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Longer articles, more insights, data not available elsewhere, just by subscribing to Boomer Marketing News, from the editors of Jumpin' Jack Flash.
Click here and use the coupon code "bab00m" to save $60 off your first year subscription.
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News & Insights from the Boomer Project
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Hello,
This is the new & improved "Jumpin' Jack Flash" newsletter from the Boomer Project. As you can see, it is even personalized to you (based on the first name you provided when you signed up -- so if it has a typo, blame the original typist).
This month we'll tell you the secret to living a long life. We'll give you more reasons to subscribe to our paid newsletter, Boomer MarketingNews. And we'll follow-up on some stories we covered earlier.
Plus we'll share some fascinating findings from our new partner, BIGresearch and their latest Consumer Intentions & Actions Study, from February 2007. You may recall from last month that BIG fields a national survey every month, collecting responses from over 8,000 consumers. We cull through the data to uncover insights about today's Boomer Consumer, an active and engaged consumer.
Speaking of Boomer Consumer, that's the title of our about-to-be-published first book from the Boomer Project, co-authored by Matt Thornhill & John Martin. More details about the book and its availability date next month.
Get comfortable and dig in to this month's serving of Boomer marketing information.
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Live a Long Life (or Die Trying)
The Secret is Your Knife and Fork
 The Boomer quest for the "Fountain of Vitality" is one that will enable many smart marketers to get rich.
BusinessWeek reported on some modern day flim-flam men selling the equivalent of "youth in a bottle" in their cover story last year.
In this month's The Scientist there is a discussion among -- you guessed it -- scientists about how to re-engineer the human body to last 150 years or longer. Called "What if Humans Were Designed to Last?", the piece reports how experts in gerontology, neuroscience, genetics, cell biology, development, and
health and fitness science would design a human that would stand the test of time.
 None of the experts suggested the approach pioneered by Luigi Cornaro some 500 years ago (when we say "pioneer," we really mean "pioneer"). Cornaro was born in the mid 1400's and died in 1566 at the age of 102 (there's some debate on his age, ranging from 98 to 109). This Italian comtemporary of Columbus lived a typical fun-loving nobleman's life until about the age of 40, when in poor health and on the short path to death, he sought medical advice on getting healthy and living a long life. The doctors suggested he cut back on food and drink, so he did. To the extreme.
For the rest of his long and productive life (he wrote his seminal piece "Discource on a Sober Life" at age 83, and more at ages 86, 91 and 95), he consumed only 12 ounces of food a day across two meals, with two 7 ounce glasses of grape juice.
Talk about your Value Meal!
Luigi was certainly nuts, but his overall approach of only eating what you like and only in the smallest quantity necessary to sustain yourself was his secret to living an unheard of 102 years.
Modern scientists have recently put mice and lab rats on "calorie restriction with optimum nutrition" diets and seen the same effect -- a slowing down of the aging process and a longer life.
They say that Luigi was mentally sharp, physically active and productive, with his sight and hearing undiminished until the day he died (probably of hunger).
It's no surprise, then, to learn of The Longevity Diet book and the Calorie Restriction Society. There's going to be money in not eating. You'll see.
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Tune In
The original Boomer guru, Dr. Ken Dychtwald, has developed and stars in a new PBS documentary called "The Boomer Century, 1946-2046."
It airs on PBS Wednesday, March 28, 9-11 p.m. (Check local listings).
So far there hasn't been much publicity about the program, but we're pretty sure it will be well worth the two hour time investment.
At least Dychtwald isn't doing what TVLand is doing, and "borrowing interest" from President Bill Clinton to get the attention of the media. Instead, he's simply creating his own media.
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 Looking for Real Insights?
These days there is plenty of talk in the media and online about marketing to Boomers, but not much in terms of real insights. That's our business and we're delivering help on how to better connect with today's Boomer Consumer in our monthly paid newsletter, BoomerMarketingNews. Don't take our word on it, though. Read this unsolicited note from a subscriber: " BoomerMarketingNews is truly the authoritative source for knowledge when it comes to marketing to this lucrative segment. I enjoy your advertising analyses, current news reports and your point of view on them, your smart insights, and especially your focus on the positive aspects of aging. No one else has figured out how to make this information relevant to marketers, and I applaud your efforts." Recent stories, features and articles include: - "If I Had a Hammer: Today's Boomer Home Improvement Consumer" -- including the latest data from BIGresearch's CIA Study, January 2007.
- "Extra, Extra, Read All About It" -- article about the renewed focus on Boomers by many newspapers across the country.
- "Changing What it Means to Grow Old in America" -- a review of Dr. Gene Cohen's The Mature Mind.
- "Death to the TV Generation! Long live the TV Generation!" -- understanding Boomer media consumption.
- "Segment Schmegment: How to Slice and Dice 78 Million Boomers" -- a report on segmentation schemes and why most aren't very helpful.
No Risk Subscription OfferRegular readers of this newsletter can save $60 off the annual subscription price for year one, plus if you're not satisfied with the newsletter at any time, we will refund any unused part of your subscription fee. You get 12 monthly issues sent to you via email as PDFs. Each issue features 8 or more pages of stories, features and interviews on marketing to today's Boomers. Each issue will also share findings from recent Boomer Project research studies, not available to the public. The annual subscription is $240, but by using the coupon code "bab00m" when you click here, you will only pay $180 for the first year. Annual subscriptions also gain you access to all the previous issues in our archive. So stop chasing around in hopes of finding a gem or two about how to market to today's Boomer Consumer, and subscribe today. |
Boomer Health
Luigi Cornaro's approach to long life aside, it seems at midlife that Boomers aren't doing too well -- as compared to the previous generation at the same age. Perhaps you've seen stories this week about a study fielded by the National Institutes of Health, which revealed that Boomers at age 50 are in worse physical shape than the previous generation was in at the same age (from a study done in 1993). Here's an article about it on WebMD. The key statement in the article, and study, though, is this: Perhaps baby boomers are more informed about their health, or more willing to note health problems, than the oldest group. Or perhaps their health has taken a turn for the worse.
The researchers didn't confirm participants' self-reported medical history. They also didn't give participants checkups to gauge the true state of their health.
So the study isn't definitive. That explains why the press release from the NIH has a headline that poses a question: "Coul baby Boomers Be Approaching Retirement in Worse Shape Than Their Predecessors?" Yet the article at WebMD is not at all ambiguous: "Baby Boomers in Bad Shape." This is another example of "agism" or "generational bias" often found by Brent Green, a fellow Boomer observer. Brent, in fact, pointed us to this discussion about the news of poor Boomer health at a blog by NYTimes writer John Tierney. Tierney wonders if Boomers really in worse shape, or just more likely to complain about their health (as in "whine.") Read the comments on his blog, pro and con, on the Boomer generation. It will give you a healthy dose of the mindsets marketers face when focusing on today's Boomer Consumer. |
The Nanas and the Papas
Being a grandparent is a new (and permanent) life stage for older Boomers. Here are some fun facts to know and tell about Boomer Grandparents, from a Boomer Project analysis of BIGresearch CIA Study, February 2007. Margin of Error is +/- 1.0%.
- Of the 78 million Boomers, 35% are already grandparents - some 27.2 million.
- Of all grandparents in the United States today, 58% are Boomers.
- The average age of a Boomer grandparent today: 53.2 years old.
- Only 12% of Boomer Grandparents are retired. That suggests they have money to spend on their grandkids that older, retired grandparents don't have.
In the March issue of BoomerMarketingNews, we'll report more on the spending and shopping behavior of these Boomer Grandparents.
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Follow-Ups
Mind the GAP: We got excited back in November of 2004 when GAP announced the launch of Forth & Towne, a new clothing store aimed at women "over 35" (really for Boomer women).
This past week GAP announced they were closing the 19 stores they've opened to refocus on their core brands, GAP, Banana Repoblic and Old Navy.
Don't be discouraged. This isn't because Boomer women aren't buying women's clothes. This has to do with GAP not being able to manage the brands they have, much less launch a new one.
Are You Experienced: Also back in November 2004 we suggested marketers interested in finding a strong "cause-related marketing" partner to look at Experience Corps, the organization that matches up older Americans with public service opportunities in their communities. Since then Experience Corps has joined forces with Civic Ventures, which has attracted corporate sponsors like MetLife Foundation.
As Boomers enter their 60's and beyond, more and more will look for ways to give back. How is your organization helping them, or helping those non-profits who are helping them? The opportunities are everywhere.
Home Sweet Co-Home: In June 2005 we pointed out a new trend in housing called "cohousing." It seems it is now all the rage.
What traditional products or services for homeowners could be rethought to meet the needs of cohousing residents?
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