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The theme this month is "woe" (not "whoa").
From articles in Newsweek with navel-gazing
Boomers lamenting what they haven't yet done with
their lives, to statistics from BIGresearch on
insomnia, indigestion and depression, to reports that
Boomers are losing their jobs never to find work
again, the level of "woe" appears to be on the rise.
We'll share some of the lowlights and talk about what
it all means for marketing to today's "woeful" Boomer
Consumer -- maybe it's just the winter blues anyway.
On the positive front, the Boomer Project will soon
announce a major strategic partnership with
BIGresearch,
the folks behind two breakthrough
studies: "Consumer Intentions and Actions"
survey (CIA) and "SIMM").
CIA provides a monthly 360 degree view from 7,500+
consumers of all ages on what they are buying,
where, what they are thinking about buying and
countless other behaviors across a wide range of
industries. From this, the Boomer Project is preparing
special reports on "Today's Boomer Retail Consumer"
that will be available in the spring.
SIMM stands for simultaneous media consumption, a
study that links the consumer and his/her media
consumption – across 33 forms of old and new
media – back to channels and retailers shopped and
products and categories purchased. From this, we
are developing research reports on "Today's Boomer
Media Consumer," also to be released in the spring.
Both BIGresearch studies are designed to bring
answers (not data) to the fingertips of clients from
Wal-Mart to Wall Street, in real-time. The Boomer
Project looks forward to analyzing the data with our
Boomer lens and providing valuable reports for
marketers everywhere. More info on this new
partnership will follow soon.
In this month's BoomerMarketingNews, available February 15th
to paid subscribers, we'll report on understanding the
Boomer "culture" that defines the generation, and
what it means for marketers. Plus, we'll share some
interesting findings from the BIGresearch SIMM Study
just completed, revealing fascinating information
about how today's Boomer Consumer consumes
media.
If you'd like to subscribe, click here and use the coupon code "bab00m" to
pay only $180 for a subscription.
Boomer Project Activities
First up, a quick update on the activities at the
Boomer Project:
- Tune In: Monday, February 19th, PBS's
"Nightly Business Report" is doing a feature on
the changing American demography and will include
comments
about marketing to Boomers from Matt Thornhill of
the Boomer Project. Set your TiVos early and often.
- Drop In: Friday, February 9th in Orlando,
the Boomer Project is presenting at the
International Builders Show, the largest show of
its kind
with over 100,000 attendees. The topic: Boomers
and housing needs in the future.
- Help Wanted: Thursday, February 22 in
Orlando (again), the Boomer Project is joining with
parent company SIR Research to put on a day-long
event with the Florida Retail Federation
on
recruiting, managing and retaining today's multi-
generational workforce. HR and executives at Florida-
based retailers are coming, but you can, too. Click
here for more information.
- Read Up: March 2007 issue of
British Journalism Review will feature an
article by Matt Thornhill entitled "Let's hear it for the
Boomers." The
piece makes the case for the newspaper industry to
focus their core print product on Boomers, and not
younger adults.
- Study Up: April 11-12, 2007 in
Greensboro, NC. At both the
Southern Gerontological Society annual meeting
and UNC
Greensboro Gerontology Program's "Aging is Good
Business: Resdential Choices and the Boomers
Coming of Age" event, the Boomer Project will
present insights on marketing to today's Boomer
Consumer.
In addition, Matt Thornhill is speaking at the
LIMRA/LOMA 2007 Retirement Industry Conference
in
Atlanta, the Million Dollar
Roundtable
"Boomertirement" conference in New
York, the National
Tour Association conference in
British Columbia, the Canadian Newspaper Association
conference in Winnipeg, and the IBT Trends Event in
Atlanta.
Whoa.
Introspection?
A recent issue of Newsweek featured stories
about older Boomers trying to figure out what's next in life (scroll down to
see the content). They also had a story
with "famous" Boomer celebrities and their personal
"to do lists" for the rest of their lives.
(We can sleep at night now that we know Joan Jett
is going to finally learn French).
More importantly, the Web site also has a quiz to
test one's knowledge about how Boomers changed
American spiritual life.
Now we're getting serious.
Over the last three years we've been telling clients
that as Boomers age they will become more spiritual
and perhaps more religious (hint: it's rooted in better
understanding not what's next, but what happens at
the end).
This quest for spiritual vitality will be a motivater for
Boomers for the rest of their lives. We're not
surprised, then, when we see Redefine
hit the bookshelves in a "Biblezine" format. That's
right, it's the entire New Testament in a magazine
format, complete with motorcycle-riding Boomers on
the cover and call-outs like "Looking for ways to
impact your world? A Lasting Difference shows
you how."
For marketers, the message is clear: can your
product or service help Boomers fulfill their quest for
spiritual vitality in any way, shape or form. If so,
you'll be in business for 40 or more years.
Jane Fonda's "Feel the Burn" Flamed Out
Boomers embraced exercise and fitness in the 1970's
and 80's. But you wouldn't know it if you looked
around today. Everyone, it seems, is fat.
The Centers for Disease Control's National Center for
Health Statistics has issued their annual
report on the health and fitness of Americans.
Turns out not quite everyone is fat. Just 7 out of 10.
While data for the specific ages of Boomers in 2006
(ages 42-60) isn't readily available, we can look at
the 45-64 age segment as a substitute. It doesn't
paint a pretty picture.
First off, among those ages 45-64 in 2006, would
you believe 65% said they never get 10
minutes of physical exercise that gets the heart rate
up. Some 22% report that they get that kind of
physical exercise 3+ times a week, and 13% fall
in-between.
It follows, then, that among those ages 45-64,
69% are considered overweight or obese based on
their Body Mass Index, or BMI. Only 30% have a
healthy BMI and 1% are underweight by that
measure.
Second, we looked at the BIGresearch SIMM data
from the
surveys done in late 2006 and found that more
Boomers report suffering from acid reflux, depression,
insomnia, heartburn and being overweight than any
other generation.
Click to enlarge
Is it some sort of generational angst driving these
conditions? Genetics? Stress?
Only 32% of Boomers say they are "overweight" in
this survey, but the CDC says 7 out of 10 Boomers
are overweight.
The implications are obvious: Boomers better get off
their duffs and exercise, or...well, we guess they
better accelerate
their spiritual education.
Marketers that can facilitate
Boomers getting more exercise -- to lose weight and
manage stress -- will be the future Fat Cats.
Chattanooga Times Free Press and
Boomers
We were delighted and somewhat surprised to learn
recently that the Boomer Project has influenced the
Chattanooga Times Free Press to begin a regular column on Boomers.
Our power and influence over mid-market daily
newspapers is unmatched.
Seriously, we're tickled that they acknowledged our
role in their enlightenment. If anyone else has been
so enlightened by us, please let us know.
Today Chattanooga, tomorrow the world.
MSN Loves Boomers (Again)
Last summer MSN shut down their content module
dedicated to Boomers.
Now they are back up and running with a new, improved
channel for Boomers so they can read about
themselves, congregate and share stories. The
value-add of valuable content generated by
professionals,
in addition to the chance for user-generated
content, is a good thing, we think.
Our plan is to watch and see what advertisers
appear. Who is reaching Boomers online in this
environment, we wonder?
Brainiac Follow-Up
In our piece last month about all the new "brain
exercise" programs and approaches out there, we
inadvertently left out one of the more interesting
ones.
It's called "neurobics" and it makes more sense than
all the rest of them combined.
Here's the description from the Web site:
"Neurobics" is a unique new system of brain exercises
based on the latest scientific research from leading
neurobiology labs around the world - including Dr.
Lawerence Katz' lab at the Dept of Neurobiology in
the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC.
The deceptively simple exercise program is the first
and only program scientifically based on the brain's
ability to produce natural growth factors called
neurotrophins that help fight off the effects of
mental aging.
Neurobic exercises use your five physical senses and
your emotional sense in unexpected ways and
encourage you to shake up your everyday routines.
Now take a minute or two and watch this interview with co-author
Manning Rubin from an interview with The Wall Street
Journal Online.
It will make you think.
Jobs Jobs Jobs
Boomers contact us asking where are the jobs for
the over 50 folks.
Most seem to be coming at it from the perspective
put forth in this article in USA Today "Too
Young to Retire, Too Old to be Hired."
Perhaps there is some good news on the horizon,
coming out of Washington, DC. Your federal
government has put out the "Help Wanted" sign to older Boomers.
They need experienced people to replace those
Boomers who have taken early retirement. And the
benefits are tremendous.
Just a helpful tip from your friends at the Boomer
Project.
Can We Help You?
If you know of a group or organization that would
benefit from learning more about how to market to
today’s Boomer Consumer, contact Jocelyn
Tice or call 804-358-8981.
Also, if you have any comments or questions
about any of the information presented here, please
let us know at
comments@boomerproject.com.
Matt Thornhill
The Boomer Project
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