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Latest News & Insights from the Boomer Project
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This is the first anniversary of the Jumpin' Jack
Flash
newsletter and we thought we'd spread some good
news with this issue. We'll share three stories of
marketers who have figured out how to better
connect with Boomers over 50.
First up is a story about communes. Yes,
your calendar is correct: this is 2005 and not 1969.
But communes are coming back as the "cohousing"
trend.
Second story is set in the shower, the origin
of all good ideas.
Third story is about getting Boomer women out of
the kitchen at home and into the kitchen at
a strip
mall near you.
We also have a few tidbits about the latest
Del Webb survey about Boomers and retirement
living, and a comment about the idiots that run CBS.
Can You Help Us Spread the Word?
Regular readers of this newsletter know that we are
passionate about enlightening marketers about how
to do a better job at communicating to Boomers over
50.
If you know of any company or organization that
might benefit from hearing more about the findings
from our national research,
please contact us at
speaking@boomerproject.com.
We're interested in speaking to groups large and
small, national and local, and sharing our insights on
how to better communicate with Boomers, America's
largest and most important demographic group.
So drop us a note or recommend us to your
organization. Our fees are quite reasonable and the
information in our presentations is invaluable.
And, as usual, if you have a comment on any of
these stories, just send us your
thoughts.
Matt Thornhill
The Boomer Project
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Cohabitating to Cohousing
The Return of the Commune
(Sort of)
Over the next 30 years all 76 million Baby Boomers
will reach 70 and older. As reported in this newsletter
and other places, it is likely Boomers will
"age-in-place" and not relocate to Florida or Arizona.
But not all of them will be able to afford independent
living, private assisted living or nursing facilities. And
just like Boomers aren't anticipating Social Security
to cover their nut in the later years, they also doubt
Medicare will foot the bill for much in terms of late-
life housing and care.
So where will all these Boomer Seniors live? And who
will take care of them?
One answer already in the works in a concept
imported from Denmark called "cohousing." Cohousing
is a small community with 10 to 30 homes, clustered
close together, with easy accessible walkways
connecting them, and a large community building
where some medical facilities are available, as well as
a communal dining area.
The residents own their own
homes, in most cases, and also have an equal voice
in community affairs and decisions. The entire
community breaks bread as often as two or three
times a week at the community dining hall and
everyone is expected to contribute hours monthly to
community service.
Most of the 80 existing cohousing communities in the
United States today are multi-generational, but Elder
Cohousing is the next trend.
You should expect Elder Cohousing to boom as
Boomers start considering how they will have to care
for themselves during the later stages of life. The
idea of being in a community with shared values,
shared care, shared
meals, shared transportation, and even shared
(multi-family) homes has tremendous appeal to older
Boomers, who remember the 1950's. And the
commune-trying Boomers of the Sixties will embrace
the cohousing concept.
Elder cohousing communities will even be retrofitted
from
exiting neighborhoods, enabling literal
"aging-in-place."
This may require local jurisdictions to
allow multi-family housing in traditional single family
home neighborhoods. The point, as the Cohousing
Organization points out, isn't to build new
buildings, but to create real communities.
Because, as we will all come to learn, it takes a
village to care for older Boomers.
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The Best Ideas
Are in the Shower
I recently stayed at the Wyndham Hotel in downtown
Boston and was struck by the clever and thoughtful
design applied to, of all things, the shower in the
bathroom.
First, there was a bright light directly overhead, so I
could see while the shower curtain was closed.
Second, the curtain rod bowed outward, providing
more space for maneuvering in the shower, forever
solving the problem of shower-curtain-cling (it's been
clinically proven that the plastic in shower liners is
attracted to wet skin).
Lastly, the control handle was clearly marked, in
large dark letters against a light background, so I
could tell "Hot" from "Cold" and which way to turn
the handle to the "Off" position.
Okay, so those seem like little details. But as
architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe said, "God is in
the details."
The Wyndham's shower is ready for an aging
population. It is designed to accommodate
light-sensitive eyes, poor reading vision, larger
physiques
and less mobility. But at no point during my stay did I
sense I was in a "senior-friendly" or
"senior-designed" facility. Good design works for
everyone,
at any age. Their shower has fantastic design.
Which is exactly the point.
Good design accommodates everyone, old and
young, fat and skinny, mobile and sedentary. I
predict we're going to see more and more examples
of good, considerate design in things that don't have
it now: remote controls, mobile phones, VCR, TiVO,
Cable Set Top Boxes and all other "black" electronic
devices with labels currently designed to be so subtle
you don't see them at all.
Good, considerate, accommodating design will be
praised, and not ridiculed by older Boomers. No more
laughing at the
"Good Grips" kitchen utensils mom
had, as we rush out in search of our own.
In fact, thoughtful, ageless design will spill
over into
thoughtful, ageless marketing, designed to appeal to
any age, not just the young.
When it does, just remember it started in
the shower.
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Are You Experienced?
Get Out of the Kitchen
And into the Kitchen
Coming soon to a strip mall near you is My
Girl Friend's Kitchen, a meal preparation
experience. The concept is new, but simple.
For about $190, you come in for a two hour session
where you assemble all the ingredients for 12 entrees
which serve 4-6 people, put them in aluminum foil
pans, and take them home to freeze and eat over
the next two weeks or so. You select your entrees
from a list online, and the staff buys all the
ingredients, and cuts, chops and organizes
everything needed for the recipe. All you have to do
is assemble.
According to co-founder Jennifer Jackenthal, "The
majority of the moms that come in have kids in the
house, and need something that can serve 4 to 6
people."
But she also acknowledges that they have been
surprised by the percentage of customers that have
been older Boomers, even empty nesters. (They do
offer the option to come in with a friend and split the
portions, so you get 2-3 servings each).
"We've had empty nester husbands and wives come
in and treat the experience like a date," Jackenthal
said. "And we've also seen younger Boomers taking
the extra servings to drop off at their parent's home."
The in-store experience is an event, scheduled in
advance, and includes oldies music and lots of
energy and laughter. Just the kind of experience a
Boomer over 50 is looking for -- along with healthy,
natural food, to maintain vitality.
And while the company didn't anticipate the Boomer
element to quite the degree they are getting it,
Jackenthal says "Our franchise candidates sure do
get it."
So far, there are only a handful of MGFK stores
across the
country, but plan on more of these retail "experiential
shopping" concepts in coming years -- because it's
what America's largest demographic, Boomers, want.
Let's imagine: "Sew & Sass" quilting bee retail
experience...or "Build-a-Bench" woodworking retail
experience...
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Tidbits
The latest research from retirement home builder Del
Webb reports that "Boomers plan active
retirements."
Worth a read, but please exercise caution.
Remember it isn't until 2011 before the first Boomer
hits 65 years old. The last Boomers will reach that
age promptly in the year 2029. What happens
in-between is still anybody's guess and the last
person
to ask about it today is a Boomer. They have no idea
what they're going to do in 2011, 2029 or any year
in-between.
CBS, on the other hand, knows that older
Boomers
aren't going to be watching the Tiffany Network this
fall, given their line-up changes.
Last month CBS
announced, with great fanfare, that they
"canceled 'Judging Amy,' 'Joan of Arcadia' and the
Wednesday edition of '60 Minutes' as the nation's
most popular network tries to attract younger
viewers.
"CBS...narrowly missed beating Fox among the
youthful 18-to-49-year-old demographic prized by
advertisers...
Four of the five prime-time CBS programs with the
oldest audience were removed from the schedule.
"'We want to win it all,' said Leslie Moonves, CBS
chairman."
What idiots. They may "win it all" next year, but
they, and the other broadcasters, will have
successfully driven more Boomers to cable TV and
other forms of nightly entertainment.
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