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Does Entertainment Have an Age Limit?

Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

New survey data on the influence of online social networks on entertainment-related decisions was released this month. The upshot is that Twitter and Facebook are indeed impacting consumers when it comes to movies, TV shows and video games. But we focused on something else: the survey, by The Hollywood Reporter (THR) and Penn Schoen Berland, only included 750 people between the ages of 13 and 49.

I imagine some younger person at THR putting together the sample and figuring, why bother including old people in the survey? People over the age of 50 don’t watch TV, buy movie tickets or play video games – right?

Wrong.

FACT: The average age of a prime-time TV viewer is 51. Even shows strongly identified with America’s youth depend on a graying group for their strong ratings. American Idol’s average viewer is 43.8; baby boomers account for 21% of Glee’s regular fans.

Read more: Television’s Senior Moment (Wall Street Journal); Why Has the Network TV Audience Gotten So Old? (Vulture); TV and Advertising to Baby Boomers and Beyond (this blog)

FACT: In 2011, one in four movie tickets in the US and Canada was sold to a person over 50. As the Motion Picture Association of America puts it, “A slight increase in the oldest age group (60+) indicates that more of these people went to the movies (28.8 million) and bought more tickets (170.2 million) than in 2010, representing a 13% market share of both.”

Read more: 2011 Theatrical Market Statistics (Motion Picture Association of America); Is Hollywood Finally Growing Up? (Washington Times); Hurray for Hollywood’s Mature Marketing Insights (this blog)

FACT: In 2011, nearly 1 in every 3 Americans over the age of 50 played a video game. Per the Entertainment Software Association, that’s “an increase from nine percent in 1999. This figure is sure to rise in coming years with nursing homes and senior centers across the nation now incorporating video games into their activities.”

Average age of a game player? 37. Average age of a game buyer? 41.

Read more: Industry Facts (Entertainment Software Association)

FACT: 32% of Baby Boomers say they visit a social networking site each day, per the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Read more: Generations Online and other resarch (Pew); Social, Silver Surfers ebook (Creating Results)

 

With these facts in mind, I’d love to hear The Hollywood Reporter explain: since 50+ adults are big consumers of entertainment AND are active on social networks, why weren’t they a part of your survey?

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Posted in 50+, 60+, Boomers, Marketing, Mature Consumers, Social Networking | No Comments »

Mature Marketing Links of the Week – 3/26/12

Monday, March 26th, 2012

What held the attention of mature marketing pros on Twitter, LinkedIn and our blog this week? Read on for the top links and resources of the week that was.

1. MOST COMMENTED, DISCUSSED AND SHARED: Is 50 the new 30? That’s what thought-leader and typically thoughful writer Seth Godin stated on his blog last week. I took exception to his reckoning that Baby Boomers are acting like 30 year olds. In my opinion,

“Baby Boomers are clearly not acting like 30 year olds. They’re acting like the best 50 year olds they can be. They’re acting like a new kind of 50 year old.

You might even say they’re not acting at all – they’re just living lives with purpose and vibrancy.”

Turned out I wasn’t alone in my frustration with Seth’s take on 50+ers. Please check out our post and the lively discussion it sparked at http://bit.ly/H5YGA8.

2. MOST CLICKED: Did you know that 1 in 4 people will abandon a web page that takes more than 4 seconds to load? This eye-opening infographic shows how patience may be a lost virtue in “Instant America”: http://ow.ly/9Ke41

Jeremiah Owyang shared a New York Times article on a similar topic, how Google engineers have discovered that people will visit a web site less than a competitive site if they perceive it to be slower by miliseconds.

While the data isn’t broken out by age group, we imagine it would apply to the time-starved baby boomers and un-retired seniors out there. (Yes, even those of us who remember waiting patiently for the dial up modem now get antsy.)

Do you know how fast the pages on your web site are loading? You could try this tool from Pingdom: http://tools.pingdom.com/fpt/. Google also has a site speed report built in to its Analytics: http://analytics.blogspot.com/2011/05/measure-page-load-time-with-site-speed.html.

3. Five ways to “use content to get the attention of those all-important prospects — the men and women who are in the market to buy what you have to sell.” In this post, Sonia Simone of CopyBlogger shares tips including guest posting, how-to videos, Q&A series, professional networking and finding online traffic in the off line world. But it was her caveat that convinced us to share the post with our followers: “None of this works if your content sucks.”

Read the whole post here: http://ow.ly/9LyDS

And I may have gotten cranky with Seth, but I really am a softie:  

For her 100th birthday, a man gives his beloved the wedding she always wanted! Grab a tissue, watch this amazing video and you’ll start your Monday truly inspired.

Tip o’ the hat to @50Plus for bringing this lovely video to our attention.

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Posted in 50+, 60+, Boomers, Internet, Marketing | No Comments »

Mature Marketing Links of the Week – 3/19/2012

Monday, March 19th, 2012

Last week we celebrated Pi Day, the ides of March (et tu, baby boomer marketer?) and St. Paddy’s Day (sorry Kermit, but once a year it IS easy being green). We also shared a wide variety of resources to help you get better results while marketing to the 50+ consumer. Here are the links that received the most clicks, retweets, discussion or attention last week.

1. MOST SHARED: Consumers feel that 1 or 2 Facebook messages a day from a brand or organization are too many. A TolunaQuick survey found that respondents “felt overwhelmed by brand messages on social media,” reported PR Daily.  ”Other findings from the study that brands will want to consider:

  • 40 percent of respondents felt that brand promotions are too complex to enter;
  • 20 percent felt incentives are not worth the effort;
  • 75 percent said that one or two Facebook messages per day is too much to receive from a brand;
  • Nearly 40 percent don’t want to share brand interactions with friends
  • 20 percent proactively post messages to brand pages.”

The findings didn’t surprise our team one bit. As I tweeted, when Creating Results conducted its Social, Silver Surfers research, we heard this message from baby boomers and seniors using social networks. Only 15% said yes, yes they wanted to engage with a brand via social platforms. The majority told us loud and clear that they felt overmarketed to already and that social media was a personal, not commercial space. (Download the eBook at www.CreatingResults.com/SocialSilverSurfers.)

2. MOST CLICKED: Did you know 52% of #babyboomer women rely on ad insertions, print/online coupons? Good opp for QR code ow.ly/9wR7C

Also notable and useful … Two for those marketing real estate / 50+ housing / retirement communities:

3. Cross-country relocation is just not the norm for baby boomers. Reuters reports that Americans are retiring closer to home than they did in the past.

“The increasing popularity of the short-distance move may be a result of the many advantages the strategy offers. Retirees who stay an hour or two from where they worked and raised their children can cut their costs while staying near their friends, cultural events, major airports and medical facilities. Moving outside the metro area means they don’t have to compete on housing prices with people who need to be closer to the city for their jobs.”

We’d add that 50+ers can also stay close to their jobs to work full- or part-time while easing into “retirement.” Read the full article at  ow.ly/9z0oE

4. Looking for data on the impact of seniors on the housing market? Check out this deck from the National Multi Housing Council, “Resetting the Demand for Multi Family Housing: Demographic and Economic Drivers to 2020.” The report includes data on the change in US households by age group, the rise in multigenerational households and renters who double up, and more.

Download the full PDF report at  ow.ly/9BdGu

And one for everybody:

5. A terrific piece in the Wall Street Journal on how we all can – and should – be creative. ow.ly/9CLjz

 

I hope you’ll be creative in sharing your comments and thoughts, below.

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Posted in 50+, 60+, Boomers, Housing, Real Estate Marketing, Retirement, Social Networking | 1 Comment »

Mature Marketing Links of the Week – 3/12/12

Monday, March 12th, 2012

Hello, Monday! (How did you get here so fast?) Time for the baby boomer and seniors marketing links that received the most attention from friends and followers on Twitter, Google+ and other social platforms last week.

1. MOST CLICKED: The most effective SEO strategy of all time – This must-read post by Barry Feldman in Social Media Today sums it up as follows:

“Read 10 stories on SEO and you get, well, 10 different stories. No one agrees on anything. Or should I say everyone agrees on nothing?

I lied.

Everyone seems to agree on one eensie-weensie word of wisdom. The word is relevance. While 1,001 SEO schmoes may have 1,001 different fail-safe, white hat, field-proven tactics, everyone agrees the one thing all search engines are after is relevance. So come what may, scholars and simpletons can once and for all agree: the most effective SEO strategy of all time is to produce relevant content.”

We encourage you to read the full post for insight and some truly helpful pointers: http://ow.ly/9puWuConga Line - macgasm.net

2. MOST SHARED/COMMENTED UPON: Inspired by International Women’s Day, five facts about 50+ women, with related tips for marketing to these very important baby boomers and seniors http://ow.ly/9wXsp

And a few more resources that earned clicks/shares:

3. The divorce rate for 50+ baby boomers and seniors has doubled in the past two decades. The Wall Street Journal looks at why: http://ow.ly/9rrmY

4. An excerpt from Brent Green’s new book on how to market to baby boomers, perhaps the most examined generation ever: http://ow.ly/9rrwr

5. Beth Rand’s excellent post on this blog, “The Facebook Times are Changing – What the new Facebook Timeline means for for brands.”

Whether you like it or not, Facebook will change brand pages over to the new look/functionality on March 30. Beth offers an overview of key new features, a checklist for readying your page for the transition and examples from brands already taking advantage of the new features (such as Lennar Homes, below): http://ow.ly/9umYQ

 

Please take advantage of the comments tool below to share your thoughts on this feature. And thank you for sharing our passion for marketing to baby boomers and beyond!

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Posted in 50+, 60+, Boomers, Internet, Marketing, Social Networking | No Comments »

Five Fast Facts (and Related Marketing Tips) about Baby Boomer and Senior Women

Thursday, March 8th, 2012

International Women’s Day is today, and we thought we’d celebrate by sharing five facts related to 50+ women – baby boomers and seniors.

1) Women continue to outnumber men at older ages. The chart below illustrates this truism – currently, about 15% of American women are over 65, vs 11% of men.

Chart - US Population by Age and Gender - 1970 to 2009(This chart also illustrates how people under 18 are a smaller percentage of the US population, regardless of gender. This is part of the longevity revolution, in which an average of 30 years has been added to our life expectancy.)

Marketing Take-away: There are differences in how men and women process information. If your senior service or retirement community caters to an older prospect, consider the reality that that prospect is more likely a women. Tailor sales techniques (or even the height of a display!) accordingly.

2) Women are delaying marriage and fewer of them are married than in the past. The US Census estimates that 15% of women have never been married.  Among seniors over 65 years old, 44% of women are married vs. 74% of men.

Marketing Take-away: Review the photography on your website, Facebook page or advertising campaign. Consider adding more shots of vibrant single women or groups.

You can learn more about what marketing imagery is most effective with Gen X, baby boomer and Silent Generation women in our free eBook, Photo Finish.

3) Baby boomers as a group are big spenders on travel, and women represent a great opportunity. Vibrant Nation found that 42% of Boomer women will spend more than $2,500 per person on every vacation.  More and more often these women are traveling alone or with a group of friends.

Marketing Take-away: Show women solo and in groups; emphasize flexibility and choice for rooming. Spotlight safety (but not in a scary way). And don’t force a single-person surcharge!

4) More women than men participate in adult education, and women are more likely to pursue work-related courses or personal interest courses. We see this as linked to the longevity bonus noted above. Women are realizing that they’ve received the gift of another 25+ years and think “how do I make the most of it?” As the Baby Boom generation has always had a drive to improve themselves and learn, for many women it’s back to class.Lifelong learning event for baby boomers, seniors at Traditions of America

Marketing Take-away: “Class” now is not limited to a community college or another institute of higher education. Several of our 50+ housing clients have seen great success from integrating lifelong learning into their campuses.

5) Mature women are experiencing a time of great transition, of tumult. They’re still likely taking care of children (adult or younger) and grandchildren and figuring out how to care for themselves.

This time can be accompanied by fear. As Jane Fonda put it, “I got scared. I thought I’m going to become a crotchety old lady. … When you’re inside oldness as opposed to looking at it from the outside, fear subsides. You realize you’re still yourself, maybe even more so.” She notes we actually need to re-set our “thermostat” – re-wiring our neural pathways by seeking out new experiences and reflecting on those new experiences.

Marketing Take-away: Be sure you’re listening to – and reflecting – the desires and even fears of your baby boomer and senior women targets. For new insights, read Michelle Seitzer’s excellent post on the subject on SeniorsForLiving.com: “My Mother and the Necessary Reinvention of the Modern Woman.”  And watch Jane Fonda’s excellent “Life’s Third Act” address at TEDxWomen, below.

Happy International Women’s Day to us all!

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Posted in 50+, 60+, Marketing, Mature Consumers | 4 Comments »

Mature Marketing Links of the Week – 3/5/12

Monday, March 5th, 2012

What resources for marketing to baby boomers and beyond caught the attention of our Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook followers last week? Read on for top links.

1. MOST SHARED/MOST CLICKED: From the San Francisco Chronicle, how the retirement attitudes of baby boomers differ from those of Gen X. In short, older baby boomers have the most saved but they also are withdrawing more from their retirement savings plans and adding less. Gen Xers are most willing to take risks with their investments, not surprising since retirement is further off for this cohort. Get all the stats at http://bit.ly/zqIbju.

Also gaining clicks and shares this week:

2. What kinds of emails are shared most often? A new survey from Emailvision shows emails with discounts are shared more than any others. Humorous marketing emails rank 2nd in terms of viral shares.

The survey also found that the #1 goal of email marketers was to extend the brand reach. #2 was to build loyalty – retaining customers, building support. As eMarketer notes,

“email marketers are hoping that passed-along emails and other content shared through social channels will help build awareness or reputation, and, conveniently, the messages most likely to accomplish these goals are the ones with deals and promotions that should also help marketers increase sales and gain new customers.”

Read the full article on eMarketer at http://bit.ly/AqAKgN

As we’ve said frequently, email marketing is a very effective tool for reaching baby boomers and seniors. What goals have you set for your email program? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

3. 88% of Internet users will research products online in 2012. Check out this infographic with Internet usage projections http://bit.ly/Anoi1V

4. An iPad class at continuing care retirement community North Hill is giving seniors new ways to connect with friends, family and the world. http://bit.ly/xBJBx2

5. Todd Harff blogs about blogs. (It’s not as meta as it appears.) This week, Todd shared stats on blog use by baby boomers and seniors and tips for starting/maintaining a blog directed at this audience. While the post was in response to an S.O.S. from a real estate marketer, the tips apply to any organization hoping to use a blog as part of its 50+ marketing program.  http://knowledge.creatingresults.com/2012/03/01/blogging-and-the-baby-boomer-home-buyer/

As always, please let us know your thoughts on this blog below. Have a great week!

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Posted in 40+, 50+, 60+, Boomers, Email marketing, Gen X, Internet, Retirement, Social Networking | No Comments »

Mature Marketing Links of the Week – 2/27/12

Monday, February 27th, 2012

Another Monday, another round-up of the mature marketing resources shared by Creating Results that received the most clicks, retweets or attention last week.

1. MOST CLICKED: Seth Godin’s “Simple Thougths about Fair Use” struck a chord with many of our Twitter and LinkedIn followers. Godin explains the difference between copyright and Fair Use, which permits commentary and comparisons. As Godin writes,

“Most web users should know a few simple guidelines, principles so simple that you can generally assume them to be rules. (Worth noting that whether you are in the right or not, a lawyer on retainer can still hassle you–not fair but true):

  • You don’t need to ask someone’s permission to include a link to their site.
  • You don’t need to ask permission to include a screen shot of a website in a directory, comment on that site or parody it.
  • You can quote hundreds of words from a book (for an article or book or on your website) without worrying about it and you certainly don’t need a signed release from the original author or publisher. Poems and songs are special exceptions. Then you can worry.

There’s a difference between being polite and observing the law. If you quote something (an idea, a notion, a recipe), the right thing to do is give credit.”

At Creating Results, our rule of thumb is “always cite and be polite.” Please read all of Mr. Godin’s post at http://bit.ly/z0yROy.

2. MOST SHARED: A tie between Beth Rand’s post on QR Codes and Baby Boomers and this Rochester Post Bulletin article on the experience of Baby Boomers on Facebook. Did you know there are more boomers on Facebook than 13-17 year olds?

Other links/resources of note:

3. Your team is likely working hard to earn mentions in media – whether online outlets or social media.  What can help you measure the success of your program? KD Paine offers a checklist with 25 questions to be answered as you choose a monitoring vendor. http://bit.ly/zKbDBz. Tip of the Hat to Shonali Burke (@Shonali) for sharing the link with us.

4. We’ve written frequently that marketers focused on 50+ consumers shouldn’t overlook television as a very effective channel for reaching baby boomers and seniors. Last week, eMarketer shared new stats on video watching by age and gender, noting “The number of hours in the day may not be growing, but the amount of time US consumers spend with media is—thanks to multitasking.”

The older you are, the more time you spend watching video on TV.  I found it interesting that 50+ men now watch as much video online as do males aged 2-17. You’ll find eMarketer’s post here: http://bit.ly/zPLXe4.

Was there a link or resource we missed that you found of value? Please share it or any other comments below.

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Posted in 50+, 60+, Boomers, Internet, Social Networking | No Comments »

Mature Marketing Links of the Week 2.20.12

Monday, February 20th, 2012

Happy President’s Day Monday.  The following are the mature marketing links and resources of note for the past week. Enjoy!

1. MOST CLICKED: Love was in the air with Three Not-So-Silly Statistics for Valentine’s Day, examining fun facts about 55+ consumers from the National Health Statistics Reports.

     Marriage does a heart good: Findings included that Boomers and Beyond who were married had less difficulty with social and physical activities than those who were formerly married- reminding us that connections are important and should be encouraged within active adult housing and CCRCs to keep ALL motivated and moving.  Click here to read more insights and implications.

2. Florida faces fight to lure retiring boomers: this insightful piece from the Sun Sentinel received a high number of clicks for the week, and with good reason. http://ow.ly/8WEHM

The wants and needs of boomers on the cusp of retiring is changing and in order to continue to draw retirees a recent report shows that Florida may have some re-thinking to do. 96% of respondents surveyed within a Consumer Federation of the Southeast survey placed the highest emphasis on top notch health care (above climate and taxes).   The article examines the strengths of Florida and other areas when it comes to attracting this Boomer market and things they will have to think about when marketing to this target if they want to capitalize on the potential revenue of even a small percentage of the Boomer population looking to relocate.

3.  What Google’s Privacy Policies and what they mean for Seniors:      The ever changing and expanding world of Google and recent privacy policies put in place were examined in an article on Aging In Place Technology Watch.

Creating Results is honored to be a nominee for SeniorHomes.com’s Best of the Web 2012.  Please vote for our blog as top senior living industry resource.  Click here to vote for Mature Marketing Matters and thank you in advance for letting us share news and insights for marketing to the 55+ market.

 

 

 

Posted in 40+, 50+, 60+, Advertising, Boomers, Internet, Marketing, Mature Consumers, Retirement, Silent Generation, Social Networking | No Comments »

Mature Marketing Links of the Week – 2/13/12

Monday, February 13th, 2012

Happy Monday! Following are the links and resources that were most shared, clicked on and commented on via Twitter and LinkedIn last week.

1. MOST CLICKED: Good internal communications are critical for the success of your external marketing http://ow.ly/8RcI0

“Make sure the left hand knows what the right hand is doing,” writes UK blogger Kevin Baughen. Kevin specializes (that’s specialises for our British readers) in helping non-profits with their communications. His post points out that without good internal comms and team work, your brand can’t achieve its marketing goals.

2. A handful of links tied for the “MOST SHARED” title last week.

- If your image of retirees is old people in Florida, think again. The state is now fighting to lure baby boomers. ow.ly/8WEHM

- New post: Is 50+ Housing Declining or Thriving? Stats on household income growth among baby boomers and seniors offer context; excerpts from Todd Haff’s panel presentation at the International Builders’ Show. ow.ly/8Y7dE

- Big thinker (& older innovator) Joseph Coughlin of the MIT Age Lab addressed the idea of age & innovation. I confess a quote Coughlin included from venture capitalist Vinod Khosla set my teeth on edge:  “People under 35 are the people who make change happen…People over 45 basically die in terms of new ideas.” Read the full post at  ow.ly/8Vlgu

3. Also of interest:

- Laurie Orlov (@AgingTech) explains what Google’s new privacy policies mean for seniors – and for you. ow.ly/8V9xk

- Marketing to the 50+ Home Buyer: Social Media and Much More. Excerpts from Beth Rand’s presentation at the International Builders’ Show. http://t.co/stZPHWPn

- Pinning the future of communications on visuals. http://t.co/FJBvb7aB

As the author, Sarah Skerik, writes: “[C]ommunicators have to redouble their efforts when it comes to visuals.   Visuals carry extra weight on Facebook and Google+, they’re rendered on Twitter (drawing more attention to the tweet) and are what makes services like Flipboard and Pinterest so compelling and useful.

 

Was there a link or resource you felt was of importance to mature marketers but it was overlooked in this round-up? Please share it in the comments, below.

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Posted in 40+, 50+, 60+, Boomers, Housing, Internet, Marketing, Real Estate Marketing, Social Networking | No Comments »

Facebook, Internet Users More Similar to Offline Population Ages Than Ever

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

With all the excitement over the Facebook IPO, Heather Dougherty at Experian Hitwise today rounded up 10 stats about the social network that are key to understanding its reach and impact. We focused in on Stat #5 – a demographic breakdown of Facebook users, which include 19% younger Baby Boomers aged 49-54 and 20% older Boomers or seniors aged 55+.

The chart (below) shows the visit share by age for the big four social networks: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus. And the age breakdown of the (US?) online population.

As eMarketer has noted, “The average age of Internet users is rising in tandem with that of the general population.” It appears so far Facebook is the online social network that most closely mirrors the age diversity of our offline world. Twitter continues to appeal to GenX and GenY. And LinkedIn continues to be an excellent if underappreciated network for reaching 55+ adults – 57% of users are baby boomers or beyond!

Chart from HitWise showing Facebook visits by age, including baby boomers and seniors

I was surprised to see Google+ have a larger audience over the age of 55 than Twitter, but on second thought its design and functionality is so similar to Facebook, it might feel more comfortable to older users.

Stat #8 wasn’t a surprise to us. As Dougherty writes, “Facebook” is the most searched term in the US and Facebook-related terms account for 14% of the top search clicks.” We shared that insight with a team of social media marketing ambassadors from a leading continuing care retirement community just two days ago. It was terrific to see their excitement for how the network could promote deeper relationships with their senior prospects and adult children.

If your organization needs help turning social media stats into social media strategies, please check out these related posts (or give us a call – we’d love to help).

RELATED POSTS:

 

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Posted in 40+, 50+, 60+, Boomers, Gen X, Internet, Marketing, Silent Generation, Social Networking, Uncategorized | No Comments »

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