Autumn 2006

The U.S. midterm election will be held on November 7, 2006, and the electoral role of Generation Jones is increasingly important, particularly given Generation Jones’ emergence over the last year or so as such an influential international political force:

GenJones & U.S. Election November 2004 Click here for GenJones & U.S. Election

GenJones & U.K. Election May 2005 Click here for GenJones & U.K. Election

GenJones & New Zealand Election September 2005 Click here for GenJones & N.Z. Election

In all three elections, Generation Jones:

• Was widely recognized as pivotal voting segment
• Had the highest percentage, among all generations, of “swing voters”
• Was the largest generational slice of each electorate
       (GenJones was 28% of U.S. voters, 24% of U.K. voters, 29% of New Zealand voters)
• Was the focus of major interest by top national media
       (including many appearances by Jonathan Pontell on top national TV/radio shows in each country)

Generation Jones and the
May, 2005 U.K. Election

Tony Blair won a third term as British Prime Minister when the U.K. held its General Election on May 5, 2005.

Given how pivotal a role Generation Jones played in the November 2004 U.S. Presidential Election,
and in light of the many similarities in consumer/political behavior between U.S. and U.K. Jonesers,
numerous analysts accurately predicted that Generation Jones would be crucial in this British Election.

The Independent’s series of
GenJones election articles

The Independent (on Sunday) --a major national UK newspaper-- invested significant resources into examining Generation Jones' role in the election; this investment included the commissioning of weekly national political polling of Jonesers, and the assembling of a GenJones panel of voters to be interviewed weekly. The Independent then ran an article about GenJones voters every week leading up to election day:

April 10 article in The Independent on Sunday: Excerpt: "Meet Generation Jones. They decided the US election for George Bush, now they have Britain's political future in their hands. New research published for the first time by The Independent on Sunday today suggests that the election will be decided by people born between 1954 and 1965." Read full article here: http://news.independent.co.uk/..627941   April 24 article in The Independent on Sunday: Title: Generation Jones: "I'd hate to wake up and find I'd let the Tories in" Excerpt: "Half of our "Generation Jones" panel of floating voters in marginal constituencies have made their minds up and it's good news for Labour..." Read full article here: http://news.independent.co.uk/....632447

April 17 article in The Independent on Sunday:   Title: "The Swing Voters: Generation Jones"   Excerpt: "Our "Generation Jones" panel, representative of the age group experts believe will decide this election...the generation born between 1954 and 1965 are the holy grail of political targeting. This is because they are more likely to vote than younger people but are more persuadable than older groups. One third of them still say that they do not know how they will vote, according to The Independent on Sunday poll today." Read full article here: http://news.independent.co.uk/..630174     May 1 article in The Independent on Sunday: Title: "Generation Jones: Now I remember how nasty the Tories can be" Excerpt: "Labour has convinced most of our 'Generation Jones' panel of floating voters to return to the fold, after their flirtation with the Liberal Democrats...The Independent on Sunday has been canvassing the opinions of our election panel who all belong to the age group born between 1954 and 1965 that was so crucial to the US elections last year." Read full article here: http://news.independent.co.uk/...634691

In the U.S. and abroad, Jonathan Pontell has advised political parties—liberal, moderate, and conservative—on targeting GenJones voters. Here is one of the articles that appeared discussing his political consulting in the UK:   The Guardian May 2 Title: "Tories 'need to keep up with the Jonesers'" Excerpt: " Polling companies in the US argued that Jonesers, particularly women, were the most volatile group in the presidential campaign, switching from John Kerry to George Bush in the last week… Yesterday, Michael Howard focused on lower taxes and delivery on promises, two of the key themes identified as central to the Jonesers… this morning the Tory leader will outline eight specific, dated tasks for a Conservative government...the speeches come days after Jonathan Pontell, the marketing and political consultant who invented the term Generation Jones, met officials at the party's headquarters in London…”

Numerous UK internet political publications, message boards, blogs, forums, etc. covered GenJones and the election. Here's an article from EPolitix.com-- the biggest UK political website: EPolitix.com April 16   Title: "Key to election is 'keeping up with Jonesers'" Excerpt: "The emergence of 'Generation Jones' as a major UK political force... Polls suggest this dynamic section of society has become one of the most powerful electoral forces in Britain, possibly holding the key to restoring Tory fortunes...the Jonesers are said to be the first real group to display political 'switchability' and have come to symbolise the breakdown in party loyalty" Read full article here: http://www.epolitix.com/EN/...-48ab-a2fb-3ef731c1459a.htm

By election day, Generation Jones had become an important part of the U.K. election, widely-discussed in political and media circles. Like "soccer moms", Generation Jones had become part of a national vocabulary. Here's how "The Times" described this phenomenom two days after the election: May 7 Title: "The Times Op-Ed: A guide to electionspeak" Excerpt: "In past campaigns, we could always expect a few newly minted social archetypes to take home. Where, then, are this year's Mondeo Man or Worcester Woman?...Our one freshly identified demographic with a future is Generation Jones, a US import which refers to the lost generation born between 1954 and 1965...They are rich, creative and can be persuaded to switch brand allegiance. The Bush campaign targeted them ruthlessly...This election they became a vital group in the UK too...They're at the peak of their earning power, thinking of pensions, and the parties have been watching them closely... Generation Jones's electoral influence gives the term its staying power" Read full article here: http://www.davidrowan.com/...o-electionspeak.html

Some of the TV coverage of GenJones role in 2005 U.K. election:

April 16: GenJones was lead story (10-min. segment) on BBC's prime political show "Newsnight"

"Newsnight" sent their Election Helicopter to a key
constituency to specifically examine role of GenJones

April 17: Long segment with interviews with Jonathan Pontell, John Coll, and Andrew Hawkins

April 23: Feature about GenJones consumer/political behavior

April 24: Segment about importance of GenJones electoral role

May 1: Short live interview with Pontell on one of UK's premier nightly newscasts

May 3: GenJones segment on UK's most-watched TV morning talk show, BBC's "Breakfast"

Pontell on BBC's "Breakfast" show (similar to U.S. "Today" show);
"Breakfast" dominates UK morning TV, with over 7 million viewers

May 3: Long live interview with Pontell about Jonesers in closing days of election

May 4: Interview with Pontell about GenJones on special Election Eve edition of BBC's flagship political show "Newsnight"

Special Election Eve "Newsnight"
drew in huge national TV audience

 

We have proudly worked with Carat Ltd. (the largest media agency in England), and Communicate Research (one of the most accurate UK political polling firms), in studying the role of Generation Jones in the '05 Election. Here is one of the Election Bulletins we sent out:

 

Recent Context for the Role of Generation Jones in the May 2005 U.K. Election:

GenJones and the '04 U.S. Election   The striking, and arguably decisive, role of Generation Jones in the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election underlines the importance of generations in politics. Take out GenJones voters, and there’d be a President Kerry today. Virtually every key Battleground State would have gone to Kerry if not for the massive support for Bush by Jonesers (who are over 1 in 4 voters). During the campaign itself, Joneser women proved to be the biggest “swing voters” of all age/gender groups, vacillating between Bush and Kerry far more than any other segment. On Election Day, Joneser women swung to Bush, with all other generations of women voting for Kerry. November 5 Press Release October 20 Press Release J. Brad Coker, Founder and Managing Director of Mason-Dixon Polling, was the person who discovered the decisive role of Jonesers in the 2004 Battleground States (Mason-Dixon’s Battleground States Polling was the most accurate of all the big U.S. polling firms in both the 2002 and 2004 elections). Coker and Pontell co-wrote an article about this huge electoral role of GenJones; you can read it here: http://mason-dixon.com/latest.cfm This long article was immediately published as a feature in three of the most influential “insider” political publications: Nov. 29: The Polling Report (first to publish the article) cover story: “Generation Jones—The Invisible Generation Elects a President” Dec. 6: Real Clear Politics, “Meet Gen Jones” Dec. 7: The Hotline, “Generation Jones” This article continues to be published elsewhere, including: The Denver Post “Meet 'Gen Jones'-- group was 2004's real swing vote” The Cleveland Plain Dealer "Generation Jones" The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Who elected Bush? Generation Jones” In addition to Mason-Dixon, several other top political polling firms did cross tabulations of their election data, looking for differences between Generation Jones and the other generations. These “A-List” pollsters include: The Gallup Organization, Rasmussen Reports, ICR, Pew Research Center, Zogby International, AP-IPSOS While results varied, these pollsters generally found that Jonesers, compared with the other generations, were by far the most supportive of Bush, and that Joneser women were the primary “swing voters” among all generations of women. Lead Story 6 days before Nov 2 Election on RasmussenReports.com (most-visited political poll website in world): http://rasmussenreports.com/Generation Jones Story.htm Comparable results from Gallup’s data here: Voting Preferences, by Generation Talking points that give some context to the data: Context about GenJones Women Voters Some of the TV and radio interviews that Jonathan Pontell did shortly before and after Election Day, discussing the role of Generation Jones in the ’04 Election: October 19: CNN Radio (aired on over 2000 U.S. and international radio stations) October 20: Metro Networks (aired on over 3000 U.S. radio stations) AP Radio Network (aired on over 5500 U.S. and international stations) October 21: USA Radio Network (aired on over 1500 U.S. radio stations) October 23: WSB (Atlanta,GA News/Talk Station) KIRO (Seattle,WA News/Talk Station) FOX News Channel (International Cable News TV Network) October 25: The Jim Bohannon Show (Top 5 U.S. national radio talk show) October 26: “America in The Morning” (aired on over 400 U.S. radio stations) October 27: The Nancy Skinner Show (aired on Talk Radio News Service across U.S.) October 28: Lifetime Radio (U.S. national radio network for women) October 30: WTOP (Washington, DC News Station) KSTP (Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN News/Talk Station) November 1: “The Doug Stephan Show” (aired on over 400 U.S. radio stations) KCOL (Denver, CO Talk Station) WDUN (Atlanta, GA News/Talk Station) November 2: ELECTION DAY November 4: Metro Networks (aired on over 3000 U.S. radio stations) November 5: “American Voice” (nationally syndicated U.S. talk show) November 6: KIRO (Seattle,WA News/Talk Station) “National Agenda” (issues-oriented TV talk show) November 8: “Dateline: Washington” (aired on over 250 U.S. radio stations) November 10: “Coffee Break” (L.A. TV talk show) November 11: WTWB (Lakeland, FL News/Talk Station) “This and That” (nationally syndicated U.S. talk show)

Nov.'04 Intro of GenJones to U.K. Carat, the largest media agency in the U.K. (with clients like Guinness, Disney, etc.), launched a major project about Generation Jones in England on November 23, 2004. The British media responded with extremely enthusiastic interest: virtually every major U.K. newspaper ran a long article about Generation Jones within a few days of the launch, as did numerous trade and regional publications, along with several national TV and radio segments about Generation Jones (including four on the BBC). Carat first heard about Generation Jones in 2003 at a speech by Jonathan Pontell in Helsinki, Finland, and realized that this generation existed (yet was invisible) in the U.K. Consistent with its reputation for cutting-edge consumer insight, Carat conducted extensive qualitative and quantitative research (with over 10,000 U.K. consumers) into Generation Jones throughout 2004, leading up to their November launch. We will update this site with news of this continuing U.K. project.   Carat’s U.K. Generation Jones website: http://www.projectbritain.co.uk/gen_jones/   Some of the U.K. articles published about Generation Jones in Fall/Winter, 2004:   November 23: Media Week "Advertisers not talking to Gen Jones" (½ page) The Financial Times "Keeping Up with the Jonesers" (full page) November 24: Daily Mail "Generation Jones" (½ page) The Daily Telegraph "Generation Jones is given a name at last" (full page) The Scotsman “Generation Jones: the Big Spenders” (½ page) The Falkland Island News “Generation Jones Named” (1 column) The Evening Standard "Influential, Creative and Rich - introducing Generation Jones" (½ page) November 25: The Guardian "Not talking about my generation" (1 column) Western Mail "Generation Jones - the newly named big spenders" (full page) Western Daily Press "Drink up with the Jonesers" (1 column) The South Wales Echo "Generation Jones " (½ page) 50 Plus Marketing “Am I becoming obsessed with Generation Jones—YES” (½ page) November 26: The Times "Cherie, Wossie, Madge and me: meet Generation Jones" (full page) November 28: The Observer "Time to grow up, baby boomers" (brief mention) The Independent "Money Cashpoints" (½ page) The Sunday Times “I’ve finally found my Generation” (full page) December 4: The Financial Times (Weekend Magazine) "You'll never keep up with the Jonesers" (full page) December 9: Western Mail "Me Pigeon-holed? I am trying hard to break the mould" (½ page)     Nov. 26 GenJones segment on BBC's "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross" (largest TV audience of all UK talk shows):

Generation Jones
and the
Sept. 2005 New Zealand Election

Helen Clark won a third consecutive term as Prime Minister of New Zealand when Kiwis voted in their General Election on September 17, 2005

As in the Nov.’04 U.S., and May’05 U.K., elections, Generation Jones played a pivotal role in this election. New Zealand’s top political pollsters --TNS, DigiPoll, Colmar-Brunton, UMR, and BCR-- kindly provided the generational cross-tabulations of their polling data throughout the campaign which revealed Generation Jones’s decisive role.

Like in the U.S. and U.K., Generation Jones had the highest percentage of swing voters, among all generations, in the New Zealand campaign. Because of this high rate of vacillation, and with its large size and high voting rate, this one generation largely drove the volatility in the overall electorate. Throughout the campaign cycle, when the overall electorate swung toward either of the two main parties (Labour and National), the swing was generally concentrated in, and driven by, Generation Jones. During much of the campaign, the overall electorate was evenly divided, but generational analysis revealed that typically it was Jonesers that were closely split between the two parties, while the two younger generations leaned Labour with the two older generations leaning National. On election day, the overall results showed a virtual tie between the two parties, but again, it was Generation Jones that was largely responsible for the outcome; the two younger generations voted for Labour, the two older ones for National, with GenJones at a virtual tie between parties. The pollster which most accurately predicted the outcome was TNS; here are their final election results:

Pontell on “Campbell Live”—the top New Zealand current affairs TV show
(equivalent of U.S. TV show “Meet The Press”)

Like in the U.S. and U.K. elections, Generation Jones received a great deal of national media attention in the New Zealand election. Jonathan Pontell was in New Zealand for the last couple weeks of the campaign, and discussed the role of GenJones on much of the top national TV/radio programming.

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