Positive Aging and Brain Fitness

The New Ageism?

For the past few months, I have been debating myself about the impact of all the focus on Baby Boomers. On January 1, 2010, we entered what will be two decades where old consumers will outnumber those under 18 for the first time in history…not just those born between 1946 and 1964, but all age 50 plus adults. This is the moment many of us, who have been advocating for ageless marketing for the last 20 years, have been waiting to arrive. We were convinced the demographic reality would finally gain the attention of the main stream media, business magazines and policy makers.

Sadly this is not happening. Major media outlets, ad agencies, marketing strategists, and businesses continue to ignore the aging market to focus their attention almost exclusively on baby boomers as
if they were not aging at all but are some type of anomaly. This myopic fascination with boomers is probably not surprising since they have been the primary focus of business and advertising, directly or indirectly for over half a century.

This myopic focus on aging “Boomers” ignores the evidence that they are now embracing later life values rather than the materialistic, ego centered values that dominate life’s first two stages. Sure baby boomers shared some unique events and life challenges, as did every previous generation. The sheer size is what made baby boomers seem unique as this “pig in the python” demographic impacted each life stage as they aged. As a result, our sales and marketing strategies have all been designed to communicate with the 18 to 39 year old demographic that has driven advertising for over 30 years.

When Landon James coined the term Baby Boomer in his book, Great Expectations: America and Baby Boom in 1980, he was referring to a demographic phenomenon and how it would impact the country. I doubt he intended his use of the term baby boomer to be a life time label for 76 million people born over 18 years. Others such as Yankelovich Inc. in the 1960’s and author Sylvia Porter in 1951 had also used the term to describe this explosion. Unfortunately, the term baby boomer was popularized over the last couple of decades by the media, a few authors and self appointed “Baby Boom experts” as
totally different from all previous generations of older adults.

These experts have come up with some memorable slogans or positioning lines such as AARP’s 60 is the new 30 or This is not your father’s Oldsmobile. These campaigns failed as did the attempt by Ameriprise to evoke 60’s music and images to attract maturing investors. Like the AARP and Oldsmobile campaigns, Amerprise’s approach was a failure. As author and mature consumer behavioral specialist David B. Wolfe has stated on many occasions, “Either legions of researchers in adult development psychology have created a large body of bogus findings or nearly all of those who craft messages for older minds are hopelessly out of sync with the realities of maturation.” In other words, to succeed in an aging market place, companies would be well advised to learn about later life values, as should the agencies that serve them. Instead, it seems the current approach is to claim the Baby Boomers are just an extension of the youth culture; because that is what they know.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that baby boomers will not all become older consumers at the same time or in the same way. Few were at Woodstock, lived in communes and protested the Viet Nam war. No doubt a like number listened to country music, went to church every Sunday and served in the military. This is not to imply that generational marketing or life stage
marketing focusing on either leading edge or trailing edge boomers does not work…depending on the product. The question is, “Why are we not embracing aging?” By focusing primarily on Boomers, we continue to ignore the older consumer as a powerful consumer group. In fact, it is the only demographic that will grow phenomenally in the next two decades...currently 10,000 adults turn
age 65 every day.

I have come to the conclusion that Boomer Marketing myopia is more than just a distraction; it is the latest form of ageism. “Experts” dodge the question with statements like; “Boomers are reinventing retirement” rather than admitting that “retirement,” as currently perceived, is an outdated concept…a holdover from the industrial age. There is no room for “retirement” in this maturing market where people can remain productive well into their 80’s and beyond. Since the media know, or think they know, how to market to boomers, they choose to simply ignore the reality of an aging market place. However, until we fully embrace both the challenges and the potential of an aging marketplace, we will not develop the new paradigms to guide future success in every sector. Clearly, this is not your Father’s market.

The worldviews, values and behavior of middle age and older adults reflect ebbing materialistic influences that dominate the aspirations of the young and that set the directions of commerce and culture for the last 50 years. Today, our culture is beginning to reflect the qualities of behavior Abraham Maslow made famous with the term self-actualization as people begin depending less on
materialistic sources for life satisfaction and more on experiential sources. Today’s older adult majority will not only change the rules of successful marketplace engagement, but will likely drive a transformation in business enterprises and government policy as well.

Battling ageism in every form should become a priority in the next two decades. We have made tremendous strides in the battles against sexism and racism, but continue to tolerate ageism in
multiple forms. As someone observed recently, “Telling a joke about minorities is called racist. Demeaning women is called sexist. Making fun of older people is called situation comedy.” Boomers will age much like the members of the Silent Generation and we need the combined numbers of all adults over age 50 to win the war against ageism. However, we can’t declare war on ageism until the
baby boom is viewed as a part of the aging of America rather than some aging anachronism.

An Incredible Legacy

On December 3, 2011, David B. Wolfe left this world early in the morning. For those that knew him or benefited from his writings, there is consensus that he left the world and the field of aging a much better place than he found it. For over three decades, David’s vision has guided thousands to more successful careers in senior living, marketing, financial services, aging services and so many other professions that his impact staggers the imagination. And by impact, I do not mean only those that knew and learned from him while he was living but the many that will continue to learn from his legacy.

When I first read Serving the Ageless Market, it was like this incredible man had lighted a pathway to success in an aging marketplace. What I had felt intuitively, David justified and explained with a solid foundation in research clearly explaining why a new marketing paradigm was needed. A client we had both served recommended that we meet because I was training on what worked, and David was consulting on what did not work. The client thought we might make a good team. That led to a phone call and a 3 hour meeting in the St. Louis airport at which David agreed to join me on a series of two day workshops on marketing to middle age and older adults. In reality, he was the teacher and I was the student.

That student/teacher relationship that began over 20 years ago blossomed into and incredible
friendship and gave birth to a “think tank” group of 50 professionals dedicated to preserving and expanding on David’s life work. Together we created a unique organization known as The Society that has become more of a circle of friends than a traditional professional organization. Following the workshops, we coined the term Developmental Relationship Marketing to describe a new approach to mature market communications that recognized lifestage changes. David continued to refine the theory while I focused on the practice of ageless marketing. I can’t imagine not having him as a mentor and sounding board in the coming years, but I am confident his spirit will continue to guide those of us that are committed to building on his legacy.

We frequently agonized how little money there was in being ahead of your time, but David’s vision of a more ageless society is slowly coming into focus. While it saddens me that he never received the recognition he so justly deserved, I know his impact is just now beginning to be recognized. At the recent 10^th Anniversary meeting of the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) in Orlando, we issued awards to organizations for their positive aging/ageless approach to marketing communications materials and ICAA published recommended Communications Standards to guide those interested in improving their marketing materials. On December 6, several members of The Society will also be conducting workshops at the Positive Aging Conference hosted by Fielding University in Los Angeles; and David’s spirit will be with us.

David followed Serving with three more books: Ageless Marketing, Firms of Endearment,
and the soon to be published Brave New World View. For the past four years, David has been battling lung cancer while working on what he knew would be his final work. When he completed the last page on December 1, he called contributing author Mike Baumayr to his side and suggested they break out the champagne. He had a couple of sips and went to sleep never to truly awake…mission accomplished. Over the years, I have come to consider David, his wife Linda and youngest daughter Stephanie a part of my family and will cherish their continued friendship. Rest in peace my friend with the assurance that the members of The Society and the many others you have influenced are committed to carrying your message to anyone wise enough to listen.

Seeking the Art of the Positive

For over 30 years, I have been advocating for a more positive, ageless approach to marketing communications targeting older adults. During that time the positive aging army has been slowly gaining recruits. We gained a major ally with the creation of the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) almost 10 years ago as indicated by the organization's recent launch of the Changing the Way We Age campaign, a part of which is a contest seeking the best of the best in ageless communications.The awards will recognize excellence in marketing wellness-oriented products, programs or services to consumers ages 50 and above.

According to the ICAA CEO Colin Milner, “Our campaign is not just about alerting people to ageist stereotypes in the media and marketing materials. We are actively encouraging and promoting efforts to present positive and realistic portrayals of aging. Research has shown that the majority of older adults are turned off by the marketing messages that are currently aimed at them. With our Rebranding Aging awards, marketers have an opportunity to show the burgeoning population of older adults that they understand their needs and desires.”

You do not have to be a member of ICAA in order to submit an entry so please inform any company or advertising agency you think 'gets it." Entries will be accepted online on the campaign website (www.changingthewayweage.com) through September 10, 2011. Companies may submit entries on behalf of their business or organization in all four categories, but no more than one entry per category.

Winning entries will be recognized at the ICAA Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida this December and will also be profiled in an feature story in the Journal on Active Aging following the conference as well as presented as positive examples on the ICAA web site and in future marketing presentations by professionals teaching other on the art of the positive.

GM Is Without a Clue

“Misunderstanding” was the perfect designation for the tasteless, ageist, stereotype riddled Super Bowl ad for the Chevy Cruze Eco (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWsWIbnPIeA&NR=1). In 30 seconds, the company clearly communicated that it neither understood the older consumer or the demographic realities of the market place. If the ad had used racial/ethnic, gay or sexist stereotypes, the media would have gone ballistic.

By 2020, 1 in every 5 adult consumers will be over age 60. Since the baby boom has been moving steadily toward the magic age for over six decades, this should come as no surprise to either major corporations or the advertising agencies that do their bidding. Still, someone at General Motors approved a campaign that older adults (20% of the market) and anyone working in the senior living industry would find offensive. This fact was validated by a Datamonitor report, which documented that 71% of adults over age 55 felt that advertising did not reflect their current lifestyle and were turned off by the marketing messages that targeted them.

As the Boomers start turning 65 this year, conventional ideas of what it means to be 65 are increasingly untrue worldwide. What we generally hear from the media and politicians is that 65-year-olds will become a burden on the healthcare system and society. However, many 65-year-olds are contributing to the success of society and enjoying good health. Furthermore, American Boomers and their parents have $2.1 trillion in their pockets, according to the Met Life Mature Market Institute. If there is any justice, not one nickel of it should go to General Motors until they issue an apology to mature consumers.

Let the Paradigm Shift Begin

On January 1, the shift from a youth dominated market to one dominated by middle age and older people began in earnest. For the next 18 years, someone will turn age 65 approximately every 8 minutes. Why this seems to have come as a surprise to our elected leaders, business leaders and educators boggle the imagination. However, all three have pretty much failed miserably in planning for the greatest demographic shift in history.

Politically, we debate fixing a Social Security System that is grossly out of date from an actuarial perspective and generally unfunded. Medicare obligations will grow exponentially and the Medicaid outlays at the state level threaten budget solvency in many states and will get progressively worse in the next two decades. Still, few are emphasizing the importance of or providing incentives for preventive health and well being programs. Likewise advances in brain fitness programs that could delay the onset of memory loss receive little attention.

When it comes to business, there has been minimal attention to the reality that older consumers’ process information differently, and have physiological changes that affect their hearing and vision. Simplily stated, it is way past time to reconsider sales, marketing, and merchandising materials as well as how they train and educate their employees. The majority of business collateral materials utilize type is too small, improper fonts, paper that is too glossy, ineffective copy, and colors that may make it difficult to even see the message.

Finally, few educational institutions offer courses on communicating with an aging market, how life stages impact decision making or the benefits successful aging strategies that should begin early in life. There is more than enough information on how to succeed in an aging marketing; but few are yet to pursue that knowledge. Regardless of the sector you serve, there is still an excellent window of opportunity to gain a competitive advantage. However, a new paradigm will be required in order to bring the potential into focus.

 

Branding and Marketing Thoughts

About a year ago, I was interviewed by Colin Milner, Executive Director of the International Council on Active Aging. This led to an opportunity to chair a year long work group on Rebranding Aging. The results of that process was presented at a strategy meeting at the Annual Meeting in San Diego earlier this month. As the plans are formalized, I will be sharing them on this blog. In the mean time, here is a link to the interview on ICAA TV:

Ambrosius on branding and marketing on ICAA TV

ICAA TV Interview

The Power of Ageless Terminology - Part III

In an aging marketplace, marketing messages, promotional materials and newsletter stories, should depend more on values-based messages and less on objective logic. In photos and headlines, the appeal should be emotional rather than stating facts or posing questions. A subjective lead paragraph or Rockwell type photo will pull the prospect into the ad and increase the probability that the reader will consider whatever you have to offer.

Life experience tends to teach consumers to view the world in shades of gray and to trust their feelings and emotions as they grow older. Therefore, how each person receives and responds, or not, to your message is conditional or qualified based on their worldview and beliefs; and then analyzed in the context in which it is presented. Generally speaking, mature consumers tend to use right brain functions (intuition, visuals, creative, and emotions) to screen messages before processing them rationally. If your message does not get through the screening process, you offer will not be considered.

The older mind becomes increasing context sensitive, so be sure the prospective consumers can see themselves in the story you are telling. If you focus on an exaggerated view of later life, you will leave out the vast majority of older adults who do not go skydiving or mountain climbing. This is not to encourage a sedentary look, but rather real people who are very engaged in everyday life.

Once you have the reader’s attention, you can present features and benefits; however, present only the facts, not your conclusions. For example, never use phrases such as, “you should”, “you must,” “wise consumers will”, “you need to”, “act today” or similar directive language. Creating “a sense of urgency” simply does not work on seasoned, experienced consumers. Directive language may also threaten the autonomy of the targeted consumers. While the initial response is emotional, older consumers will spend more time examining facts and figures than younger consumers once you gain their attention.  

By using inclusionary terms and conditional, conversational style, you take advantage of the mind’s irrepressible need to complete and incomplete picture. Open-ended, deferential statements are also more likely to connect with the experiential backgrounds of multiple consumer segments.

Older consumers place a high value on their experiential perceptions developed through years of sorting through offers and sales presentations. They have heard and seen it all so avoid hyperbole (terms such as new, best, latest, unique). Instead, use positive, conditional, value charge words of phrases… for all life can be, future opportunities await, designed with you in mind, etc. Text should use a clear, easy-to-read, personalized, narrative style, and involve the reader. Information should be presented in a clear and familiar way using positive statements in the active voice, and lengthy documents should be broken into short sections to aid in comprehension.

In summary, ageless marketing communications celebrate the uniqueness and worth of each individual regardless of their age.

The Maturing Mind

Mature market behavioral specialist, David B. Wolfe, has been advising business and marketers to change the way they communicate to older consumers for over three decades. His first two books, Serving the Ageless Market and Ageless Marketing, should be on the reference shelves of every marketing professional interested in surviving in an aging marketplace.

Wolfe theorized that as the brain ages, the way it initially processes incoming information moves from the left hemisphere (learning, figuring, analyzing) to the right hemisphere, where creativity and intuition is centered. Both hemispheres are engaged in the decision, but the right hemisphere plays a bigger role in message screening beginning at or about age 45. When you consider the older brain has access to decades of experience and wisdom, this simply makes sense.

A metaphor for this might be a sieve. The brain is taking in way more information than it can consciously process and screens out irrelevant information at the pre-conscious level. If there is no context according to one’s life experience there is a big chance it will never make it through the sieve. If you also use stereotypical terms as well, there is almost no chance your message will stand or pass the screening process.

A study reported in the Jun 2010 issue of Psychology and Aging further validates a growing body of both anecdotal and scientific evidence that information processing changes with age and impacts decision making. The reported research explored the assumption that people become more averse to taking risks as they age by comparing the results of older adults, ages 66-76 years, and younger adults, ages 18-35 years, who played games involving financial decisions. After allowing for differences in processing speed and memory, age alone did not significantly predict “decision quality.” The authors suggested it is the way older people process information, not their age that influences their decision making.

When communicating with younger minds, absolute positioning messages with specific, directive language may be necessary to gain the consumer’s attention. However, older minds have generally heard and viewed every possible combination of hyperbole, urgency and “special” offer. If you want to get your message through the sieve, you need to use less directive and more conditional language. To use a Wolfe example: the lite beer message, “everything you want in a beer and less” uses absolute language. “The night belongs to Michelob” uses conditional language to position the message.

The mind has an irresistible need to complete and incomplete picture. Rather than directing the mature consumer with a complete picture, leverage their creativity and experience to translate the context according to their world view not yours. Wolfe called it a form of psychological judo…using another’s strength to your advantage. Perhaps, you may want to give it a try in your next consumer message.

Boomer Studies Are Driving Me Crazy!

I can’t help it. The statements and “insights” that are printed about “Boomers” are making me crazy! It is as if this “segment” of 76 million people was discovering the aging process for the first time. The printed results and expert comments on the recently released Del Webb Boomer Study are a case in point.

For example, one Boomer expert said that “for Boomers aging is a state of mind. The goal for Boomers is to pursue the Fountain of Vitality.” Well, the first person to make that observation about older folk was Mark Twain. Twain opined that “Age is simply mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” If I remember my literature correctly, Samuel Clemens was not a Boomer.

For over 30 years, I have been working with older adults and found vital involved 80 and 90 year olds way back in the 70s…amazing. My first secretary was 80 when I hired her…and she was fantastic. Sure, there are more healthy and active 64 year old Boomers than there were in the generations before them due to medical advances, education, and awareness; but it is their numbers that make them unique. Their life experience has shaped their worldview, but their values are not different from their parents and grandparents.

The Del Webb study did reveal some startling results…current 50 year olds do not see themselves as seniors. Guess what? Neither do current 65 year olds and a good percentage of 70 and 80 year olds. In the 1970s, I was defining old as 10 years older than you are regardless of your age. Studies done then as now documented that an older person’s psychological age was generally 10 to 15 years younger than their chronological age.

Is the business community that uninformed about consumer behavior that they need to pay “Boomer Specialists” to tell them something they could read in David Wolfe’s Serving the Ageless Market written 20 years ago? Clearly all the hype around the recent studies says they are. Still, we have about 200 years of evidence from developmental psychologists that suggest most of the revelations (increasing altruism, connectedness, personal growth, autonomy, etc.) were totally predictable.

It is true that Boomer experiences and economic realities have changed the game. More people are now more educated and educated people tend to live longer. Boomers were generally wealthier than their parents; and could therefore afford better health care. Many older adults have always worked well beyond 60. Today, more are working longer because they have to do so – and that reality is not unique to Boomers.

Just once, I would like to see an article with a headline like, “New Studies Document Baby Boomers Aren’t Unique After All – There Are Just a Hell of a Lot of Them.”

Time to Get Real

Amazing!  In two years, a few thousand leading edge baby boomers will begin turning 65. To many in corporate America and the mainstream media this will apparently come as a surprise. While they were focused on Baby Boomers and youth markets, the median age of adults in the US increased by about a decade while they weren't looking. Today, articles and conference topics myopically focus on boomers to the exclusion of millions of consumers age 65 and older.

If you are searching for four easy steps or six simple typologies that will insure success in the aging marketplace, you will not find them. Why? Because, the typical boomer, like the typical senior, is as much like other boomers as a snowflake is typical of other snowflakes. Consumers become more dissimilar as they age not more alike, although they share common ‘gut level’ values their world view is colored by the lens of life experience.

To increase the probability of success when marketing to older adults, one must first abandon the approaches that worked so well in yesterday’s youth market; and adopt an ageless approach.  This approach involves projecting a positive, mindful image of aging. This positive image should underlie all communications, collateral material, and PowerPoint presentations.

All consumers tend to select products/services that reflect images of what they want to be not what they are, and this applies to older adults as well. Advertising and communications should focus on health and well being; being productive, the importance of autonomy and involvement, the importance of relationships and being responsive to the wants, needs and aspirations of targeted consumers and stakeholders.

However, communications also need to project realism. While physiological declines are a part of life, older consumers “feel” anywhere from 15 to 25 years younger than their biological age, which doesn’t mean they think they “look” 15 to 25 years younger. Therefore, when models are too young or visuals focus on extreme sports, the consumer may simply dismisses the message as hyperbole. The key is realistic people in real world activities.