Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

The truth behind baby boomer gamers
Staff
The Star Press
October 1, 2008

Overview: “According to Pearce and her recent study, baby boomer gamers comprise a vibrant video and computer game audience with more than 25 percent of the American gaming audience being older than age 50.”

http://tinyurl.com/4aqs8d

BOOM: Boomer Yin & Yang
Jim Shea
Hartford Courant
October 1, 2008

Overview: “Other generations might see this getting older thing as a problem. We see it as a minor adjustment, such as reading glasses, Lipitor and forgetting stuff — like your spouse at the store.”

http://tinyurl.com/3es8v5

Who's afraid of turning 50?
Donna Vickroy
Southtown Star
October 1, 2008

Overview: “Increasingly, though, women are not looking at 50 as the beginning of the end but rather as a new beginning or as no big deal whatsoever."

http://tinyurl.com/3hgqj8

In the previous blog in this series, we explored Archetype One: The Believer, one voice amongst many in search of meaning in their personal lives, work lives and, of special note to marketers, even in their role as consumers of products and services. In this blog, we get to know Archetype Two: The Self-Actualizer and Archetype Three: The Initiate.

For the rest of today's blog, continue at the Boomer Blog

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Baby boomers taking charge of eating habits
Janet Helm
Chicago Tribune
October 2, 2008

Overview: “Gordon is typical of other baby boomers who are getting their act together when it comes to what they eat. They are taking their health into their own hands and changing the American foodscape along the way.”

http://tinyurl.com/4raxb5

Bye-bye to career employment for Baby Boomer men
Paul Briand
Examiner.com
October 1, 2008

Overview: “Single-job careers are going the way of vinyl records -- they're still around, but not in the numbers they once were, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.”

http://tinyurl.com/4ud4dp

Will Florida attract the boomers?
Michael Pollick
Herald Tribune
September 28, 2008

Overview: “As far as retirement destinations go, Florida is still the 800-pound gorilla. But even experts bullish on the Sunshine State's prospects think its share of older movers will decline by about 20 percent during the next two decades as other states take a bigger and bigger piece of the retirement pie.”

http://tinyurl.com/3o8wwm

Despite all the books, white papers and boomer stats floating around on the Internet, it seems we cannot get enough data on the 78 million baby boomer cohort that is shaking up and waking up today's retirement experience. For those senior marketers and executives who seek to get their hands on cutting-edge research, you may want to check out today's Focalyst Executive Forum in NYC, where some of the nation's leading boomer experts will gather to discuss and debate emerging trends about this demographic powerhouse. Learning how to appeal to a mature market that spends over $3 trillion annually may be helpful in these turbulent economic times. This year's theme, The Changing Boomer Equation, will shed light on the latest boomer trends and research, as well as how consumer needs are impacting the marketplace across generations.

For the rest of today’s blog, continue at the Boomer Blog

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

How To Reach Boomer 'Yesterdays,' 'Todays,' 'Tomorrows'
Karl Greenberg
MarketingDaily
October 2, 2008

Overview: "How is the economy affecting baby boomers? Depends on which boomers, according to Chris Murphy, chief strategy officer at Focalyst and Millward Brown."

http://tinyurl.com/3f3tjw

In ‘Sweetie’ and ‘Dear,’ a Hurt for the Elderly
John Leland
New York Times
October 6, 2008

Overview: “Professionals call it elderspeak, the sweetly belittling form of address that has always rankled older people: the doctor who talks to their child rather than to them about their health; the store clerk who assumes that an older person does not know how to work a computer, or needs to be addressed slowly or in a loud voice. Then there are those who address any elderly person as ‘dear.’”

http://tinyurl.com/3jp2nt

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Born to be mild: How the hippies turned into their parents
Steve Doughty
Daily Mail
October 9, 2008

Overview: “They were the generation of free love, mind-expanding drugs and a contempt for all things conventional. Yet as old age approaches for the hippies, rebellion now tends to be the last thing on their mind.”

http://tinyurl.com/4m6pvd

Silvers Summit to Debut at the 2009 International CES
Business Wire
October 8, 2008

Overview: “Industry and Academic Experts Address Lifestyle and Technology Demands of the Boomer Generation.”

http://tinyurl.com/4ktxks

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Start Them Up and They'll Never Stop
Sharon McLoone
Washingtonpost.com
October 8, 2008

Overview: “The Small Business Administration is aiming to help a rapidly expanding group of entrepreneurs - the Baby Boomers.”

http://tinyurl.com/4ogkfm

Top News From Today's "Boomvierse"

Baby Boomer Men, The Next Marketing Frontier
Brent Green
Boomers
October 10, 2008

Overview: “While the Boomer male today may justify lesser emphasis with respect to marketing budget priorities — and consumer purchasing evidence supports the primacy of targeting Boomer women for mass-market, gender-neutral brands — obviously and rationally, substantial opportunities remain to justify marketing to middle-aged men who have also grown and matured in an aggressive consumer society, just as have their female counterparts.”

http://boomers.typepad.com/

Boomers still wield control of economy, jobs, author says
Steve Proctor
The Chronicle Herald
October 12, 2008

Overview: “When you hear the phrase ‘senior citizen,’ he writes, people immediately think of all the characteristics of ‘oldness’ that just don’t apply to the majority of baby boomers as they approach retirement. And that is the premise of this chatty effort: the old rules and the old preconceptions don’t apply to boomers.”

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Books/1084215.html

Top News From Today's "Boomvierse"

Battle Proven Baby Boomers Better During Economic Uncertainty
Manufacturers’ Monthly
October 13, 2008

Overview: “A report has found there is a growing demand for senior experience in executive management positions, as more mature workers are said to be able to better manage and weather hard times.”

http://tinyurl.com/3oq9f8

A Community Built On a Shared Need
Fredrick Kunkle
Washington Post
October 12, 2008

Overview: “Village movement forms ties to help retirees keep homes.”

http://tinyurl.com/3spjdt

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Baby Boomer Men, Branding & Breitling
Brent Green
Boomers
October 14, 2008

Overview: Green writes, “For those of us flush with cash, we can jet to the companion Breitling for Bentley website where two stalwart companies demonstrate the synergistic powers of co-branding: exceptional design driven by honored brand images, mixed with interactive engagement.” He goes on to say, “This is how marketing to Boomer men can be done with the right stuff.”

http://boomers.typepad.com/

Being a granny is in style
Nara Schoenberg
Chicago Tribune
October 15, 2008

Overview: “But with the aging of the nation's 78 million Baby Boomers, seniors' role in pop culture is only going to increase, according to Gary Hoppenstand, a professor of American studies at Michigan State University.”

http://tinyurl.com/5ywy4a

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Mexico Pushes to Attract Baby Boomers
BoomerCafe
October 16, 2008

Overview: “Home building, tourism and retirement organizations in Mexico are collaborating to attract American baby boomers to a more affordable lifestyle.”

http://tinyurl.com/3kj3zm

'Unretirement' wins fans
Darla Mercado
Investment News
October 12, 2008

Overview: “Mountains of bills and employee benefits aren't the only reasons workers stay at their jobs after 67. Working also helps them keep their minds engaged.”

http://tinyurl.com/4e73af

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Half of America's Baby Boomers Think Government is Doing Too Much to Solve the Wall Street Crisis, Finds TV Land's Baby Boomer Survey
PRNewswire
October 16, 2008

Overview: "Fifty percent of American adults age 40-59 -- The Baby Boomers -- feel that the government is doing too much to solve Wall Street's problems, according to a new poll by TV Land. Twenty-five percent feel that the government is not doing enough about the Wall Street crisis and 25% don't know if there should be more or less government involvement. This is just one of the findings in a new poll conducted by OTX on behalf of TV Land, a division of Viacom Inc.'s (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B) MTV Networks, as part of TV Land's overall commitment to superserve this 40- and 50-something demographic.”

http://tinyurl.com/5tq3qs

How Recession Will Accelerate Consumer Downsizing
John Quelch
Harvard Business Online
October 15, 2008

Overview: “Watch out for a new brand of consumer in 2008: the middle-aged Simplifier. She finds herself surrounded by too much stuff acquired. She is increasingly skeptical in the face of a financial meltdown that it was all worth the effort. Out will go luxury purchases, conspicuous consumption, and a trophy culture. Tomorrow's consumer will buy more ephemeral, less cluttering stuff: fleeting, but expensive, experiences, not heavy goods for the home.”

http://tinyurl.com/6gmkky

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

White women of the Baby Boom a prized voting bloc
Trevor Tompson & Alan Fram
Associated Press
October 18, 2008

Overview: “These are the Boomer Women — middle-aged children of the post-World War II generation. Many are veterans of balancing jobs with running households, and often acutely aware of their families' economic pressures because they write the checks, buy the groceries and fill the tank with gas. They're feisty, used to demanding answers and making choices. With a worldwide economy that's lurching toward recession, they're demanding that the presidential candidates show them concrete solutions to the financial crisis and other problems.”

http://tinyurl.com/599ght

Top Jobs for People Over 50
Tory Johnson
ABC News
October 20, 2008

Overview: “The new issue of AARP magazine has a list of the top companies for 50+ workers and half of the top 20 employers are in health care.”

http://tinyurl.com/6j5l6s

Wednesday’s AP story on Nissan’s “aging suit,” used to replicate old bones and joints for young auto engineers, made me chuckle. I’ve been watching my aging suit droop and wilt for more than forty years now as I’ve moved from supple twenties to saggy sixties. Their weighted shoes, darkened glasses, clumsy gloves miss something that will influence my buying decisions way into the future. That’s whether I’ll have the extra cash for these amenities when I’m 65 or 70; or whether I will be driving at all.

For the rest of today’s blog, continue at the Boomer Blog

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Aging even tougher for gays and lesbians
Lisa Anderson
Chicago Tribune
October 21, 2008

Overview: “Getting old isn't easy for anyone. But aging poses particular problems for members of the nation's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, community. Compared with heterosexual counterparts, many more of them are socially isolated, fear discrimination from health-care providers, live alone and don't have children or other close relatives to call upon for help.”

http://tinyurl.com/6hcdtw

Boomster.com Launches Social Networking Site for Baby Boomers
Social Media Portal
October 16, 2008

Overview: “New web site features live interactive video interviews and focuses on dreams, interests and careers of baby boomer generation. Boomster.com is a content-rich social networking site for people ages 45-65+ who are exploring or pursuing new ventures, adventures and interests.”

http://tinyurl.com/5v9bnu

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Generation Jones is in play
Clarence Page
Chicago Tribune
October 22, 2008

Overview: “Obama and Palin are late Boomers, the Overlooked Generation. Or, as Los Angeles-based cultural historian Jonathan Pontell calls them, ‘Generation Jones.’ Pontell, who published a book with that title a few years ago, argues that Generation Jones doesn't get the attention it deserves.”

http://tinyurl.com/5wzf52

Aging Baby Boomers Are Pushing Health Plans to Design New Products, Retool Existing Ones
Mike Carbine
Health Plan Week
October 22, 2008

Overview: “A rapidly aging population, with its accompanying explosion in chronic conditions, has health plans moving quickly to create new products and tweak many of their existing ones to meet the special financial and health needs of baby boomers and retirees.”

http://tinyurl.com/672fkr

Yes! Yes! Yes! I do want to get rid of my second home, my Range Rover, all the trappings of my super rich life. Oh, wait a minute … I don’t have any of those things. But still the recent Harvard Business Online posting by John Quelch makes a point. There’s a new consumer out there he terms the middle-aged Simplifier. She (and he does say she) is ready to toss out the tangible conspicuous consumption lifestyle and embrace the ephemeral and experiential.

For the rest of today’s blog, continue at the Boomer Blog

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

TV poll: Boomers sound off on issues
Rita Sherrow
Tulsa World
October 23, 2008

Overview: “TV Land, the cable channel known for aiming its programming squarely at baby boomers, has polled BBs (generally those born between 1946 and 1964) about the upcoming national election.”

http://tinyurl.com/6fx7hx

Best Part-Time Gigs for Baby Boomers
Careerbuilder.com
Newsday
October 22, 2008

Overview: Top 20 part-time jobs for Baby Boomers.

http://tinyurl.com/5a5y7h

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Where boomers spend their money
GateHouse News Service
Norwich Bulletin
October 23, 2008

Overview: “Baby boomers, who are ages 44 to 62, are an attractive marketing demographic, with $45,654 a year in average household spending.”

http://tinyurl.com/6g2tyn

More baby boomers regard long-term care insurance as necessary
Amy Williams
Chattanooga Times Free Press
October 24, 2008

Overview: “The growing population of people over age 60 is changing the way individuals and businesses think about long-term care insurance, and the biggest indicator of that, says one insurance expert, is the fact they are thinking about it at all.”

http://tinyurl.com/68zszv

Ad blitz on senior citizen care targets baby boomers - and their parents
Dorian Block
New York Daily News
October 23, 2008

Overview: “VNS, the largest not-for-profit home health care provider in the nation, is answering droves of questions like these from the city's baby boomers by encouraging them to think about care for their aging parents before a crisis strikes.”

http://tinyurl.com/5pecxl

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

More Second Acts in American Lives
Elizabeth Olson
New York Times
October 22, 2008

Overview: “With more than a quarter of the American work force age 50 and over, according to federal labor statistics, more people are deciding the hobbies-and-leisure retirement model isn’t for them. Some people want to keep working for financial reasons. Others just like to keep busy. And still others want to create a career in the nonprofit world.”

http://tinyurl.com/5qgrt6

Survey Reveals Long Term Care Key Issue for Voters in Presidential Election
PRNewswire
October 24, 2008

Overview: “Eighty-four percent of baby boomers say the presidential candidates' positions on long term care issues and funding will be an important factor in determining how they cast their vote in November, according to a national survey of more than 800 registered voters ages 45 to 64 sponsored by Genworth Financial, Inc.”

http://tinyurl.com/6hnr7t

By guest blogger Laura Nguyen, FH Out Front

There is great interest surrounding the boomer population, from the business community to the financial community, to the gay and lesbian community. Over the next 25 years, the number of Americans age 65 or older will increase by 12 to 20 percent. Out of those seniors, seven to 10 percent are predicted to be members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community.

For the rest of today’s blog, continue at the Boomer Blog

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Boomers clock back in
Brian Neill
Bradenton Herald
October 27, 2008

Overview: “Online sites help over-50 individuals find work in messy economy.”

http://tinyurl.com/69kpu3

What's in a name? Feeling old, baby boomers say
Brian Callaway
The Morning Call
October 28, 2008

Overview: “There's another S-word that can make people a little testy: ‘Senior,’ as in senior citizen.”

http://tinyurl.com/567udx

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Survey: Baby Boomers Will Claim Social Security at Age 62
Emily Brandon
U.S. News & World Report
October 28, 2008

Overview: “Many baby boomers plan to sign up for their Social Security checks as soon as possible. A new survey found that 45 percent of those currently 61 years old will begin getting Social Security at age 62, the first year recipients can apply. Boomers cited financial necessity, health and longevity concerns, and a desire to collect as much as possible from the system as their reasons for early claiming.”

http://tinyurl.com/5kle6r

Boomer Sociology and Housing Demand
Matt Thornhill and John Martin
Boomer Consumer
October 24, 2008

Overview: “As children live longer with their Boomer parents, as more single Boomer women merge households to economize on housing expenses, as Boomer households morph into new forms, demand for housing could remain depressed for years.”

http://boomerconsumerbook.blogspot.com/

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Q: Do Baby Boomers Need Their Own Yahoo Answers? A: No. (Someone Tell Boomerator)
Robin Wauters
TechCrunch.com
October 30, 2008

Overview: Wauters reflects on Boomerater.com, a Web site for Boomers launched today (release below). She writes, "Baby boomers don't want to hang out online with other baby boomers because it makes them feel old."

http://tinyurl.com/6cpgbn

Boomerater.com Launches Online Peer to Peer Advice Network to Help Baby Boomers Make Everyday and Life Decisions
PRWeb
October 30, 2008

Overview: “Website lets Baby Boomers tap into the collective wisdom of their generation to make informed everyday and life decisions. The free site covers everything from creative vacation ideas and great shopping buys, to career, financial and relocation tips, with all advice contributed exclusively by Boomers for Boomers.”

http://tinyurl.com/5hhp2r

Job boards abound for retirees, 50-and-overs
Dave Carpenter
BusinessWeek.com
October 29, 2008

Overview: “Many in fact steer clear of mainstream job-search Web sites such as CareerBuilder and Monster because they think their chances are better when their ‘maturity’ is specifically targeted, according to Scott Wingerter, chief operating officer for RetireeWorkforce.com, a job board for retired workers.”

http://tinyurl.com/675hqx

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

SPECIAL REPORT Boomers -- Or Bust! Are Newspapers Forgetting Most Loyal Readers?
Joe Strupp
Editor & Publisher
October 30, 2008

Overview: “But are papers overdoing it with reinvention and content tweaks, to the point where they are driving away their largest base of loyal readers — baby boomers?”

http://tinyurl.com/5kfeta

Leverage Boomers as coaches for new hires in workplace
Canadian Underwriter
October 27, 2008

Overview: “Attraction and retention of the millennial generation should not be the focus of employers, but rather maximizing the potential all of the workers from different generations — including Boomers — and getting them to work together is the key to successful strategies.”

http://tinyurl.com/5p79c3