prioritizing them.” So, he and his (now global) agency stepped up.

Listen and learn:

• How has the “juniorization” of ad agency staffs affects the way they think about client problems;
• What are the growth opportunities and the ways brands should be positioning themselves;
• What is the main bias around age;
• Is brand loyalty all it’s cracked up to be;
• How can multigenerational storytelling enhance marketing efforts?

You’ll also learn why Peter won’t wear Levi’s anymore, and if Michael holds out hope for today’s agencies....