This month's newsletter is fashionably late. Just like
spring was in most parts of the country.
In this issue we will update you on all the goings on
at the Boomer Project, as well as share some
interesting things we've learned from marketers out
there focusing on aging Boomers.
There is some progress out there. But there are
some heads in the sand, too.
First up, the Boomer Project news:
Boomer Project on TV
This week CNBC is airing a series called "Boomer
Nation," with pieces running three times a day
(Squawk Box, Power Lunch and on some other show
they can't remember).
Today's story is on Boomers and beauty, tomorrow
it's sex, Wednesday inheritance, Thursday
investment and Friday technology.
They interviewed the Boomer Project a month or so
ago on a wide range of topics like Boomers and
beauty, sex, inheritance, investment and technology.
So you can hear our sound bytes all week as CNBC
tells American businesses that Boomers are still out
there.
We provide confirmation.
Washington, DC-area subscribers: The Boomer
Project is also appearing tonight during the 6:00pm
newscast on NBC-4 in a piece by tech reporter I.J. Hudson on
Boomers and technology.
Fire up your TiVOs.
Boomer Project Meets Elvis
The Boomer Project, along with its partner firm, SIR
Research, has added new personnel to expand our
offerings for clients. Joining the firm is Jennifer
Burgess, who most recently headed up the global
marketing for Elvis Presley Enterprises, with
responsibility for brand management, research and
online marketing for the world-famous Elvis Presley
brand, named by Forbes as the
top-earning dead celebrity.
She was also responsible for Graceland, which
ranks
with Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello, in
terms of popularity and visitation. Who knew.
Jennifer brings more than 25 years of core marketing
experience in the travel/tourism, hospitality,
gaming and entertainment industries. Her past
experience includes Harrah's Entertainment, and the
Holiday Inn, Homewood Suites and Embassy Suites
brands.
She will head up our Travel practice, conducting
research and training for companies and
organizations in the travel and tourism industry who
want to find better ways to attract Boomers.
One of her first assignments is to help educate
marketers like Tony Wheeler, founder of Lonely
Planet, a travel guide company
that specializes in locations off the beaten path.
He is quoted in an article
about Boomers and travel as saying you shouldn't be
focusing on Boomers alone: "The last thing a
business wants is an aging population. You have a
bunch of 60-year-olds and in 20 years they're dead."
We believe if you don't focus on Boomers you won't
be in business in 5 years, much less 20.
By the way, you can reach Jennifer at her SIR Research email address: jennifer@SIRresearch.com.
Save the Date:
Boomer Project Seminar
in Atlanta June 23, 2006
The Boomer Project will be conducting a day-long
conference in Atlanta on Friday, June 23rd. Called
"New Rules for Selling and Marketing to Baby
Boomers," this event will feature presentations from
Matt Thornhill on understanding Boomers today; John
Martin, president of SIR Research, on Boomer
attitudes towards healthcare, financial services,
travel and tourism, and retail.
In addition, we'll have a panel of media experts
sharing insights on where to find Boomers, as well
as a panel of marketing leaders from healthcare,
financial services, travel and tourism and retail
sharing their experiences targeting aging Boomers.
The conference will cost $595 for the general public,
but subscribers to this newsletter will get a
$100 discount.
Mark your calendars and look for more information in
your in-box soon.
Boomers and Retirement
In last month's newsletter, we commented on
how difficult it is to gain insight into how
Boomers will behave in their "retirement" years when
so many of them still have no idea when or how
they'll retire (a finding from our most recent study).
That article brought a thoughtful email from a
dedicated reader, David Hughes. It seems David
doesn't
buy into our assessment that Boomers are woefully
unprepared for "retirement" because he's prepared.
Here's what he said:
I am a "Baby Boomer" 59 years old. I was surprised to
read that boomers don't know what they are
going to do in retirement. I have spent the last 20
years preparing and planning my retirement. I
will retire in 9 months.
Last year I started a business, selling and servicing
Travel trailers and this spring my brother and
I are building an RV park on a small lake. These
decisions have been based on the demographics of
the
"Baby Boomers" and how I want to spend my
retirement. I am the facilities manager at a seating
manufacturer in Grand Rapids Michigan.
Sixteen years ago I purchased 40 hectares of
property in Costa Rica where I ran cattle for 8 years
and 7 years ago I planted 18,000 teak trees. This will
allow me to work in Michigan during the
tourist season and work my teak plantation in the
winter months.
These endeavors took a large sacrifice for my wife
and I but we can retire to do the things that we
enjoy and continue making an income while we do it.
I am not rich but I'm trying to be. I will not
inherit any money but I have planned and invested
whatever I could. My wife and I are healthy and
plan to live for a long time.
I think I know what my future looks like and I think
that looking at demographics has helped me to
invest wisely, so to say that the "Boomers" don't
know where they are going or what they are going to
be doing in many cases is a misnomer. I can with
certainty tell you that I won't become a couch
potato.
Sincerely, David Hughes
We quickly emailed David back congratulating him on
his foresight and planning. His story is
exceptional in many respects but one --
his "retirement" consists of him working in
Michigan half
the year and working in Costa Rica during the winter
months. In between, it seems, he and his
wife will travel and do the things they want to do.
That's exactly what we mean when we say Boomers
will redefine "retirement."
Redefining AARP
A NY Times article from this week talks about
the challenges facing AARP as it plots out its
future in a world of Boomers over 50.
In our presentations we're often asked about AARP's
role in the lives of aging Boomers. Our answer is
that there are challenging times ahead for the
organization. First, it was established to give a
voice to an overlooked segment in American society,
our senior citizens. With America's largest and
wealthiest demographic entering that phase of life,
will they need someone to provide them a voice?
We doubt it. They have their own voice(s).
Which brings us to the second point: We also wonder
how AARP can take positions on political and
social issues that will match the views of 78 million
Boomers. Of course, we all know 78 million of
any group don't share a singular view of anything,
but instead have a myriad of views across the
political and social spectrums. If anything, we see
the opportunity for several different Boomer-
oriented organizations like AARP in the future, helping
address the needs of different segments of
Boomers.
Besides, the arrival of the AARP membership card on
your 50th birthday brings with it unwelcomed
jokes and ridicule from your friends. Not exactly a
reason to join.
Maybe that's why Dotsie Bregel is having so much
success with her National Association
of Baby Boomer Women organization.
Product Marketing News
Boomers are becoming a viable market for some
smart product companies. First, there's the Jitterbug
mobile phone offering, a joint-venture with Samsung
and the very man who made the first cell phone call
(probably from a crowded restuarant).
The Jitterbug is remarkable in that it's a phone.
That's all.
We think the Jitterbug marketers will get rich.
Next, the video game/gaming industry isn't sure
which direction it wants to go when it comes to
Boomers. First, there's this article
about how game developers are ignoring Boomers.
But then there's the new "Brain Age" game
for
Nintendo DS, targeting those aging Boomers who
want to exercise their brains. (You can get a good
sense of the "this is not a game" version of brain
exercise at the Posit
Science Web site.
We anticipate many more products that target aging
Boomers in the coming months and years.
Media Targeting Everyone But Boomers
Two recent reports on the plans of Disney and News
Corp's FOX division
are signs that not everyone is embracing Boomers as
a viable market segment (of 78 million).
First, at a recent cable TV industry event, Anne
Sweeney, president of Disney Television Group
(think ABC, ABC Family, ESPN, Disney Channel) on
how Disney is focusing their considerable effort on
developing new programming to appeal to
those "Millennials,' those people ages 8 to 27. Here's
what she said:
"We've been looking at a group called Millennials,
which are people ages 8 to 27. In this group 40% go
home at night after work and school and use
between five and eight different technologies. Then
you have 40% of baby boomers who go home at
night and watch TV. That's what's directing so many
of our efforts in technology and content, especially
as we look at our brands going forward and how
they're going to be used going forward."
So even though Boomers are at home watching TV,
Disney Television Group would prefer to develop
technology and content for those 8 to 27 year olds
out there not watching TV. Good luck with that.
If Disney is simply going to ignore the hand that
feeds them, FOX is going to bite it.
They have recently paraded around a presentation
called "Generation FOX" that touts the buying power
and importance of those 12-24 year olds out there.
You know, the bunch that buys luxury cars and
remodels their homes once the kids have gone to
college. Oh wait, that's Boomers.
According to the FOX advertising sales teams,
Generation Fox is responsible for $350 billion in annual
spending on consumer goods and services.
Hello? Anybody out there?
Generation BOOMER spends $2 trillion annually on
goods and services. That's almost SIX TIMES MORE
every single year.
Somebody help us understand this logic. Or lack
thereof.
We guess that's why there are growing audiences
out there for radio programs like "Growing
Bolder" out of Orlando.
It's focused on how to enjoy and make the most out
of life as one ages and grows older. While new, the
program is building an audience base of loyal listeners
fast.
We were recently interviewed by Marc Middleton on
the show and he shared in our frustration that the
broadcast and cable networks don't seem to be
interested in targeting anyone over 50.
One would expect some change to come, but the
actions by Disney and News Corp. indicate that
those two are headed in the other direction.
Join the Marketing Pulse :30 Survey
We're still recruiting marketing professionals to join
our panel. Participants invest :30 seconds twice a
month to share their opinions on a topic related to
marketing to Boomers.
It's delivered by email and online, so it's a snap to
participate. Participants get instant access to the
findings among their peers, and an email with the full
results once the survey closes.
Join up by telling us your name, job title and
company name:
Sign Me
Up
Boomer Project Speaking & Consulting
Assignments
Many folks contact us wanting to know where we
have spoken or conducted seminars, or what we
have coming up that might be open to the public.
Here is a partial listing:
Past Events/Clients
- Genworth Financial sales and training events
- UBS Insurance Academy
- Florida Credit Union League headquarters
- Country of Panama seminar event in Panama City,
Panama
- Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau event
- Hershey's Foods marketing
- Newspaper Association of America national
conference
- Media General newspaper sales & marketing
Upcoming Events:
- MKG Financial public seminar, Portland, Oregon,
Thursday, April 20 at 6:30pm. More information here.
- National Ophthalmologistss conference in Las
Vegas
- Sun Life Financial Distributors events in Boston
- Pennsylvania Home Health Care annual
conference in State College, PA.
- Genworth Financial Services national sales
meeting in Chicago
- International Newspaper Marketing Association
event in NYC
- Norfolk Retail Merchants Association
- Florida Credit Union League annual convention in
Orlando
- Boomer Project seminar in Atlanta on June 23,
more information to come.
So you can see a wide variety of companies and
organizations are tapping into the insights and
perspectives the Boomer Project can bring. If you
know of a company, group or organization that would
benefit from getting "re-oriented" to today's
Boomers, please contact Matt
Thornhill.
Of course, if you have any comments or questions
about any of the information presented here, please
let us know at commen
ts@boomerproject.com.
Matt Thornhill
The Boomer Project
