Marketers Focus More On Global 'Tribes' Than on Nationalities†

Wall Street Journal, December 10, 2007 — Valentin Chapero, chief executive of Swiss-based Phonak Group, knows that baby boomers around the world dread the thought of needing his company's hearing devices. Whether they live in London, Los Angeles or Lima, Peru, they tend to resist buying a product associated with aging.

Yet tens of millions of people over the age of 50 already have some hearing loss. To woo them, Mr. Chapero and his managers are addressing their common qualms. Phonak's new Audeo device comes in 15 fashionable colors, looks more like a sleek ear phone than an old-fashioned hearing aid and is being marketed as a "personal communication assistant." Advertisements in a dozen languages feature youthful-looking customers who lead interesting lives, such as a hedge-fund manager who is also an amateur boxer.

"We'll only get close to baby boomers — who, whether they're Europeans or Americans all have a similar psychology — if we take away the stigma and show them a product that is high-tech and hip and easily improves the quality of their lives," says Mr. Chapero.