When it comes to marketing to boomers and beyond, intuition doesn’t always do the trick. It’s critical that we learn from others. That’s one of the real values of attending an event such as the “What’s Next Boomer Business Summit”, recently concluded in Chicago. The American Society on Aging’s Business Forum on Aging and Mary Furlong and Associates produced the event, while our Fleishman-Hillard’s FH Boom was a sponsor and I had the big fun of sitting on a panel with Gail Sheehy, among others.
For the rest of today's blog, continue at The Boomer Blog.
In a wonderful spirit of generosity, speaker after speaker shared not only successes—but also some miss-fires from which we can learn. Here’s my 2007 top seven list of phrases best to be avoided when addressing the boomer market:
From Emilio Pardo, Chief Brand Officer, AARP
1. Still going strong
2. Forever young
3. Growing old (growing older is okay)
From Myrna Blyth, author and founder of More magazine, quoting Gail Sheehy
4. 60 is the new 40 (instead, say 60 is the new 60)
5. Looks good for her age (instead, say ageless beauty)
From Bob Moos, Business Writer on the 50+ beat, Dallas Morning News
6. Senior/Senior Citizen/Elderly/Golden—Instead, use their age, older adult or mature adult (but with care) when regarding to individuals beyond the boomer demographic.
7. Suffering from—Victim of (in regards to illness)
By the way, for those of you who filled in our survey, we’ll be posting the results next week. Stay tuned!
Carol Orsborn