the popularity of Forty Licks and other classic rock bands and tours, including the Eagles and Chicago. Marketers have followed the baby boomers and their money for decades-from their turbulent teens and twenties, in which they were dubbed hippies, to their thirties and forties, in which they settled into good-paying careers and had families. At this juncture they were considered yuppies-young urban professionals-and they bought homes (and everything for them), clothing, food, and cars at record levels, and spurred cultural changes reflected in everything from television programming (remember thirtysomething?) to fashion and beauty products. Today, those baby boomers have become muppies- middle-aged urban professionals-whose changing needs today and over the next several decades will create dramatic effects on the sales and profit levels of the brands theyve supported in the past. As they move through different stages in their lives, they will continue to sup- port the brands with which they have an emotional connection, and their sheer volume will be a moving driver of consumer product sales. Baby boomers delayed getting married and having children longer than any previous generation, but eventually they entered the trap and brought with them a permanent propensity to consume. They earned a lot of income during the 1980s and 1990s but they spent more than they made, buying products that past generations consid- ered luxuries, such as consumer electronics, cable TV, cellular phones, second homes, and household services. They drove the minivan mar- ket in the 1980s and the SUV market in the 1990s, and they will drive the resurrection of the sporty convertible in the 2000s. They will also drive overall spending rates. Understanding the spending trends of boomers helps explain which sponsorships make sense for concert tours-such as E*Trade and VISAs alliance with Elton John in the 1990s.     Branding to Boo mers   Brands are gaining importance among boomers product choices. If you examine boomers spending patterns, you can begin to predict     demand for various consumer and industrial goods. For example, when people are between the ages of 25 and 44, nearly everything they buy classifies as a necessity, because they need everything to build and run a household. In these markets, brands guide the choice between which food, cars, clothing, and household options will be bought, not whether the products should be bought. Although younger baby boomers and Generation Xers have definite brand preferences, their purchases are driven by such strong immediate need that they may