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Mary Furlong & Associates' Boomer/Senior Market Report
Exploring the 10 Trends Powering the Age Boom
January 2007 - Vol. 4, No. 1

In This Issue:

LETTER FROM MARY

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We hope your new year is off to a wonderful start. When I left for DC last week, the temperature in California was 17 degrees, but Washington clocked in at a balmy 64 -- like spring vacation in the midst of winter.

While back East, I had an exciting visit with Verizon Wireless. It was interesting to see the opportunities in the cell phone industry for boomers and beyond. I predict that the cell phone and the large-print PDA will be the most important devices for boomers in the next 20 years. It will be their connection to children, grandchildren, friends, money, health, travel and play.

I also had a chance to meet Gail Sheehy, author of Passages and Sex and the Seasoned Woman, for the first time. She has great insight into the transitions of boomer women. You can meet Gail and have lunch with her at the What's Next Boomer Business Summit in Chicago in early March. We will have a top-tier roster of authors, bloggers and age-beat reporters. You'll also learn the latest research on how to target the boomer at 40+, 50+ and 60+ and discover their important distribution touchstone points. You'll learn where they shop -- online and IRL (in real life) -- where they are on the Internet, and what they read and watch on TV.

What makes the What's Next conference work is the community of leaders who attend and contribute. Jeff Zimman, CEO of Posit Science, recommended that we host a session entitled Data Dump, where we share the latest data about the boomer/senior market in select content categories. Look for this new addition to the program, where you can learn in warp speed what data is out there and what it means.

We are honored to co-produce the event with the leaders of the Business Forum on Aging and the American Society on Aging. We are also delighted that so many of our former sponsors are returning, including Intel Corporation, Longevity Alliance, MetLife Mature Market Institute, Posit Science Corporation, AARP and Springboard Press, an imprint of Warner Books. They are joined by new sponsors and marketing partners Philips, Quantum Intech, Inc., Fleishman-Hillard, Electronic Arts and The Stress Institute. If you would like to join in, we can offer you and your colleagues a special discount. We only have room for 300, so write or email right away.

I am going to keep this letter short, as this newsletter is filled with important stories and new market findings. It also includes some of the Consumer Health World Award winners from the recent Consumer Directed Health Care Conference.

Lastly, I want to mention that one of my favorite memories of the 1990s was a breakfast meeting with Art Buchwald at the Regent in New York. As soon as I sat down, he made me smile. We went on to laugh and share ideas through much of the morning. There was so much energy and laughter at the table that one of his colleagues stopped by to let Art know he could still entertain. I read all of his books and loved every one. As he entered into hospice care, he redefined that movement as well. He thrived there, and his friends continued coming often to visit. Art reminded all of us how important it is to get involved and support the hospice movement. I am going to send a donation in his name this morning. Though much of my wardrobe from the '90s is gone, I will always save the multicolored striped blouse I wore the morning I met him. Here are a few links if you're interested:

Coming up in the next newsletter: details about the Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit.

All the best,

Mary

P.S. Take a peek further down in the Special Section for an excerpt from my new book, Turning Silver Into Gold.

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FEATURE ARTICLES

The Baby Boom and Its Impact on Inflation and Interest Rates
By Richard Hokenson, Hokenson & Company

The Canadian demographer David Foot once made the observation that "demographics explain 70 percent of everything." It's no surprise, then, that the movement of the baby boom generation into retirement is having a measurable effect on the U.S. economy -- and, in turn, creating new decisions for boomers to make about their retirement.

Inflation
A well-known negative aspect of being a member of a large generation is the experience of higher prices. It is simply a case of supply and demand. A large and increasing number of retired baby boomers are all trying to do the same thing at the same time. Despite the fact that the maturation and retirement of the baby boom generation is easily the most predictable demographic event of all time, the baby boom takes every market by surprise. Supply, whether it be the number of golf courses or cruise ships, lags behind demand. That allows the suppliers to charge higher prices.

This phenomenon shows up clearly in the reports on consumer price inflation for developed countries. Prices of most goods are flat or falling because of the impact of smaller generations (when supply meets or exceeds demand). Prices of most services are rising albeit at modest rates. The young predominantly buy goods while the old predominantly buy services.

The obvious question then is where should retired baby boomers live? If they live in the U.S., they will continue to collide with other baby boomers, further increasing prices for properties in the temperate tri-coastal region. Two-thirds of the U.S. population lives within 100 miles of the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean or the Southern border, versus 50 percent 30 years ago. A big driver in that tri-coastal concentration is retirement.

Alternatively, if baby boomers retire and move to a younger country, their life cycle is asynchronous with the local lifestyle. Younger countries have higher rates of price inflation in goods and lower rates of price inflation in services.

The only other way around this situation is to anticipate where the baby boom is going rather than focusing on where they are now. For years, our personal financial advice has been to not hesitate or delay in securing retirement housing. It will only become more expensive tomorrow.

Interest Rates
Globally, long-term interest rates are the lowest they have been in many decades. An often-heard explanation is that they're driven to even lower levels due to the retirement of the baby boom generation. As retiring boomers switch from accumulating assets mainly through capital gains (stocks) to preserving their assets and needing a known stream of post-retirement income (dividends and coupons on bonds), long-term interest rates fall.

The growing need for fixed income, however, is only the tip of the iceberg. In our opinion, the much more powerful global force is the aging of the global workforce. The chart below illustrates the major trends of an even more powerful association between the rate of growth of the U.S. labor force and the rate of increase in nominal GDP (actual real growth plus actual inflation).

The important conclusion is that low long-term interest rates will trend even lower. Planet earth is aging at an unprecedented rate. Global labor force growth continues to decelerate, pulling down nominal GDP growth along with it.

For those fortunate to have accumulated enough assets to live comfortably with today's low interest rates, our advice is to check your portfolio for call protection. It would be a very unpleasant surprise to think that you have locked in returns for an extended time period, only to have bonds called and be forced to scramble for yield in an even lower yield world of tomorrow.

The majority of baby boomers are more likely to be faced with the situation of not being able to live well enough with today's -- much less tomorrow's -- interest rates. The challenge for them and for the financial services industry will be to look for ways to reduce the volatility of riskier assets in such a way as to promote greater peace of mind while at the same time providing high enough returns for the baby boom's golden years.

Richard Hokenson is a pioneer in the application of demographics to economic and financial market forecasting. Prior to starting Hokenson & Company as an independent consulting firm in May 2002, Mr. Hokenson was formerly employed as Chief Economist at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and later as Director of Demographic Research at Credit Suisse First Boston. Over the last two decades, he has built up a loyal following among accounts in all parts of the world, working with institutions of all types and across all asset classes.

Rightsizing Your Life: An Interview with Ciji Ware
Ciji Ware is the author of Rightsizing Your Life, a book about changing homes, locations and lifestyles in the second half of your life. Caroline Goldman speaks to her about her book, boomers, and her own experiences with rightsizing.

1. Rightsizing Your Life is not just about moving to a smaller house. It's about your whole life. Can you give a brief synopsis of your book and the overall idea of Rightsizing?
I wrote the book as a practical, down-to-earth guide for streamlining your possessions and making time for the things that matter most in middle age. Some 77.5 million baby boomers and 14 million war babies are reevaluating their surroundings as their kids begin to leave the nest and they themselves start to think about retirement. Whether they're going from the multi-bedroom suburban house to a condo in the city, or downsizing from two homes to one, or making room for grandchildren to visit or an elderly relative to join the family, the trend for people in their 50s and beyond is a shift to well-planned living quarters that suit their age, stage and situation.

In making this transition, they'll face the daunting task of paring down a lifetime of possessions while furnishing their new lives with things that have meaning. This simplification of surroundings and stuff -- which I call "rightsizing" as opposed to mere "downsizing" -- will liberate people in midlife to pursue their passions and hobbies without the responsibilities of a big house weighing them down.

Rightsizing Your Life is a comprehensive, practical guide to this winnowing process, providing a seven-step plan to get started, as well as tips on how to deal with the emotional factors (an attachment to your possessions, nostalgic mates, reluctant kids) that can stall the process and sabotage sensible decision making.

2. What inspired you to write this book?
I wrote Rightsizing Your Life because I needed a road map, a blueprint for how I was going to live the rest of my life. Like millions of other midlife Americans, several can't-ignore-'em events had prompted me to reevaluate my surroundings, as well as nearly everything else that was happening in my life after I reached age 50. My child had left for college; my husband was changing careers; my own broadcasting career had encountered some major speed bumps after age 50; the family dog had died; friends had moved away. It was definitely the time for a change -- but to what?

After 22 years in the same house, questions loomed: Where do I want to live now? Do I still need a big house now that my son has entered adulthood? What am I going to do with all those photographs, books, files and dead vacuum cleaners at the back of my closets? How can I build a meaningful, happy life -- without all the "stuff" that's weighing me down? And what if members of my family didn't agree with my ideas about the future? How could I bear to winnow my ceramic swan collection or break the news to my son that when next he visited, he'd probably have to sleep on a fold-out couch?

Through trial, error and not a little serendipity, I discovered what I came to call "rightsizing." I evolved a process of simplifying my surroundings so that I can focus my energies on what matters most: being with the people I love and pursuing activities that fire my imagination and make me excited about getting up in the morning. I didn't merely want less or simpler -- I wanted better. But how to achieve that? I wondered.

In contrast to downsizing, rightsizing is a process, not an event, and its outcome has more to do with the "right" of the equation than "size." It involves not just the square footage of a person's living quarters but an approach to all aspects of living, holding out the opportunity to "get it right, once and for all." In fact, for some, rightsizing means upsizing -- building a bunk house with six Murphy beds that pull down for visiting grandchildren, for example.

Rightsizing in the context of my book is a conscious, practical and psychological evolution in the way we live our lives, an approach that enables us to create new surroundings by choosing to live with only the possessions we use and love. And these choices are guaranteed to profoundly impact the way we feel and behave -- for the better! Practically speaking, it usually leads to simplifying and decluttering, perhaps even redesigning an entire environment. It can prompt a move, either to smaller, more user-friendly quarters or to a home (or homes) that could be larger but better suited to our present needs.

For many, the rightsizing process will certainly involve physical and emotional upheaval and could even result in a total reinvention of your personal ecosystem. For the resilient, however, these major life changes provide an opportunity to discover the truest sense of "home" you may ever have known.

3. What were your favorite chapters to write? Why?
Well, a nonfiction book like Rightsizing Your Life is one part "take-away" -- the practical, how-to formulas for accomplishing the sorting, winnowing, culling, editing part of rightsizing -- and one part examples of people like myself who have actually been through the process and come out on the other side. Perhaps because I am also the author of five published novels, my favorite part of the process was researching and telling the stories of the people I interviewed from all over the country that are woven throughout every chapter. The book came alive, thanks to these amazing and true adventures of the many people who were willing to share their lives with me and pass along the lessons they learned along the way.

4. What is it about simplifying your life that attracts boomers? Why are boomers different than previous generations in this way?
Boomers, because of the complex circumstances of the era in which they were born and matured, consider things differently than previous generations, and so it isn't surprising they might be attracted to a new way of looking at their "Third Act." First of all, in terms of sheer numbers, there are more of them than any other generation, so they are bound to influence the rest of the population. Boomers evolved out of the sixties, a generation that thought they could change the world, so they are not about to live the final third of life in the same fashion their parents did.

Because of medical and nutritional advances, boomers are a group expected to live longer than any other generation -- ever -- on the planet! Right now there are about 45,000 folks over the age of 100. I've heard that by 2020 there will be some 400,000 people who reach the age of 100! Another reason boomers are different than previous age cohorts is that Americans currently age 50 and above are a segmented demographic, not one big blob of people who all think and act alike. What makes sense for someone age 50-65 may be different from, say, living arrangements that work for 65-to-75-year-olds, and certainly different from those living beyond 80, 90 and even 100! Boomers and their companions, the war babies, have what Mary Furlong has called "The Bonus Years" to enjoy (and contend with). We need to start thinking of this time in 10-to-15-year increments and not as "Oh, God, I'm over 50 and I'd better...." What we'd better do is start thinking about our lives as going from one major life transition to another.

5. How would you explain today's boomer market to a startup company looking to gain boomer customers?
First of all, the most important thing to note relates to the previous question: the boomer market is not one big demographic bonanza just waiting for some entrepreneurs to snap their fingers and become rich beyond their wildest dreams. It is a segmented market, and it's crucial that anyone new to it understand this clearly and learn exactly how each segment is different in behaviors and lifestyles from the others.

I would also urge anyone interested in focusing their business efforts at boomers to steep themselves in the readily available research about them. Focalyst and AARP have much to offer in this area. What I learned in researching and writing Rightsizing Your Life is focused primarily on the areas of real estate, moving, and services tailored to specific age groups in the 50+ arena. What I do know for sure is that in the coming years, Americans will be spending an inordinate amount of time researching, vetting, buying and improving suitable places to live for their incipient "third age." This means they will be making housing transitions that will often require help in decluttering, winnowing, jettisoning, organizing and moving to these new abodes. If a startup candidate is interested in these particular areas, I believe there are lots of entrepreneurial opportunities. Here are some facts you can take to the bank:

  • More than 800,000 people moved last year in search of a retirement destination.
  • Active adult communities designed for people over 55 represent the fastest-growing segment of the real estate development industry.
  • Forty percent of all housing purchases in 2005 were for second homes, and currently 20 percent of all American homeowners now own second houses, says the National Association of Realtors.
  • Each month, more than 100,000 people enter keywords related to "retirement housing" on search engines such as Google, Alta Vista, etc.
  • Four million-plus baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) turn 60 every year.
  • By 2010, the nation's aging population 55 and older will be 60 million strong.

I believe that a fertile source for new businesses targeting the 55+ demographic in areas relating to housing decisions and rightsizing include:

  • Goods and services related to active adult communities
  • 55+ housing developers and builders
  • Real estate agents, especially those specializing in the 55+ market, but understanding that 50-year-old "lookee-loos" are different from their 75-year-old compatriots
  • Wealth management specialists and financial advisors
  • Estate planners
  • Moving companies
  • Senior move managers
  • 50+ move managers
  • Storage companies
  • (And dare I say) End-of-life services, including hospice care and health care professionals, mortuaries, headstone carvers, video/audio/print memorialists, auction house owners, tag sale and home sales stagers -- and many more services related to "closing the book gently."

6. Is there anything else you'd like to add?
I wrote Rightsizing Your Life as a "navigational aid" for people like myself who are confronted with the sometimes enormous task of corralling their abundance in ways that pass on to those who can use them possessions that no longer have meaning or utility to us at the age and stage we are now -- and to accomplish this process in ways that do not expand the landfills! I wanted to rescue the over-50 set from being prisoners of their possessions and offer ways to examine the emotional and psychological ties we have to material things, suggesting paths to free ourselves from here on out.

It's not enough just to deal with the practical aspects of "downsizing." What was needed -- and why I wrote the book and interviewed some 60 people in the process -- is an understanding of why we hold on to things that no longer have meaning; why we collect things far beyond our enjoyment of the item or the thrill of the chase. When we understand the emotional links we have to the things we own, we can begin to release what we don't need anymore and pass items, even precious ones, on to the universe in a fashion that will give us an amazing rush of satisfaction. Finding the right home for Aunt Marge's 180-year-old, 880-pound mahogany sideboard with a nephew who will appreciate it gives a tremendous lift! In addition, many people past the half century mark want to travel more lightly on the planet and revel in surroundings that speak to them in ways they never imagined.

The very long and detailed Resource Directory at the back of my book will guide readers in exactly where to divest themselves of outdated reading glasses, magazine collections, terminally-crashed computers and cell phones, appliances that are kaput and so forth. "Creative Recycling" is the fun part of this process, and the end result of it all is keeping the things that matter most. I also created a CD "Conversation" about the 20 most-asked questions I received over the course of doing the book, which is available on my website. Here are my final two take-aways: Rightsizing is a process, not an event, and Don't just downsize...rightsize!

Visit Ciji Ware online at www.rightsizingyourlife.com and find out about her personal appearances this year. You can also contact her about speaking to your group.

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SPECIAL SECTION: Book Excerpt from Mary's Turning Silver Into Gold

We are pleased to offer you this excerpt from Mary's new book, Turning Silver Into Gold.

Chapter 1: A Global Overview of The Boomer Market
We are on the cusp of a revolution. Since January 1, 2006, a baby boomer has turned 60 every seven seconds. This transition will continue for the next 19 years. It will bring a revolution in longevity, and its impact will be felt for decades to come.

Millions of people who are now celebrating their 60th birthdays can expect to live longer and more active lives than 60-year-olds could expect a generation ago. What makes this "bonus round" especially compelling is the size of the potential customer base around the globe. There are 77 million baby boomers in the U.S., but the United States was not the only country that saw a sustained increase in fertility during the post-war years. In developed countries, one fifth of the population is currently 60 years old or older. By 2050, that proportion is projected to increase to almost a third. In China, by 2025 the 50+ marketplace will be 525.8 million.

Today, boomers around the world are reinventing their lives. They are finding new places to work, new places to travel to, new ways to spend their days, new fashions, new savings programs, new ways to spend time with their children and grandchildren, and new ways to stay vital and connected as they age. Each new choice represents a signal of enormous business opportunity.

Entrepreneurs, corporate brand managers and strategists, investors, and nonprofit executives want to know how to develop products and services that meet the boomers' changing needs. This book shares insights about boomers that I have gained from spending more than 20 years in the field of aging. I hope that reading it will inspire you to grab a notebook and sketch a business idea to serve this market. If you are an entrepreneur, you may be inspired to think up five or six ideas. If you are a corporate strategist, you will want to consider your company's core competencies and consider how they can be leveraged to create a new suite of products and services to support this marketplace. If you are an investor, you will want to identify ideas, such as healthy living, that can lead to market dominance across a range of categories. If you are a nonprofit executive, you will want to learn how to form programs that inspire boomers to get involved and support your cause.

Boomers' new values and attitudes have transformed consumer behavior at every stage of life so far, and the next stage will be no exception. Currently, 45% of the U.S. population is age 40 or older. This group is the best educated, healthiest, and wealthiest generation ever to reach midlife and beyond. It is a force to be recognized and courted over the next decades as boomers move from midlife into old age.

Brad Edmondson was editor-in-chief of American Demographics magazine and is now the co-founder and vice president of ePodunk.com, a website that provides information profiles on more than 50,000 cities and towns in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. He [helps] people visualize the business opportunities that will arise as the boomer "pig" continues to move through the life-stage "python."

"Older boomers are the focus of market opportunity in the next decade," says Brad. "The smart business is going to define a specific consumer target and aim for it with the best marketing information available. The key concepts for reaching boomers around the globe are preservation and quality of life. The most important market segments among boomers are empty-nest couples and older singles."

The key to success in this marketplace is life-stage marketing because the boomers will go through more transitions in their 50s and 60s than any other phase of life. Each life-stage transition triggers business opportunities that revolve around family (empty nests, loss of parents, arrival of grandchildren); health issues (menopause, heart disease, vision and hearing loss, arthritis); housing (downsizing, rightsizing, remodeling, second homes); finances, work, retirement, and daily activities (time for passions and play); and perspective (the search for meaning).

The boomers are not a homogenous group. Many people who are in their 50s today face retirement, empty nests, grandparenting, and aging parents, but some of them have young children, and some are newlyweds. Today, millions of younger boomers (born from 1956 to 1964) are still pursuing careers and helping their kids through school. The boomers are also ethnically and economically diverse. For example, in the United States, 12% of older boomers (those born between 1946 and 1955) and 15% of younger boomers are foreign-born.

The emergence of a large, healthy, well-educated cohort of consumers in their 60s is a social and a business revolution the world has never seen before. Adults age 45 and older account for 77% of financial assets in the United States, control 70% of total wealth, and account for more than half of the nation's discretionary spending. The need for relevant products geared toward this aging population is growing daily because the demographic pressures are global. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, "The 'coming of age' of our baby boomers will challenge and perhaps totally revolutionize the stereotyped views people have about the habits, behavior, and tastes of people in their middle to senior years."

The key to success in reaching baby boomers is tying your business idea to the social issues that surround aging, such as loneliness, empty nests, dating after 50, the death of a loved one, and retirement. Turning Silver Into Gold explores these issues in terms of the emerging needs and desires of the boomer psyche. The most powerful insight we present is that for boomers today, amassing material possessions is not as important as having experiences that satisfy the mind, body, and spirit.

As you consider launching a new business for boomers, it is important to know that there are few barriers to entry for a new brand aimed at this generation. Surveys report that boomers are not brand loyal. They are educated consumers, and if they can find a smarter solution, they will switch brands. When you identify products that will serve their needs, there is a great potential for gaining market share. Some of the boomers' needs will be related to the challenges of aging. That is why we are seeing more performance-enhancing drugs related to sexuality and more spas and respite services to help people cope with the stresses around loss. Yet many of the opportunities will be centered on the joys of this lifestage transition. Boomers will have more time for travel and education and experiences shared with friends and family.

This book focuses on five key concepts and trends that will help increase your understanding of boomers and help you build a winning business strategy to reach this growing market. These areas -- global markets, longevity, technology, life-stage transitions, and spirituality/giving back -- are woven throughout each chapter to bring perspective and to spark creative imagination.

Global Markets
According to CEO Linda Jenkinson of LesConcierges, Inc., it takes 10 languages to do business in the world today. Corporations, entrepreneurs, and non-profits routinely procure their boxes in Ghana, fabric in New Zealand, call centers in India, and programmers in Eastern Europe. Markets and teams are global. IBM has a global eldercare strategy. Intel holds its health care portfolio meeting in China. Fashion entrepreneurs launch their lines in Dubai and Macau. Microsoft's second largest company headquarters is in India. Roger Barnett, the CEO of Shaklee Corporation, travels to Asia and Europe and throughout North America serving a global market need for vitamins and natural products. The Internet makes it possible for companies to sell their products and services globally. The Internet also makes it possible to find a global team, and to respond to issues globally.

Longevity
Americans turning 65 today can expect to live to age 78, on average, but the ones who don't smoke, exercise, and eat right are likely to live well into their 80s. In 2000, people over 80 represented 1.5% of the U.S. population; by 2050, they are projected to occupy 5% of the total U.S. population, according to the Census Bureau. There will be more than one million centenarians in 2050, up from 71,000 today. In fact, some gerontologists believe many baby boomers will have life spans of more than 120 years.

And the longevity revolution is not just happening in the United States. The number of South Koreans age 65 and older is expected to surge from 9.1% to 24.1% in 2030 and to 37.3% in 2050 -- the highest in the world. The number of people in Japan age 90 or older topped one million for the first time in 2005.

Longevity has already had a huge impact on the marketplace, especially in health. Already, traditional companies are repositioning themselves. Intel is no longer just a chip company; it is a technology and health care company. Philips hit a home run with its home heart defibrillator and has now moved into the home alert space with its acquisition of Lifeline. Many consumer products companies are now looking into the lucrative home spa product and service business. The anti-aging space is taking off, as are businesses catering to the activities and passions that active adults enjoy. Each of the challenges of aging -- from vision and hearing loss to heart disease, diabetes, and cancer -- is also a market opportunity. The fact that many boomers have high cholesterol has led to giant sales of pharmaceuticals such as Lipitor and Crestor.

Longevity also means that with average life expectancy at an all-time high, more people over 50 are remaking themselves at midlife. They are leaving worn-out jobs to start their own businesses. They are traveling the world for catered peak experiences with like-minded souls. They are rekindling marriages or starting new romances after divorce, widowhood, and empty nests. They are buying second homes and nostalgic collectibles. And they are volunteering in greater numbers: Nearly half of all Americans age 55 and older volunteered at least once in 2005.

Technology
The modern world has evolved from an industrial society into an information society. Technology is transforming how people date, manage money, shop, find support in their grief, educate themselves, connect with friends and family, and pursue their passions. And boomers and seniors are the fastest growing Internet user segments.

Technology enhances business practices in all kinds of ways. Managers who can think digital and cultivate a deep understanding of infrastructure and knowledge management will be able to ride the most important trend of a new aging marketplace. Technological innovations such as database marketing give businesses of all sizes powerful new ways to learn about their customers and target them with winning products and services. Technology also enables the growth of online communities, and it helps companies stay in touch with their customers.

Technology has to figure into your game plan as you create and manage your business, even if it's a small business. Are you getting as many sales as you can because you are listed in the right search engines, email newsletters, and portals? Do you use the capabilities of software tools and services to organize your team, conduct meetings, and manage your sales pipelines and customer database? Smart businesses will have a smart technology strategy.

Life-Stage Transitions
Exogenous shock, or eshock, is a term plucked from economics. It means a disturbance that comes from the outside and throws the status quo into chaos. We experience eshocks throughout our lives, whenever we are forced to evaluate who we are and where we're going. When someone gets an eshock around their 50th birthday, it is usually called a "midlife crisis." These eshocks are related to lifestage transitions such as remarriage and divorce, a death in the family, parents moving into a care facility, adult children moving back home, surviving a major illness, or caring for someone who is ill or dying.

When you understand what people are coping with in their 40s, 50s, and 60s (and beyond), you can plan a wealth of new products and services targeted for this demographic. The big winners in this marketplace will be entrepreneurs who care about the fears around aging -- of loneliness, of being marginalized, of not giving enough back, of not having enough money or health, of no longer being attractive or youthful. And best of all, the big winners in the aging boom will also be able to smile when they look in the mirror. Their fortunes will be based on products and services that help improve quality of life for many people.

Spirituality
My first enterprise, SeniorNet, was a success partly because its members had a sense of spiritual efficacy. By engaging with computers while participating as volunteer learners and leaders, SeniorNet's members felt they were making a contribution. In this book, we define spirituality as building community and a culture of caring. At midlife, spirituality often arises when people take on the hard questions surrounding longevity and life-changing events, questions such as, "What is worthy of me now?" and "Did I give enough?"

How is a person's spirit unleashed? What satisfies his or her soul? More than likely, the answer will involve an experience -- a vacation, a worship service, a pleasant time with grandchildren, a moment of joy and relaxation exploring a passion, or a morning walk with friends. One reason is that marketers have been selling "peak experiences" to boomers throughout their lives, and the boomers have listened. As a result, they demand authentic brands that free their spirits and respect their intelligence and creativity. If you can leave your customers with their spirits soaring when they talk about your product or use your service, you will win.

Spirituality also appears in the workplace in the forms of value creation and leadership. I often hear stories of midlife professionals who left their jobs because their boss made them feel as if they were not worth much. We have an opportunity to create a new generation of business leaders who will build teams that respect the spirit and dynamic contribution of all members of their companies. We have a chance to create business environments in which all members are respected for their ideas and contributions and challenges are dealt with openly and fairly. What the boomers won't stand for are environments that kill their spirit. So the best business lesson is to create companies that unleash the talent and inspire the spirit to let it shine each day.

This book explores eight key areas in which active older boomers will spend their money during their bonus round. The areas are health; travel; passion and play; sexuality and romance; fashion and beauty; housing; family; and eldercare. The good news is that the smallest entrepreneur and the largest corporation can both go after this market. This book outlines ways in which businesses large and small have leveraged these trends and made a footprint.

This book distills the business acumen and strategies of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, corporate leaders, and nonprofits. Its goal is to inspire by telling stories of brand managers, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and non-profit executives who combined inhouse and outside experts to invent new products and services for the boomer market. It reveals how the largest companies on the planet bring in teams of experts to help plot an innovation strategy around this segment. It shows how companies reposition themselves in an entirely new space. It teaches how new brands are launched to help solve social issues such as the need boomers' parents have for accessible housing with a neighborhood feel. It also tells about energetic entrepreneurs who have created winning business plans, raised funding, and dealt with the ups and downs of launching a product or service.

This book's purpose is to give you the tools and resources necessary to help shape a business idea. I hope you will be inspired to take out a piece of paper and begin to plot your own business strategy as you go along. It's best to try this with four or five ideas and then toss them around with friends until you find the one that seems most promising.

There is also a "how-to" section that provides news you can use about reaching reporters who cover the "age beat," sales and marketing tips for creating a digital strategy, and advice from venture capitalists, business leaders, and nonprofits on ways to finance your dream.

Still, my intention for Turning Silver Into Gold is greater than just assisting a business revolution. I also believe in the social mandate that boomers have carried since the Kennedy administration. Especially at midlife, when we are returning to these ideals of creating a better world, boomers want to embrace businesses that make a difference. They like the fact that IBM and Home Depot value older workers. They appreciate that JetBlue saves them money by having customers and employees clean the airplanes. They like brands that have a sense of social purpose as well as business purpose. They like companies that value them and don't marginalize them for turning gray. They buy products and services that help them age well. Companies that understand these sensibilities can do good while winning big.

This book is therefore partly a business guide and partly a social manifesto. It proclaims that a wealth of new businesses, new brands, and new funds can change what it means to grow older, and that this can be the catalyst for what author and boomer advocate Theodore Roszak calls "the longevity revolution." This third act of life is a time of opportunity. It is another chance for the exploration of both inner and outer lives. Ultimately, it is a time of generativity and making a contribution to others. It's about intimacy, creativity, and spirituality. This is where the real social and business revolution lies.

Businesses that combine doing good with doing well will capture market share in the aging boomer marketplace. They will understand the boomers' need for creativity and lifelong learning; their need for authentic and intimate relationships; their need for spiritual growth and personal expression; their need for adventure as well as cocooning; their need for connectivity, family, comfort, beauty, and security. They will understand that boomers want to make a life of their own choosing now, and that they are willing to pay for good value in the products and services that help them achieve these dreams.

For the past 25 years, the underlying theme of my work has been the restoration of the role of older adults as leaders in society. The industrial society marginalized elders because they had few ways to contribute to it. Today, our information society gives the opportunity to keep them connected, contributing, vital, and productive throughout their longer lives. As we speak of "turning silver into gold," then, the "silver" can be seen as a way to think about the money the boomers have or will inherit, as well as the color of their hair. The "gold" is a way to describe not just the wealth this generation will have to spend, but also the wisdom they have accumulated and how they will translate their financial worth into good works.

Once again, members of the baby boomer generation are acting as trailblazers, and the new ways they find to age will be the road map for generations to come. Now that boomers are in leadership roles, they have the opportunity to grow older in a different way. They can summon the same passion they had in youth, but now they have the time, money, experience, and desire to make a big difference.

Let's begin.

You can order Turning Silver Into Gold at Amazon.com.

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NEW MARKET FINDINGS

Employer Survey: 1 of 4 Boomers Won't Retire Because They Can't
Center for Retirement Research, Boston College

The Baby Boom generation is now on the cusp of retirement, with the oldest Boomers 60 years old. As this huge generation makes its way out of the labor force, it will do so on much different terms than those offered workers over the past quarter century. The share of earnings replaced at any given age by Social Security and employer plans will be less. And that income stream will also be less secure. Many observers are thus concerned that Boomers will be unprepared for retirement. However, if Boomers can delay retirement, they can raise their retirement income far more than could workers in the past. Working longer has thus emerged as an important option for improving retirement income security.

Employers have a unique perspective on whether workers are prepared for retirement and on when they will retire. Employer-sponsored defined benefit pension and 401(k) plans are the most important source of retirement income for the nation's workforce, aside from Social Security. Moreover, employers must be able to predict when their older workers will retire in order to make effective staffing, training, and promotion decisions. And if continued employment is to emerge as a viable response to retirement income shortfalls, employers must be willing to create opportunities for work at older ages.

To gain the employer perspective on these issues, the Center for Retirement Research conducted a nationally representative survey of 400 employers. This brief reports on employer estimates of how many workers, currently in their 50s, will have the resources needed to retire at the organization's traditional age and how many unprepared workers will respond by opting to extend their careers. A second brief will report on employers' likely response to workers who will want to remain on the job.

Read the study.

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

How to Win in the $2-Trillion Per Year Boomer Market: The Fourth Annual What's Next Boomer Business Summit
March 5-6, 2007, Hyatt Regency Chicago

As a friend and colleague of Mary Furlong & Associates, please take advantage of a special registration fee. When you register through www.boomersummit.com, enter the promotion code WN07MARKP for a 20% discount. We expect this event to sell out, so register soon!

Please join us for the newest insights around innovation, distribution and interactive marketing in the profitable boomer marketplace. If you are a brand manager, corporate strategist, VC, entrepreneur or a nonprofit executive responsible for growing boomer business, this Summit is for you. You'll meet and network with the top thought leaders, analysts and media serving and covering the boomer marketplace.

Highlights
Three Distinguished Keynotes:

  • Emilio Pardo, Chief Brand Officer for AARP, "Purpose Driven Brands: The AARP Story"
  • Larry Keeley, President and Co-founder, Doblin Inc., "Finding the Future First"
  • Gail Sheehy, author, Sex and the Seasoned Woman and Passages
Program Highlights:
  • Marketing rules are changing. Learn how to use digital, word-of-mouth marketing strategies and new media tools from the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, Ketchum Communications and Resolution Media, an Omnicom company.
  • Noted speakers from AARP, the Natural Marketing Institute and the Intel Digital Health Group will present the latest research. You'll discover hot new opportunities in consumer-driven health care, lifestyles and financial services from analysts in the know.
  • Philips, Rush University Medical Center, Quantum Intech and The Stress Institute will share current trends in health care.
  • MetLife Mature Market Institute, Age Wave and Longevity Alliance will tell us what's next in financial services.
  • What's new in distribution channels -- digital, print and broadcast -- for age 40, 50 and 60 consumers will be revealed by Yahoo!, TV Land, Turner Media Group and CarSpace, Edmunds.com.
  • Innovative entrepreneurs including Posit Science Corporation, 50+ Digital, Biz Starters and Comfort Cakes discuss how boomers will redefine entrepreneurship in the coming years.
  • Have lunch with your favorite author, analyst, blogger or age-beat reporter at the "On the Beat" Luncheon featuring Paul Kleyman, Editor, "Aging Today," American Society on Aging (ASA); Scott Parkin, VP Communications, the National Council on Aging (NCOA); and Jane Glenn Haas, Founder, WomanSage.
Selected Sponsors: Philips; Intel Corporation; Longevity Alliance; MetLife Mature Market Institute; Posit Science Corporation; Quantum Intech Inc.; Springboard Press, an imprint of Warner Books; Fleishman-Hillard; Electronic Arts; and The Stress Institute.

Media and Marketing Partners: Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA); the Natural Marketing Institute; NCOA; thematuremarket.com, Small Business Trends.

Register early and save! Multiple registrations from one organization get great discounts. www.boomersummit.com
To download our Summit flyer, click here.

Co-produced by Mary Furlong & Associates and the American Society on Aging's Business Forum on Aging

2006 Consumer Health World Award Winners
The Consumer Health World Awards recognize excellence and advancement in services, products and programs that enhance health care quality. Here are a few of the award winners announced at the Consumer Directed Health Care Conference (CDHCC) in December.

Best Fitness Initiative
Posit Science - 1st place

Most Effective Website for Patient/Consumer Information
DrGreene.com - 2nd place

Best Initiative for Disease Management and Wellness
Cardiocom, LLC - 1st place
Wellcoaches - 2nd place

Best Application of Technology for Enhancing Patient Care and Access
Wellogic - 1st place
Allscripts - 2nd place
Honeywell HomMed - 2nd place

Best Marketing Campaign for Boomers' Health & Lifestyle
Zimmer's Gender Solutions AARP

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CORRECTION

Ladan Manteghi's correct title at AARP is president of the AARP Global Network. You can visit the Global Network initiative at www.aarpglobalnetwork.org.

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NEWSWIRE

Japan - New Era of Divorce May Begin
A potential avalanche of divorces is set to occur after April 1, when a new system under the public pension scheme will begin, making a divorcing wife eligible for a maximum of 50 percent of her company employee husband's pension benefits. Many women in their middle or older years are believed to be waiting for the system to begin before divorcing their husbands, according to analysts.

Tired of Google and Yahoo? Try Cranky.com
New search engine geared toward Baby Boomers and seniors aims to make Web search easier.

World's Largest Baby Boomers Domain Portfolio Will Be Released to the Public in 2007
The Boomers & Seniors World Network is releasing its Domain Portfolio of Baby Boomers, Boomers, and Seniors Domain names in 2007. The value of these domains continue to grow as millions are spent on marketing to the 78 million Baby Boomers. Over 300 niche targeted domains will be available.

Treats, Walks, Health Policies
Not that long ago, dogs lived in the backyard and owners considered it normal to put a pet to sleep if the vet bill was getting too high. Plus, vets could only do so much to help. Nowadays, dogs and cats are part of the family, and vets can do orthopedic surgery, chemotherapy and kidney transplants. The change -- and the dramatic increase in bills that goes with it -- is driving interest in pet health insurance.

New Web Site Designed for Baby-Boomer Women
Recognizing the untapped potential of that audience -- and feeling a bit neglected herself as a member of the generation -- Cathy Hamilton dreamed up BoomerGirl.com, a Web site devoted to women in mid-life.

A Surprising Secret to a Long Life: Stay in School
New York Times - The one social factor that researchers agree is consistently linked to longer lives in every country where it has been studied is education. It is more important than race; it obliterates any effects of income.

This is Your Brain on Drugs, Dad
New York Times - Today the fastest-growing population of drug abusers is white, middle-aged Americans. This is a powerful mainstream constituency, and unlike with teenagers or urban minorities, it is hard for the government or the news media to present these drug users as a grave threat to the nation.

Elder-Care Costs Deplete Savings of a Generation
New York Times - Never before has old age lasted so long or been so costly, compromising the retirement of baby boomers.

As Minds Age, What's Next? Brain Calisthenics
New York Times - Brain health programs are offering the possibility of a cognitive fountain of youth.

Study: Aging Boomers on Collision Course with Substance Abuse
A recently completed study by the UMaine Center on Aging on alcohol and drug problems among older adults in Hancock County revealed that substance abuse is pervasive and getting worse as Baby Boomers age.

Shortage Drives Trucking Firms to Hire Boomers
Older drivers called experienced, responsible

Not Enough Favorite Songs on Radio? Start Own Station
In the past several years, Bill Spry, the quintessential baby boomer who once ran his own landscaping business, couldn't find his favorite classic rock songs on the radio. So he struggled through red tape with the Federal Communications Commission for 7½ years for permission to start his own radio station.

Turned On, Tuned In, Gone Gray
It's the generation that came of age in the permissive 1960s and '70s, part of the counterculture revolution that embraced the mantra "turn on, tune in, drop out." Now they are graying, but some are still having a hard time breaking away from or resisting marijuana, cocaine and other illegal drugs.

Blue Thong Society is the New Kind of Women's Group
Vickie Johnson was nearly giddy at the prospect of joining a women's group, especially one called the Blue Thong Society. The catalyst for the Blue Thong Society was one woman's 50th birthday, and her uneasy feeling that a red hat and purple dress were not defiant enough symbols for debunking middle age.

Flowers in the Attic
From family heirloom to library exhibit, baby boomers find history preserved in the proverbial shoeboxes.

NPO Japan Data and Communication Research Institute Seminar on Baby Boomer Health
Tokyo - On December 11, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare was invited to a seminar held by NPO Japan Data and Communication Research Institute (Tokyo) at the Japan Amway Auditorium. The object of the seminar was to help support the health of the baby boomer generation, who represent the majority of the Japanese population and are entering into retirement.

Boomers Need to Do Homework on Retirement
In 2008, the first wave of baby boomers will turn 62 -- now the earliest age at which U.S. workers can retire and qualify for some Social Security benefits. Awaiting them will be a very different retirement than that of their parents.

Read more articles here.

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Boomer/Senior Market Report

Published by Mary Furlong & Associates 3527 Mt. Diablo Blvd.
#128, Lafayette, CA 94549 Telephone: 925-283-7698
http://www.maryfurlong.com

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