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Buy our book, Boomer Consumer, today |
| Voted "Best of the Best" Business Books in 2007 by CORBIS.
Available and in stock online at Amazon.com, BN.com and at Barnes & Noble stores in major markets.
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| Can't Get Enough of that Baby Boomer Stuff? |
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There's more. Oh, yes, there's much more.
On the Web:
Check out the Boomer Project Web site where we archive our published content and tell you how to line up Matt Thornhill and John Martin as speakers.
Visit the Older Dominion Partnership, a Virginia-based consortium of businesses, not-for-profits, universities and government agencies planning 10 to 20 years ahead for the Age Wave of aging Boomers.
In the Boomer Consumer blog, we venture beyond the topic of marketing to Baby Boomers into Boomer finances, family structure, sociology and the science of aging. |
| About Us |
The Boomer Project offers the most thorough and up-to-date portrait of today's Boomer Consumer. How can we help?
We offer consulting to help companies and organizations develop their "50+ plan." If you don't have one, you better. It's the only demographic segment that will increase in size over the next decade, growing some 23% while the 18-49 segment stays stagnant (Census data, baby).
We also conduct on-site programs, where we educate your marketing and/or customer service personnel about how today's Boomer Consumers think, feel and respond to your messages. These day-long sessions include insights obtained from our on-going proprietary national research among Boomers.
Contact us to learn more about all of our services.
Email: info@boomerproject.com
Phone: 804.690.4837
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| June 5, 2009
News & Insights from the Boomer Project
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Dear Matt,
Before we get to this week's issue, we want to remind you that we've joined Twitter nation and you can "follow" us here. It's an experiment for us so far, but with over 5,000 subscribers to this newsletter, maybe some will find value in more frequent -- and short -- updates and comments from us. This week's coverage of marketing to Boomers focuses on Boomer health, now and in the future. Apparently as we grow older (we're never going to "age"), the warranty runs out on some of our equipment. Smart marketers are focusing on how to make money helping older Boomers stay healthier longer. Enjoy. -- The Editors |
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Great Resource
Living Large Longer
 As Boomers grow older the challenge is to stay healthier longer. Financial Times has published a "Health" magazine (print and online) that has several outstanding stories on health, aging and technology. Here's our favorite quote in the 56 page issue:
Tom Kirkwood, director of Newcastle University's Institute for Ageing and Health, puts the long-term trend into vivid perspective. "For the past 200 years, life expectancy in the developed world has been increasing by five hours per day," he says. "This 29-hour day, 24 for now and five for later, represents a great triumph for science and medicine."
Go online and read the issue, or just read one or two articles that are most relevant to you.
Our top three worth reading are:
- The New Old Age
- Helping Hands -- about universal design.
- Growing Old Gracefully
The Boomer Line: A quick read of the entire issue will give you four or five new business ideas, or new ways to think about your business. In the future, "old" will be in.
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Case Study
Now Hear This!
Who would look to a battery company to provide information on health and wellness?
Our guess: No one.
But that isn't stopping the folks at Energizer, the battery with the bunny that "keeps going," from launching a "year-round" (huh?) public relations program targeting older Boomers called "Live Healthy KEEP GOING(R)," complete with its own Web site.
They have conducted a few studies on Boomers to pepper their press releases with factoids worthy of media attention, and have gotten some good placement. But the program presents itself as purely a PR effort and not really something of value to a Boomer surfing the Web. There are only press releases and one page of tips from each of their resident experts on exercise, hearing and diabetes.
Pardon us, but their agenda is showing.
The Boomer Line: Look, Boomers have been marketed to since they were five years old, sitting in front of a black & white television. They are a smart, jaded group of consumers.
Our advice to Energizer (and anyone else) is to either make your PR effort clearly about your products (hearing aid batteries, in this case) or make it clearly altruistic (in this case, overall health and wellness) with some real depth. This effort is neither fish nor fowl.
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Listen Up
Energizer may not get a gold star for their effort (above) but their use of research to make interesting and meaningful points is much better than a similar attempt by Siemens to promote hearing aids. Siemens reports that a survey they conducted among 250 older Americans they label as "Boomers," and 250 adult children who have parents still living, revealed that "Boomers" are in denial about hearing loss and the adult children know it. You noticed the "air quotes" around "Boomers," didn't you? That's because the definition of a "Boomer" in the Siemens survey was anyone age 50 to 75. Since U.S. Boomers are ages 45-64 this year, we think Siemens needs a wrist slap for misrepresenting the Boomer cohort as their survey respondent. There's no link to the actual study, so we can't investigate the questions and structure of it, but we were astounded by this "finding" as reported in the release: Children of Boomers also revealed that they attribute their parents' increased feelings of anger, isolation and depression to hearing loss. Fifty-four percent of respondents perceive depression in their father and 50 percent report the same for their mother because of a lack of hearing.
Depression in older adults is a serious issue, but seriously, do most attribute it to a lack of hearing? The Boomer Line: Like we said, it is better to be true to your product or service in your PR efforts, as Boomers can tell when you're not being authentic. But make sure you conduct and report research that can pass the sniff test at least, if not be seen as credible and valid. Misrepresenting the respondent pool or overstating the findings is a mistake, if not a mortal sin. Don't do it.
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Music to Our Ears
Speaking of ears, we came across a year-old Web site that we now love: SonicBoomers.com. It's "The Boomer's Guide to Music and News" and fills a void in online information about music for Boomers, then and now. As their press materials report: Music was the social glue that held [Boomers] together, and for most, that has never really changed. But with all the permutations of the music business over the past ten years, Boomers have been the first to be forgotten. Sonic Boomers (www.sonicboomers.com) changes that. The newly launched website features a breadth of musical and cultural information that will help Boomers stay informed and inspired, all penned by legendary writers who helped create modern music journalism. Contributing writers come from Rolling Stone, Creem, Paste, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, National Public Radio and other award-winning media.
What makes Sonic Boomers work for us is the mix of information about the origins of Boomer music (and a great collection of videos of performances "back in the day" -- check out this clip from 1969 of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young singing "Down By The River"), and stories about today's music that appeals to Boomer sensibilities ( read a review of Cat Stevens, er, Yusuf's new album). We are often contacted by Boomer musicians creating new music in the styles of music from the 1960's and 70's with no outlet. Sonic Boomers at least offers them a public platform.
The Boomer Line: We think Sonic Boomers has carved out a nice niche and holds promise for others focusing on specific elements of Boomer life to celebrate online. The best model for an online Boomer-focused property is to be focused. The ones that have tried to be all things to all Boomers are already long gone. |
Surviving the Parent Trap
Another smart Web site we recently came across is Parentgiving.com. Launched about six weeks ago, this site provides information for Boomers caring for older parents or relatives. It combines good articles and links to resources with a store where you can buy relevant products to help care for an older relative. There is a large and growing market opportunity for Parentgiving.com. According to Census data, the percent of 60-year-olds who still have a parent alive today is 49%. This life stage as "caregiver" for older parent or relative is a new one for Boomers at age 60, and one that comes without an instruction book. What we find interesting in this initiative is that while we've seen other online stores specializing in products for caregivers and older adults ( Gold Violin being the best of the bunch), none have packaged useful information with products as well as Parentgiving.com. We especially like the link to "Care Manager Services" -- available by phone -- where they will provide help and guidance on caregiving issues. We'll keep an eye on this start-up and report back on their progress. The Boomer Line: This is a great example of the new opportunities that will open up as Boomers find themselves in new stages of life, even at age 60.
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