The fact that the oldest of the Baby Boomers will turn 60 in 2006 is not lost on the media industry. But the media industry may be lost on what to do about it. The July 25th edition of the Wall Street Journal profiles several start-up magazines and websites geared to the over-60 crowd. Launching in August 2006, Eons.com wants to be the MySpace for Boomers’ social networking. Grand, a magazine for grandparents is almost two years old, but has yet to turn a profit. In September, a new cable channel called “Retirement Living TV” will hit the airwaves, featuring informational programming about all aspects of retirement.

There is no argument that the Baby Boomer generation provides an untapped opportunity for marketers, and therefore advertising. This is a generation that has grown up spending and isn’t likely to slow down, especially given that they have purchasing power of over $2 trillion. The biggest question is how to reach them.

Certainly, some media will be successfully focusing solely on the over-60 demographic, just as we have seen with hundreds of other niche magazines that appeal to specific lifestyles. There will always be consumers that want to read articles about other people just like them. AARP: The Magazine is one of the world’s largest circulation magazines, reaches 22.5 million people. Admittedly, it comes free with membership. But, why have other paid publications had less success penetrating the older demographic?
Because old age is a club that no one wants to join. That is even more evident with the Baby Boomers, who will avoid media specifically geared to their age group, because they have are doing whatever they can to stay forever young.

As Baby Boomers age, they will relate best to the media they have grown up with. But those media will have to shift their focus to remain relevant to this audience’s changing interests and tastes. For example, a recent issue of Newsweek added a section at the end called “The Boomer Files,” containing several rock and roll pieces featuring Carly Simon, Bruce Springsteen and Eric Clapton. Additionally, Men’s Health has created Best Life with tips on reducing stress, buying a second home and how to look ten years younger. This seems to be the smarter strategy to reach an audience that has no interest in becoming labeled old.

In the coming decade, expect to see more media adapting content to meet the expectations of their aging consumers. Overcoming their obsession with catering to the 18-24 demographic, they will awaken the potential of an older audience as their advertisers search for new ways to tap that lucrative market.

I am a baby boomer.

I was born into the age of the bomb. My father and his seven brothers fought in World War II and worked hard to earn a better life for me and my brother. My mother worked as well, and together my parents became part of the largest generation of middle class in the world.

I went to public school, and became the first in my family to attend and graduate from college. It was my parent’s proudest moment.

My generation became the flower children of the 60’s and the forgotten heroes of Vietnam. We were inspired by Jack Kennedy to believe that anything was possible in America. We dreamed of traveling to the moon, even as the nightmare of Vietnam unfolded. We learned of the great generosity and unlimited potential of a free society and of the limits of both our power and our ideas.

We won the race to the Moon, lost a war in Vietnam, spent the Soviet Union into oblivion and created, in one land, the greatest economic and military power in world history, leaving both a legacy and a price tag for our children, and their children.

After being turned onto politics by the voice of Kennedy and the force of Vietnam, Watergate disappointed us and turned us inward, having us believe in the greater power of the private sector and the cynicism of politicians. We want to believe again, but will always be skeptics.

We are responsible for the great social movements of our time, standing on the shoulders of our parents: Women’s rights, Civil Rights, democracy and economic freedom.

We do not speak with one voice, nor do we share a single view. However, we are, and we have always been, an undeniable force.

Four years ago, I received a invitation to join AARP. I was insulted. I am not ready to retire – not today. There’s still too much to be done: ladders to climb, movements to sustain, and most important, our parents’ grandchildren (our children) to educate and launch into the world. Ironically, our goal for them is the same as my mother’s and father’s goal for me – make certain that the next generation of Americans is better off than the previous: the American Dream.

Take us for granted at your own risk.

Every seven seconds a Boomer turns 50. We are the fastest growing population segment, the most affluent consumer group, account for 40% of total consumer demand, average $24,000 in disposable annual income and control more than 48% of all discretionary purchases. 70% of us are willing to try new brands, we own over 80% of all money in savings accounts, 79% of America’s financial assets and 62% of all large Wall Street investment accounts. We spend $2 trillion dollars on goods and services each year. And, almost forgotten in all this is that we live online, purchase more goods there and are organizing ourselves there faster than anyone. After all, we invented the Internet and its next generation.

Yet, marketers and politicians are largely ignoring us, even as we turn older and begin to have grave concerns about our legacy and our children’s future

We know how to organize. We know the power of spending and the force of collective action. We are cynical of promises and punish those who fail to keep them.

We are not finished yet. We are an undeniable force.

Take us for granted at your own risk.

We are Baby Boomers.

It is no surprise that women control most of the purchasing decisions in American families, but among boomers, women are increasing their power. No where is this more apparent than in decisions around home purchases and furnishings.

According to the National Association of Home Builders boomer women direct 91% of housing decisions and 84% of home furnishing choices. And communicating effectively to boomer women isn’t easy. Their decision process, according to Doris Perlman, Founder and President of Possibilities for Design, is apt to be “circular, exploring and tactile.” Boomer women “do not make linear decisions.”

Boomer women want to connect personally with a product or brand and security is their most important issue around homes and home products. Perlman maintains that “women don’t just buy a product, they join it”. Some of the new treads that boomer women home buyers are looking for include:

-- Space: wider hallways and stairs; living areas on the main floors and open, airy floor plans and multifunctional spaces.
-- Colors: brown, grayed-out greens, reds coming up orange.
-- Illumination: task lighting and natural light. It is important that model homes be well lit and use high-contrast furniture.
-- Strong character in home design: cottages with a crisp, clean look, urban homes with rich colors and calming Asian influences.
-- On-line ease: these women are ordering and communicating online.
-- ‘Special Interest Rooms”: Women are relaxing, reading and spending more time on hobbies. They need their space. It’s also a good idea to have a grand-kids room.
-- Comforts: higher sinks, toilets, and stove tops and lower shower heads are all going to be popular.
-- Health: walking trails, club houses, hotel/resort amenities.

As millions of boomer families begin to cash out equity on their homes and become empty nesters, there will be another housing boom, but it is likely to take different direction. The boomer home will become smaller, but quality will be the greatest asset that any builder or retailer can offer. Likewise, furnishing the new, smaller boomer home will become a major growth industry. The fight for brand loyalty in these areas is a many multi-billion dollar challenge and has only just begun. Smart home builders and retailers take note.

Born between 1946 and 1964, an era of prosperity and relative peace, America's 78 million Baby Boomers grew up with full bellies, homes brimming with consumer goods, and spending money in their pockets. Telephones, television and jet planes shrunk their world while space travel opened up the universe. They witnessed the first moonwalk and the first televised assassination. They also were the first to use computers and the Internet. But just as Boomers transformed the society, they were also being shaped by the times in which they lived. Although a far from homogenous group, the Baby Boom generation shared life experiences that left their mark on its members. As a result Boomers as a group possess certain characteristics and attitudes that make them unique. Some efforts to define them are too general. Most are platitudinal. How about defining them through their music?

R-e-s-p-e-c-t

From the beginning, Boomers' sheer numbers forced businesses and governments to respond to their demands. They needed houses with more bedrooms and cars with more seats, so suburbs sprung up and Detroit created station wagons to haul them around. When Boomers began buying their own homes, they drove up prices and spurred development of new housing types such as condominiums and townhouses. Because they transformed the marketplace at each stage of their lives, Boomers developed a sense of entitlement about having their needs met. Moreover, they came to believe that everything could be changed and they could change everything to suit their desires.

Satisfaction

Permissive parents also shaped Boomers' expectations. After the deprivation of World War II, Boomer's parents worked hard to give their children the security and material goods they themselves never had. Boomers came to expect instant gratification. They grew up more self- aware and self-confident than their parents but also more self-indulgent. They earned another label - "The Me Generation".

Suspicious Lies

Boomers grew up self confident and self-centered but political events in their lives turned their innate brashness into skepticism. The Bay of Pigs, the assassinations of the Kennedys and Dr. King, race riots, Viet Nam and Watergate taught them to question authority. Their efforts in support of civil rights, women's liberation and a cleaner environment showed them they could oppose the status quo and win

Dr. Feelgood

Money and technology vastly improved healthcare since World War II, resulting in longer and healthier lives for Boomers. Vitamins, good nutrition and the free time for outdoor recreation enabled them to grow strong and tall. Regular doctor and dentist visits, vaccinations and fluoridated water kept them that way. Their parents and the government worked to protect them from hazards such as lead paint, pollution and automobile crashes. Birth control pills, allergy shots, quadruple bypasses and Viagra convinced them that modern medicine could cure their every problem. Boomers expect the best health care, the latest drugs and a clean, safe environment. If their expectations aren't met, they don't hesitate to speak out.

Forever Young

Baby Boomers grew up in good times. They were fat and happy with all the TV and rock and roll they wanted. Their parents' world was a bummer - full of war, riots, inflation, uniformity and responsibility. Like Peter Pan, Boomers vowed, "I won't grow up". And they didn’t. Scratch beneath the pin stripes suit of a 50 year old executive and you'll find a blue-jean wearing, air-guitar-playing kid who can sing the Brady Bunch theme.

Different Strokes for Different Folks

Remember, Boomers are not homogeneous. The world changed over the 18 years this generation was being born. There are really three decades of Boomers: Early Boomers, late 1940s; Core Boomers, 1950s; and Trailing Boomers, early 1960's. Jobs were plentiful and interest rates were low when Early Boomers entered the employment and housing markets. Core Boomers battled 21% credit card interest and sky high mortgages. Computers came on the scene when Trailing Boomers finished their education and they entered a job market being transformed by this technology. And the cloud of AIDS dramatically altered their dating scene. The free love practiced by many of their older siblings became a death-defying act.

More than half of these Baby Boomers, America’s largest generation, are already 50 or older and the last of them will turn 50 in 2014. The needs and desires of Boomers will have a major impact of the marketplace for the next 40 years.

As we near another biennial election it is increasingly clear that those whom we elect to represent us in a new Congress will be facing the most complex and contentious issue of a generation when they take office this January – and I don’t mean the Iraq War. As tragic and costly as the Iraq War is, it pales in political terms to the face-off between the generations that will take place around our nation’s increasing budget deficit and growing debt; our failures to provide basic healthcare to a growing number of our citizens and the looming failure of our pensions and retirement security. The convergence of these issues as the boomer generation grows older and lives longer will create a longevity divide that will force politicians and policy makers to choose between old and young and rich and poor.

As the baby boomer generation begins to age, we are placing added pressure on an already strained and dysfunctional healthcare system to keep us well and to live longer. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, by 2015 healthcare spending will make up 15% of GDP – up from 16% today. By 2030 healthcare spending is projected to top 25% of GDP making healthcare the leading driver of the U.S. economy. There’s no doubt about it, our $30,000 hip replacements, $10,000 a night stays in hospital rooms, and our new pharmaceuticals to control high blood pressure, diabetes and stave off Alzheimers Disease, will cost a lot of money. And boomers, the richest generation in history, will pony up, giving up our big homes, third cars and extra vacations to live a few extra years. But, not every boomer will be able to keep pace

The social safety net that has protected two generations since FDR has become frayed and increasingly fragile – more important it has become unaffordable. At the edge of this coming storm we find ourselves already underwater. The national debt is at $8.5 trillion and we are running the highest budget deficits -- $337 billion -- in world history, fueled in part by an Iraq War that has been charged to our national credit card. According to last week’s Wall Street Journal, the United States finds ourselves with approximately $80 trillion in unfunded future entitlement liabilities (Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid), which is 6 times larger than the U.S. economy and 16 times the federal debt held by the public. Future workers, Gen X and Y and our grandkids, will have to pay tax rates as high as 80% to fund these ‘promises’, or these entitlement programs – the social safety net that many boomers have counted on in the calculations around healthcare and retirement – must be allowed to leave millions of boomers behind.

The balance sheet is so bad today that there is a growing school of thought that the United States has slipped into bankruptcy. Boston University economist, Laurence Kotlikoff, has called for radical reforms of our economic institutions making the case that our economic position is not sustainable. The Journal argues that Kotlikoff’s dire predictions of national bankruptcy are overstated and that, while the fiscal mess we find ourselves in is surely serious and difficult, our balance sheet is better than it appears and that sustained economic growth and a reduction in entitlements for boomers, and our children, are the places to begin to find solutions.

Kotlikoff and the Journal have set up the next great debate for two generations. Is an entitlement a promise? Can tax cuts be sustained in the face of a mountain of debt? Will the growing political power of boomers set off a generational war that pits the needs of parents against the futures of their grandchildren?

We can count on the new Congress – whether Republican or Democrat – to run as fast as they can from the storm clouds gathering. But, this storm is a full category 5 in politics. And, the flood walls are not strong enough to keep the waters from rushing in and causing financial and personal ruin. The result of the next few years of debate will be a very different America – it will transform us as the New Deal did in answer to a great fiscal and societal crisis 73 years ago. The longevity divide will require a transformation of the way we view government and its role in our lives. It is already requiring businesses to rethink who they hire and how long we work. It will require us to redefine the American Dream.

Posted by: Lane Bailey, Worldwide Director Public Affairs, GolinHarris

For the last 50 years, the world has watched in awe as Japan has built a powerhouse economy that has dominated the world in the consumer electronics and automotive industries. In the next 50 years, they we will be watching to see how this efficient, well-managed society deals with an even bigger issue -- Longevity.

Today, Japan had the highest proportion of citizens over 65 of any country of the world. They also have the lowest proportion of children under the age of 15. Combine these figures with a restrictive immigration policy and you can see that the Japanese population is on an unprecedented, irreversible decline.

Current studies predict that by 2020 Japan will have an old age dependency ratio of 46%, the highest in the world. This means 46% of the population will be supported by the other 54%. An almost one-to-one ratio. By comparison, in that same year, through the US Social Security system, two workers will support one retiree.

310,000 Japanese Baby Boomers are expected to retire next year. Twice the number as this year. In 2009, that number will reach 410,000.

As it has in the past with other problems like air pollution, Japanese society will develop innovative methods for dealing with the impact of an aging society. Already, a number of NGOs have formed to leverage the intellectual capital of the older generation. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) works with business trade associations to send retired executives to developing countries, like Indonesia, where their business acumen can be put to use to solve local social problems. So far the volunteers have found the experience very rewarding and have signed up for repeated tours of duty.

Imagine the potential if, instead of playing golf everyday, future retirees from developed countries worked abroad to improve the lives of the rest of the world. Sort of like the Peace Corps with gray hair and lots of experience.

Let's see what other solutions the Japanese come up with.

It’s official -- baby boomers and senior citizens are the new hipsters.

“Greatest Generation” grandparents and "Boomer Zoomers” are living longer, fuller lives, going back to school, traveling widely and adopting new hobbies well into their golden years. Today’s grannies are tech-savvy, using cell phones, e-mail and actively blogging -- check out the “Can’t Open It” videos chronicling the challenge of opening a jar on Thoroughly Modern Millie.

And it doesn’t end there… the Entertainment Software Association reports that more than 25% of regular video game players are 50 and older. These are definitely not your father’s grandparents.

The active baby boomer and senior citizen demographic is growing at an amazing rate. Every minute this year 330 American Boomers will turn 60. The 80 million-strong baby boom generation is the largest, most wealthy and influential generation in the history of the US, with more than $2.3 *trillion* to spend.

This group is hugely important to retailers for Holiday 06. Forget reindeer sweaters, Old Spice and fruitcake -- this holiday season, what grandparents and baby boomers want to receive are the hottest tech toys.

A recent Harris Interactive survey commissioned by Nintendo found that 52% of grandparents and 68% of baby boomers want to receive the latest tech items, such as MP3 players and DVDs. Nearly a third of grandparents and baby boomers reported that they’d like a portable video game system, like Nintendo DS Lite, from their loved ones this year.

Looking to 2007, it’s critical that advertisers, marketers and PR professionals get the attention of this older, wiser demographic. Otherwise the gold in those golden years will be helping to build market share for the competition.

We can take a page from sophisticated marketers like L’Oreal and Ameriprise who are already leveraging older icons in their ad campaigns.

If 60 is the new 40, it’s time raise our sights above the almighty 18-34 demographic and start thinking about what the Greatest Tech Generation really wants, what they’re not getting, and how their needs should impact everyting from product R&D to brand management.

Want to know what’s on the minds of today’s seniors? Just take a look at what’s playing on their computers, PDAs and video game systems.

A recent Rance Crane piece in Ad Age criticizes advertisers for failing to recognize the buying power of the 78 million-strong Baby Boomer set. He puts that spending power at $1.7 trillion and wonders what it will take for marketers to recognize that this audience has and spends money.

I've wondered the same thing. So I asked myself: Is it possible that marketers and media planners know something we don't know? Are there data that show that Baby Boomers, while richer and more numerous than their parents' generation, emulate those parents in terms of buying habits? Do they stay true to brands they've loved in the past? Are they less willing than younger people to try new ones?

If there is such research, I haven't seen it.

Wouldn't it make sense to find out the answers to these questions? Shouldn't marketers strive to understand if the 18-49 "sweet spot" they've been targeting for 40 years isn't quite as sweet as it used to be?

Baby Boomers are understandably perplexed and annoyed at being ignored by media planners and network execs, who seem slow to catch on to what seems obvious to many of us: Those over 50 may not be searching for a new brand of dishwashing soap, but is anyone, really? What they are buying are $1.7 trillion worth of new cars, appliances, shoes, vacation spots, sunglasses, TVs, phones, deck furniture, purses, jewelry and this year's fashions. The same stuff that everyone else is buying, only more of it.

That doesn't mean that the same rules of marketing should apply to Boomers and non-Boomers alike. But it probably does mean that someone is missing an opportunity to make $1.7 million.

Smart marketers won't guess or presume about marketing's impact or lack thereof on Baby Boomers. They'll find out.

Ellen Ryan Mardiks
Chief Client Officer
Worldwide Director, Marketing & Brand Strategy Practice GolinHarris
111 E. Wacker Dr.
Chicago, IL 60601
t 312.729.4333
f 312.729.4031

emardiks@golinharris.com

Annie Gowen of The Washington Post wrote an interesting piece on Baby Boomers and the impact we are having on the major Washington, DC suburbs, as a microcosm of a transition underway across America. In these suburbs, policy leaders point to a "silver tsunami" which will be taking place over the next 20 years, when the percentage of the population 65 and over will double. These wealthy suburbs of Fairfax, Prince William and Loudon Counties in Virginia and Montgomery County in Maryland are being transformed by Boomers who have a very different idea of what they want to do in their 60s than their parents did. The implications for communities, families and the economy are stunning.

Across America, “The suburbs used to be Ozzie and Harriet land – places with young families raising kids,” William Frey of the Brookings Institute said in the article. “Now those same households are empty nesters, aging boomers and seniors, making those places much greyer than they’ve ever been before.” And some counties are becoming real-time laboratories for how governments and businesses should respond to this demographic tidal wave. When you look at the growth in senior populations nationwide, it’s easy to understand why this silver tsunami touches everyone. The top 10 counties with the fastest growing senior populations are: Douglas, Colorado; Nye, Nevada; Prince William, Virginia; Collin, Texas; Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska; Rockwall, Texas; Douglas, Nevada; Loudoun, Virginia; Flagler, Florida; and Forsyth, Georgia.

In Maryland, Montgomery County is considering hiring a cabinet-level “senior czar.” Arlington County, Va., is looking at establishing a concierge service for apartment buildings with large numbers of retirees. Fairfax County, Va., will release a “50+ Action Plan” next month, which is meant to map a course for the county in dealing with the waves of grey who now call it home. The county also is looking at a “call-in transit information center, high tech health monitoring, boomer volunteer programs, English language classes for immigrant boomers and help for caregivers.” And like any responsive democracy, Springfield, Va., bowed to the outrage of its senior citizens and named the newest ‘senior’ center – an ‘active adult center.’ Some counties are changing building codes to require roll-in showers, wider doorways and elevators. The aging population is forcing many jurisdictions to rethink mass transit – buses, subways and even taxi services. Others are considering hiring specialists to teach Boomers how to retrofit their homes and continue to live in them – because 89% of seniors want to stay where they are, according to AARP.

These counties are leading the way in trying to anticipate the needs of the ‘active adults’ who are more likely to vote and be vocal than any generation before them. Just as the Baby Boomer generation is changing the way companies market and what products are produced, this silver tsunami is forcing governments to rethink their role among an aging/active population. These new models will be interesting to watch and also provide some important opportunities for businesses to seek out partnerships in the years to come.

- Lane Bailey, Worldwide Director, Public Affairs, Golin Harris

Nowhere are the effects of societal aging more pronounced than in Japan -- the world's oldest society. It is the only developed country where annual deaths outpace annual births. They also have the highest old age dependency rate. Within the next two decades, almost 50% of the Japanese population will be dependent on the younger half to support its retirement needs.

Complicating the issue is Japan's historical resistance to immigration, which means in the future there will be fewer workers to take care of their growing senior population.

Other nations will be watching closely to see how this efficient society deals with the issues associated with longevity.

According to the International Herald Tribune, one possible solution is being explored by the Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry. They are promoting robots.

In 2006, the Ministry conducted its first "Robot of the Year" competition which garnered 152 entries, including a feeding devise for the elderly called "My Spoon." They hope that robots will increase productivity by 50% in the next five years.

The winner was RFS-1, developed by Fuji Heavy Industries, to clean office and apartment buildings.

Leave it to the Japanese to develop an innovative (and electronic) response to their shrinking workforce. Who knows? Maybe robots will be the ones to take care of the world's aging baby boomers. After all, they can work 24 hours a day and they never complain about their health.

By now many people have heard of Randy Pausch, the professor who recently gave his "Last Lecture" at Carnegie Mellon University. Apparently, last lectures are quite common in Academia but what made this one so unique is that Professor Pausch was dying of Pancreatic cancer and only had a few months to live.

He confesses at the end of his optimistic and uplifting presentation that the main reason he agreed to do it was so his young children would someday in the future be able to know more about their dad. To that end, he made sure the school taped it and gave him a copy of the disc.

That wasn't really necessary. As of today, more than 2 million people have viewed his 75 minute lecture, complete with Power Point slides, on You Tube. That number rises to over 6 million when you include the abridged version. In fact, he became so famous on the internet that Hyperion Books published an expanded version of his story, which is already a national bestseller.

I don't know how long his video will appear on You Tube but I can say for certain that his children are going to have a very famous father. And no one is probably more surprised about what has happened than Randy Pausch. I doubt he ever envisioned that his final visit to the classroom would become a cultural phenomenon. And a few years ago it wouldn't have. Today the internet is an archive not only for the immediate family but for the whole human family. I suspect that a generation from now, Randy Pausch's grandchildren will be able to log on from their cellphones and listen to a few inspiring words from their Grandfather. This Last Lecture will last for a very long time.