We experience time in two modes: event time, in which our awareness of time passing is strong, and being time, in which awareness of time passing is weak or nonexistent. Event time is materialistic (left brain), while being time is experiential (right brain). Being time is experienced by people in all age groups, but most often by people in second-half markets because they more often pursue being experiences, which are right brain-mediated experiences.
Ornstein posits that we incorporate into our picture of reality, things that support and embellish that reality. That being so, symbols and icons that reflect "timeless" values can be highly effective in marketing communications intended for second-half markets, especially for people in the Winter season of their lives. Examples of timeless symbols often associated with or acting as catalysts of being experiences include houses of worship, parents with children, grandparents, children playing together, hearth and home, friends, pets, the American flag, civic buildings, and heroes.
The camera eye or artist’s brush aimed at such symbols and icons should be soft and gentle, and seek expression with a child’s wonder, rather than try to amaze and startle the senses. It is unnecessary to shock the right brain to get its attention. In second-half markets, sensitivity and good taste will more often outweigh the circus barker’s command to come and experience the extraordinary. For people living life in the summits of maturity, everything is extraordinary. They don’t need someone to advertise the extraordinariness of a product or service in outsized images and claims.