lion of them were born in the United States, a peak not attained since.     After the war, beginning in 1946, the nation went on a re-creation spree, resulting in over 4 million births per year until 1965, when the number dropped to 3.7 million. The baby-boom fertility rates would give birth to the most significant generation marketers would have to appease for the next 80-plus years. Baby boomers get attention because of their concentration, at one time 40 percent of the total U.S. population. As a result, the smaller number of consumers born later, about 41 million between 1968 and 1979, were to some degree forgotten-labeled Generation X. Those born in the 1980s and 1990s followed suit and were called Generation Y. The baby-boomer population explosion moves through markets like a pig thats been swallowed by a python, inviting marketers to satisfy the needs, wants, and fantasies of 76 million people. Add to that the fact that many of them are still the primary purchasers, or at least primary payers, for a lot of children and grandchildren, and you begin to understand the need to connect with them. They not only affect the economy; they are the economy, representing the greatest share of the workforce, the greatest share of income, and the greatest share of voting power and political influence. For public corporations, its not just profits that are important, but growth in revenues and profits. According to U.S. Census projections, the number of boomers age 45 to 54 is projected to increase 14 per- cent between 2001 and 2010, while the number of 55- to 64-year-olds will grow by a whopping 44 percent. During the same decade, the number of consumers in the 25- to 34- and 35- to 44-year-old groups are projected to decline. Public corporations faced with analysts who determine their P/E ratios by forecasting their growth potential can point to the baby-boomer market for opportunities if they have the right mix of brands, services, and prices. The problem is that compet- itive firms have figured this out as well-hence the race to find some- thing to connect with this vital market. Brands that evoke emotion (from nostalgia to sheer exuberance) may hold the key to customer loyalty in this market, assuming they deliver in the areas of quality, functionality, design, and value. Using classic rock in commercials aimed at boomers makes sense, as does using musical acts from the 1970s and 1980s to entertain at corporate events.