If you’re a jeweler, you know that all that is gold is good for business. The glamour of gold is unrivaled – it’s eternally irresistible, and its allure has evoked extraordinary desire by all who appreciate its rare beauty. For years, gold has been a fairly straightforward growth market with fluctuations in demand driven mostly by swings in commodity pricing. But today, gold is going through a different correction. Today we live in a world where disruption is the norm, one where even timeless classics like gold are vulnerable to emerging new preferences that are transforming traditional markets in the blink of an eye.

Peter Hubbell, Founder & CEO of BoomAgers and award-winning author (Old Rush, and Getting Better With Age: Improving marketing in the Age of Aging), will be speaking to this dynamic at the ECRM Gold EPPS, to be held February 2017 in San Diego. As the world’s leading authority on marketing to age, Hubbell examines markets through the lens of generational values. This unique vantage point has been the source of highly valuable insight and inspiration for many businesses similar to the gold jewelry industry.

The near-term future of gold is dependent on two generations of buyers: The Millennials and the Baby Boomers. Each is impacting the current state of the business in distinctly different ways that will require an unprecedented approach to marketing strategy.

Hubbell will speak to marketing’s infatuation with the Millennials and will reveal some sobering facts about the real potential of a generation that has yet to reach its prime earning and spending years. His agency’s proprietary research has indicated that 75% of Millennials can only afford to buy what they need, not what they want; that’s not encouraging news if you’re selling discretionary luxury goods like gold jewelry. What’s more, Millennials are a new generation with new preferences; they’re part of a new economy known as the Access Economy, wherein they’re content to share instead of feeling the need to own. Witness successful new access enterprises like Haute Vault, Rent The Runway, and Uber as examples.

At the same time, the Baby Boomers control upwards of 70% of the nation’s disposable income and they’re redefining what it means to be of age. They are focused on the future of living, and they envision years of uncompromised lifestyle characterized by a focus on joy, well-being and growth. Hubbell refers to them as “Marketing’s Most Valuable Generation.” Despite Bomers’ everlasting potential, marketers have been quick to write them out of the script in favor of young Millennials who embody the hip, fashionable imagery that most brands covet.

As he did with the Millennials, Hubbell will dispel the myths of marketing to age with facts. He makes a provocative case for the Old Rush – the opportunity for marketers to strike it rich by prioritizing the consumers who have the real money.

The inherent dilemma is that marketers need to simultaneously embrace both of these generations. They need to re-prioritize the Boomers who love gold and have the money to buy more, while also identifying an affluent sub-segment of Millennials who have the propensity to want and to buy gold. Hubbell’s presentation will ultimately build the case for a near-term multi-generational marketing strategy that embraces the highest potential consumers from each generational cohort.

Finally, this presentation will offer some essential wisdom for how to market gold. Reflecting his 35 years of Madison Avenue experience, Hubbell will share some provocative insights and ideas for thinking of gold differently in these different times. In the end, while gold is timeless, it needs to be marketed in a timely way, one that reflects a deep and pithy understanding of how desire materializes in today’s modern context.