Anthropologist Margaret Mead once lectured about the postmenopausal red-tailed deer, a particularly wise species of fauna living somewhere in the far north. Mead explained that in their old age, when all the old bucks had been killed off in skirmishes, the females became the oldest survivors.

In yesterday’s blog, we addressed that fact that Gen X and Y marketers have noticed something new for western society. Their elders have begun hitting 60—and unlike generations past—are refusing to fade away.

For boomers and generations to come, the implications are enormous, as we all adjust to this new reality. It’s easy to bash boomers as suffering from a character flaw that drives them away from more age-appropriate roles. The truth is much more complex—so here’s part two of my rebuttal...

In 1966, Time Magazine collectively coined the Baby Boom generation “Man of the Year”. This generation lived up to Time’s momentous designation, fearlessly going on to lead a number of revolutionary movements, among them, fittingly, the women’s movement. (Note that Time now pays tribute to “Person” of the Year).

Having the great fortune of living in the Napa, Valley (when I’m not on the road as a boomer ambassador) I take my inspiration from the art and spirit of wine. Wine, you see, has the good sense to improve with age. In fact, the finer the wine, the better it gets over time.

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For many women, last Sunday was Happy Mother’s Day. But for many more of us, the circle on the calendar actually denotes another lesser celebrated holiday: Happy POGO Day. What’s that? You ask.

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There’s this old story about the first woman elected president. At her swearing in her mother is congratulated about her daughter’s success. The mother’s response was to point to her son several rows back and brag about him being a doctor.

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Many of us believe the late years of retirement will be more like "rewirement," a freshening up, a good powdering of our noses, some sacred space in which to finally contemplate our life's journey. We won't be like the Others, in a vapid nursing home chomping through rubbery chicken on someone's militant schedule. No sir, you won't catch us engaging in less than scintillating conversation over bingo.

After all, we may be bungee jumping. We may be hunting. We'll be anything but dying.

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This blog is part one of a blog series culminating in the release of a white paper on the subject to our subscribers. Please stay tuned as we continue this series.

The brain economy has replaced the brawn. There is a monetary value that can and should be assigned to mentoring and wisdom. And you can have older and younger generations working together productively. It’s all about respect.
-- Eileen Marcus

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FH Boom has collaborated on a research study in conjunction with NMI’s proprietary Healthy Aging/Boomer™ (HAB) research project to give marketers a first glimpse of the Boomer consumer at age 70. Hint: think of boomers at 70 not so much as revolutionaries, but as ‘retrolutionaries’. By this definition, retrolutionaries are the vast majority of Boomer-aged consumers who are aiming to get their monetary expenditures in better alignment with values formed at an earlier stage in their lives. Think the 2016 version of Birkenstocks and the equivalent of VW back in the 60's: living affordably, but with style.

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By Guest Blogger Humphrey Taylor, Harris Interactive

The conventional wisdom among people who write about aging, retirement and longevity is that ageism is a big problem in this country; that many Americans are strongly prejudiced against older people; and that, as a result, seniors are often victims of discrimination. While there is surely some truth in this stereotype, data from several surveys suggest that ageism in this country is not as strong as many people think it is, and that the United States is actually one of the least ageist societies in the world.

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By Guest Blogger Humphrey Taylor, Harris Interactive

If John McCain is elected President in the upcoming elections, he would be the oldest first time president to enter the White House. Harris Interactive has studied the impact of sexism, racism and ageism in this election because Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain were the three leading candidates.

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The findings described by guest blogger, Harris Poll Chairman Humphrey Taylor, of the Harris Interactive survey of nearly 4,000 Americans was refreshing on so many levels.

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In our exploration of the intersection between meaning and marketing in relation to the boomer generation, it is important to understand that spirituality and religion come in various stripes and colors. In my next blog, I’ll discuss the distinct religio-spiritual archetypes and how they relate to the stages of adult development. Marketers should pay heed lest they get on the divine express only to discover that a transcendently-grounded message perfect for one spiritual type ineffectively or even disastrously lands on the door stoop of another.

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These gleanings from a single day of online news dispatches should be enough to deflate even the proudest member of the boomer clan. File these under the heading of “believe it or not,” or perhaps “would you believe??”

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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.

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2008 was a blast. There was the little implosion of our financial system and auto industry. We got to watch our hard won and well matched 401K dollars swirl neatly down the drain as our tax dollars ballooned into majestic golden parachutes for some of the most scrupulous leaders around. And to cap off the year, we had the distinct pleasure of seeing slow motion replays of our President dodging one ticked off Iraqi’s leathery shoe, twice (freedom is messy).

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Memo to elected officials and anyone concerned with how we live in America PM (post-meltdown):

If you're planning to hang in there until things get back to normal, consider this: demographic trends suggest a new normal is fast approaching. The market for everything from housing to consumer spending is shrinking as boomers pass their peak earning years.

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