“Millennials have a way of driving older folks crazy … Gen X’ers and Baby Boomers find this generation puzzling, and rather than strive to understand the differences, instead are inclined to view them negatively.  It’s as if they were visiting a foreign country, and instead of trying to understand the culture, they respond with, ‘Eww, look at them, can you believe it??!’

… Millennials meet the definition of a subculture. Data and experience both show that Millennials look at many things — work, food, religion, politics, fashion and more —  differently.”

Phillips calls for all to suspend judgment and truly get to know their targets – good advice whether you’re marketing to a 50-something Baby Boomer or a 70-something senior or a 20-something Millennial. 

As a marketing  professional who specializes in the language, customs and drivers of Baby Boomers and other older generations, I’d venture pretty much every young cohort has a way of driving the older generations crazy.

* The “Silent Generation” (born roughly between 1925 and 1945) got its moniker from a Time cover story.  The reporter (from an older cohort) sure sounded frustrated with the kids of his day.  He bemoaned their lack of activism and reported that “the girls want a career – and marriage.”

* Baby Boomers (1946-1964) drove their elders crazy with their hairstyles, clothing, protests, drugs and more.  Heck, “Bye Bye Birdie” was all about a (musical) generational culture gap.

* The nickname for Gen X (born roughly between 1965 and 1945) was popularized by yet another magazine article.  At the time, the other name being used for this cohort of stand-for-nothing underachievers was the “Postponed Generation” because young adults kept moving back home.

Phillips wraps up her fine post by saying “It’s not better or worse, it’s just different.” 

In my view it’s not better or worse, but quite familiar!

Baby Boomer Spending on Food

* I really appreciate The Bundle’s infographics that illustrate household spending by age.  Take a peek at their 2010 report and you’ll see that Baby Boomers (aged 50-65) and Silent Generation (65+)  spend more on food and drink than the “coveted” 18-25 year olds – $6,992 and $5,211 respectively.  36-49 year olds are the tops in food and food and drink, averaging $7,487 in 2010 per household.

* Reflecting their lifestage, 35-50 year olds spend the most each year on groceries - $4,322 per Bundle.  50-65 yr old Boomers are in second place, spending an average of $4,001.

* Mature marketing expert Brent Green has called Baby Boomer men the “next marketing frontier,” noting that men are more apt to spend than save (even in a downturn) and more prone to buy national brands at the grocery store. 

* So-called functional foods are predicted to flourish thanks to the desire of Boomers to actively age and maintain energetic lifestyles.

Praise the Lord, and Pass the Google Search

* Gen X , Baby Boomers and Silent Generation Internet users are more likely than younger generations to look for religious information online  (Pew).  42% of younger Boomers (also known as Generation Jones) reported doing so.

* Millennials are not as religious as the four elder cohorts – Gen X, Baby Boom, and generations Silent and Greatest.  In 2010, only 40% told Pew that religion was very important in their lives, compared to 60% of Boomers and 67% of the Silent Generation.

* Attitudes about religion are influenced by lifestage and age.  And attitudes change.   AARP found that Boomers’ confidence in organized religion had decreased from the 1970s to 2002.

Love, Love Me Do

* People often talk about a “health benefit” to marriage.  The 2009 National Health Interview Survey revealed that married adults between the ages of 55 and 74 were less likely to be in fair or poor health than those who had never married or who were formerly married. 

* We note that the same study revealed that currently married adults between 55 and 64 were more likely to have a hearing impairment than their unmarried peers.  (And I thought it was selective deafness …)

* Boomers and beyond are more open than ever to sex outside of marriage.  10 years ago, AARP found that 41% of Americans over age 45 were opposed to sex outside of marriage; this April, the organization found only 22% opposed.

* 26.7% of those in the online dating pool were over 45 in 2007. (MRI)  Adults over 55 are the fastest-growing group of online daters.

* The divore of Al and Tipper Gore this year reminded us that Baby Boomers are both the most married generation and the most divorced.  “If you look at every single year of marriage, they have the highest divorce rates of anyone born before or after them,” said Professor Betsey Stevenson in Newsweek.  The late Robert Butler noted late-in-life divorces may be an unexpected side effect of the longevity bonus.

Do you have statistics or insights on how Baby Boomers eat, pray and love?  Please share your thoughts below.

Kudos to Roy Wells for tackling the misperception that only teenagers and college students are on Facebook.  His post for SocialMediatoday.com this week calculated that 41.6% of all Americans have a Facebook account.  And, as we’ve reported frequently on this blog, ALL Americans on social networks includes quite a few members of Gen X, Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation. 

I most appreciated Wells’ emphasis on – gasp! – understanding your audience and crafting a marketing strategy appropriate to those targets.

If you are a CEO, or someone whose job it is to grow your business, the role that social media will play in your strategy is a function of who comprises your target audience, and where you can find and engage that audience. Clearly, a portion of that audience, regardless of age, are using social media channels.

So, with that in mind Creating Results would like to remind those businesses hoping to drive business with mature Americans – 40 years or older – that TV is a place you can find and engage your audience.

98% of households are TV households, reports Nielsen.  55% of US homes have three or more television sets.  The median age of prime time TV watchers is 51 and seniors (65 or older) watch more minutes of “boob tube” than anyone else.

Learn more about how – when it comes to marketing to Baby Boomers and 65+ (seniors) – social media hasn’t yet killed television by reading Nielsen’s statistics or posts from the Ad Contrarian, Chuck Nyren and this blog.

Creating Results studies different generations and segments  to help companies connect with mature consumers, but we don’t often get to play with them.  As the round continued, I noticed more behaviors that demonstrated typical generational characteristics, but I also saw that we were individuals rather than stereotypes.  The Boomer easily regaled us with stories about his successful children and the state of his business and the impact of the recession.   He shared a story about when he had come to play with the Silent and GI ten years ago.  He had put his bag on a golf cart and planned to ride around the course.  The Silent showed up and pulled his bag on a hand cart.  The GI, then 79 years old, carried his bag and walked all 18 holes.

The Silent was, for the most part, silent.  He asked questions, helped the others find their balls, and offered suggestions on playing the course.  A course he had helped to design surrounded by conservation areas he had saved from development, but one would never have known that from his actions.  The Silent had organized and funded the entire outing with the only objective being to have a good time with some people he respected and whose company he enjoyed.

The GI was frustrated with the quality of his game and complained at one point, “I need to practice more.”  I asked how often he played and he said, “most everyday, but I need to practice more”.  Despite his “under performance”, he cleaned our clocks.

For the Greater Good

The GI volunteered little information.  But when asked direct questions about his experiences as a member of the 82^nd Airborne in Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge, his life after the war, and his children arranging for him to return to Normandy for the 65^th anniversary commemoration, he somewhat reluctantly shared stories that have stuck with me.  Listening to him was humbling.  I had no doubt in my mind that I had the honor to be in the presence of a member of the Greatest Generation.

After the war, the GI lived many lives, but through all of them was a theme of public service.  He devoted much time to volunteering on town councils, creating affordable housing and assisting a multitude of charitable organizations.  For longer than I have lived, he has organized his town’s 4^th of July celebrations.  That meant for years I had seen, and yet not seen, him march with the Veterans.  I was inspired and yet disappointed when I reflected on my comparatively meager contributions to society.

My golf that day was horrible, but it was the best round I’ve ever had.

Word of mouth/referrals are, indeed, powerful with all ages of consumers. As John Jantsch puts it in his description of his new book, “The Referral Engine:”

The power of glitzy advertising and elaborate marketing campaigns is on the wane; word- of-mouth referrals are what drive business today. People trust the recommendation of a friend, family member, colleague, or even stranger with similar tastes over anything thrust at them by a faceless company.

Effectiveness of Referrals in Health, Travel and Financial Services Industries

Referrals have an impact in all stages of a purchase decision, from when consumers decide which products to consider, to when they evaluating options to when they make a decision to buy.

The reality is that there is no way you can “test drive” a holiday to Bali. There are no in-store samples when it comes to choosing healthcare or financial services. The statistics below show the importance of recommendations and word of mouth in those industries where product/service “demos” aren’t easily come by.

• 50% of the 17 million adults who found a new primary care physician in the past year relied on recommendations from friends and relatives. More than 25% used such recommendations as their only information source. (Center for Studying Health System Change)

• At AAHSA in 2008, a presenter shared statistics from Shouldice Hospital which counted 49% of new patients as referrals from past patients. (American Association of Homes & Services for the Aging)

• 34% of UK vacationers told consumer research group Mintel that they chose their destination on the basis of a face-to-face recommendation. Another 27% used online word of mouth sources such as user reviews. (TravelWeekly)

• And, in financial services, an Alliance Bernstein study of people with a minimum net worth of $25 million found that 100% of respondents used referrals when searching for a financial advisor. (Advisor Perspectives)

Are Retirement Communities Leveraging Referrals?

Like many health-related businesses, our CCRC clients note that referrals are their best sources. Prospects who are introduced to them through current or past residents are most likely to purchase.

So why aren’t more CCRCs taking better advantage of good ol’ fashioned referral marketing?

It’s not because retirement communities or assisted living facilities are failing to earn fans.  McKnight’s Long Term Care News reports that most nursing home workers would recommend their facility to others – as would 85% of the residents of these homes and their families.

It’s not because older adults are stingy with praise. In fact, they are asked for their recommendations with great frequency. Here are some Baby Boomer statistics to consider: A 2007 Weber Shandwick studyfound that 57% of 50+ers were asked to recommend a product or service nearly twice a week. And recommend they do – 89% of Boomers surveyed had given advice on products or services.

What do you think?

Are businesses in general – and retirement communities in particular – spending enough time on generating referrals?

Please share your thoughts … or examples of groups effectively using personal referrals from Boomers and seniors in their marketing … below.

“Reaching a broad audience is still important for advertisers of a wide variety of products, including cars, electronics, household products, restaurants and others,” said Jeff McCall, a professor of media studies at DePauw University. “The need for these products reaches across wide demos and broadcast television still brings those. And the older demos likely have a few more bucks to actually spend.”

Facts about Baby Boomers, Seniors and TV

* The  median age of prime-time television viewers is now 51. 

* Nielsen’s “Three-Screen” report for the fourth quarter of 2009 found that 35-49 year olds watch 35:40 minutes a week of traditional TV.  50-64 year olds (Baby Boomers) watch 42:38 minutes, and “seniors” age 65 or better watch 47:21 minutes.

* The average viewer watches 2,223 minutes of video in a week, and all but 1% of their video viewing is on a traditional television.  (AdContrarian) As the Ad Contrarian puts it, “TV viewership is at its highest point ever and continues to grow.”

* Most viewers don’t leave the room or change channels during commercial breaks.  (Council for Research Excellence)  No reports on how many mute because of the ridiculously loud volume of TV ads …

* A mere 5-6% of ads are being skipped on DVRs.  (DVR Research Institute)

* The median age of nightly TV news viewers across the “big three” (ABC, CBS, NBC) was 62.3 years in 2009.  The median age of morning news viewers rose to 55.2 last year.  (State of the Media)

Is advertising on broadcast TV part of your marketing mix?  Why/why not?

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I watched an episode, and found it to be typical reality TV fare, which isn’t my particular taste. I did enjoy the fact that the residents in the episode seem to be enjoying the attention they are receiving. The show has sent several opportunities their way, such as a free ride in a stunt airplane. They also seem to enjoy being their age, despite any of the negatives of growing older.

Sunset Daze may not be my taste or yours. But marketers can get some good insights thanks to this show, which fights ageist stereotypes and gives us an insider’s view to a huge, vibrant segment of the population.

Tips from Sunset Daze for marketing to Baby Boomers and seniors:

• Don’t forget the romance. These folks don’t. Many of the seniors featured in this program are romantically and sexually active. Many were actively looking for new social opportunities when they choose this retirement community.

• You never stop learning. All the residents we meet on Sunset Daze view their move to Sun City Grand as an opportunity to try new things in life. They finally have time for the things they’ve always wanted to do, like learning to speak Spanish or learning to dance.

• Aging is not a fairy-tale. These seniors and older Boomers still have problems, some related to the realities of aging. Their lives are not problem free or pain free. While the show’s tagline states “The Golden Years Just Got More Golden,” residents still have surprises thrown at them, like an adult child moving back home to live.

• Growing older is okay. Our culture is swimming in decades worth of ageism, and TV – including reality TV – often markets the incorrect idea that all people value is youth. This group of matures is full of life, and they go to great pains to directly address the negative view that many have of people their age growing older. For example, Jack is the resident “Mr. Romeo” on the show. WEtv.com now features Jack’s blog called “Senior Citizens Not D.O.A. – as Many Think” , and he is doing his best to debunk myths about people his age.

Have you been watching “Sunset Daze” or reading Jack’s blog?  Share your thoughts below!

I’m not saying Boomers themselves are slow.  Baby Boomers and seniors live in Godin’s fast and specific world.  (In fact, Godin is a boomer himself.)  This cohort was adopting new technology at early ages during the rapid spread of television in the late 50s/early 60s.  Seth’s Blog is delivered to me via email, which was itself invented by a Boomer.

The nation’s 46-64 year olds are still at the forefront of technology adoption.  As we’ve noted on this blog, they’re actively involved in social networking and are willing to invest in items that help them continue to enjoy their quality of living.

That said, I believe most members of the Baby Boom and Silent Generation would agree that a fast-paced world does not mean everything in it has to be at the speed of a texting pre-teen. 

Seth asked if anyone read general news magazines like Newsweek anymore.  While it’s true circulation is declining, there are still many loyal readers.  The majority of news magazine readers are older and wealthierthan readers of subject-specific mag.  The typical Newsweek reader is 46.8 years old (a younger Boomer).  Chuck Nyren has described magazines as a “warm and nourishing” place to fly away from the chaos of our days.

Why?  The world may be specific but studies show that as we age we look at things in context, we look for opportunities to stretch ourselves and our imaginations.  It’s one of the reasons why retirement communities affiliated with universities are so popular.  Lifelong learning is general.  

Each week, I watch (or Tivo) the CBS News Sunday Morning program.  Long form stories are the norm.  I’m frequently exposed to topics I’d never thought of – like that guy who creates art out of bugs, or the explorer who found the lost city of Z in the Amazon. 

4.73 million people watch Sunday Morning with me each week.  Entertainment Weekly recently put the show on its must list.

It’s a welcome break from the fast and specific.  And sorry to disagree, Seth, but I think that in our fast world, slow and general will definitely have its place.

The Blogosphere has opened up a new form of people watching for me, albeit a virtual one, and the plus is that I can find out what happens next. A case in point is Ronni Bennett’s terrific “Time Goes By” blog—“what it’s really like to get older.”

At 69 years of age Ronni decided to move about as far as possible within the continental US, from Portland Maine to Portland Oregon. (And while you might think the location decision had something to do with the “Portlandness” of it, that was just poetic coincidence.) On her blog, she has been chronicling her move.  These posts offer insights for those marketing real estate to Baby Boomers and beyond.

Emotions Dominate When Searching for a New Home

A cross-country move is unusual for Baby Boomers and beyond. The 2009 study by MetLife and the National Association of Home Builders found that 67% of those aged 65-74 plan to age in place with only 12% expecting to buy another home.

Yet the overwhelming reason seniors move is to be closer to family and friends. Ronni was born in Oregon and her brother lives there so this is very much a “going home” move. I think Ronni put it perfectly in a February post:

I have often thought that as we grow into our late years – the winter of our lives, if you will – there is an emotional pull, for those of us who have wandered away, to the homes of our youth.

Whether the draw is family or friends or the familiarity of your hometown, most of us tend to agree with Dorothy and Toto that it’s nice to get home. Or, as Ernestine, one of Ronni’s regular readers, posted in her comment:

Bottom line is whatever years we have left on earth – we need to be where our heart leads us.

As we age we’re more likely to listen to our hearts. Seniors base more decisions on emotions vs. logic and that is exactly what Ronni experienced as she blogged the day she took that big step of listing her home for sale.

 So I made the decision on the spot Saturday while the agent was here.

The decision wasn’t without prior thought and consideration. Yet, when it came to taking that first concrete step of moving, emotions ruled.

Three Lessons for Marketing 50+ Housing

What can builders and developers of new active adult communities, owners of CCRCs, Assisted Living Facilities, Realtors, and others involved in housing Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation learn from Ronni Bennett and her readers?

1. Listen. Take the time to hear what mature homebuyers or renters are truly seeking. How long do they expect to be in their new home? What do they need (short and longer term) to be comfortable? Feel safe? Connected? Happy?

Marketers can start the conversation with an interactive website tool or a simple printed/PDF worksheet that poses key questions. Then, listen – the answers will help you understand the motivation to move or even serve as the springboard for discussing different floor plans, finishing options, etc.

2. Make the move easier. Reading this blog, the “work” of moving becomes clear. As Ronni described her books and how she tackled which to take and which to sell, I shuddered. I’m having a hard time letting go of books I read to, and then with, my daughter, who is now in high school.

Paula, another “Time Goes By” follower, noted “most elders struggle terribly with moves–either avoiding them or being forced into them.” Moving and downsizing are hard both physically and emotionally. There are many ways to show your prospects that it is doable:

• bring in speakers (such as this May event at a CCRC),
• add a “Make Your Move Easier” section on your website,
• offer referrals to movers and storage services, or
• run a special promotion offering free downsizing services with your next three sales.

3. Talk frankly about the money. This is critical regardless of the type of move. Can your prospects afford what they need? What they want? Moves are so stressful; your sales and marketing team can try to reduce the financial worry.

Worksheets such as this one can be very helpful for the mature homebuyer and sales team. Many of our active adult community clients also have sponsored financing seminars.

So what happens next for Ronni? Her big move is scheduled for mid-May and – thanks to her blog – I get to find out what happens next. Safe travels!

“According to the Del Webb survey, nearly a third of older Baby Boomers plan to move in retirement, with more than 50 percent planning to move to a different state, about 25 percent of them planning to move to a different city within the same state, and less than 20 percent of older Boomers planning to move within the same city.”

So, are we going to see a great movement of Boomers criss-crossing the country in the coming years?  The definite answer is: It depends.

What I find fascinating is that the results are different from the MetLife Mature Market Institute (MMI) / National Association of Home Builders 55+ Housing study which was completed just last year. It could be that the samples and questions are different, but Del Webb concludes that the Boomers are more mobile than MMI found.

Creating Results has spent more than 15 years of marketing real estate to older, more affluent homebuyers, including a large number of premier active adult communities. What we have found is that – absent the high cost of living states and escape from urban areas – only a small percentage of people are willing to move more than 100 miles.

Most people don’t want to move at all and would prefer to age in place.  In 2009, this desire helped turn active adult housing from a sweet spot into a question mark.  Boomers and beyond stayed put.

National studies can provide insights into broad trends, but it is generally not helpful (and even potentially dangerous) to apply the findings to individual communities. Motivators  vary significantly.  It is important to conduct specific research to develop target markets profiles for each community.

We also caution people against making assumptions about grandchildren and children.  For many Baby Boomers, this is a critical motivator.  However, for others it’s just not that important.

We wonder what percentage of the respondents to the 2010 Del Webb study were single.  In our experience, that is a growing market in which prospects often are not as concerned about proximity to grandchildren. In some of the active adult communities we market, 1/3 of the buyers are single and they complain that a focus on grandchildren makes them feel excluded.  They are concerned that they won’t fit into the commuinity.

What do you think of the 2010 Del Webb Study?  Share your thoughts below.