Maturity as a model for intelligence.
One way high intelligence can be identified is by the level of maturity. If you act more mature than the average person your age, you're smarter. The more commonly-known way to identify high intelligence is by the superior ability to solve problems and manipulate data.

In the sixties, marketers learned that there was this huge bubble of consumers who were now determining the course of our culture. Suddenly young people became significant, a force to be reckoned with. The market was expanded to include an earlier stage of adulthood. No longer was it just men with responsible positions with wives to dispose of their income. It was teenagers and college students with money to burn. Marketers sat up and took notice. From this awareness came niche marketing, increased success of direct marketing, lots of data sets sliced many ways, and highly responsive customer service.

Boomers aged. The stage of high consumption marked by starting a job, making a home and having children evolved into a mature stage in which the consumer is more interested in quality and more circumspect about making purchases. This is not necessarily high end but it is a different type of behavior from younger purchasers. Many marketing companies have not changed their philosophies. Having been shocked into attentending to the younger consumer they are now attached to it, unable to let go. Sure, young people still consitute a sizeable portion of the consuming population, but the majority have moved on to a different behavior. Understanding boomer purchasing behavior is just as important as it ever was.

Mature consumers don't consume mass quantities, they consume long-term, durable and/or high quality items. This is a behavior not fully understood. It needs further investigation. However, I'll bet that someone caught on earlier and has been following these segments since the sixties as they developed, expanded and matured.

The saying around Mensa is that governing the fellowship is a lot like leading a herd of cats. Extreme intelligence allows for extreme personality development. My theory is that studying the preferences of high IQ individuals will tell us a lot about where the big boomer consumer segment is going. What's needed now is not mass advertising but highly targeted, individualized invitations through closely circumscribed pipelines. The prize will go to the group that developes a way to personalized each and every purchase experience. Looking at Mensa purchasing behavior will give them the lead time they need to bring a product to market successfully and plan for it's future.

It would be nice to have someone offering me the things I'm looking for:

• computer games for mature, tech savvy women
• small high-quality, lower-everything treats
• low maintenance surfaces, objects, clothing and homes at a reasonable price
• intriguing short-term travel learning experiences
• disposable, entertaining knick-knacks
• stories in all media that investigate global philosophical topics without being preachy or descending into extreme violence or sex with coordinated collateral for everything from toys to clothing (see: The Lord of the Rings movie triology)

Now.