Top 10 Trends with Baby Boomers


by Alvaro Fernandez - Date: 2007-07-04 - Word Count: 461 Share This!

On June 19th Santa Clara University hosted the annual Baby Boomer Venture Summit. This forum brings together a great group of industry leaders, thought-leaders and start-ups in the growing market segment of baby boomers. Let's see how my own memory is working...I'll bring you the 10 things that I remember from this great event.

1) According to Mary S. Furlong, Executive Producer of the summit, healthy living and aging is a $480 billion industry. And 80% of the purchase decisions in this industry are made by women-so you know who's the boss...

2) Paul Kleyman, editor of ASA's Aging Today, is frustrated about how little attention the mainstream media pays to baby boomers, being obsessed with mainly younger people. Let's keep in mind that the boomers are a 77 million population and the biggest spenders in the consumer market.

3) Simplicity is Key. James Koch of Leavy School of Business says that the successful products for the 50+ consumers bring simplicity to the consumer's life. World Hearing Organization and Seronostics, the winners of the $10K business plan competition, both makes products that make the life of the consumer easier.

4) Today you are potentially exposed to 30 different media channels compared to just six 40 years ago. Think of what this implies for your brain in terms of attention, concentration and multitasking-and why it is important to take steps to improve our brain health and fitness.

5) As much as one third of internet users watch TV while surfing the net. Research indicates that too much multitasking can actually be bad for you, harming your ability to concentrate and remember.

6) AARP, with its 38+ million members, is increasingly active in creating new markets that'll benefit the growing baby boomer population. Its representative Emilio Pardo addressed the need for "navigator brands" to help people find what they need, cutting through the overwhelming amount of information available these days in the confusing health and retirement markets.

7) The most successful brands today, like Google and Facebook are "User Generated Brands": the consumers are taking control of content consumption and branding. We are in what senior analyst Safa Rashchty calls The User Revolution.

8) The web is now the principal media channel at work and second most important after television at home.

9) Video ads will be the driver of the next major growth in brand advertising. According to Piper Jaffray & Co, most companies should seriously consider adding YouTube to their media planning.

10) Surprisingly, close 50% of the consumers in the casual gaming market are women above 40 years of age - many of whom seek a source of stress relief and cognitive exercise. Ready for some "brain gym"? You can visit our website for more information on this brain fitness trend.

We hope this provides you with good context for your business ideas!

Related Tags: improve memory, brain health, baby boomers, multitasking, brain fitness, baby boomer retirement, brain gym, mindfit, baby boomer market

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