Lifelong Learning

Recipe for Results: Direct Mail, Radio

Research Round-Up: Silver Surfers

Quick: Name three things Baby Boomers have had to compete for during their lives.

Most of us would likely name jobs, or homes, or even each other. However one key area that has never seemed to keep up with Baby Boom demand is education.

In Age Power, author Ken Dychtwald notes that in the 1950s and 60s, the sheer numbers of leading edge Baby Boom kids overwhelmed the American school systems. They were often crowded two to a desk. Schools were forced to offer double and triple sessions and extend school years to accommodate demand. Later these same kids hit college in record numbers. The number of college students tripled between 1965 and 1975. They fought for every spot.

For many younger Boomers, their life lessons began as pre-schoolers. In 1968 Mr. Rogers hit the TV screens, and one year later Big Bird debuted with Sesame Street.

The result? The most educated generational cohort ever.

This movement towards lifelong learning actually began with an older generation. It was the GI Bill that gave 15 million WWII veterans access to higher education, once reserved for the wealthiest Americans.

For today’s 50-plussers, the love of learning has gone far beyond classroom walls. The popularity of self-help books … heck, even Jane Fonda’s Workout tapes … all were early examples of businesses that profited from the generation’s drive to learn and improve themselves.

How are various industries responding to this enthusiasm for education? Community centers, cable TV and the Internet all feature instruction on the arts, hobbies, vocations and more. University continuing education programs are beginning to respond to demands from 50+ers seeking out programs on everything from flower arranging to career re-training.

Elderhostel was founded in 1975. It created and defined a new niche – learning while traveling. This non-profit organization now sponsors 8,000 “learning adventures” for 160,000 older adults each year. Boomers especially are seeking out trips that include experiences ranging from education to volunteering to adventure.

A new understanding of how the brain ages also plays a part in the growth of learning options. Mature consumers want to “use it or lose it” and will seek out new experiences that help them do just that. Nintendo has tapped into this motivation with their Wii system as well as their “brain games” software releases.

Many of our clients are tapping into the desire for lifelong learning. One community partnered with a local community college. Together they developed health and wellness programs specifically targeted to the interests of active adult residents. Another client teamed up with The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) and has opened an OLLI campus right in the community. A third has found a wealth of knowledge in their own residents – they put on educational programming featuring homeowners as "guest lecturers."

Quick: Can you name three ways that your company can tap into the lifelong learning movement? Better understanding the educational desires and motivations of 40+ consumers can help you attract new leads, strengthen relationships and build profits.

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THE SITUATION
Westminster at Lake Ridge is a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) located in Lake Ridge, VA. With Creating Results’ help, it had reinvented itself in 2007 with new ads and a new brand. Now, Westminster needed a new way to increase awareness and generate new leads.

THE SOLUTION
The Westminster at Lake Ridge philosophy is that overall wellness includes physical, spiritual, emotional, social, vocational and intellectual dimensions. Creating Results was inspired by the vocational dimension for a strategic direct mail effort.

We created a Direct Mail campaign with an “Artist” theme. Each direct mail piece was a full-color postcard spotlighting a resident artist in the community. The first artist featured was Everett Johnson, a retiree who had become a professional photographer. The second mailer focused on Pat Olson Leopold, a former CIA employee who is now an award-winning painter and sculptress.

THE RESULTS
Westminster immediately saw a jump in their website traffic when the cards hit mailboxes. On average, Westminster at Lake Ridge receives 45 unique visitors to its site a day. During the weeks following each mailer, unique web visitors almost doubled to an average of 83 a day.

The marketing office at Westminster reported an increase in calls from new leads requesting brochures and onsite tours.

For greater impact, Creating Results’ Public Relations Director pitched the story to the local newspaper, which ran full page lifestyle articles with color photographs. The community’s current occupancy rate of 96% is their highest in more than five years.

7 Things You Should Know About "Silver Surfers"

1. There are more internet users 55 and older than 18-34.
2. 65+ internet users spend more time online than any other age group.
3. Reading blogs is the fastest growing internet activity among the 50+ market. This trend is spurred by a growing interest in social marketing and online product research.
4. There is little discernable difference in web usage among users under the age of 60. The percent of the population who are internet users drops by more than half when looking at the 65 and over.
5. Internet users over the age of 75 play as many online games as those 20-24. This aging market is on a mission to remain mentally fit. “Brain games” like Sudoku and word puzzles are drastically increasing in popularity online.
6. This market is often self-taught; therefore they do not always assume generally accepted web standards. For example, in a recent usability study, roughly 80% of participants aged 48-66 were unfamiliar with the practice of clicking on the company logo as a way to return to the homepage.
7. 89% of those 50+ report having seen a print ad and later visited that company’s site, 92% have read about a website in a magazine or newspaper and then visited online. These facts illustrate the importance of integrated marketing, ensuring that online and offline communications are working in harmony.

Sources:
1. Emarketer – via Pew/Internet & American Life Project – Data Memo 2007
2. Dick Stroud - 20plus30 Consulting
3. Comscore – “The Score: Adults 55+ Adapting Online” 8 / 06
4. Pew/Internet & American Life Project – “Are ‘Wired Seniors’ Sitting Ducks?” 4/06
5. US Dept. of Labour Bureau - Computer Usage by Age - June 2007
6. Blink Interactive – “Understanding Older Users: Is Your Website "Senior-Friendly"? – 9/07
7. JWT/Third Age – Livewire – April, 2007