Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Are Baby Boomers The Unicorn In Social Media?
Lori Bitter
Engage Boomers
May 31, 2010

Overview: “Boomers and their use of social media are creating a lot buzz lately. Are they really participating? Is this the best way to reach older consumers? Is it a tactic to be layered with other more traditional tactics? We were seeking to understand Boomers activities in the social media space and launched a research study to answer these questions.”
http://tinyurl.com/2f6bx8e

CVS Expands as Population Ages
Rachel Tobin Ramos
Atlanta Journal Constitution
June 1, 2010

Overview: “Unlike other retailers, pharmacies continued to open new stores during the recession -- in part by taking advantage of cheaper and more available real estate. Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreens, for example, opened more than 500 stores in fiscal 2009.”
http://tinyurl.com/2437dsv

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Top 8 Changes In The Mom Market Over 5 Years
Maria Bailey
Engage Moms
June 2, 2010

Overview: “They may be the youngest group of "nanas" and "grandmas" in history but the good news for marketers is that these young-at-heart boomers are purchasing the same products that they did when they were moms.”
http://tinyurl.com/295yh2k

Why we care about the Gores' breakup
Simon Feuerman
Psychology Today
June 1, 2010

Overview: “Baby boomers and the subsequent generations might have the freedom to make mistakes, -- big mistakes and yet still have a home to come to.”
http://tinyurl.com/2fxknza

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Over The River & Through The Woods: Long Distance Grandparenting
Nancy Kalish
Psychology Today
June 3, 2010

Overview: “By recent census estimates, there are 70 million grandparents in the United States. First-time grandparents, like first-time parents, may wonder how to succeed in their new roles. Fortunately, there are almost as many ways of being a good grandparent as there are grandparents.”
http://tinyurl.com/2fu3lf2

The life priorities of Generation Y
Stephen Mellor
Marketing Week
June 3, 2010

Overview: “There are interesting differences in the attitudes of Generation Y, compared with Generation X (29 - 44 year olds) and Boomers (45 - 65 year olds). … The media and older generations put pressure on youth to be more responsible, especially in times of recession, demonising pleasure in the process. Health is not just important to older generations; it has become relevant for youth as well.”
http://tinyurl.com/2bjovr6

National Retirement Expert: 75 needs to be the new 62
Carla Fried
CBS MoneyWatch
June 2, 2010

Overview: “… working two to four more years can go a long way to closing a retirement funding gap. But that’s directed at Baby Boomers.”
http://tinyurl.com/2eurlbf

When Boomers Get Dementia
New York Times
June 2, 2010

Overview: “…the United States population ages, the number of people with Alzheimer’s is projected to double from the current 5.3 million in the next few decades. Who will provide the care? What social policies might be needed to help the U.S. deal with growing numbers of older patients?”
http://tinyurl.com/25w9rqj

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Will the New L.T.C. Insurance Be Offered to the Self-Employed?
Michelle Andrews
New York Times
June 4, 2010

Overview: “…baby boomers may soon need long-term care services. Because the Class Act covers a broad range of services, the program could be helpful to people of any age, depending on their disability.”
http://tinyurl.com/367kfv6

Boomer Brands Take Notice
Mike Doherty
Engage Boomers
June 4, 2010

Overview: “Steve Cannon from Mercedes-Benz gave a great presentation at the recent Association of National Advertisers' Brand Innovation conference. Steve talked about how Mercedes realized it was a Boomer brand and all it would take is a cold shoulder from Gen Y to really hurt its business. It got proactive and through a market research online community (MROC) created an engaged "Gen-Benz" community to build customer intimacy with Gen Y.”
http://tinyurl.com/28wgrap

The New Republic: Let Al And Tipper Gore Start Over
Michelle Cottle
NPR
June 4, 2010

Overview: “Boomers don't see 60 as the time to kick back and settle into the big fade. Just because Al and Tipper weathered 40 years together doesn't mean they have the inclination to try for another 20 — or 30.”
http://tinyurl.com/2dgs6nw

A look at how people pay for retirement
Robert Powell
MarketWatch
June 4, 2010

Overview: “Retirement planning isn't about "the number," but the numbers -- your assets, liabilities, expenses, and income. The more you know about those numbers, the more likely your retirement plan will become a reality instead of a pipe dream.”
http://tinyurl.com/29rhwwy

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

They Aren't Retiring -- And They Aren't Looking for Retirement Living Options
Stephen Reily
Engage Boomers
June 7, 2010

Overview: “While we knew that Boomer women aren't contemplating anything traditionally identified as "retirement," we were surprised to learn something important about their thoughts about single homeownership: They aren't going anywhere.”
http://tinyurl.com/2eq2yg7

Is The "Me Generation" Less Empathetic?
Ray B. Williams
Psychology Today
June 6, 2010

Overview: “Twenge says that Generation Y can be called Generation Me because they've been taught to put themselves first. Unlike Baby Boomers, GenMe didn't have to march in a protest or attend a group session to realize that their own needs and desires were paramount. Reliable birth control, legalized abortion and a cultural shift toward parenthood as a choice made GenMe the most wanted generation of children in history.”
http://tinyurl.com/2a5d89l

Rise in Suicides of Middle-Aged Is Continuing
Patricia Cohen
New York Times
June 4, 2010

Overview: “Historically, the eldest segment of the population, those 80 and older, have had the highest rates of suicide in the United States. Starting in 2006, however, the suicide rate among men and women between the ages of 45 and 54 was the highest of any age group.”
http://tinyurl.com/2blvr7y

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

MetLife releases legal planning guide for LGBT Baby Boomers
Hannah Clay Wareham
Bay Windows
June 7, 2010

Overview: “The MetLife Mature Market Institute has released a legal planning guide designed to assist LGBT Baby Boomers in making decisions about legacy planning, employee benefits, health care, financial planning, and retirement planning.”
http://tinyurl.com/243v2bf

The Rise of the ‘Silver Divorce’
Pat Wingert and Barbara Kantrowitz
Newsweek
June 7, 2010

Overview: “Marriage researchers have long known that the rockiest years are the early ones, and, generally speaking, the longer a couple is married, the less likely they are to divorce. That’s still true, says Stevenson, but “silver divorce” is no longer rare, and that’s particularly true for the baby-boom generation, born between 1946 and 1964.”
http://tinyurl.com/29df3o2

Baby Boomers slow to embrace online videos
Paul Briand
Examiner.com
June 7, 2010

Overview: “While Baby Boomers have made big strides embracing the online world, particularly social networking such as Facebook, they're slower to get on board with online videos.”
http://tinyurl.com/24nsg7k

Fickle Gen Y Trusts Channels, Not Brands
Sarah Mahoney
Marketing Daily
June 7, 2010

Overview: “Baby Boomers have one set of expectations of brands, and an idea of what it means to trust them. Gen X is quite different. In many ways, they are the brand generation.”
http://tinyurl.com/2dq9kp5

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Bernanke Warns of ‘Unsustainable’ Debt
Sewell Chan
New York Times
June 9, 2010

Overview: “While defending the extraordinary responses to the recession as necessary, Mr. Bernanke has … emphasized the risks associated with the aging of the population. This year, he said, there are about five Americans between the ages of 20 and 64 for each person aged 65 or older. By the time most of the baby boomers have retired in 2030, he warned, there will be only three.”
http://tinyurl.com/36mr2eq

Here's a workout boomers can take sitting down
Wina Sturgeon
McClatchy-Tribune
June 9, 2010

Overview: “Hey baby boomers: Whether you spend much of your day on a couch or being youthfully active, don't waste the opportunity of getting an easy workout while you're watching TV.”
http://tinyurl.com/2ab4qhu

Script in hand, Boomer women sleep on it, ask friends before filling
Matthew Arnold
Medical Marketing & Media
June 9, 2010

Overview: “Forty-four percent of women research prescribed drugs using multiple sources before filling a script, a survey found, suggesting that marketing efforts targeting Baby Boomer women, in particular, must focus less on brand awareness and more on the post-script conversation.”
http://tinyurl.com/2e7nvad

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Census: Multiracial US becoming even more diverse
Hope Yen
Associated Press
June 10, 2010

Overview: “The nation's minority population is steadily rising and now makes up 35 percent of the United States, advancing an unmistakable trend that could make minorities the new American majority by midcentury. As white baby boomers age past their childbearing years, younger Hispanic parents are having children -- and driving U.S. population growth.”
http://tinyurl.com/2efwq47

Social networking popular among boomers – report
Patricia Reaney
Reuters
June 10, 2010

Overview: “More than 25 percent of Americans 50 years and older stay connected using sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, according to new research.”
http://tinyurl.com/25setd9

Sunny Delight aims at baby boomers with Elations drink
Laura Baverman
Cincinnati Inquirer
June 9, 2010

Overview: “But it's the other ingredients that are blowing sales off the shelves - liquid supplements that help baby boomers build healthier joints and avoid certain aches and pains.
Annual sales of the beverage maker's Elations have jumped to $75 million from just $12 million in 2008. By the end of 2010, Elations could make up 10 percent of the Blue Ash company's annual revenue.”
http://tinyurl.com/2fvq2yn

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

A Nation of Helen Thomases
Brett Arends
Wall Street Journal
June 11, 2010

Overview: “The biggest, but most underreported, financial story in America is the looming retirement disaster. Eighty million baby boomers are approaching retirement, and most have absolutely no idea what's going to hit them. For them the financial crisis isn't over. It's just about to begin.”
http://tinyurl.com/27grcqa

Female baby boomers get online, not in line, for beauty
Antoinette Alexander
Drug Store News
June 11, 2010

Overview: “he online beauty market is poised to explode, and it’s likely that the techsavvy teen and young adult won’t be driving the significant growth. According to a recent report by Mintel, the female baby boomers will be behind the wheel—or the mouse, in this case.”
http://tinyurl.com/2dcvr2d

Gene causes Alzheimer’s brain ‘garbage’
Reuters
June 10, 2010

Overview:” A brain mechanism that acts like a recycling plant for toxic proteins goes haywire in people with a gene mutation linked with Alzheimer's disease, U.S. researchers said on Thursday, unveiling a discovery offering a new lead for drug companies.”
http://tinyurl.com/28vfqwz

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

I Get Around
Anne Mai Bertelsen
Engage Boomers
June 14, 2010

Overview: “Last week, scheduling a dinner meeting, I tried to recall the name of a restaurant where I had recently eaten a phenomenal cacio e pepe dish. I could see the restaurant in my mind and even the approximate location but the for the life of me I couldn't remember its name.”
http://tinyurl.com/28yfwnj

Retirements by baby-boomer doctors, nurses could strain overhaul
Darryl Fears
Washington Post
June 14, 2010

Overview: “Nearly 40 percent of doctors are 55 or older, according to the Center for Workforce Studies of the Association of American Medical Colleges. Included in that group are doctors whose specialties will be the pillars of providing care in 2014, when the overhaul kicks in; family medicine and general practitioners (37 percent); general surgeons (42 percent); pediatrics (33 percent), and internal medicine and pediatrics (35 percent).”
http://tinyurl.com/2836h9n

In Midlife, Boomers Are Happy — and Suicidal
Patricia Cohen
New York Times
June 11, 2010

Overview: “If you are suddenly feeling confused about whether to greet middle age with open arms or dread, it is understandable. In recent weeks, researchers reported that Americans in midlife are a remarkably contented lot, and that they also have the highest rate of suicide.”
http://tinyurl.com/24s6vsy

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Supporting Older Americans
Catherine Rampell
New York Times
June 14, 2010

Overview: “By 2030 — shown by the bars in the middle-shade of green — the entire baby boom generation will have moved into the ranks of the elderly.”
http://tinyurl.com/2ccypp7

Busy Boomers
Dawn Klingensmith
Philadelphia Inquirer
June 15, 2010

Overview: “With the projected shortage of workers in the next decade as baby boomers enter retirement, new research suggests a host of entirely new occupations will emerge and that seniors who keep working could play a vital role in filling them.”
http://tinyurl.com/2f5loc5

Doctor, Doctor, Give Men the (Preventive Health) News
Laura Landro
Wall Street Journal
June 15, 2010

Overview: “The federal government is trying some humorous scare tactics in a new ad campaign to persuade men to get recommended checkups, today’s WSJ reports.
http://tinyurl.com/34tbhh3

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Boomers flock to Facebook to poke, to friend, and, oh yes, to stay in touch with the grandkids
Rosemary Black
New York Daily News
June 16, 2010

Overview: “More than a quarter (27%) of Americans over the age of 50 use social networks, and 23% prefer Facebook over other sites like MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter, according to a new study.”
http://tinyurl.com/2ao7vgq

About to start your start-up? Three things to keep in mind
Gladys Edmunds
USA Today
June 16, 2010

Overview: “There is no such thing as a "one-size-fits-all" marketing plan; if you are going to market to Baby Boomers, lay out a plan to attract that market. If the senior market or Generation X is your target, then prepare a plan accordingly. My suggestion: Start with a target audience you are familiar with. Don't scrimp on researching each target audience that you may want to market. Also, very carefully select the location of your business. You want to be conveniently located for your market.”
http://tinyurl.com/2asnm2t

Loveland, Colo.: Baby Boomers welcome, but inventory's tight
Christine Dugas
USA Today
June 15, 2010

Overview: “Loveland and Berthoud, a small community nearby, are outside Rocky Mountain National Park and have always attracted many retirees. In February, AARP listed Loveland as No. 1 among the 15 best places for Baby Boomers to reinvent a life.”
http://tinyurl.com/2dqne6g

NYC boomer workshop revealed latest trends, research findings and marketing tactics for reaching mature audiences
Posted by Samantha Palans

People 50 and older collectively hold $7 trillion in personal wealth and, in the United States, control 75 percent of the nation’s disposable income, yet experts say marketers continue overlooking them as consumers.

“The boomer and beyond generations are the most written-about age segment,” says boomer expert Dr. Leslie Harris. “However, marketers continue to undervalue boomer and beyond consumers and, therefore, allow these consumers to make buying decisions with few marketing or advertising programs to gain their loyalty or favorable brand attitudes.”

Friday, May 14, Harris and other leading mature market experts gathered at a New York City workshop “Marketing to Boomers and Beyond: How to Build Your Business with the Mature Consumer,” to address this and other related mature marketing issues, including the latest demographic trends, research findings, and how to effectively reach and resonate with the 50 plus population.

Speakers and panel moderators included:
• Brent Bouchez. Founding partner, Ad Agency Five
• Jerry Shereshewsky. Chief executive officer, Grandparents.com
• Kevin Lavery. Managing director of Millennium Direct, UK, and president of the International Mature Marketing Network (IMMN)
• Helen Foster. Foster Strategy, former partner JWT Mature Market Group
• Todd Harff. President, Creating Results, and founding member of the International Mature Marketing Network (IMMN)
• Tom Mann. Managing partner TR Mann Consulting and founder of the Mature Market Experts Group
• Steve Howard. Author of "Boomer Selling, Helping the Wealthiest Generation in History Own Your Premium Products and Services"
• Adriane Berg. Chief executive officer, Generation Bold and author of "How Not To Go Broke at 102" and 12 other books
• Dr. Elaine Lyons and Ken Lyons. Perceptive Market Research
• Pat Burns. Author of the No. 1 bestseller "Grandparents Rock," "The Grandparenting Guide for the Rock-n-Roll Generation"; corporate advisor, co-founder of the Orange County Children's Book Festival; and motivational speaker.
• Paul E. Johnson. Formerly Account Manager, TNS
• Martin Diano. Chief executive officer, Boomer Authority™ and publisher of the Baby Boomer (Knowledge Center)™
• Nancy Padberg. Chief executive officer, Navigate Boomer Media
• Marva Goldsmith. Chief executive officer and author, Branding50.com
• Sandra Levitin. Founder, chief executive officer and editor, Kalon Women.

The workshop was organized by Dr. Leslie M. Harris, noted boomer expert and the author of "After Fifty: How the Baby Boom Will Redefine the Mature Market" and "After Sixty: Marketing to Baby Boomers Reaching Their Big Transition Years."

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Drug Abuse on the Rise in Baby Boomers
Bill Hendrick
WebMD Health News
June 17, 2010

Overview: “Drug abuse among Americans aged 50 and older has risen sharply in recent years, with admissions for treatment nearly doubling between 1992 and 2008, new research indicates.”
http://tinyurl.com/27ygz9v

"Secret Life...": Show for Millennials That Boomers Can Appreciate, Too
Ed Martin
MediaPost Blogs: TV Board
June 17, 2010

Overview: “Something about ABC Family's signature hit "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" reminds me of the kind of television I grew up with -- except for all the sex talk (not to mention the sex itself), which was largely absent from the family-centered series that dominated broadcast television in the pre-cable era.”
http://tinyurl.com/2d7uskg

Lifetime Income is an Elusive Goal
Philip Moeller
U.S. World & News Report
June 17, 2010

Overview: “The 2008 meltdown of many retirement investment accounts
has triggered a long and extensive assessment of how to provide safer retirement investments that people can depend upon and understand.”
http://tinyurl.com/2at7rzn

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Making a surprise early retirement work
Paul Keegan and Karen Cheney
Money Magazine
June 18, 2010

Overview: “For years, Pat and George Breault gave little thought to their spending. The couple, both IT project managers, earned a handsome $235,000 a year -- more than enough to cover their basic living expenses as well as the extra-curriculars they enjoyed, such as dining out, taking cruises, and entertaining at their second home, a condo at Catawba Island on the shores of Lake Erie in Ohio, where they hoped to retire one day.”
http://tinyurl.com/27bzvkr

Adults as likely to text while driving as teens, study says
Eva Vasquez
CNN
June 18, 2010

Overview: “Adults are just as likely as teenagers to text while driving, according to a report released Friday by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project.”
http://tinyurl.com/2auk82c

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Juggling act for baby boomers: caring for their kids -- and their parents
Ana Veciana-Suarez
Miami Herald
June 20, 2010

Overview: “There already are 66 million caregivers watching over a parent, a spouse or a child. Many of them are baby boomers caring for an aging relative. With the U.S. Census Bureau predicting that growth in the 65-and-over demographic will outstrip the rest of the population -- in Florida it could account for almost 60 percent of the state's growth in the next two decades -- the number of those who need care is expected to skyrocket.”
http://tinyurl.com/3amw2uh

Jan's Story: Love and Early-Onset Alzheimer's
CBS Sunday Morning
June 20, 2010

Overview: “In the 1980s, Jan Chorlton was a promising television reporter. She went on to work for CNN, ABC, even "CBS Sunday Morning." She was lively, daring, one of those people who celebrated life. But at only 40 years old, the subtle changes began . . . the lapses in memory.”
http://tinyurl.com/2evyycn

Texting While Driving More Common Among Adults Than Teens
PC Magazine
June 19, 2010

Overview: “Adults are guilty of the dangerous activity of texting while driving more often than teenagers, according to the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. The Pew study also revealed that adults are substantially more likely to talk on a cell phone while driving than teenagers.”
http://tinyurl.com/263hg44

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Boomers' Burden: Aging Parents Who Shouldn't Drive
Carolyn L. Rosenblatt
Forbes
June 21, 2010

Overview: “Imagine that the phone rings, and it's the police department in the city where your 85-year-old mother lives. She's been in a car accident. She hit a pedestrian, the officer is saying, and your mom is hurt. You feel a rush of fear and guilt. You saw the warning signs, the forgetfulness, the lack of ability to concentrate. Mom really shouldn't have been on the road. You're afraid to ask what happened to the pedestrian. Could you have prevented this?”
http://tinyurl.com/238bfpk

Understand What And How The Consumer Thinks
Jim Gilmartin
Engage Boomers
June 21, 2010

Overview: “Although all of us have basic values and motivators that drive us, we manifest them differently as we move through the spring, summer, fall and winter of life. Selling to boomers and older consumers is different primarily because of this shift in values.”
http://tinyurl.com/2alpb4b

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

You Better Be Marketing To Me
Matt Thornhill
Engage Boomers
June 28, 2010

Overview: “A few years ago, the PBS documentary, "Boomer Century," produced by and featuring Age Wave author Ken Dychtwald, identified four traits found in Boomers: idealism, anti-authoritarianism, eagerness to embrace change, and self-empowerment. We think that's as good a list we've seen, although the underlying question fueling those traits in Boomers is, "What's in it for me?"
http://tinyurl.com/2f2n32t

Baby Boomer denim: Chicago firm enters jeans scene
Sandra M. Jones
Chicago Tribune
June 27, 2010

Overview: “As the youngest boomer turns 46 this year, demand for hip jeans with a bit more give is on the rise. With roughly 76 million baby boomers accounting for half of consumer spending, denim-makers are waking up to the fact that there is money to be made in women's jeans that fit middle-age hips and thighs while still looking cool.”
http://tinyurl.com/257t76k

The Changing Demographics of America
Joel Kotkin
Smithsonian Magazine
August 2010 Edition

Overview: “The portion of the [U.S.] population that is currently at least 65 years old—13 percent—is expected to reach about 20 percent by 2050. This “graying of America” has helped convince some commentators of the nation’s declining eminence. For example, an essay by international relations expert Parag Khanna envisions a “shrunken America” lucky to eke out a meager existence between a “triumphant China” and a “retooled Europe.” Morris Berman, a cultural historian, says America “is running on empty.”
http://tinyurl.com/24fkhzx

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

D.C. tests new parking technology to help drivers find space, pay more easily
Ashley Halsey III
Washington Post
June 29, 2010

Overview: “Long ago, in the tender years of baby boomers, the futuristic Jetsons had cars that parked themselves. Now, as the shadows of boomers grow long, some cars can just about do that.”
http://tinyurl.com/24hqdqk

Despite Aging Baby Boomers, N.I.H. Devotes Only 11 Percent to Elderly Studies
Milt Freudenheim
New York Times
June 28, 2010

Overview: “The health needs of tens of millions of aging baby boomers threaten to overwhelm the nation’s hospitals and caregivers within a decade or two, but the geriatric tidal wave does not appear to have been fully recognized at the National Institutes of Health.”
http://tinyurl.com/2bqtjj2

New Career Mindset
Karen Newman
Technorati
June 28, 2010

Overview: “… the longer you’ve been working and the more you’ve achieved in your career, the more valuable your cultivated skill sets and personalized experience become. Now more than ever, baby boomers and corporate executives need to recognize this phenomenon as they set about to rebuild their finances in the face of the global economic downturn.”
http://tinyurl.com/2bl8qrd

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Budget outlook said bleak as baby boomers age
Donna Smith
Reuters
June 30, 2010

Overview: “Federal healthcare spending and the Social Security retirement program will gobble up a greater portion of the budget and push the national debt up sharply unless lawmakers act, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said.”
http://tinyurl.com/27eazz7

Age bias complaints surge in bad economy
Allison Linn
MSNBC.com
June 29, 2010

Overview: “The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission saw a 33 percent increase in the number of age discrimination complaints that were filed during its past two fiscal years combined, as compared to the prior two fiscal years. That translates into 47,360 complaints filed between October 2007, two months before the nation went into recession, and September of 2009.”
http://tinyurl.com/34kxnj7

A community for boomers
Melanie Wanzek
Philadelphia Inquirer
June 30, 2010

Overview: “In a tough job market, more adults are seeking education as a way to sidestep the hiring slump, retrain or better position themselves for the economic recovery. Community colleges can be a big help, especially for those 50 and older.”
http://tinyurl.com/235966d