Having been asked to serve as moderator of the marketing to boomer women panel, to be held on March 26, I’ve been privileged to have advance conversations with the panelists: Sheryl Biesman, Internet Marketing Manager for Nature Made; Lisa Stone, co-founder of BlogHer (reaching 8 million women) and Jane Glenn Haas, founder of Woman Sage. Here’s a sneak peak at some of their eclectic insightful observations: (I’ll be saving the main thrust of their comments for the panel, itself, and a report to follow)

• Boomers are not into social networking the way younger generations are. They are more mission-driven when it comes to utilizing the web. At the same time, it doesn’t make sense to talk about how this function will develop years down the road, since the Internet re-invents itself every six months.
• Second Life has already come and is on its way out
• When a 22-year-old designer imagines what a 40-year-old looks like, the image is likely to come closer to 60

(Sheryl)

• When it comes to reading/responding to blogs, women are drawn to the topics, and all ages who share an interest in the topic “mix it up”
• Twitter is the next big thing in terms of the Internet
• Boomer women respond to courteous discourse, on the Internet and in daily interactions. She is the one likely to accord respect to others, with such responses as “thanks for asking…”

(Lisa)

Having spoken with all, here are some of the hot button questions we will be addressing. Thanks for asking!

1. If/when does it make sense to market to boomer women on the basis of age? When doesn’t it?
2. Does nostalgia work with this market?
3. Who are the influencers for this market? Does the “cult” of celebrity still hold sway?
4. Is 60 the new 40—or is 60, as Gail Sheehy says—the new 60?
5. Can young marketers successfully market to boomer women?
6. How long will this robust/hip tone to this generation last? Into the 70’s? 80’s?
7. How do boomer women respond to the prospect of social networking?
8. How do financial/retirement issues impact the boomer woman’s purchasing decisions?
9. How should the boomer woman’s role in care giving be taken into consideration?
10. What new products/services have you personally been persuaded to try lately—what influenced you?

For information on the Boomer Summit.

Carol Orsborn