SILVER - Business consultants to leverage the 50+ market

Restaurants Need To Refocus As Older Customers Become More Important

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:15:23 GMT

Supper visits have been cut back by all but the most mature age group according to a recent study of restaurants in the USA. Historically, supper is the meal that leads the restaurant industry out of recessions, but that won't be the case this time, according to a new study by The NPD Group. Supper is the restaurant industry's largest sales generator but has been the weakest performing meal period for the past decade, reports NPD.

See chart: Mature traditionalists = 62+

The NPD restaurant market study, which examines how the supper market weakened and analyzes how each generation uses restaurants, multiple factors have contributed to the decline in supper visits. Among the most important factors is that the aging of the U.S. population has resulted in a fundamental shift in the profile of supper restaurant users. The study reports that whereas younger consumer groups had and continue to have the highest usage frequency of restaurant suppers, their pullback on usage has narrowed the frequency gap - and the sheer number of aging Boomers has increased the importance of more mature adults to the supper occasion.

The heaviest restaurant supper customers - the 18-to-24 and 25-to-34 age groups have cut back the most, dropping 13 visits per year, respectively, over the last eight years. Even before the current economic situation, consumers were shifting how they addressed their needs to feed themselves and their families at supper.

What this all means for restaurant operators is that they can't control population trends, but they can influence buying rate momentum by understanding the levers that appeal to their target customers. Through product and concept innovations, availability, understanding their consumers' value perceptions, right pricing, and targeted messaging, they can re-attract consumers to restaurants for supper.

Perhaps also to ensure that the dinig experience is age-neutral? How about menus that are readable both in terms of font (size and clarity) and enough direct light to make them visible!?

General Mills Sees the Opportunity In Ageing Boomer Market

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:00:32 GMT

Aging boomers, the 1 billion consumers globally who are 55 or older, are focused increasingly on health and wellness concerns" said General Mills Chairman and CEO Ken Powell . The company is emphasizing the health benefits of some of its foods and introducing more health oriented offerings and smaller portion sizes, as part of its strategy.

General Mills pursuit of the older market isn't new as reported here in our blog some months back.

In the next five years, an optimistic General Mills expects to see double-digit shareholder returns by using a business strategy that will transform the Golden Valley-based food giant "from a multinational ... to a truly global company."The continued momentum is built on a "strong, sustainable business model," Powell said. He outlined a company strategy that it believes will drive greater productivity and optimize its product mix. That approach, he said, will allow expanded profit margins while funding investments in marketing its brands and developing new products.

The company also outlined how it is aligning its strategy with several key demographic trends in this interview:

How Boomers Have Influenced Investments - Barclays Study Reveals

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:48:49 GMT

Here's an interesting theory explaining the growth of equities in the past 30 years and why the future doesn't look so good. It's all down to us, the baby boomers.

Based on the Barclays Equity Gilts Study, reported here in the Financial Times, which compared cyclical price/earnings ratios on stocks since 1950 with the ratio of 35-54 year-olds in the population. Stock valuations became most extended just as the cohort of baby boomers were saving and producing most.

How did this turn into the later credit crisis? The mistakes that were made both in US monetary policy and in regulating US mortgage lending, were serious contributory factors. But again, demographic factors are a potent underlying force. Faced with the crash in equities, and with their retirements imminent, baby boomers would only have been expected to put money into bonds and other debt products, and thereby to help push interest rates. That is exactly what they did.

This led to a surge in the global appetite to place savings in debt instruments, which as Mr Bond points out is the same thing as a surge in the global appetite to lend.

The implications for the future are discomfiting. The proportion of 35-54 year-olds in the population will keep declining for another decade, while the imminent growth in the retired population should be very sharp.

That means equity valuations should keep coming down. The demographic shift that drove an equity bull market for two decades can be expected to drive a bear market for another two decades. That implies that this bear market has another decade to run.

Against this, equity valuations have already come down a lot. If companies keep producing decent profit growth, equities can still perform.

Buy property!?

Silver in iMoney

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:41:03 GMT

Here's an interview just published in iMoney.

This is quite strong coverage, as iMoney reaches an audience of 80,000 business leaders in Hong Kong with its business, marketing and financial oriented news, and the piece takes a very in-depth look at the implications of the silver market and how brands and companies are missing out on this huge demographic.

Publication: iMoney Focus
Date: 23 January 2010

Page: 10-11

Title: The Silver Pioneer
How to sell to 51-year-old Madonna?

Synopsis:

The article begins with a lively example by Kim Walker himself – waking up one morning and realizing he is already aged 50. The journalist then cites some more examples provided by Kim, like the dim lighting and noisy rock music in the shop, and young models of electronic appliances, giving readers a familiar reference of the frustrating reality faced by the 50+ population.

In the second section, the journalist introduces the working experience of Kim and statistics that show the growing spending power of the 50+ in Asia Pacific. Kim further points out that the blind spot of the current marketers and their marketing strategies. 50+ market is being misunderstood by those marketers, thinking they are stubborn and rigid. Kim cites Madonna who is aged 51 and Michael Jackson as examples, showing that the silver market is much more creative and bold than people presumed.

The article is then followed by the successful marketing strategies of Japan. Other examples given by Kim, including the increasing number of retired Japanese taking music lesson at Yamaha, as well as the age-friendly mobile phone by DoCoMo, are quoted.

The article is rounded up with the comments given by Kim. User-friendliness is the main concern in order to attract the silver market. Useful and feasible ideas and precautions are listed, including a website without Flash, spacious alignment of website addresses, and keeping content in one-page instead of scrolling up and down. What’s more, Kim points out that the choice of models is another important concern, which is evidenced by the survey he took. According to the survey result, the 50+ population generally think that a 37-year-old would best represent them, instead of a young model, or a weak and winkle faced old model. The former is not convincing enough, while the later is simply discouraging.

The 15 Biggest Baby Boomer Brands? Maybe in the USA.

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:31:55 GMT

An article from Ad Age listing one mans view of the 15 bigggest brands among baby boomers (in the USA).

I've listend them below and highlighted the one's I think might have made it in an Asian context (not many!)

Levis
Harley Davidson
Volkswagen
Slinky (walking spring toy)
Noxzema (skin cleanser)
The Beatles
L'Eggs (stockings)
Pepsi
Absolut Vodka
Saturday Night Live
Facebook
Frye (boots)
Coach (bags)
Club Med
Clairol (hair colour)

If brands define boomers, then this is clear evidence that the boomer generation in Asia is quite different to our USA counterparts. As each Asian country has it's own unique consumer culture, you'd need a separate list for each country! Globalization of brands is, however, homogenizing our consumption.

A couple of global brands i would have added that would be appropriate in this region? Coke, MTV, Microsoft. How's that for starters!?

Vive la difference!

Philippines To Hold International Summit on Medical Travel, Wellness and Retirement

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 05:21:59 GMT

An International Summit on Medical Travel, Wellness and Retirement ~ IMWell Summit will be held in the Philippines on October 12-15, 2010. Staged in collaboration with India, Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, the IMWell Summit is envisioned to be a forum to discuss how they can cooperate to further develop the medical tourism and retirement industry. A major part of the IMWell Summit will also focus on international retirement migration and how Asian countries (and the foreign retirees) will be able to benefit from it.

Aussie Study Finds The Secrets to Healthy Ageing

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 04:11:27 GMT

From this small town in Western Australia emerges one of the more comprehensive and fascinating studies of healthy ageing.

Reported here in the Financial Times, this study was done on a shoestring up until a couple of years ago, so recent government backing will allow the study to exist properly.

Called the Busselton Healthy Ageing Study, it will draw on some of the existing pool of participants, plus newcomers to the town, to look at factors relating to healthy ageing. The research will measure vision and hearing disorders, respiratory and cardiovascular disease, muscle strength, obesity, diabetes, sleep disorders, bone health, spinal pain, and mental health and cognition among up to 5,000 adults aged between 45 and 64 years old.

Go for it!

TV Programme Targets Viewers from 40 to 100

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:56:25 GMT

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118015473.html?categoryId=1682&cs=1

Does The Ad Business Needs Older Leaders?

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:53:08 GMT

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/community/columns/other-columns/e3i5a7bc96eb52f8d10a3ff55817b063164

Japanese Baby Boomers Reluctant To Spend After Retirement

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:07:57 GMT

Retiring baby boomers appear reluctant to spend on nonessential items, contrary to expectations that they would give Japan's economy a boost.

According to an article in Japans' Nikkei newspaper, some firms hoped baby boomers, who began to reach mandatory retirement age in 2007, would spend time enjoying their hobbies and other pursuits, creating demand for products and services.

But baby boomers appear hesitant to buy expensive items or spend on long trips, in part because they continue to work or must provide their children, who are struggling in the sluggish economy, with financial support.

Home appliance manufacturers expected that baby boomers--who were into audio equipment when they were young--would buy components for setting up home theaters. A full-scale home theater, combining a large-screen TV with equipment such as a Blu-ray disc player and speakers, costs up to 500,000 yen. Yet according to GfK Japan., the home-theater speaker market contracted 60% in 2009 from 2006. Sony Corp. and Pioneer Corp. officials said demand for equipment used in home theater systems has failed to increase since 2007.

As for travel, the average length of a high-end JTB Corp. tour package for seniors was 10.0 days in 2009, about one day shorter than in 2006. JTB has begun adding tours designed for seniors lasting a week or less, as well as tours during busy seasons, as many seniors are buying tour packages that take advantage of long weekends or national holidays.

According to a survey by Hakuhodo (advertising), only 16% of retirees spend their retirement pay for consumption purposes immediately after receiving it, while about half put it into savings. They note that baby boomer expenditures cover three generations -- baby boomers themselves, their children, and their grandchildren.

The children of baby boomers, who are supposed to form a core of the current labor force, face shrinking wages and unstable employment conditions.

Many baby boomers keep working after reaching mandatory retirement age, thus many people reaching retirement age fails to translate into an increase in leisure activity.

According to a Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications survey, the ratio of the Japanese population working between the ages of 60-65 stands at 57%, up 4.4 percentage points from 2006.

Some in the travel industry suggest baby boomer spending will become more pronounced in or after 2012, when those who retired in 2007 reach age 65 and start receiving their national pension.

AARP Member Survey On eReaders

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:37:51 GMT

I caught this in the AARP website recently.

A quick search of the site just now didn't reveal the final/latest results but the findings of this were interesting nonetheless.

Says it all.

10 Solid Business Opportunities In Ageing Markets

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:23:17 GMT

Here are 10 quick business opportunities spotted by SmartCompany in Australia stemming from the Intergeneration Report recently issued by the Government. No big surprises but good logic. Although derived from Australia, the basic contention of the IG report is that people should be encouraged to work longer (to age 65). As this is becoming the norm, these business ideas hold true in most markets.

Here you go:

Healthcare

Spending on health as a proportion of GDP is tipped to climb from 4% to over 7% between now and 2050, so there's a big pool of cash to tap into here. Of course, competition in this area will be intense and smart entrepreneurs will need differentiated, specialist services to tap into this market. Taking healthcare services into homes and workplaces is already a growing trend... could group-style treatments (using a sort of party-plan model where the healthcare provider visits a group of people in the one person's home) be another model?

Pharmaceuticals and cosmetics

Breaking into the medicines sector isn't easy for a start up entrepreneur, but the cosmetics sector is likely to throw up some opportunities in what is an ever-changing market. Natural and organic cosmetics are becoming bigger and bigger, but innovations such as non-invasive surgery treatments and whitening, toning and firming technologies are likely to change the market. Euromonitor also points to the emerging areas of Nutraceuticals (nutritional foods with cosmetic benefits) and Nutricosmetics (beauty supplements and foods and drinks that have cosmetic benefits).

Financial services

The ever-increasing pools of superannuation will make this sector even more important. Innovative financial products that can help older workers make the transition from work to retirement (including products that will increasingly supporting part-time work) will be increasingly in demand.

Property

Coming up with alternative accommodation products that suit this market - perhaps based on the developing model of apartment or community living with access to amenities such as health and leisure facilities - will be crucial.

Construction and engineering

The solution to the economic threat posed by the ageing population is to boost productivity and as the Government outlines in the report, that is going to mean further investments in infrastructure. A steady flow of Government money should help entrepreneurs in this sector over the coming decades.

Education

Productivity improvements will require big investments in training and education, particularly in the area of vocational education. As workers' careers stretch out, retraining and up-skilling will become particularly important - could new education models emerge to help keep workers productive for longer?

Human resources

Managing new workplace dynamics - more mature workers, more use of flexible working arrangements, increased need for knowledge management, an ever more competitive recruitment market - will see demand for human resources experts skyrocket. Recruitment firms specialising in mature workers have been popping up in recent years, but expect this part of the market to grow.

Leisure and personal services

Everything from gymnasiums and personal trainers through to lawn moving and cleaning services. If employees are forced to remain working for longer, they will be desperate to use their leisure time how they want to, and will be prepared to pay to preserve it. What other household jobs could be outsourced? More cooking services? More online shopping services? More laundry and cleaning services?

Green business

The increasing population and the introduction of carbon-change reduction legislation will increase the costs across the economy and force households and business to embrace greener ways of living. Simple solutions to reduce waste and energy consumption will find an ever-growing market.

Food and beverages

The food industry is already looking to the baby boomer generation as its prime target market (the kids are on the outer, it seems) and with good reason. Nutrition will only become more important as governments embrace preventative healthcare strategies and continued innovation in this area (perhaps even embracing superfoods and genetic modification) should be rewarded.

Euthanasia Booths For Old People? Outrage!

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 05:06:35 GMT

A 'celebrated' British writer in a recent interview with The Sunday Times recently, commented on Western societies' ageing populations, arguing there will soon be too many "demented old people, like an invasion of terrible immigrants stinking out the restaurants and cafes and shops". He described the growth in the number of older people as a silver tsunami that might be so socially destabilising it will provoke "civil war between the old and the young".

According to him (I'm deliberately with-holding his name to deprive him of his PR goal), there is only one solution: euthanasia booths on street corners, where elderly people will get a "martini and a medal" if they voluntarily 'retire' from life.

Not surprisingly, his comments have caused a storm. The British Alzheimer's Society accused him of being glib and offensive.

This article in The Australian newspaper, eloquently explains that, Western society finds it increasingly difficult to value older generations, instead viewing them as a burden on social services and the environment. The ageing population is most frequently referred to as a problem or ticking time bomb rather than seen as a testament to human ingenuity and leaps forward in medicine and living standards. Older people are now seen, not as sources of wisdom, but as the suckers-up of resources that might be better allocated to younger, healthier people.

The ageing population - ought to be seen as a good thing.

Throughout history, mankind has struggled to extend human life. But it was only in the modern era, with the development of antibiotics, clean water, better nutrition and many other medical and social breakthroughs, that we finally enabled the vast majority of humanity to live beyond their 40th birthday.

In Britain in 1901, life expectancy was 48 years; by the end of the 20th century it was 77.7. In the US, life expectancy in 1901 was 47; 100 years later it was about 75. An Australian woman born in 1901 could expect to live to 54.8 and a man to 47.2. Australian girls and boys born today can expect to reach 81.5 and 75.9 respectively.

Increased life expectancy is the clearest indicator there is that people's living conditions and circumstances are improving, which is why an ageing population is more of a "problem" in developed countries than in poor countries. In 2008, life expectancy was 82.07 in Japan, 80.87 in France and 80.63 in Sweden but it was 38.44 in Zambia, 37.63 in Angola and, most shockingly, 32.23 in Swaziland.

Yet in Western society, rising life expectancy and more older people are continually treated as harbingers of doom rather than success stories. Governments fret endlessly about the ageing time bomb and claim there won't be enough money or resources to sustain the hordes of elderly.

Older people are looked on as burdens on the health and social security system; one US writer says this "grey army" will "wreak havoc on Social Security". Or they are seen as pollutants, unnecessary carbon footprints. Under the headline "Are Grandma and Grandpa bad for the environment?" an ethics writer recently complained that young people will "suffer the environmental consequences of [older people's behaviour]".

The recession has provided another platform for elderly bashing. In Western countries, many older people, feeling fit and agile, want to work beyond the traditional retirement age. Yet experts warn there might be intergenerational conflict if old people stay in the jobs market at a time when youngsters are finding it difficult to get work. So, the elderly should be put out to pasture, ejected from productive society and left to potter around their houses with their parrots and their flowers where they belong.

The treatment of the ageing population as a 'problem' reveals our inabilty to celebrate humanity's leaps forward, we instead see our success stories in medicine and living standards as something bad. Unable to come up with solutions for making elderly people's lives more pleasant through allowing them to work, paying them higher pensions or finding other ways to include them in the social make-up, we label them burdens.

China research

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:37:49 GMT

http://www.cbcnews.ch/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=20:silver-tigers-an-unconsidered-segment-in-china&catid=24:all&Itemid=2

East Asia's 'Elderly Zone' Has Valuable Lessons For The World

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 07:16:31 GMT

Japan's aging population burden may carry latent economic blessings. There are two ways to look at the Japan's ageing population. On one hand, Japan possesses a degree of longevity that the world ought to envy. On the other, Japan is faced with an aging society groaning under a growing social security burden. Yet surely, a long life is a good thing. Taken from an insighful article in Japan's Nikkei news.

Tokyo's Akihabara district is home to a company that has put a twist on the temporary staffing agency model. All 360 of the prospective workers who have registered with Koureisha (translates as "Old Age Co.") are aged 60 or older. Koureisha's oldest worker is 79. The company handles more than 50 types of jobs, including gas meter inspections, production facility construction and condo management. With an eye toward the looming labor shortage, it hires out post-retirement senior citizens as temps.

The company seems to be on to something - Koureisha's sales have grown to 300 million yen ($3.2 million), 8.5 times what they were five years ago.

Seniors who feel it is too early to retire are helping to support economic activity behind the scenes. These people developed useful skills during their days of regular employment, and their desire to work remains strong. In a country of long life spans, a new work model seems to have sprouted. A team from Boston University in the U.S. even came to do research on the subject.

Today, Japan has a working population of 66 million people. A decade from now, that number is expected to drop by 5 million. The nonworking population, meanwhile, is 45 million.

In 2008, Marubeni Corp. established Marubeni Pulp & Paper Engineering Corp. It is the only organization of specialists in Japan that supports the construction of papermaking plants. Working there are former engineers who used to service production lines in Japan's paper mills. Of the company's 33 full-time employees, 23 are aged 60 or older, the oldest being 72. In January, it hired six more people in their 60s.

The background for this energetic activity is the relocation of papermaking plants to Asia. Paper production is a task for artisans. Which wood chips should be used - those from evergreens or deciduous trees? What about the humidity and temperature of the plant? Those who know the answers to these questions, having cultivated their skills in Japan, are invaluable for the shift.

The speed and scope of Japan's aging is a new experience for humanity. "Now is the time for us to establish business models and social systems that focus on the elderly and create strategies that the rest of Asia can follow," said Akira Morita, 58, director of the Todai Policy Alternatives Research Institute.

One could say Japan needs a system that taps the latent abilities of the aged. It is companies and national manpower that combine to create value. If corporate society does not thrive, employment will not rise, tax revenue will not increase and funding for government policies will be unavailable.

Another interesting example is the small village of Shimojo, Nagano Prefecture. Senior citizens make up 30% of the village population, yet it has a healthy birthrate. Japan's population is expected to decline 4% by 2020. Shimojo's, in contrast, is projected to grow 4%.

The village used to have 60 town hall employees, but it reduced the number to 35 and outsourced work to the private sector. This enabled it to run a budget surplus. Nursery school fees were lowered, and housing is rented inexpensively to households raising children.

The 1,200 people aged 65 or older do their part, such as by maintaining the farm road that passes by the village. Women who have finished raising their own children put their motherly expertise to work by helping to raise other children in the community.

Aging tends to be viewed as a burden on society. However, if Japan can quickly establish an economic model that exploits the longevity of its people, it could become a model for the rest of the world. This country, with its declining birthrate and population that is aging at the fastest rate in the world, could actually be in an enviable position.

A decade from now, the ratio of people aged 65 or older will rise to 29% of the population, from 23% at present. As if trying to keep pace, South Korea and Singapore are closing in on 20%. In Shanghai, 30% of the population will be senior citizens.

East Asia, which is growing into the world's largest economic zone, is also becoming an "elderly zone." Perhaps Japan can use the wisdom of its aging population to make this a positive thing.

Foreign exchange, insurance opportunity among older travellers

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 06:40:45 GMT

Age Concern Enterprises reported that during 2009, sales of annual worldwide travel insurance saw a 41 per cent increase, with over 65s travelling further than in the past and with many planning multiple trips to long-haul destinations.

According to Real Gap, "In general, nowadays people are healthier, fitter and more active later in life. Our Gap Year for Grown Ups customers are just as adventurous as our younger gappers travelling with our sister brand Real Gap." The number of enquires the company receives increases each year and there is a wealth of advice and information available for older people who wish to experience gap year type travel.

According to the Post Office, one fifth of parents - 21 per cent - aged over 50 with children who have travelled or lived abroad said they had been to visit their child in order to broaden their own horizons.

Merrill Launches Retirement Services For Older Wealth

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:32:27 GMT

With the retirement market set to explode as baby boomers increasingly leave the job market, it offers great opportunities for banks and financial institutions to tap into the most lucrative demographic in history. To that end Merrill Lynch in the USA is launching a new ad campaign called "help2retire," setting aside between $15 and $20 million over the next four months to get it going.
"Help2retire" will be seen on billboards across the US as well as on television and in print media. The campaign will start with print media, with television ads to follow soon after.
Research from the company shows about $330 billion in retirement assets alone are set to rollover in 2010, making it a very lucrative market to service and manage. Over 13 million households in the United States qualify to convert their Roth IRA this year.
A sign will be set in Times Square which will prompt people to use their cell phones to text message them about wanting "help2retire," which will then be seen up on the billboard.

Take a look at the weblink here: http://www.totalmerrill.com/TotalMerrill/pages/PreparingforRetirement.aspx.

I'm impressed that Merrill has clearly done it's homework and identified some key 'issues' in the consumers mind in the panel "What matters to you" (see box).

According to their Press release: "With all the negative publicity surrounding other sectors of the industry, this is a good one to focus on, and the money is staggering that is potentially available to be serviced by those in the industry. This could really help the growth of Bank of America during the year, which will otherwise offer little opportunity in other financial areas".

Absolutely!

New Website Teaches Old Dogs, New Tricks?

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:00:28 GMT

The ageing issue extends to the dog world it seems, and one enterprising company is trying to teach old dogs new tricks.
Pet Ventures' SeniorDogs.com fills a need that is 'underserved'. In the United States, about 40 percent of households with dogs have at least one that is considered a senior, aged seven or older.

Owners of older dogs can now find articles and resources all in one place, covering medications, health insurance, nutrition, financial assistance and more.

The site provides a full spectrum of pertinent information, as well as message boards where owners can find support and guidance from others who are experiencing the same challenges and joys of caring for an older dog.

I find it amusing that the company boasts the website has "......... easy usability with large tabs dividing major areas of interest". Is that so their ageing paws can more easily coordinate the mouse and navigate the site?

Companies Marketing Big Trikes To Ageing Bikers

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:45:03 GMT

Recognizing the rising demand for trikes and the fact that many of its customers were aging, Harley-Davidson started selling three-wheel versions of its popular touring bikes last year.

According to an article in the New York Times, the $30,000 Tri Glide comes equipped with cruise control, optional reverse gear, GPS navigation, stereo speakers, hand warmers, headsets to ease communication between the driver and passenger, and other luxury features.

A lower-priced Street Glide model costs about $27,000.

Harley won't say how many trikes it has sold, but the company hasn't been able to keep up with demand. Also surpisingly, 23 percent of trike buyers are women, and trikes are gaining street credibility.

Other companies are entering the three-wheel market. They include Canadian motorcycle maker Bombardier, whose Can-Am Spyder Roadster features two wheels in the front and one in the rear.

Piaggio, maker of the Vespa scooters, also has a line of three-wheeled scooters with two wheels in the front. In 2008, the Italian company sponsored a ride across the U.S. by two road warriors in their early 70s. It dubbed the adventure on the three-wheel Piaggio MP3 500 scooters ''No Age Limit.''

I want one!

Economist: Companies Don't Understand The Consequences Of The Silver Tsunami

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 09:04:31 GMT

In the lastest issue (Feb 4, 2010), The Economist reviews a few new books on the subject of ageing. Titled The Silver Tsunami, the article discusses the impact on business and says "Business will have to learn how to manage and ageing workforce". Blindingly obvious to those of use who follow all this.

The article elaborates "...... few (companies) have grasped either the size of the tsunami or the extent of its consequences. This is particularly true of the corporate world"

The corporate world is as blind to the consumer opportunity as it seems to the inevitabilty of the impact on their labour force. "Most companies are remarkably ill-prepared. There was a flicker of interest in the problem a few years ago but it was snuffed out by the recession. The management literature on older workers is a mere molehill compared with the mountain devoted to recruiting and retaining the young".

Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Insurance Uses 'Legacy' To Pitch The 50+ Market

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:37:55 GMT

Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society Ltd (LV), the UK-based insurance, investment and pensions group, has launched its fifth TV advertising campaign to promote its '50 Plus plan' life insurance policy.

The company said: "We get a lot of feedback on the reasons why our customers buy our product, and leaving a legacy that helps their family at a difficult time is at the core of those reasons...."

In Asia, the stonger family-focus and sense of 'legacy' would, I believe, make this pitch quite effective in many Aisan markets too. But words of caution! Years ago, the major battle insurance companies had in selling insurance (particularly 'life insurance') in Asia was the superstition that buying such was tempting fate. With the same 'pioneer' consumers closer to the exit door, the need for a strong rational AND emotional pitch will be needed to convince them of the need for such a policy. This needs some careful researching.

Launched in October 2004, the LV= 50 Plus plan is aimed at 50 to 80 year olds, living in the UK. The over 50 life insurance policy provides guaranteed cover with a cash lump sum payable on death, without the need for a medical or answering any health questions.

The ad was previewed on Facebook and YouTube in December 2009 before being launched on terrestrial, satellite and cable channels in January 2010.

What I find paritcualrly interesting in this ad is the fairly straight talk "..when you're no longer around" and the curious 'benefit' that "no salesperson will call". I thought some people might actually welcome someone to discuss this with?

But here's the real 'kicker". You'll get a free gift on signing! Whoopee.

I'd be interested to know how successful this campaign is?

New Research Has Insights For Marketing To Older Minds

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:21:32 GMT

We've always assumed that people have increasing difficulty filtering information as they age, but new research suggests that while this is true, it may not be all bad.

Here's an excerpt from an interesting blog about the subject; Imagine this hypothetical scenario: You're at a cocktail party and the host introduces you to a stranger, whose name is Jeremy. It's a crowded party, and as you chat with Jeremy, you're also picking up snippets of another conversation nearby. Something about a big football game on Sunday. It doesn't concern you, so you try to tune it out. You have a short but pleasant conversation with Jeremy, then go on to mingle with other guests.

What do you remember when you run into Jeremy the next day? Well, if you're young, you will probably recognize Jeremy's face and associate his face with his name. That's normal social memory. But if you're older, you may have a very different kind of association: You may inexplicably link Jeremy with the upcoming football game. That overheard chatter about football is an irrelevant piece of information-you don't even like football much. But your mind has been distracted by it, and it has connected that unimportant tidbit with your newly forged memory of Jeremy.

This is just a theory, which scientists call "hyper-binding." That's really just a jargony way of saying that the elderly remember a lot of useless information by attaching it to important new learning. But according to new research from the University of Toronto, such seemingly haphazard learning might be a blessing in disguise for the elderly.

Research results were dramatic. Older volunteers were clearly unable to ignore the distracting information even when they were instructed to. They stored away the irrelevant words by linking them tightly with their corresponding pictures in memory. What this suggests is that the elderly have weaker mental regulation and a broader "bandwidth," taking in important and unimportant information indiscriminately. They store this new knowledge for later use and what's more, they do this without even being aware of it.

This may well be an advantage for the elderly. Aging often brings with it some mild cognitive declines-and indeed the elderly were slower and less accurate in some parts of these memory experiments. But awareness of how events connect in everyday life-even seemingly irrelevant events-may play a critical role in certain kinds of reasoning and judgment. In this way, distractibility may surreptitiously bolster everyday problem-solving.

The fact is, we never really know for sure what information in our world is important or useless-not when we're first encountering it. The elderly mind may not be as fleet as it once was, but by being unfiltered, it perhaps is making connections that aren't literal or obvious, and can be insightful. It might even be the foundation of a novel kind of intuition that comes with aging, or perhaps even what we call wisdom.

There are interesting implications here for marketers. These observations might influence the way we market to, communicate with and anticipate responses from older customers in a world where they are assaulted with a blizzard of commercial messages via the media and in the retail environment every day.

Is Age A Factor In Driving Safety?

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:01:45 GMT

University of Toronto is calling for participants 70+ older driver cohorts in a study to develop a screening tool that doctors can use to assess who is and who is not safe to drive. The tool will be a rapid, objective test that can be easily completed in a doctor’s office. Computerized tests and on-road driving evaluations don’t come into play with this tool.According to the Doctor leading this research, "Each subject is tested annually so we can track possible predictors of adverse driving outcomes that occur over five years of follow-up. The annual assessment includes questions about driving habits and behaviours, assessments of vision and upper and lower extremities, as well as paper-and-pencil tests of cognition".

He concludes "Older adults should not be pegged as unsafe drivers. The majority of older drivers are safe drivers. Only a minority of older drivers have developed medical conditions and functional problems that can make them unsafe to drive. Our study will help provide doctors with the best tools possible to evaluate driving safety in such individuals".

If you're interested, grab the RSS feed here.

What Persuades Older Consumers?

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:29:07 GMT

They've lived a lifetime of consumerism. Seen every marketing trick in the book. So what credence do older consumers place in celebrity endorsements and which media are they more likely to search for bargains?

The AdWeek/Harris poll has some interesting findings: The poll also found that the age of respondents played a factor in how persuasive they found different types of product hawkers.

Almost half of those aged 55+ (46%) say business leaders are most persuasive, compared with only 28% of those who are 18-34 years old.
One-fourth of those ages 18-34 (23%) say TV or movie stars are most persuasive, while only 15% of those ages 55+ feel the same way.
There is also a difference among those who are seen as least persuasive. Almost half of those ages 35-44 (45%) think former political figures are least persuasive when they endorse a product, compared with one-third of those ages 18-34 (33%).
When looking for the best bargains, different age groups have different ideas of where to look. Those 18-34 are more likely to say online ads (22%) and television commercials (17%) are the best places to go while those 35-44 years old go online (26%). The older one is, the more likely they are to use newspaper and magazine advertisements, as 24% of those 44-54 and one-third of those 55 and older (33%) say those are media most likely to help them find the best bargain.
Almost two-thirds of those aged 55 and older (64%) say they still read a daily newspaper almost every day. The younger one is, however, the less often they read newspapers. Just over two in five of those aged 45-54 (44%) read a paper almost every day as do 36% of those aged 35-44. But less than one quarter of those aged 18-34 (23%) say they read a newspaper almost every day while 17% in this age group say they never read a daily newspaper.

Although these data are from the USA, the findings ring true for most of Asia. However, I suspect 'Television and Movie stars' would still command enormous influence in this part of the world. With 80% of all TV commercials in Japan being only 15 seconds in duration, brands most often turn to celebrities as a means of cut-through and to quickly impart the 'character' of the celeb to the brand concerned. In this post about Shiseido's skin care targetted at 60+ women, the lead character is an extremely famous, 70-year-old star of the screen.

Aus Facing Economic Disaster From Wave Of Retirees - Rudd

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:03:45 GMT

The Australian Prime Minister said that, by 2050, there would be only 2.7 people of working age for each person aged 65 years and older, compared with 7.5 people in 1970 and five-to-one this year. Within 40 years, the proportion of the population aged 65 years and older would almost double to 23 per cent.

This foreshadowed a shake-up to remove workforce barriers and lift workforce participation - themes likely to be central to a planned overhaul of the taxation system.

The findings are based on the Third Intergenerational Report soon to be published.

The Prime Ministers Australia Day Speech speech states among the long-term challneges facing the country; the deep structural challenge of an ageing population and its implications for our future economy and society.

Could iPad and Kindle Be The First Tech Products To Be Propelled By Older, Early Adopters?

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 08:29:06 GMT

The launch of iPad has many speculating about it's impact on older markets, but the impact of e-readers on the older market is already well known.

As the chart indicates, already a full 37% of all Kindle users are 55+. Kindle may be the first general purpose technology device in which the early adopter demographic favors the over-54 age bracket instead of the usual 18-34 age bracket, effectively turning one perennial marketing trend on its head.

No wonder, "Reading" consistently shows up as one of the favourite pastimes of older consumers, worldwide. The Kindle was one of the most common 2009 Christmas presents for this group, and Amazon's e-books outsold paper books for the first time on Christmas day.

The "Seeking Alpha' blog goes as far as suggesting that during the next few years demographics will split the e-reader consumer base into two camps, with the 35-and-up going with Kindle (boomers over 55 in particular) and the 18-to-34 (especially Generation Y) with the iPad. Alpha supports this conjecture with several observations:

Boomers will prefer the low price, simple lines, keyboard and the fact it is "grandchild proof."
Older/more serious e-book readers don't want a multifunction device with an LCD screen. They spend far too long staring at those screens for work and want to read normally, by ambient light. Kindle also uses a low-power e-Ink screen and offers much longer battery life.

Although I've not yet had the opportunitity to 'play' with either the Kindle or the iPad, I respectully differ with 'Alpha' view because;

Apple's philipsophy is all about simplicity of use. This is precisely what attracts older customers to Apple's products, not just the computers, but the iPhone as well. If the same design philosophy has been carried through to the iPad (as it appears to have been) then it will attract older buyers for the same reason.
The higher price of the iPad relative to the Kindle will not be an obstacle among most older users in Asia. After all, we spend much time arguing about the relative wealth of older people compared to younger folks, why wouldn't they spend an extra few hundred dollars for the iPad?
The manner in which Steve Jobs demonstrated the iPad while seated in a cushy low-slung chair. He was not seated at a desk or table the way you would use a computer. He was using it in the way he envisions people using it: in a casual setting, like a living room, a bedroom, or perhaps an airport lounge. Apple clearly wants potential buyers to think of the iPad as a casual entertainment device.
Finally and most importantly, its marketing. Plain old availabilty. A year after its launch in the USA, Kindle is still not available through 'legitimate' distribution channels in Asia. If you want one, you need to order from the USA. Yet, just a few days after launch in the USA, there's a 'Coming Soon' holding page on the Asia Apple Store websites.

Watching how Apple evolves their iBook software and store will be intruiguing. Again, I predict that in Asia, 'simplicity' will win over 'cost' in this race. Apple has it, hands down.

UK's 50-Plus Spend Surpasses £276bn - 44% of Total

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:50:00 GMT

Based on the UK Office for National Statistics ‘Family Spending' report issued last week‚ Age Concern has calculated that older people's spending reached an estimated £97billion in 2008‚ around 15 per cent of the overall household expenditure.

Allowing for inflation and the average annual increase in the number of people in this age group‚ the Charity predicts that this figure is now likely to have passed the £100 billion milestone. For people aged 50 and over‚ the Charity calculates that the figure soared to £276 billion in 2008‚ making up around 44 per cent of the total family spending in the UK.

Yet despite seeing their weight in the consumer market grow as a group‚ the Charity warns that older people are still at risk of being frozen out of a marketplace which is slow to adjust to the evolution of an ageing society. Research by the Charity found that many older people think businesses and retailers have little interest in the consumer needs of older age groups and many still face obstacles in accessing financial services tailored to the needs of a younger audience.

Age Concern and Help the Aged is calling on businesses to wake up to the scale of the opportunity presented by older consumers and to adopt a more inclusive approach to the design of products and services. This would unlock a potential new revenue stream‚ increase their market share and improve customer relationships.

The more we can get this kind of legitimate and impressive statistics the more likely we will be to inch businesses toward the tipping point of realization about the massive, untapped market potential.

Ageing Koreans Lock Out Younger Workers - Economists Worried

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:53:35 GMT

The ratio of younger workers (25~ 49) has fallen to the lowest ever according to the Bank of Korea. It was the biggest drop since 1998, when the country saw 741,000 jobs in the age bracket disappear following the Asian financial crisis. The number of the employed people aged between 25 and 49, dropped by 257,000 to 14.9 million, falling below 15 million for the first time. Now the group represents 64.2 percent of all employed people.

In this article from the Korea Times, economists fear that this trend, coupled with the decreasing number of young people with jobs, could eat into the growth potential of the economy explaining that the aging of the population has cut the number of workers in this age group. They warn that the falling number of employed from this age group negatively affects productivity and consumption, as they are both the workers with highest productivity and the biggest consumer group. With their falling income, however, they may refrain from spending.

The unemployment rate for people aged between 15 and 29 here stood at 8.5 percent, which is the lowest among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries. Many such young people stay without a job for years, not engaged in education, employment or training activities.

Specialist Diploma in Gerontological Design Launched in Singapore

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:08:26 GMT

Developed specially for design practitioners, the one-year Specialist Diploma in Gerontological Design (SDGD) course draws from the expertise of faculty at the Temasek Design School and the Temasek Humanities & Social Sciences School. SDGD is offered by the Professional Development Centre at Temasek Polytechnic.Temasek Design School and the Temasek Humanities & Social Sciences School. SDGD is offered by the Professional Development Centre at Temasek Polytechnic.

Cougars Get Their Own Cruises. Watch Out Boys!

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 06:38:34 GMT

News that "Cougar Cruises Proved Too Hot for Carnival" (Cruise lines) opened my eyes to an interesting intersection between mature women and the travel industry. The first was just last month, a three-day voyage on the Carnival Elation between San Diego and Ensenada, Mexico. More are planned this year for this cohort of older women who prefer younger men ("cubs") — the members of a feminist movement that's now being celebrated on network sitcoms Cougartown and Accidentally on Purpose.

For those who aren't aware of the Cougar phenomenon, take a look at this naughty spoof spot celebrating Barbie's 50th.

Cougars are largely an affluent, professional women's group, and they are not easily thrown overboard. They have already found other lines that aren't as squeamish about May-December cruise groups.

The next cougar-and-cub voyage is slated for May, a weeklong voyage from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera on Royal Caribbean. Another is scheduled between Miami and the Bahamas next December on Norwegian Cruise Lines, and a cruise for Australian cougars is planned as well.

More recently, Air New Zealand has stirred up controversy with a spoof TV commercial around the cougar phenomenon reported here in the Huffington Post.

We've always said that Boomers will rewite the book on ageing and here is clear evidence. We've effectively created a 'brand' for older women who enjoy the company of younger men. What's the male equivalent?

The Impact Of Ageing On Marketing - Nielsen

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:15:51 GMT

Large families with children will become a niche market? Household spending on packaged goods will begin to fall in 2020? Marketers willing to reach out to the Baby Boomers can tap into a large marketplace (Der). Just a few of the predictions pointed out in this blog by Neilsen Research.

According to the article, growth will be hard to come by both now and in the coming decades—successful marketers in 2010 will factor the U.S. shifting demographic profile into the marketing mix.

Some of the key trends:

1) Growth is Found in Less-Developed World

The less-developed regions will grow 31 times faster than the more developed ones. Some of the older countries in Europe as well as Japan will lose population. Marketers in the developed world will be locked into share wars while those able to compete in the less-developed world could see substantial growth.

2) The Share of Households With Children Decline

By the middle 2020s, the share of U.S. households with children under 18 will fall below 30%. In Western Europe and Japan, the share will be much lower, making large families with children a niche market. Immigration and Ethnic Familes Fuel Growth Less than half of families with children will be native born non-Hispanic White. Multi-cultural marketing will be essential when selling to families with children.

3) Older Consumers Have New Needs

The Baby Boom will seek to rewrite what it means to be old exactly as they have rewritten what it means to be children and adults. Marketers willing to reach out to the Baby Boom as they age can tap into a large marketplace. Those who are not willing to market to persons over the age of 65 will miss out on the first generation to grow up in a full blown consumer marketplace. Baby Boomers will not spend on the same categories as their parents did. For example, consumption of alcoholic beverages is much higher for Baby Boomers than for the current cohort of 65+ persons. Marketers who assume that the Baby Boom will start to behave like current older Americans, just because they reach the age of 65, do so at their peril.

4) CPG Spending Declines After 2020

Nielsen projections show per household spending on packaged goods will begin to fall. The current recession is already impacting spending in the short-term. Growth will be very hard to come by both now and in the coming decades.

Walk-In Baths A "Huge" Trend In Multi-Generation Homes

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 08:14:05 GMT

Whirlpool in the USA have reacted to the fact that by 2030, nearly 26% of the U.S. population will be age 65 or older, compared with just 17% today. This is creating a change in the profile of the typical American family, as it is becoming more common for members of different generations to live together under one roof.

Universal Design is one of the hottest, most significant trends because of the large number of aging baby boomers according to this article in Kitchen & Bath Design News from the USA.

Because 89% of 50-year-old-plus Americans intend to remain in their own homes for as long as they possibly can, demands home products that are user friendly to inhabitants of all ages. "And nowhere in the home is this more important than in the bathroom, for reasons of both hygiene and safety,"

Multi-generational design combines style, safety, beauty and comfort with practicality and versatility. "It's what good, smart design should be," says Kornowa. "This means having stylish bathtubs available that incorporate a sensible transfer surface for safe entrance and exit; shower bases that have minimal-to-no threshold; seated shower bases; attractive separate seats for convenient, safe showering that can withstand the wet environment of the shower or bath (like teak), and grab bars that are decorative and functional."

Dovetailing the changing demographics, the walk-in tub trend continues to grow. "Walk-in bathtubs are huge!" says Michael Schulze, president of Home Living Solutions in Temecula, CA. "The same consumers who used to have both a shower and a tub in their master bath are now replacing their old bathtub with one they can walk into. Remember, this is a consumer market that was raised taking baths," he stresses.

Walk-in baths feature a hinged door to allow easy ingress and egress from the bathtub. In recent years, there has been a significant expansion in the range of styles, sizes and features in the walk-in bath category. "Many homeowners find that these units offer style, comfort and convenience, and are buying them to enjoy now while they also prepare for their future needs," says Jacobs. "The top-of-the-line models feature acrylic construction for durable and lustrous shine, a door seal with lifetime guarantee and spa systems such as whirlpool, air bath and chromatherapy."

Jacobs says the new "must have" feature for walk-in tubs is the Quick Drain. "With a typical walk-in bath, the door cannot be opened until the bath is completely drained, leaving the bather to sit and chill for several minutes at the end of the bath before they can get out," he explains. "With the Quick Drain, a pump-assist system drains the entire tub in under a minute for a quick exit."

Interestingly, I can't find mention of this development or the products on Whirlpool's website!?

Ageing Issues Appear On Many 2010 Watch Lists

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 08:05:45 GMT

The Philippines calls it the "New gold mine". In India it's "White Hot". Across the world and in Asia, pundits and publishers are issueing their lists of 'what to watch' in the year and decade beginning 2010..... and ageing is a constant issue to watch.

This article in the Philippines Business Enquirer says:
In 2008, the world's median age is at 26 years old. This is expected to increase to 36 years old by 2050.

Branded products and services that appropriately talk to and engage this market is likely to be profitable. After all, a good number in this segment also have the buying power.

Techtree in India talks about the opportunities for mobile technology and headlines: Keeping in shape: Mobile healthcare
Mobile healthcare is another fast growing segment in Asia with its aging but tech-friendly population. In a recent study, Solidiance estimated that by 2010, the Asia Pacific mobile healthcare business will be worth just under $1 billion with 70 percent of users in more advanced economies. This innovation will involve many parties, including software/applications development, system integrators, mobile integrators, mobile marketing, mobile operators and handset players, and hospitals and other medical service providers. Applications cover a wide range of possibilities and may include but are not limited to remote patient monitoring, mobile nursing, mobile medical records access, access to free mobile healthcare information and more.

Finally, the Deccan Herald in India predicts:
An ageing — but rich population — particularly in the West will see an increasing demand in jobs that cater to this demographic. In the US, for example, the Labor Department says 13 of the 20-fastest growing occupations up to 2014 will be related to healthcare. The department lists home health aides, medical assistants and physicians’ assistants in the top five. Personal and home care aides was one of the fastest growing occupations in 2008-2009, according to the department, posting a 50 per cent increase over the previous year.
Jobs in allied occupations, such as medical assistant, grew 35 per cent.
And of course, doctors and specialists will continue to be in great demand, even here in India, where it isn’t unusual for 60-year-olds to be visiting a battery of consultants regularly, such as neurologists, osteopaths and opthalmologists.

Are we approaching the tipping point?

These predictions however all seem to focus on 'old for old' (Old products and services for old people). What about remaining relevant and accessible to the massive, ageing and often afflluent customer base as they experience the inevitiable effects of physiological ageing?

Walk-In Baths A "Huge" Trend In Multi-Generation Homes

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:09:46 GMT

Universal Design is one of the hottest, most significant trends because of the large number of aging baby boomers according to this article in Kitchen & Bath Design News from the USA.

How Will Older Investors In Asia Emerge From The Crisis? - CNBC Interview

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 09:00:56 GMT

A live interview with Martin Soong on CNBC Squawk Box on the Protect Your Wealth Segment, December 23, 2009. In this interview I explain the fundamental difference between younger and older investors is the 'recovery time' and the need to secure wealth. The bouyant attitude in Asia (compared to the west) provides more risk appetite. Furthermore, the Asian desire for tangible assets and to leave 'legacy wealth' explains the rush to invest in bricks and mortar.

Electronic Eyeglasses Hold Great Promise for Older Wearers

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 09:35:39 GMT

A company is developing both static (fixed focus) and electronic dynamic (changeable focus) lensed eyeglasses. The product is the result of collaboration between Pixel Optics which launched its first static composite enhanced multifocal in 2008 and Panasonic Shikoku Electronics of Japan, one of Panasonics group companies.

According to their press release, the company claims that the electronic eyeglasses auto-focus faster than the blink of an eye using chemistry, electricity, and optics and do so without moving parts. These eyeglasses allow for clear focus from far to near, and everything in between. They are lineless on the face of the wearer and provide significantly wider and less compromised fields of clear vision having far less areas of distortion than that of progressive addition lenses of an equal optical power.

Progressive addition lenses presently are the most common and preferred way of correcting for presbyopia (a condition that results in the poor near and intermediate distance focus of one's eyes after 45yrs of age).

PixelOptics has designed its electronic eyewear in such a way that it will involve all conventional channels of distribution: lens manufacturers, frame companies, wholesale optical labs, eye care professionals. No special equipment will be required to be purchased and the current eye examination will not change. If all goes to plan PixelOptics will move forward with a launch of its electronic eyeglasses in the second half of 2010.

Movies and Music Learn To Profit From the Boomer Market

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 01:24:15 GMT

Boomer music fans and moviegoers are not just a fast-growing demographic; their patterns of media consumption also make them the most profitable media consumers -- and deserving much more attention.

This article from Engage Boomers points out some interesting recent examples of the power and attractiveness of the boomer market in the USA. (But applicable almost anywhere).

Music

The most successful new music release in 2009 was Susan Boyle's "I Dreamed a Dream". This illustrates two important trends: older consumers (and older singers) can drive mass-media events, and do so more profitably than younger consumers. The Boomer women driving Boyle's sales purchased the album almost exclusively in the CD format: only 6% purchased it via downloads (at the same time, almost half of those who bought John's Mayer's new release purchased a download).

In a recent VibrantNation.com survey (smart, successful women 50+), 40% said that they purchase more than six CDs each year (94% define themselves as music fans). Given that lost margins on CDs sales have driven the music industry into crisis, it should be producing more music that appeals to Boomers, and marketing the music it does produce more directly to Boomers.

Movies

60-year-old filmmaker Nancy Meyers' release of "It's Complicated" beat expectations by selling over $22 million in tickets on Christmas Day. Seventy-two percent of its audience was female and 75% older than 30. Given the "slow build" women often generate (via word-of-mouth) for movies they love, "It's Complicated" should have a good run.

A New York Times article about Nancy Meyers said, "In a movie culture consumed by youth and its trappings -- vampires, werewolves, stoners and superheroes -- Meyers's decision to pay attention to a part of the population that is often construed (and often construes itself) to be invisible stands out in bold relief.

Old Tech to New Tech

While media companies scramble to meet the rapidly changing consumption patterns of young consumers, they could both profit and learn from Boomers, who are sustaining the "old school" formats like CDs and cable even while they rapidly adopt newer formats like MP3 players and smartphones. A recent VibrantNation.com survey revealed that almost half listen to downloaded music and one out of four who owns a smartphone uses it to watch videos or movies.

As multi-format consumers, Boomers could hold the key to sustainability for media companies struggling with the digital age. Delivering more content that appeals to Boomer consumers would reliably increase profits (because Boomers generally rely on higher-margin formats), thereby buying time for media companies time to develop profitable business models for younger consumers -- and to prepare for the Boomers to go fully digital around the time they retire.

Insights On US Boomers

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 12:51:11 GMT

Mintel has just published a comprehensive study on the "Lifestyles of Baby Boomers - US" now available for download at the princely sum of US$3,995 here.

In terms of decision making drivers, the report concludes that quality and value more important to Boomers. (Wouldn't pay $4k for that).

However, there's some really interesting facts and figures publicly available in the 'Table of Contents' as follows:

SEGMENT SIZE AND DEMOGRAPHICS

Boomers make up 26% of the U.S. population in 2009
Majority of Boomers are white
Younger Boomers have highest household incomes
About half of Baby Boomers attended or graduated from college
Most Boomers (65%) are married and homeowners
Almost 80% of Older Boomers live in households of two or less; 89% with no children

ETHICS AND TIME MANAGEMENT

Time is valuable
Some 41% of Boomers planning for or in retirement
Like all adults in 2009, Boomers are grocery shopping for value at Walmart
Older Boomers spend less than average on weekly groceries
Best Buy leads electronics stores for Boomer purchases, but Walmart is popular too
Home Depot number one home improvement store among Boomers; Lowe's close number two
Walgreens leads drug store chains among Boomers and all adults
Little loyalty for convenience stores

ONLINE ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR

Boomers use internet more for information, less for entertainment
Nearly 60% of Boomers like to learn computer tech
Some 62% of Baby Boomers have made an internet purchase
More Older Boomers purchase prescription drugs
Younger Boomers spend the most on internet purchases
Older Boomers more likely to pay for internet orders with credit cards
Older Boomer fear of identity theft could reduce credit card use on internet

HEALTH AND MEDICINE

Health and wellness are important to Older Boomers
Older Boomers gather health information from their doctors primarily but also research treatments on their own
Older Boomers rely on doctors more than younger adults
Boomers are willing to challenge a doctor's recommendation
Sick Younger Boomers are more likely to go to work

PERSONAL FINANCE

Only 8% of Baby Boomers feel very secure about current financial situation
Most Baby Boomers are really feeling the recession
More than half of Boomers have little disposable income and need to save
Older Boomers take advantage of opportunities to save and earn
Older Boomers' credit card use is higher than Younger Boomers'
Investment ownership higher among Baby Boomers than all adults
Almost 90% of Older Boomers carry health/hospital/life insurance

LEISURE ACTIVITIES

Some 61% of Older Boomers say listening to music is top leisure activity
Gardening is a leisure activity participated in by 42% of Older Boomers
Family-style activities attract Younger Boomers; less so Older Boomers
Older Boomers have more discretionary time than Younger Boomers
Some 43% of Older Boomers exercise regularly; 46% of Younger Boomers
Reading/purchasing books is a popular leisure activity among Boomers
Traditional bookstores leading outlets as the main source for book purchases
Roughly two thirds of Boomers and all adults attend live entertainment
Younger Boomers/all adults play strenuous sports, unlike Older Boomers
Summer (and winter) Olympics capture the interest of more Boomers
Reach Younger Boomers through radio; Older Boomers via TV/newspapers

TRAVEL PATTERNS

Older Boomers skew to more frequent domestic travel vs. younger adults
More Older Boomer domestic travelers enroll in frequent guest programs
Adults and Boomers prefer cars over planes for domestic personal travel
Foreign vacation travel almost doubled among Boomers between 2006 and 2008
Baby Boomers spend an average of $2,600 on foreign travel for vacation
For foreign vacation destinations, Older Boomers play it safe
Hotels and motels most popular for Boomer foreign vacation stay
Boomers prefer U.S.-based airlines for foreign personal travel

APPAREL

Boomers are not slaves to fashion
A third or fewer Boomers dissatisfied with retailers/clothing about style, size, or price
Walmart is the top retailer for apparel
T-shirts among top clothing items purchased by both males and females
The classic/traditional jeans brands of the 1960s and 1970s are still favorites of Boomers

FOOD AND DINING OUT

Older Boomers claim to eat more healthfully than all adults in general
Coupons only motivate about a third of Older Boomers to try new foods
Less than a quarter of Older Boomers enjoy trying new drinks
Boomers and all adults dine at family restaurants/steak houses an average of four times per month
The majority of all Boomers and adults eat at fast food restaurants 14 or more times per month
Lunch is the most common fast food meal occasion
McDonald's is number one with Older Boomers, but less fond of Domino's, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell than younger adults

Now go and buy the report.

The Digital Future For Seniors? Some Innovative Ideas.

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 05:09:59 GMT

Some time ago I wrote about an an 'app' that turns an iPhone into a hearing aid. (http://www.silvergroup.asia/blog/App-turns-iPhone-into-a-hearing-aid.php) but here's a raft of new ideas put forward by a 3D (Augmented Reality) company in the United Arab Emirates that seems to be thinking (very cleverly) about the digital future for Senior users. Among the ideas put forward in this very interesting article:

1) Digital Advertising and Value add - Cellphone Magnifying glass:
An Intelligent Magnifying app for mobile phones. Using the camera cell phone as a Digital Magnifying glass.

2) Augmented Reality - Hybrid Newspaper

Why not create a Hybrid newspaper for the senior citizen who is computer literate, yet can't be bothered to surf nested videos buried in some tech blog or fashion website or lost in some complex medical or travel and tourism website.'

3) Augmented Reality Magic Lens Metaphor:
Sections of the newspaper come alive with video clips or audio commentary activated as the user passes the camera phone over a standard newspaper.

Another example would be for people who find it hard to read newspaper print, to have an audio version of the article playback. Next day's edition of the newspaper can have updated or alternative videos playing, as a world headline story unfolds. This intuitive way of browsing video and consuming updated multimedia content (by turning pages) is far more appealing to an older generation who grew up on passive television and newspaper for their daily news fix.

4) Senior Twittering
Use an ‘almost' Augmented Reality application to allow such human input to Digital conversion interface. For example a flash full screen webpage can be opened and a connected webcam started. A user can then write a message with pen and paper which is then instantly "digitized" by the webcam with the click of a mouse button. This can then be posted directly to a pre-configured TwitPic account or as a facebook page update. Senior Citizens can enjoy social media in an innovative manner.

Getting businesses and marketers to invest in some of these innovations will be tough, but it's great to see fresh thinking in this space! Good luck, RealVision!

Thai Academic Identifies Senior Tourism Opportunity

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:00:05 GMT

Research conducted by Thai academics has identified that Thailand is high on the agenda for European seniors but marketing to this sector is sketchy and erratic.

In 2007, they totalled 2,259,161 or 15.6% of all visitors to Thailand.

To read more, see this article from TTR Weekly.

Microsoft Forecasts The Needs Of Baby Boomers

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:03:01 GMT

Boomers and Technology: An Extended Conversation - is a research project sponsored and prepared by AARP and Microsoft in October 2009. Download the lenthy document here, or read my summary below.

The concluding forecasts suggest some interesting business ideas. These forecasts are based on technology that is either soon coming to market or feasible over the next decade, combined with the interests of the study participants.

Digital Fitness. Boomers will wear sensor-equipped exercise clothing to keep track of their physical condition during workouts as well as calories burned, all uploaded to an online record. Even their running shoes will contain sensors and GPS to provide additional data. Their mobile devices may even be set to (gently) remind them when they’re falling behind on their exercise routines.
Chip Me, Doc. Once boomers are confident about security and privacy, they will be early adopters of electronic health records — many even choosing to have them implanted as tiny chips. And they’ll start keeping their own records online, using digital diagnostic devices to upload their weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, even a mini-EKG.
Gene Scans. Boomers will buy low-cost gene scans that they integrate with their own health data. They’ll then upload the information to new personal health social networks that privately link people with “comparables” — individuals with similar genetic makeups and backgrounds who can compare notes on health issues.
New News. Some boomers’ morning breakfast routine will include reading the news with mobile devices and sophisticated e-readers, right next to the coffee and cereal. But even when boomers embrace the convenience and customizability of electronic delivery, they will still look to the major news brands for both news aggregation and credibility.
Goodbye to Tiny Screens. Boomers will demand mobile phones with built-in projectors: push a button and the image is there on the wall. Past that, we’ll see data-glasses, with prescription lenses that are connected wirelessly to mobile devices. The display appears on the lower half of the lens — right in what used to be the reading part of bifocals.
Social Networks. For boomers, social networks will become as commonplace as the telephone — particularly the way social networks will link them with the lives of their children and grandchildren, in a way that’s unobtrusive yet meaningful. And personal videoconferencing will be commonplace: high definition video cameras on the big screen in the living room will enable regular family-to-family chats.
Employment, Boomer-Style. Boomers who are past the 9-to-5 routine but still working parttime will become the masters of telepresence: videoconferencing with HD and surround sound. They’ll move to some very pleasant locales, yet stay in the midst of the action. No longer at the water cooler, they’ll instead organize their opportunities through sophisticated business-oriented social networks.
Parents. Boomers will lead the aging-in-place movement with their own parents, wiring their parents’ homes with smart sensors that monitor motion, power usage, average conversation levels and footstep patterns, and then send regular updates that all is well — or else suggest a check-in to make sure the ’rents are OK.
A Safer, Kinder Internet. As boomers demand better security online, true Internet identities will become available — the equivalent of a driver’s license or passport — not only improving security but also producing better online manners. Boomers, seeking trust and civility, will be the “settlers” of the current wild-west Web.
Simple, Self-Healing Computers. Boomers will expect computers to keep track of their own electronic “health” and report problems before they cause serious trouble. They’ll prefer voice commands and touch screens, and mistrust any device that takes more than one page of instructions.
Money to Go. The mobile device will become both credit card and cash equivalent, and boomers will take to this as a natural progression of online banking. Home, Green Home. The boomer dream home will have a full solar roof, plus energy monitoring that lets residents tailor their usage to maximum efficiency. Domestic robots will be increasingly common appliances and, in new homes, floor plans and kitchen layouts will be designed to be “robot friendly.”
Video Game Fever. Boomers will become video-game regulars, primarily using motion-sensing video game consoles rather than old-fashioned game controllers. One favorite genre will be games that let players use real sports equipment — from ping-pong paddles to golf clubs — to work up a sweat playing online competitors on the big screen.

A summary of the key insights follows:

1 – Boomers Like to Learn New Technologies and Share Their Knowledge. In short, when it comes to new technology, boomers share. And in all the dinner sessions, that dynamic was much in evidence. One participant would talk about a new technology — personal videoconferencing, for example, or an unusual Web site — and others at the table would immediately ask for more details.

2 – Boomers Want Technology to Be Safer and Easier to Use — Now! When privacy is directly addressed, boomers are reassured: In one recent study, only 34 percent of boomers were comfortable about privacy with Internet sites that customized content or advertising, but that number increased to 52 percent when they were presented with clearly stated privacy policies. Privacy options need to be made very clear. “If we got a one-page explanation of how to keep information private on Facebook that would be fine. But you have to go to six different places to figure out how to set the privacy level you want.”

3 – My Way: Boomers Expect Technology to Adapt to Them Everyone wants technology that adapts to their needs, of course, but boomers see themselves as more assertive about demanding it than their children seem to be. Rather than early adopters, then, call boomers sensible adopters, who aren’t about to change the way they live to fit technology.

4 – Chip Me, Doc: Boomers Enthusiastically Embrace High-Tech Healthcare Boomers are already early adopters in online health: They are 98 percent more likely to visit health Web sites than the average Internet user. So if healthcare reformers want a constituency for electronic health records, the baby boom generation is the place to start. As long as privacy can be maintained, there was almost unanimous enthusiasm about putting properly protected healthcare information online. This is one of those areas where, for boomers, next-generation technology meets personal needs, and they’re ready to go.

5 – Come Together: Boomers Use Technology to Connect in New Ways Texting is an example of a youth-oriented technology that, once sampled, struck a chord with many boomers — sometimes for unusual reasons. Boomers have enthusiastically embraced another aspect of connection through technology: online dating, in part because they’re at an age when they’re less likely to meet a variety of people in settings such as school. For boomers, in short, technology can make stronger connections, and no better example emerged than personal videoconferencing, which one participant described as “like the Jetsons — something from the future that seemed totally unrealistic but now it’s here.”

6 – From Manners to Multitasking: Technology Changes the Rules of Engagement Boomers embrace technology, but at the same time they have strong opinions about how it should be used in a social setting. People of any age object to loud cell-phone users in public spaces. Boomers, however, remember a time when that wasn’t even a possibility. But they’re also not ready to blame it all on technology. But boomers recognize that, in the midst of this change, their children are learning useful new skills as well. Boomers are always trying to sort out whether they have legitimate concerns about social changes, or are merely showing their age. No one wants to appear to be the old fogy.

7 – Boomers See Technology as a Tool, Not a Tyrant Boomers don’t want technology to be intrusive or a disruption in their daily lives.

8 – Show Me the (Digital) Money! If there is anything that reflects how comfortable boomers have become with technology, it’s their relationship with money. An early 2009 survey showed that about half of boomers use online banking, and that figure is rising rapidly.

9 – The Times They Are a-Changin’: Boomers See Technology as Force for Good Boomers generally believed that technology has the potential to change American society for the better, in everything from community issues and local charities to the process of government itself. A surprising number of boomers pointed out that the Internet could change governance itself. For starters, there was strong interest in online voting, as long as the process was secure. In the end, boomers see advanced technology as a key element of democratic society — even on a global level.

10 – Technology Opens New World of Leisure, Creativity and Learning for Boomers Nearly one in five Americans between the ages of 50 and 70 takes classes for personal enjoyment,9 and the discussion participants found computers and the Internet a great source of educational content. Learning a foreign language was the top educational pastime, but not the only one. No matter what they do, boomers want to retain the human touch. In all, Americans over 50 are 27 percent more likely than average to visit Web sites about hobbies or travel. Boomers, who grew up in an era when satisfying curiosity often meant a trip to the library, clearly value the rich information connection that the Internet offers.

11 – Stop the Presses: Boomers Are Taking Their Passion for News Online The boomers are often characterized as the last remaining audience for newspapers. And there was considerable affection for the broadsheet, tinted with apprehension for its future. But there is change in the air. Many are already adapting to a post-paper future. There is wide interest in an electronic reading device that was larger than a mobile phone, still highly portable. When it comes to video, boomers are discovering online sources at a rapid rate; a late 2008 study found that more than a third of people in their fifties had watched an online video in the past week. During 2009, that number has probably increased dramatically: the dinner participants were almost uniformly familiar with streaming video — sometimes, too much so. Those concerns are real. But boomers are facing the realities of the new media world, and adapting with their characteristic mix of enthusiasm and caution.

12 – You’ve Got a Friend: Boomers Connect With Social Networking Boomers are moving quickly to adopt social networking — users over 55, for example, are now the fastest-growing age group on Facebook, and as of summer 2009 there were more people over 55 on that site than high school students. Use of social networks by those over 50 has tripled over the past 18 months, and once boomers join a social networking site a third of them visit at least once a day. The more than half-million registered users on AARP.org have already organized more than 2,300 separate discussion groups. Thus it was not surprising that in the evening discussions, well over half the participants used one or more social networks. Fun is an important part of the social network experience, and boomers are learning to play very quickly. In social networking, boomers are once again applying their own life experience to technology. Social networks will serve at least three main purposes for boomers. First, as a connection to family, as the social network becomes a powerful way to remain a part of their children’s lives without intruding. Second, as a connection to friends —as a way to both meet new friends and, just as important, to re-establish connection with past friends in a way that no generation has ever been able to do before. And finally, it’s very clear that as boomers redefine their roles in the work force, business-oriented social networking will become an increasingly important way to keep track of colleagues and peers, and to create new kinds of employment opportunities beyond the traditional 9-to-5 corporate roles.

13 – Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow: The Boomer Vision for Technology Boomers are ready for more technology. They’re actually more likely than those 18-49 — by a margin of 59 percent to 55 percent — to agree with the statement “Technology will help me live a fuller life.” And indeed, boomers’ ideas for new technology center around health, communications and the home. Beyond cell phones that encourage good behavior, boomers still see room for improvement in communications: They haven’t forgotten the promises of their childhood Sunday comics.

14 – Conclusion: Boomers’ Relationship With Technology a Work in Progress One clear conclusion emerged: It’s a mistake to view the boomers as a generation whose technology habits will remain fixed going forward. They’re nearly as likely (78 percent to 83 percent) as those 18-34 to say they’re “comfortable” or “very comfortable” shopping for new technology. In fact, baby boomers have a dynamic, thoughtful and ever-changing relationship with new technology, viewing the world ahead with great enthusiasm and just a touch of caution. Boomers talked about new technologies they had newly discovered, or ways they had upgraded or learned new skills. And it’s clear that — if manufacturers listen — boomers will also change technology. Their enthusiasm for novel input and output techniques, advanced healthcare and wellness devices, smarter automobiles and homes, even better domestic robots, suggests a market with ideas for what they’d like to see, and a willingness to try new technologies that make sense in their lives. As in other aspects of their lives, boomers remain open to new possibilities in technology.

Articles On China's Ageing Issues

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 06:38:41 GMT

Whenever The Economost magazine takes up and issue, it's usually worth a read. This article focusses on the increasing 'dependency ratio' brought about by China's 'one-child' policy.

Also Click here to download an article I recently contributed for a magazine in China covering the business opportunities resulting from its rapid ageing.

10 Reasons To Include Baby Boomers In Your '10 Plan

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 02:13:27 GMT

Here's a timely (and good) article from Matt Thornhill (Boomer Project) with 10 good reasons why marketers should put boomers into their plans for 2010.

Although it's US-centric, much holds true for the markets of Asia Pacific . Read the full article here.

In summary, the 10 good reasons are:

1. You will build your career and legacy on their backs.

In 2020, the marketing leaders in organizations will be the ones that figured out how to make their products or services relevant to the over-50 crowd. That's because the over-50 crowd will grow 21% in size in 10 years. The 18-49 crowd will remain the same size. We're not making this up. It's Census data.

2. They buy things. Lots of things. Overall, the over-50 crowd outspends the under-50 crowd by $400 billion. That's more than Walmart sells annually. Want some of that action?

3. They try new things. Boomers were raised in front of the TV; they are not "set in their ways." They'll buy your product if you make it relevant. So make it relevant.

4. They are easy to reach. They read newspapers. They watch TV. They listen to the radio. They are easier to target than younger generations.

5. They think they are in the middle of Middle Age. With a median age of 54, Boomers are far from being done. They don't think they will reach Old Age until age 75 or so. You have plenty of years of strong revenue from their wallets.

6. They use the Internet. They search, they shop, they buy. There may not be as many of them on social networking sites, but they are online -- just as many and just as often as younger generations. You can sell to them online.

7. They have grandkids. Some 40% of all Boomers are already grandparents. Over 55% of all grandparents alive today are Boomers. They spend money on their grandkids, practically without thinking. It's like taking candy from a grandbaby.

8. They are control freaks. They control their parents' consumption of healthcare and their kids' education. They are a sandwich generation that likes being in the center of it all. Think "ham." They like to influence everyone's purchases -- family, friends, Facebook buddies.

9. They like advertising. Sure, they are skeptical, but they are also fans of good advertising. They will respond to your effort if it speaks to them.

10. They are the future. "Old" is where the action is for the next 20 years and Boomers are the new "old." New products, businesses and industries will cater to the new "old." Will you?

Couldn't have expressed it better myself.

It never ceases to amaze me why we must spend so much time and effort to educate business on opportunities so obvious, and why companies fail to respond.

System For Seniors Allows Handwritten Emails

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:44:11 GMT

Celery is service designed for people who want to keep in touch with friends and relatives but don't use computers (yes, there are many).

The premise of Celery is that "interpersonal communication is as vital to human life as air, shelter, water and food. When we are disconnected from family and friends, when our social interactions decline, our lives begin to lose meaning. Simple, two-way communication system supports closely knit, multigenerational relationships. And when we communicate with loved ones, our hearts are nourished and our spirits restored".

A slick bit of PR maybe, but here's a report about how one grandmother uses Celery to Tweet to and from her family:

According to their website, Celery has been specifically designed to be effortless for seniors:

No additional phone line required
No Internet access required
No special software
Celery can email any printed document
Auto-prints incoming email and high-quality color photos in real-time
Makes color copies
Sends and receives regular faxes
Spam control guarantee
Customers can set "Do Not Disturb" hours
Automatically receives messages if answering machine present
Vacation mode stores messages over extended periods
Celery can receive and print text, HTML based email messages, and JPEG, RTF, GIF, PNG, TIFF or PDF email attachments
Supports RSS feeds: blogs, Twitter and facebook
30-day risk free guarantee

Costs around US$9 per month excluding the cost of the fax machine.

This is clearly a clever, and socially applaudable idea for older people (the ones who missed the digital age).

Media Study Reveals Disappearing Generation Gap

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 10:28:40 GMT

There's a shift in consumer influence that hasn't been widely recognized yet: In the USA at least, age no longer dictates a consumer's willingness or ability to use media technology or services. The 2009 Media Engagement Barometer commissioned by Motorola's Home & Networks Mobility business has revealed that in fact, all generations - Millennials (75 percent), Gen Xers (74 percent) and Boomers (66 percent) - recognize the role entertainment technologies play in helping them keep their lives in order, which helps explain why Millennials (80 percent), Gen Xers (78 percent) and Boomers (78 percent) are equally likely to desire to be constantly connected.

With all generations now immersed in entertainment technologies, we must look beyond age to predict influences.

* Connectivity is more of a lifestyle issue. Being accessible at all times is seen as a necessity across generations (Millennials, 79 percent; Gen Xers, 64 percent; Boomers, 65 percent).
* There is a two-way dialogue between consumers of all ages as they engage with technology products and share their experiences. The majority of Americans report influencing the decisions of their children (75 percent), friends (74 percent), colleagues (67 percent) and parents (58 percent).
* Parents, grandparents and children alike are actively engaged in the tech sphere of influence. Gen X and Boomer parents reveal that they are influencing their children's tech habits (Gen Xers, 87 percent and Boomers, 79 percent) even more than their Gen X (62 percent) and Millennial (76 percent) children influence their habits.

Traditionally, Millennials have been touted as the "tech generation" and viewed as the primary influencers on their parents' technology purchases and behaviors. Motorola's 2008 study among Millennials revealed that 71 percent of Millennials have influence over parental decisions about cable, DSL or dish-satellite services (SOURCE: "Motorola Home and Networks Mobility Millennial White Paper," 2008).

However, as evidenced in the Media Engagement Barometer findings, parents are influencing their children's tech decisions as often as - if not more than - their children are influencing them. That's why it is time to reevaluate our understanding of the sphere of influence. Regardless of age, consumers are turning to cross-generation tech influencers who are defined by their media consumption habits.

Although not as 'connected' as their US counterparts, Asian boomers are catching up fast. The video includes an interview with Suzanne Martin, who has the interesting title of Sr. Director of Marketing for North America and Asia (big patch!). Will Motorola do a similar study in this region, Suzanne? We live in hope. She also makes a VERY wise statement in conclusion "there is a need to make sure (as an industry) we are putting the user at the center of the experience planning. It's not just about the technology." Music to our ears!

Twiggy's Photoshopped Olay Ads Banned In England

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:23:45 GMT

Last summer, beauty company Olay debuted its Definity eye cream campaign depicting model Twiggy looking far younger, smoother, and firmer than her then 59 years should suggest. The '60s fashion star appeared virtually wrinkle-free in the ads and, since her baby-faced visage was selling anti-aging cream to older women, quite a few people-including bloggers, news outlets, and the British Parliament-grew quite disturbed.

As this article suggests, it's a good thing that the Advertising Standards Authority banned the complete set of Olay Twiggy ads, ruling that the post-production retouching could give consumers a "misleading impression of the effect the product could achieve."

Seems to defeat the purpose of the exercise when you chose an older model then airbrush out the signs of age. It's also downright misleading.

Will the real Twiggy please stand up?!

The Power Of The 50+ Market In Asia Pacific

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:06:56 GMT

Here's an article I wrote for media Post in the USA.

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=119460#

Australian Telco Markets To Silver Online Users in New Campaign

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:17:15 GMT

Telstra (Australia's leading telco) BigPond internet business is turning its attention to ageing Australians in a bid to convert them to broadband in the company's first dedicated pitch to lure the "grey" market online.

The company has just launched the seventh episode of the popular, award winning BigPond TV ad series - But this time Daniel's grandad has joined their adventures.

The new campaign centres on the theme 'Don't let your family grow apart'. This builds on the original campaign which focused on the dangers of your children being left behind in their education.

The ad highlights that there is a whole section of society that hasn't fully embraced all the internet has to offer and is missing out on being able to use online services such as email, sharing photos and videos or social networking on Facebook to stay in touch with loved ones.

Researcher, Roy Morgan, estimates there are 2.9 million households in Australia without broadband and only 35 per cent of the over 60s are broadband users, presenting a sizeable target audience for the new ad.

This second version (15 sec) makes the direct sell to grandad about the benefits of connecting via internet. Clever strategy.

Telstra research indicates grandparents, empty nesters, older singletons' and older parents now feel an increasing sense of isolation, with children or grandchildren moving interstate; changes in jobs or retirement; they might be single, and come home to an empty house; and have limited contact with neighbours or other loved ones.

In developing the campaign, Telstra found that contrary to popular belief, fear is not a great barrier to people embracing the online world. Most want to be part of the digital revolution, but need a helping hand to get started. In this campaign there is a strong 'how to' component, where step-by-step instructions and simplicity are emphasised. It suggests that if grandpa can be part of the great online community, anyone can.

Amanda Johnston-Pell, executive director of the Brands and Marketing Communications unit at Telstra, told Media that late adopters were a significant market that had yet to fully embrace broadband, and that Telstra would speak to them on the basis of "belonging".

This includes homes that are on dial-up plans and are low users of the internet, and include large numbers of older customers who may have signed up to the internet early but have seen the shift to broadband as too hard and expensive.

At the same time the penetration of broadband for people over 60 years of age has risen from 25 per cent to 35 per cent in the last two years. The campaign will be accompanied by new subscription rates to attract price-conscious retirees.

As part of the strategy BigPond will target TV during off-peak periods when retirees predominantly watch the medium. Telstra will target its existing customer base with direct mail.

Fitness Industry Waking Up To The Silver Market Opportunity

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:41:10 GMT

News from the USA that a range of products have emerged to meet the many and diverse needs of older adult exercisers.

Experts quoted in this article explain that equipment needs to be designed with accessibility in mind. Because older adults suffer from any number of conditions that can inhibit movements, the equipment serving that population should be as inclusive as possible. "Really what we're talking about - whether dealing with a specific disability, a younger person or an older person - are products that are going to be accessible to everybody."

Sounds like an age-neutral strategy to me!

Following are some major equipment categories in which purchasers of fitness equipment for older adults now have a greater selection than ever:

Balance
Resistance/Strength
Cardiovascular
Total Body
Cognitive Function

Retail Chain For Brain Games Targets Ageing Consumers

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:37:27 GMT

Marbles: The Brain Store is urging the residents of Chicago to "outsmart their age" with a range of products to help maintain mental agility. The company has launched four retail outlets in the region in just over a year.

The stores offer over 200 products categorized by the brain function they target: memory, critical thinking, coordination, visual perception and word skills. Products range from books and board games, to puzzles and computer software, all of which, claims Marbles, are reviewed by a board of scientists, physicians, psychologists and therapists. The website bolsters their scientific pedigree with independent research showing ongoing mental activity can help prevent Alzheimers and a 'Brain Health Barometer' that customers can use to assess the state of their brain.

According to the Alzheimers Association, the number of worldwide sufferers is predicted to nearly double every 20 years. If Marbles' products can help plug mental holes, the company will fulfill a need in society as well as a gap in the market. The company isn't planning to franchise yet, but invites people to register their interest; product pitches are also welcome.

Aus Plans 2,000 Internet Kiosks For Seniors

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:18:20 GMT

The Australian Government launched a $15 million initiative to get more seniors connected to family and friends through the internet.

Broadband for Seniors will establish up to 2,000 free internet kiosks over the next three years in community centres and clubs used by seniors. The kiosks will provide computers, internet connections and training.

The Government wants more older Australians to use the internet to stay in touch with family and friends and to access information and services.

Only one in five Australians over the age of 65 currently use the internet. Yet it is a great tool for learning more about personal interests, meeting new people, or staying in touch with friends and family.

Both pensioners and self-funded retirees will have access to the kiosks, which will be operated by NEC Australia in partnership with Adult Learning Australia, Australian Seniors Computer Clubs Association, and the University of the Third Age Online.

The partnership harnesses the expertise of a national information technology company with national peak bodies for seniors.

NEC Australia Pty Ltd will supply the broadband network reach via its Nexstep ISP business as well as the information communication technology and connectivity for the kiosks.

The Adult Learning Sector will be responsible for developing the most appropriate training programs for seniors using the seniors' internet kiosks.

This measure comes in addition to the increases to the Telephone Allowance to $132 a year for seniors with a home internet connection.

NEC will select appropriate sites to establish the kiosks and is calling on local community centres and organisations who are interested in hosting a kiosk or who already provide similar services to seniors to register their interest at www.necseniors.net.au.

Holiday Shoppers to Spend Less This Year

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:22:51 GMT

Only 6% of Americas Baby Boomers (age 45-63) and 4% of Matures (age 62 and older) plan to spend more this season, compared with 19% of Echo Boomers. Younger holiday shoppers are also the only age group that plans to increase spending in higher-end stores.

This from a recent Harris Poll. Download pdf here.

This holiday season, almost half of American holiday shoppers (46%) plan to spend less on holiday gifts compared with last year, according to a recent Harris poll. Young consumers are an exception: Just 37% of Echo Boomers (age 18-32) plan to spend less.

How To Market To Older Consumers And Grow Your Business

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:01:45 GMT

Here's an interview with Patrick Dixon in which he cites a number of examples of how businesses are failing to meet the needs of ageing consumers.

Some interesting truths he cites:

Over 75% of all UK and American wealth is now owned by those over the age of 65 and most of them are women. So you could say that older women own most of America and the UK. In Italy by 2026 there will be over a million people living over the age of 90 - and this mainly female group will be large enough to decide every election result. We will see a similar situation in Germany and many other nations. Yet despite all this, most businesses fail to meet the needs of older people.
Older clients think and feel differently - but not as much as you may imagine. Today's 75 year olds are as young physically as people were when they were 65 just 15-20 years ago - and often think like 55 year olds used to back then.
Many retail brands, travel companies and other businesses are starting to target older people much more actively - because there are so many of them, they are rapidly growing in number, and many of them also have money to spend.
In many European cities one of the main groups eating in restaurants are those over 50, yet very few 50 year olds are able to read a menu by candelight without their reading glasses. That is because the menus are usually designed by young people in print shops not for senior citizens. What a crazy situation.
I had been using a razor for the last two years without realising. The reason was that their logo on the razor was very small and invisible to me without glasses on - and I don't take glasses into the bathroom.
Airlines to not provide do not have enough toilets on planes for older men who may need to go and relieve themselves frequently and at short notice .
In a beautiful Portuguese hotel - there were several steps inside my bedroom to go from one are to another. Dangerous for an older person at night and hard to use during the day.
Take banking services for wealthy people. The relationship managers are often young enough to be their grandchildren. These important clients may prefer banking advisors that remind them of their own children - a generation older.
Older people are less easily impressed by the latest fashion. They are more interested in quality, how long things last, value for money, and are unlikely to be rushed into a decision. But older people are also very loyal. They are more likely to stay with brands they trust and to promote them to their friends.
As companies get better at thinking about older people, they will not only be able to sell more to them, but also be better at employing them. For example, many retail stores are discovering that older people are wonderful employees as store guides and sources of information. They are patient, know a lot and have a good understanding of the needs of customers - not just ones that are older. Older people are more likely than many young people to get out of bed on time in the morning. They may not always be as fast, but they are often more reliable.
As in every age group, it is vital to understand how different communties behave - even in the same town or city. They may have different languages, cultures, traditions, social backgrounds and different education. Their life histories may be very different and we need to understand all these things. When marketing to an older person, the journey of life they have travelled is very important to understand.
It is true that many marketers aim for children to get them to influence their parents.... and this can happen in middle life, with parents of children also influencing the grandparents. But the most powerful thing is to market direct to older people, in ways they relate to.
Perception of time and speed of change and how it changes as we get older. Speed of change. How older and younger people respond to change. Wisdom and experience at work. How older people sacrifice themselves for younger generations. Older consumers and customers – and the importance of family in their spending decisions. Political movements and older voters – politicians appealing to older people. Importance of employing older workers and later retirement age. Age discrimination and forced retirement. Senior citizens in workplace.

Voice-Activated Social Network TV For Seniors?

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:41:36 GMT

The Australian distributor of the TiVo television device plans to develop a social networking service for seniors. Sounds exciting until you read the last line of the release; "It is not known when the social networking system would be launched as Hybrid TV Services has not found a developer for the concept". So is this news or speculation?

As reported here in the Australian Ageing Agenda, the new community service would allow older Australians to access it through their television sets.

According to CEO Hyrbrid TV Services, Robbee Minicola, the seniors networking system would resemble dating site RSVP, although it would focus on fostering social rather than romantic connections. "It's not about dating, because most senior citizens just can't get around," she said. "It's about communication...talking...because most senior citizens don't go online."

The company hinted that the system would be voice activated. "The whole idea behind our services is that you do not need a keyboard," she said. "If you need a keyboard, we've failed."

It's certainly an interesting idea so let's hope it develops.

P&G Rethinks Strategy To Reach Older Consumers

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:34:46 GMT

Procter & Gamble became the second leading marketer to emphasize that fashioning its business to adapt to a changing society will be critical going forward. In this article in MediaPost, CFO Jon Moeller was quoted saying that the company is mindful of the aging U.S. population and needs to evolve its go-to-market strategy and product portfolio accordingly, although he declined to cite further details.

When the world's largest consumer products company makes a statement like that, it's exciting stuff. Watch this space!

Only hope this also applies to P&G's international markets.

Online Service Helps Older Customers Choose Digital TV Service

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:36:55 GMT

Saga has partnered with Simplifydigital to launch an online site making it easier for older people to identify the correct digital TV service for them in the run up to the analogue switch-off.

Saga has created ‘Saga Digital Savings', a free digital TV comparison service which lists digital TV deals by price and supplier.

There will also be exclusive digital TV cashback deals for Saga customers. The new Saga service shows packages such as premium sports and movies, as well as the basic digital TV services from Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, AOL, Tiscali, Orange, 02 and TopupTV.

Althought this image accompanied the press release, a search of both Saga and SimplifyDigital failed to locate the site.

The idea is good and the image looks nice though!

Will Boomers Create A New Food Trend?

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:23:50 GMT

Here's a really interesting article predicting the return of '60's iconic foods in response to the ballooning ranks of ageing baby boomers.

Phil Lempert outlines the The Top Food Trends for 2010 in this article from FoodWeek online where he also says; ".....Brand Credibility is more important than ever and both retailers and CPG brands are understanding that without consumers trust, the future will be bleak. There is a New Consumer Reality; people eating more meals at home, homemakers evolving from food assemblers to cooks, switching brands based on sale prices, and even discovering new store formats like Save-A-Lot, Grocery Outlet and Aldi and making these part of their regular shopping trips".

The direct relevance of his predictions to this blog appear in the following:

THE 1960s ARE BACK!

It started innocently enough with a cable television show called Mad Men, three Golden Globes, one Peabody and multiple Emmys later, this critically acclaimed program has focused the spotlight on those 76 million baby boomers who grew up in an era where the Don & Betty Drapers and Roger Sterlings were the role models. Now as the boomers prepare to turn 65 years old and continue their unending search for the fountain of youth, comes the Mad Men product era. Brooks Brothers was the first brand to capitalize on the yearnings these aging Boomers with their limited edition Mad Men line of men's suits. iTunes has a special Mad Men mix. And even Eight-O-Clock Coffee becomes hip again as they offer their free Mad Men eCards. Look for other 60s iconic food brands to do the same, but updated with a new ingredient profile and more flavor; to meet the nutrition desires and needs of the aging boomer as well as catering to their age-diminished taste buds. Look for less carbonated soft drinks and more vitamin enriched everything. In 2010 25% of the U.S. population will be aged 55 and older - need any more proof?

The other predictions are (see article for full explanations).

THE PRIVATE LABEL EVOLUTION - Consumers acceptance and purchasing of store brands are at an all time high.

FOOD SENSE - The hot trend for 2010 will be the re-emergence of the local butcher, both within supermarkets as well as free standing establishments - where shoppers will go, select the cuts of meat they prefer and have it ground on demand.

THE POWER OF THE COLLECTIVE - It's a new world of "word-of-mouth" recommendations using the latest technologies. 75% of women visit social networks such as Facebook and MySpace and 55%, or 23 million, either publish blogs, read blogs, or post to blogs. Look for "boomer bloggers", "daddy bloggers' and "grandma bloggers" to expand the circle.

CUTE & CLEAVAGE IS OUT - The signal is clear, death to the foodie - and the rise of the "anti-foodie"; it is time for the food to be the star - which is what today's shoppers believe it should be.

COMFORT FOOD TRANSFORMS INTO RELAXATION FOODS - Instead of relying on the "psychology" of comfort foods, brands are coming out with "relaxation" beverages with herbs and other ingredients designed to actually relax or put you to sleep.

LESS IS MORE - The food industry has woken up and discovered that by using "real foods" as ingredients as well as a shortened list, not only are their foods healthier but also consumers are buying them up.

Free Software Makes Computers Easier For Oldies

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:10:34 GMT

Reported recently on the BBC, Eldy (known in the UK as Simplicity) is the first easy software dedicated to the elderly, from European Eldy's non-profit organization.

Eldy allows seniors use computers and enjoy the Internet revolution, by providing a software that allows easy access to all the most important functions: e-mail (any pop3/imap account), chat, Web browsing, weather, text editor, streaming and a lot more.

See the intro video here:

As the name implies, this software is more for older people with little or no experience using computers. You can download the software free from the website after promising to teach someone older how to use it. Nice touch.

Entrepreneurship: the New Mid-Life Crisis

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:12:52 GMT

Here's an interesting study from the USA that underlines the continued buying/spending power of the new generation of ageing consumers.

This report from The Kauffman Foundation concludes that; Given the shifting age distribution of the country, the continued decline of lifetime employment and the experience and tacit knowledge such (50 Plus) employees carry with them, and the effects of the 2008-2009 recession on established sectors of the economy, we may be about to enter a highly entrepreneurial period.

Contrary to popularly held assumptions, it turns out that over the past decade or so in the USA, the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity belongs to the 55-64 age group. The 20-34 age bracket, meanwhile, which we usually identify with swashbuckling and risk-taking youth (think Facebook and Google), has the lowest rate. Perhaps most surprising, this disparity occurred during the eleven years surrounding the dot-com boom-when the young entrepreneurial upstart became a cultural icon.

A few facts from the study:

In every single year from 1996 to 2007, Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 had a higher rate of entrepreneurial activity than those aged 20-34.

For the entire period, the 55-64 group averaged a rate of entrepreneurial activity roughly one-third larger than their youngest counterparts.
These trends seem likely to persist: in the Kauffman Firm Survey, a longitudinal survey of nearly 5,000 companies that began in 2004, two-thirds of firm founders are between the ages of 35 and 54.3
Additionally, Kauffman research has revealed that the average age of the founders of technology companies in the United States is a surprisingly high 39 - with twice as many over age 50 as under age 25.

There's every reason to believe that similar trends will occur in Asia. Certainly the pressure pension funds and dependency ratios give governments across the region profound reason to encourage older workers to flex their entrepreneurial muscles.

Fastest Growing Group Of Twitterers Are 50+

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:05:52 GMT

OK, so the headline reads that "internet users 18 ~ 44 are more likely to use Twitter or another status update service", but according to this chart from Pew Internet research, the 50~64 segment show the greatest jump in usage from Dec '08 to Sept '09.

More than double! Not bad.

Asia's Silver Elites Show Their Spending Power - Download Study

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:45:01 GMT

Not only in finacial services but in high ticket household items and luxury goods.

The results come from a re-cut of data from the Synovate PAX study of elite consumers across 10 markets of Asia Pacific.

Download the summary charts here: Power of the 50+ elite in APAC.

For country specific data or for more information contact info@silvergroup.asia

Thanks to Synovate for sharing this.

See 12 Boomer Ad Campaigns Get Slammed

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:32:17 GMT

Some crusty ad folks take pot-shots at 12 USA campaigns in this article from BusinessWeek.

It's an amazing bit of PR for a new 50+ focussed-agency in New York called FiveO. Claiming (bravely but erroneously) to be "The first creatively driven company dedicated to messaging and content for the 50+ consumer".

While there are some good, valid points made here in their 'evaluation', unfortunately (and rather self-servingly) they only manage to find fault with all 12 campaigns. Perhaps it would have been wiser (and more balanced) to include a few good cases?

Come on guys, surely there are some, even if they weren't created by you!?

But hey, if BusinessWeek is silly enough to accept this blatant PR, why not? Good luck with the Agency though.

Boomers Prefer To Work For Socially Responsible Companies - Study

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 07:01:55 GMT

While employees across all age generations and regions tend to prefer companies with well developed social, ethical and environmental policies, baby boomers seem especially likely to be concerned with a company's social responsibility factor, as a gauge of suitability for employment.

The Kelly Global Workforce Index surveyed about 100,000 people in 34 countries throughout North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific, regarding their views on social responsibility as an incentive to accept employment and tracks differences between respondents, depending on their generation.

Download the full pdf here.

Key findings of the survey:

Almost 90 percent of respondents say they are more likely to work for an organization that is considered ethically and socially responsible, something that is consistent across all age generations.
80 percent are more likely to work for an organization that is considered environmentally responsible, a figure that is considerably higher among older age groups.
In deciding where to work, an organization's reputation for ethical conduct is considered ‘very important' by 65 percent of Gen Y, 72 percent of Gen X, and 77 percent of baby boomers.
46 percent of Gen Y would be prepared to forego pay or promotion to work for an organization with a good reputation, rising to 48 percent for Gen X and 53 percent for baby boomers.
In deciding where to work, policies to address global warming are considered ‘very important' by 31 percent of Gen Y, rising to 35 percent among Gen X and 36 percent for baby boomers.

Some Asia Pacific specifics (not specifically related to Boomers):

87 percent say they are more likely to want to work for an organization that is considered ethically and socially responsible.
81 percent say they are more likely to want to work for an organization that is considered environmentally responsible.
In deciding where to work, 39 percent say that policies to address global warming are ‘very important', a level higher than in either North America or Europe.
In deciding where to work, 71 percent say an employer's reputation for ethical conduct is ‘very important' and 27 percent say it is ‘somewhat important.'
More than half (56 percent) would be prepared to accept a lower salary or a lesser role to work for a firm with a positive approach to the environment, employees and the community, higher than in both North America and Europe.

Youth-Crazed Boomers Creating A Billion Dollar Industry

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 06:13:29 GMT

Testosterone is one of the fastest-growing therapies prescribed by the $80 billion-a-year anti-aging industry, which has embraced it as the cure du jour for andropause, more commonly known as male menopause. Testosterone is sure looking virile according to this article from BusinessWeek.

Sales of testosterone products in the USA already on the market have rocketed 25% in the 12 months ending in June, to just under $1 billion. The recession has knocked the wind out of other "lifestyle drugs" - medicines to treat conditions that aren't life-threatening. Even Pfizer's blockbuster Viagra fell 8% in the most recent quarter, year over year.

But not testosterone. Boomer lust for the hormone is now spurring a land grab by companies that make it. On Sept. 28 drug giant Abbott Laboratories acquired Solvay Pharmaceuticals, which makes the leading testosterone product, AndroGel. According to the industry watchers the driving element is demographics.

New entrants in this market, however, will have many regulatory hurdles to overcome.

Conservative doctors question the existence of male menopause, and testosterone makers shy from discussing it because they're not allowed to promote the drug "off-label" -for uses not endorsed by the FDA. Still, off-label prescriptions are likely to account for much of the market's rapid growth. That fact isn't lost on the FDA: During a press conference to announce the black boxes, an agency spokeswoman said she was alarmed that 25,000 testosterone prescriptions per year are written off-label for women, who use it to boost their libidos.

Here's a website for Bayer Schering Pharma's drug Nebido (love that name?). I has not yet received FDA approval but is already available in some countries outside the USA.

Boomers have never been shy to try use drugs to enhance 'life' and here we see them continuing this pattern into later years. Good news for the pharma boys.

Younger Shoppers More Frugal Than Boomers - Study

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:02:50 GMT

Shoppers under the age of 30 represent the most frugal consumer segment according to new research from IRI Shopper Marketing in the USA.

While there is a stereotype that it is aging boomers who are most likely to make shopping lists, clip coupons and generally practice the most draconian money-saving strategies, it is actually Millennials (under 30's) that are most heavily represented in four out of seven money-saving activities researched by IRI.

Additionally, the research indicates that Millennials` frugal ways will persist long after the recession ends.

Perhaps the most salient of the recession-affected trends is where consumers make their Consumer Package Goods decisions. As late as 2007, 60 percent of shoppers made their decisions at home and 40 percent in the store. However, in July of this year, 83 percent of shoppers stated that they are making their purchase decisions at home, an astounding 23 point increase. In addition, 64 percent of shoppers now make a list prior to visiting a store.

Consumers are still relying heavily on store fliers for their at-home research and coupon clipping. Even though Internet coupons totaled just 1 percent of total coupons printed in 2008, this statistic belies the importance of the Internet in several ways. First, that 1 percent represents an 80 percent increase over a single-year period, and 44 percent of shoppers indicate they are looking online to find coupons. Finally, among those who receive permission-based e-mail from a CPG company, an enormous 91 percent have downloaded or printed a coupon based on that e-mail.

In-store shopper behaviors have also changed during the past several years. Recent IRI research indicates that 54 percent of shoppers notice promotions in the shelf area of the store, a significant seven point increase versus 2004. However, the same report also reveals that the time shoppers spend in front of the shelf has dipped from 49 to 43 seconds during the same period of time. CPG companies and retailers must take note of these critical changes and be succinct.

Amazing Marketing Successes In Ageing Japan

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:55:26 GMT

If you want to know what the future of marketing looks like for our rapidly ageing countries, observe Japan.

Japan's total population as of September stood at about 127.54 million, and 56% are over 40. According to an estimate by the Japan Research Institute, senior households - where the head of the house is 60 or older - will be responsible for 40% of all consumption in Japan in 2009. What's more, the senior market will jump 30% in 2025 compared to 2000.

On the whole, seniors are stuffed with material wealth and are looking for something deeper. An opinion poll conducted by the Cabinet Office found that 44% of people in their 20s are seeking material wealth, in sharp contrast with 66% of seniors in their 60s searching for mental happiness.

Here are some impressive marketing case studies.

In 2008, the eyewear market shrank more than 20% to slightly over 420 billion yen ($4.56 billion). Purchases of reading glasses, however, have been surging among people aged 45 and up. Since 2007, the demographic has been outstripping younger consumers in terms of total glasses purchases.
At leading eyewear retailer Paris Miki Holdings Inc., reading glasses are expected to generate more than half the company's sales this year.
The domestic market for adult disposable diapers was worth 150 billion yen in fiscal 2008 - on par with that for infants. While the market for baby diapers has dwindled 10% over the past five years, that for adults has ballooned 40%.
Tokyo Disney Resort has been seeing more older visitors, with the 40-plus crowd accounting for 17.9% in fiscal 2008, up from 2.7% in fiscal 2003. Oriental Land Co., the operating company of Disneyland and DisneySea, has started selling a special Wednesdays-only pass for the parks for people aged 45 and older, priced at 5,100 yen.
Middle-aged and elderly people accounted for 54.5% of Japanese overseas travelers last year, an increase of around 9 percentage points from 10 years earlier. JTB Corp. established a subsidiary specializing in senior travel in 2005, and sales skyrocketed 190% last fiscal year compared to fiscal 2006.
Women in their 50s who have seen their children leave home to study or get married are emerging as a major consumer power bloc. When they were younger, This fashion-conscious generation led waves of style trends, and now they have begun to spend money on themselves rather than their families.
Shidax Corp., which runs a karaoke chain and other businesses, also operates cultural centers and now offers 8,000 courses - up by 3,000 in five years. The courses range from music and dance to language and flower arrangement, and many are intended for adult women. Half of the classes are available during the day until 3 p.m.
Senior Japanese grow increasingly health conscious. Major gym operator Central Sports Co. has seen the proportion of its members aged 50 and up double over 10 years, reaching 44% last fiscal year. The company attributes the growth to the rising number of people spending their post-retirement free time at sports clubs. At Curves Japan, which runs some 770 women-only exercise centers around the nation, 60% of its roughly 250,000 members are 50 or older.
For Seven-Eleven Japan, customers in the 50-plus age bracket accounted for 26% in fiscal 2008. That percentage is more than double the 10% seen in fiscal 1993. In sharp contrast, the proportion of young customers in their 20s has declined to just 25%, a 12 point drop from fiscal 1993. To meet the needs of older customers, Japan's largest convenience store chain started making price tags larger and shopping baskets lighter. Rival convenience store chain Lawson Inc., meanwhile, began expanding aisles and setting shelves lower. Many convenience store chains are rushing to develop prepared meals for seniors, especially bento box lunches. Wagashi, or Japanese-style sweets, are also occupying more shelf space.
Prepared rice packs are gaining popularity among seniors thanks to their ease of use - you just pop them into an electric oven for a few minutes. Frozen food maker Katokichi Co. boosted production of the packs by 20% in August. The frozen food maker has also started to sell prepared rice in 150-gram packs, 50g smaller than ordinary ones. Most buyers are in the 50-plus bracket.
With an eye on elderly people as well as singles, many foodmakers and retailers have not only made their offerings smaller, but have also started selling some products individually. Ajinomoto Co., for example, began selling three instant soup powders in individual packs.Major toymaker Tomy Co. has sold more than 170,000 of its talking Yumel, Nerul and other dolls since their launch in the fall of 2004, surpassing the hit-product benchmark of 100,000 units. The dolls detect voices and reply with a vocabulary of more than 1,000 words.
Major toymaker Tomy Co. has sold more than 170,000 of its talking Yumel, Nerul and other dolls since their launch in the fall of 2004, surpassing the hit-product benchmark of 100,000 units. The dolls detect voices and reply with a vocabulary of more than 1,000 words. According to toy retailer Hakuhinkan Toy Park in Tokyo's Ginza district, most buyers are in their 50s and 60s

Since the launch in 1999 NTT DoCoMo's bare-bones Raku-Raku Phone series, sales have topped 15 million units, on a par with 40% of domestic shipments in 2008.

Summarised from an article in the Nikkei Weekly.

Olympus & Canon Target Mature Shooters

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:40:40 GMT

Interesting to see Olympus using 50 year-old actor Kevin Spacey to launch a nostalgic camera.
The new Olympus PEN is a remake of the 1959 model (I used to have one). It targets keen photographers aged 30-50. And it looks pretty good. Even seems to aim for the simplicity of the original model - appealing to older users.

This effort follows another Japanese camera brand Canon, who is using 50-year-old Japanese/Hollywood star, Ken Watanabe as spokesperson for its EOS 40D camera. See the TV commercial below. Could it be that camera brands are realizing that the swelling ranks of boomers across the globe have the time, money and interests to take photos like never before?

Success For Skin Care Targeting 60+ Women

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:09:33 GMT

Euromonitor calls it a success. Late last year, Shiseido's launched a skincare and base makeup range called Elixir Prior, targetted at women in their sixties.

According to Nikkei Net, in 2007, the beauty market for women 60+ occupies 19% of the whole beauty market in Japan and showed a remarkable 104% increase from 2006. The launch of Elixir Prior is responding to this market shift.

The lineup includes a face soap, a toner, a moisturizing lotion, a moisturizing cream, and a daytime sunscreen (SPF 30, PA+++).

See the supporting TV commercials below. Very dignified. The 'plot' is quite obvious so you don't need to understand Japanese. Don't try to make sense of the English music backing, it's just used for 'mood'.

Seniors Who WebSurf Are Less Depressed

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:45:11 GMT

Recently we reported that web surfing is good exercise for ageing minds, but now we hear that spending time on the internet reduces depression in older people by 20 per cent!

This according to a report from US think tank, the Phoenix Centre. The policy paper even suggested that the nation’s healthcare bill could be cut if older people went online, lowering the incidence of depression. The recommendations are based on a survey of 7,000 retired Americans aged 55 and older. People who were still working or living in nursing homes were excluded from the survey because it was felt that they would skew the findings. “

Maintaining relationships with friends and family at a time in life when mobility becomes increasingly limited is challenging for the elderly,” study co-author Dr Sherry G. Ford from the University of Montevallo in Alabama. “Increased internet access and use by senior citizens enables them to connect with sources of social support when face-to-face interaction becomes more difficult.”

Millions of senior Americans are affected by depression, costing the United States about $100 million each year. It is estimated that only about 42 per cent of Americans aged 65 or over use the internet at the moment so the researchers believe there is significant potential for improved health outcomes with higher take-up. “The positive mental health consequences of Internet demonstrate, in part, the value of demand stimulus programs aimed at older Americans,” said study Phoenix Center Chief Economist and study co-author, Dr George S. Ford.

Silver Surfers Presentation Delivered At iMedia Agency Summit in Phuket

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:49:37 GMT

Here's an abridged version of the presentation delivered to the 2nd Southeast Asian iMedia Agency Summit held in Phuket, Thailand on October 5~7, 2009. Features information about the ageing consumer and their online habits.

Silver iMedia Phuket (Public Version) View more documents from Kim Walker.

Some nice tweets that followed:

Wealth Transfer In A Sorry State - Aus

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:42:01 GMT

More than a third of Australians have not considered estate planning or the transfer of their wealth to the next generation.

In a study conducted by AC Nielsen on behalf of investment group IOOF and reported here, 37 per cent of respondents had not even considered the issue. A further four per cent said estate planning was something their friends and family would be able to arrange.
Experts say that although a will was sufficient for previous generations, an increase in the number of joint assets, trusts and super funds means a more holistic approach is required.

The study also found that eight per cent of people are concerned about disputes over their estate. The sad fact is that many family and friends can and do use the legal system to dispute a will.

Sales Pitch For 50+ Media

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:02:58 GMT

The AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) has produced this video to sell its targetted media packages. A bit long but some interesting facts.

Marketing to Baby Boomers - Conference

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:35:22 GMT

SILVER is a strategic partner of the Marketing to Baby Boomers Conference to be held 19~20 November at the Singapore Marriott Hotel.

A 20% discount off the normal fee will apply to delegates who register mention SILVER in their registration.

Download conference details here: Marketing to Baby Boomers Conference

The Silver Market in APAC. How to get your share of US$2 trillion

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 07:45:46 GMT

I will present on this topic to the British Chamber of Commerce in Singapore on November 17th.

If in town and interested, you can sign-up here; British Chamber.

At this event you will learn:
• The impact on society and the scale of the opportunity
• About their crucial similarities and differences that impact how we market to them
• The three keys to unlock their massive spending power

See you there?

Cereal Maker Targets Boomers Online

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:26:50 GMT

General Mills is using Yahoo for a new campaign called "Vitality" to build visibility and facilitate dialogue among Baby Boomers in the USA. According to the release in Media Post; In an effort to connect with Boomers in ways that resonate best with their lifestyles, the targeted campaign will feature "Vitality-themed" content around news, health and wellness, retirement, travel, entertainment and more, all within Yahoo News and Yahoo Games.

It's great to see a powerful marketer responding to the inevitabilty of demographics. General Mills marketing director John Starkey said "We can't ignore the fact that starting next year half of the U.S. population will be over 45 years of age; that's never happened before. People are living longer, they are redefining and reinventing that part of their lives, and we want to be there to help them achieve that."

The program header will include navigation so users can access other Vitality experiences, like games and news. General Mills will flight product media within the experiences over the course of the campaign. Currently, an ad for Fiber One cereal is featured. General Mills will be measuring the effectiveness of the campaign through Yahoo's tools. The Yahoo Games and Yahoo News properties will feature "Vitality-themed" content for Boomers. It will be focused on healthy living for Boomers. As reported in the latest issue of SilverTips newsletter, Boomers are the heaviest users of online games across Asia Pacific.

The General Mills games experience pages will be in an area of the Yahoo Games called Yahoo Brain Games, and will feature three to five games such as Sudoku, Crossword Puzzles and Mahjong solitaire. The Brain Games promotional position on the front page of Games will point users into the Vitality Brain Games for the entire campaign.

Sounds all very smart to me!

General Mills is better known by its leading brands:

Häagen-Dazs
Old El Paso Mexican meals
Green Giant vegetables
Pillsbury
Betty Crocker

Calculate Your Life Expectancy Here

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:37:32 GMT

This "Living to 100" life expectancy calculator is well worth a try [Click here]. The calculator, associated with a New England-based study on the characteristics of centenarians, estimates your mortal years based on stress levels, health factors, diet, and lifestyle.

This can be very sobering. Either you'll be shocked how your wayward lifestyle is going to crimp your life expectancy, or you'll be worried whether your pension will last you to 100!

Life expectancy has been increasing steadily in developed countries such as the United States, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan. If this pace continues, reaching the age of 100 will become ordinary for most people in those countries, according to a report published earlier this month in The Lancet.

In 2008 there were 36,276 centerians in Japan and UN projections suggest there will be nearly one million people over 100 years of age in Japan in 2050. Of the country's current centenarians, a staggering 86% are women. The number of people age 100 or over in the United States has doubled since 1990 and is 16 times the number of centenarians in 1950. According to the U.S. Census, there were an estimated 96,548 centenarians in the United States as of November 2009.

The New England study (on which the Living to 100 life calculator is based) found that most centenarians share these characteristics: emotional resilience (ability to adapt to life's events), self-sufficiency, intellectual activity, a good sense of humor (including about themselves), religious beliefs, strong connections with other people, low blood pressure, appreciation of simple pleasures, a zest for life, don't currently smoke or drink heavily, may play musical instruments and follow an anti-inflammatory diet (like the Mediterranean diet) that has been linked to longevity. About 80 percent of all Americans over the age of 100 are women and most of them gave birth to children after age 40.

If wages continue to stagnate, developed countries might see a much older workforce than in the past. Imagine retiring at 85, then enjoying your golden years until you're more than 100 years old. The idea gives new meaning to "planning for retirement."

This would be an amazing online tool to be sponsored by a financial institution, healthcare or insurance but strangely the sponsor is Crest Glide tooth floss! On completion you'll be directed to Eons, the USA boomer site.

Retailers Target 50 Plus Women

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:36:57 GMT

I would love a dollar for every woman who ask commented on the lack of appropriate fashion to suit them.

Something that down't make them look old. That complements rather than constricts. Even salespeople who they can talk to without feeling like someone their daughters age is trying to squeeze them into something they'll regret the moment they reach home.

Here's an example of stores in Toronto, Canada that are re-working their appeals to woo back target shoppers, mostly female, aged 35 to 59, have disposable income – and need her wares, even in hard times. They're professional or quasi-professional women – they're the ones who need clothing and they've got the money to spend on it.

The Room is a boutique at the Bay's Toronto flagship. (The Bay and Sears Canada, with 214 locations between them are the two remaining traditional retail chains in Canada). The relaunch of the Room as a high-fashion hub, is all about lightness: whites, creams and pale greys, screens of polished silver squares and frosted acrylic blocks, silvery mobiles of flowers and birds – and natural light streaming in from windows. (Versions are also planned for Montreal and Vancouver.)

Today's Room is a stark contrast to the black and beige of its 72-year-old predecessor. Called the St. Regis Room, it was a destination for the well-heeled in Canada in its heyday and helped introduce the country to such brands as Yves Saint Laurent, Courreges and Oscar de la Renta. The current incarnation has set its sights just as high: Featuring some of the priciest designer fashions in the country, it includes handbags, jewellery and footwear and features almost 70 brands, up from just a dozen previously. Among its new offerings are a few (Halston, Balmain, Proenza Schouler) unavailable elsewhere in Canada.

The redesigned Room features generous change rooms, a concierge who can book hair appointments and restaurant reservations and a VIP lounge to have a glass of bubbly and dish.

Guys, lock up your credit cards!

Asia Countries Score Low In Global Pension Index

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:22:45 GMT

No country achieved a score over 80 - an A-grade system - proving that even the world's most advanced pension and superannuation models still need refinement to ensure they are robust enough to support the world's rapidly ageing population.

The report recommended that Singapore’s system could be improved by:

Raising the minimum level of support available to the poorest retirees.
Continuing to increase the prescribed minimum that must be set aside for retirement purposes.
Increasing the percentage of contributions required to be saved for retirement.
Encouraging additional savings from above-average income earners.
Increasing the labour force participation rate among older workers.

In Singapore, the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Minimum Sum Scheme provides members with monthly payouts to support a modest standard of living in their old age. Currently, older CPF members may participate in the recently launched CPF Life annuity scheme or buy approved life annuities with their Minimum Sums to give them a guaranteed life income. Alternatively, they may place their savings with approved banks or continue to keep the money with the CPF Board.

OCBC Bank Launches SmartSenior Account

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:24:49 GMT

Here's an interesting one, OCBC in Singapore has launched a new account called SmartSenior. The interesting thing about it, is that it's not aimed at the senior!

The target here are the sons and daughters of seniors who don't have enough to look after themselves.

It's a very 'Confucian' tactic. Filial piety has become a social issue in Singapore of late and clearly OCBC is doing it's bit to remind kids of their obligations under the norms of a Chinese society.

Seems there are two ads, each using local celebrities. That's a good idea to garner popular support among younger folks.


"Dad was there for me through the bad times. Now I want to ensure he can look forward to the 
good times."
- MediaCorp Artiste, Pierre Png

I admire the initiative but businesses need to understand that there are a lot of seniors out there who don't have wealthy children to support them and what's more, they don't need it because they have wealth themselves.

Meticulously thought through and offering a vast package of benefits to the users. Nice one OCBC.

Boomer Retirements Least Affected By Recession?

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 07:47:22 GMT

According to a recent survey in the US,while hurt by the financial crisis, boomers appear to be least affected.

The report by By Age Wave titled: Retirement at the TippingPoint: New Fears, New Hopes, and a New Purpose for Retirement can be downloaded here.

Some interesting findings. Bear in mind, this is USA focussed:

Boomers think it will take 6.3 years to recover their losses from the crisis. This compares to 7.5 Gen X, 8 years Millenials. The population total average of 7 years.
Today, the biggest financial worry among the age 55+ population is being unable to afford uninsured medical expenses during retirement. In fact, older Americans are 2.5 times as likely to say they are worried about paying for uninsured medical expenses in retirement as they are about a lack of personal savings.
On average, pre-retirees say they now intend to postpone their retirement by 4.2 years, triggered by today's economic crisis. The older groups; Boomers (3.6 years) and Silent generation (1.9 years) seem less concerned.

While on the subject, here's a more recent press article from the UK suggesting that OVER-50S SHOW CONFIDENCE IN STOCK MARKET.

Of course, much depends on relative wealth but for the average punter, our view is that while older people have less time to recover lost wealth, they are going to be hard to convince to risk their money again.

Chasing The Silver Dollar Live Interview On CNBC. Friday Oct 23, 2009

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 07:15:07 GMT

The senior consumer segment is a gold mine and no company can afford to ignore the growing silver market, says Kim Walker, founder & CEO of Silver. He sheds more light on this, with CNBC's Amanda Drury & Sri Jegarajah.

Asia's Affluent Lose One-Fifth Of Wealth In 2008

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:58:00 GMT

While this may not come as a big surprise, there's a very interesting statistic buried within the data in the annual wealth report from Capgemini and Merrill Lynch.

Younger advisers tended to lose more clients than older ones with 62% of those who lost clients being 40 or under. "Advisers were not mature enough to handle the intense market conditions," says the report. Although the report doesn't make clear the age range of the High Net Worth Individuals surveyed (a strange omission in itself), it's reasonable to assume that they are 'mature' customers.

Older investors want to talk to life-experienced people, not young MBA grads the age of their own kids.

HSBC recognized this some time ago in Singapore and implemented a program to recruit and train older Personal Relationship Bankers. My sense is that this has been very successful.

Web Surfing Good Exercise For Silver Brains

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:43:24 GMT

Findings, suggest that Internet training can brain improve function and cognition in older adults. Scientists found that middle-aged and older adults were able to trigger key centers in the brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning after just one week of surfing the Web.

The researchers found that for older people with minimal experience, performing Internet searches for even a relatively short period of time can change brain activity patterns and enhance function. According to this article, the UCLA team worked with 24 volunteers between the ages of 55 and 78. Prior to the study, half the participants used the Internet daily, while the other half had very little experience. Age, educational level and gender were similar between the two groups. Study participants performed Web searches while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans, which recorded the subtle brain-circuitry changes experienced during this activity. This type of scan tracks brain activity by measuring the level of cerebral blood flow during cognitive tasks. After the initial brain scan, participants went home and conducted Internet searches for one hour a day for a total of seven days over a two-week period. These practice searches involved using the Internet to answer questions about various topics by exploring different websites and reading information. Participants then received a second brain scan using the same Internet simulation task but with different topics. After Internet training at home, participants with minimal online experience displayed brain activation patterns very similar to those seen in the group of savvy Internet users – after just a brief period of time.

"The results suggest that searching online may be a simple form of brain exercise that might be employed to enhance cognition in older adults," said Teena D. Moody, the study's first author and a senior research associate at the Semel Institute at UCLA. When performing an Internet search, the ability to hold important information in working memory and to extract the important points from competing graphics and words is essential, Moody noted. Previous research by the UCLA team found that searching online resulted in a more than twofold increase in brain activation in older adults with prior experience, compared with those with little Internet experience. The new findings suggest that it may take only days for those with minimal experience to match the activity levels of those with years of experience.

Profit From Design For Older Users

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:57:32 GMT

The greatest opportunities lie in redesigning everyday products to become ageless through the application of universal design.

I sense that many universities and industrial designers are over-complicating this ageing issue. They seem to be seeking the 'killer-app' or an as-yet-undiscovered device that will become an essential commodity for ageing citizens in the future. Good luck.

Instead, take a look at these two examples, both reported in BusinessWeek magazine, that show how clever thinking and application of technology, can transform products to become age-friendly and yet enhance relevance to all users.

How Tech for the Disabled Is Going Mainstream

No Recession at OXO

Oxo is a classic. Initially designing kitchen utensils for arthritic hands, they now make a vast range of products with the same, easy-to-use principles in mind. And they look cool too!

Using technology to add agelessness to products is evidenced by the new iPhone's voice control option, which allows users to speak to their handsets to prompt an action, which evolved from software Apple created to help disabled people use PC's.

If companies want to make money from the ageing population, then I suggest the easiest route is to re-engineer things for which a demand already exists, but which can be made more age-friendly rather than trying to re-invent the wheel.

Barron's Weighs In On The Boomer Opportunity

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:52:54 GMT

Part of the Wall Street Journal family, Barrons magazine has dedicated its front page to the boomer opportunity stating thatcompanies that continue to ignore the over-50 set do so at their peril, as "boomer consumers" eat up a larger slice of the nation's spending pie.

See the article, and accompanying video here.

How To Get Silvers To Spend At Your Hotel

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:52:20 GMT

It staggers me that the hotel industry seems slow to wake up to the issues and opportunities surrounding the ageing population in Asia while savvy hoteliers in the USA seem to be adapting well. Here are a few examples:

In St. George, Utah the Wingate by Wyndham is aiming to be among the dozen or so area hotels to host the The Senior Games' for competitors and their supporters.
Competitors who, in other venues, might be considered well past their athletic prime, strive for their personal bests in sports such as basketball, badminton, archery, swimming and triathlon. The Senior Games is a two-week marathon of activity that, founded in 1987, celebrates devotees of fitness beyond 50, and draws from a global population of competitors.

The hotel also plans to offer senior-friendly activities such as golfing, theater and 'visiting friends' are pursuits more typical of older guests than the track and field, competitive mountain biking or tennis.

As others in the industry know, it pays to get in the game and compete for these guests - and not just by offering senior discounts.

The Wingate also offers packages to senior guests interested in area attractions beyond the two weeks of games. They have outfitted some rooms with a roll-in shower to accommodate wheelchairs, and technology to assist blind and hearing-impaired people. This is the hotel's way to keep things welcoming, especially to older guests who may not be as able-bodied as the athletes that flood the scene each October.

At the Hotel Elysee in Manhattan, maintaining a simple and uncluttered Web site, and adhering to traditional rather than trendy ambience has already put their offerings on the map for guests 55 and older. In fact, 35 percent of the hotel's bookings draw from that age group. This also is reflected in their décor. They have a French country kind of feel. Not mirrors and glass, or a gimmick (like a female doorman ready to take your luggage).

But words for the wise from SILVER; "They're older, but not necessarily 'old' and not all the same. You need to target by life stage. In fact, one of the most critical elements of marketing to the 50-plus group is targeting the life stage they are in. Travel needs are different between 50, 60 and 70.

Recognizing this, the hotel ensures that, while hotel rooms are outfitted with modern electronics, so you don't need a college degree to operate the shower or the television. The alarm clock is easy to figure out. And if there is a DVR and they need help, there's ready service to help them.

In British Columbia, this year marks the second annual Whistler Seniors Celebration, November 16-19 at the landmark Fairmont Chateau Whistler. Although it is only in its second year, the hotel has always done special outreach to older guests. The hotel has had to change with the times - and the tastes - of older guests because the product that seniors are looking for has changed. While food and beverage offerings, such as our daily Afternoon Tea, continue to be popular, so do interactive/learning offerings such as Foraging for Wild Mushrooms with Chef. The hotel also offers guests a variety of activities such as Stretching, Yoga and Nature Walks through our Health Club.

Now, the hotel has the celebration, a hotel-based, three-day getaway, which concentrates all those year-round efforts in one intense senior-centric event.

Adapted from this article in Hotel Interactive.

Thai Start-Up Plans Robot To Assist Elderly

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 10:08:43 GMT

Usually we hear such stories from japan but now a Thai company has recognized that "A robot to assist elderly people will have a very huge market, as most countries are moving towards an ageing society," their President said.

CT Asia Robotics, will begin it's journey with a pilot project to install robots at popular MK Restaurants to deliver food to its customers.

The four-month-old company is a subsidiary of the large local software firm, CT Asia.

MK Restaurants has ordered the first lot of 10 robots and the company expects to make delivery in the first quarter of next year (2010).

They will be human-friendly robots standing about 1.1-metres tall and weighing 60 kilograms. They will be able to walk to serve MK's dishes to assigned tables and will also be capable of receiving voice commands in Thai.

Development of the robots has required the use of many technologies, including infrared to control their ability to walk, lasers to detect objects and prevent the robots crashing, voice recognition to receive commands, and electronic, mechanical and software architecture.

The company is also developing a second-generation robot for edutainment purposes. It is expected to be shown off at the Science Museum and TK Park as well as visiting schools.

Then, with the know-how gathered from developing two generations of its robots, it plans to develop a third generation robot as an assistant for old people. The third-generation robot is expected to be a major source of revenue.

Chalermpon said the goal of CT Asia Robotics was to begin exporting Thai-made robots, as assistants for the elderly, around the world within four years. The first target market is Japan.

50-Plus Lead Online Gaming In APAC

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 09:45:41 GMT

ComScore data shows 50-Pus spend twice as much time gaming online than younger groups

How many minutes per month do Asia Pacific's netizens spend playing online games? The answer is surprising. Based on August 09 data from ComScore is seems the older folks spend double the time of younger groups:

55+ 107.6 minutes per month
45~54 102.2
35~44 54.9
25~34 39.8
15~24 46.9

While this is more reflective of platform choice rather than total time spent gaming, it is nevertheless interesting that older people seem to prefer gaming online while their kids are in their bedrooms on Playstation.

What kind of gaming? It's mainly casual, infectious games that keep the silvers entertained. Most visited gaming sites are Yahoo Games and Mochi Media.

Other highlights from the study include:

Unique visitors 44 years old and above jumped 18.4% between August 08/09 to reach 88.2 million.
Growth in unique visitors 55+, is coming mainly from developed countries of APAC including Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore.Unusually, Japan saw a 1.8% decline in unique vistors.
Online users 45+ now represent 18.5% of total visitors.

The genres with the highest composition of 55+ visitors were:

1.Pharmacy
2.Retail - Food
3.Consumer goods
4.Sports/Outdoor
5.ISP
6.Retail/Movies
7.Incentives
8.Fragrance/cosmetics
9.Car rental
10. Weather

How To Design Age Friendly Environments?

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:54:18 GMT

When buying or building a new home consumers are starting to think about age friendly design. Will my parents be able to visit and stay? Will I be able to stay here as I age? According to the 2003 study on Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia (ABS) 41% of 65-69 year olds reported some kind of disability.

That's why it's becoming increasingly important to design homes and public spaces that are accessible or can easily be adapted if and when the need arises.

One of the determinants of active ageing is the physical environment, according to the World Health Organisation.

Age friendly design supports active living, good health and social connectedness for all ages. For example, well lit and maintained public spaces are welcoming, promote safety and encourage more active lifestyles; transport that is accessible allows all people, young and old, to remain linked to social networks, services and employment; and something as basic as a well maintained footpath can promote prolonged mobility for older people. Download the Fact Sheet explaining the principles from the Council on the Ageing (NSW) COTY website here. Also a good example of an age-friendly website!

TV interview on Bloomberg

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:05:14 GMT

Here's an interview I did live on March 30th, 2009 'Asia Confidential' hosted by Bernie Lo of Bloomberg TV.

Hong Kong to launch portal for seniors

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:04:32 GMT

Better late, than never. The Hong Kong Government has decided to build a portal

The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer is inviting interested elderly-service providers to submit proposals to develop, manage and operate a dedicated portal for seniors.that will:

Provide a one-stop information service on elderly services and the "silver-hair market"
It should create a platform promoting and facilitating seniors' participation and interaction in the online community, linking them to the rich pool of information and services provided by the Government, non-governmental organisations and the private sector.
It should also enhance their social inclusiveness, encourage active and healthy ageing, and promote participation of service providers and suppliers in the silver-hair market to generate greater benefits for seniors.

Watch Australia's PM age 35 years in 30 seconds

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:03:39 GMT

Australia's Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd lends a hand (face) in a TV commercial for ACSA (Aged & Community Services Australia).

This clever campaign titled Kevin87 and supported with this striking website, aims to highlight the issue of ageing in Australia.

ACSA represents church, charitable and community based organisations who provide a home, care or services to more than 700,000 elderly Australians, people with a disability and their carers.

Australian Lawyers See Opportunity in the Ageing Society

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:31:16 GMT

Dubbed "elder law'', specialists in the field say come 2011 the niche area will be booming, with lawyers in demand to solve a range of complex family dilemmas including whether elderly parents have the capacity to make their own decisions.

This article in The Australian explains that baby boomers will produce more work for lawyers than their parents because of the greater complexity of their lives. And this will not be confined to the traditional areas of power of attorney and wills.

"Compacto agreements" for example would establish contractual arrangements between elderly people who were companions rather than partners in a defacto-style relationship. Older clients were also increasingly demanding trusts be established for their pets because of concerns they would not be looked after when they died. There was also demand for "impoverished planning'' because clients wanted to be eligible for even $1 of the aged pension due to other benefits that flowed.

Family agreements to establish how elderly parents would be cared for were also becoming more common. Herd said he had one family who established an agreement that saw a daughter get paid to care for her mother because the family did not want to place her in aged care.

Issues surrounding the capacity of an older person was one of biggest areas of elder law. For example disputes could arise in families over whether their parents had the capacity to make their own decisions and whether an enduring power of attorney should be appointed.

The economic downturn had also seen an increase in elder abuse as some children saw their parents as being the solution to their money problems.

Many lawyers hold prejudices against older people, including that they are tight with money and seek legal advice over minor and trivial matters. But on the contrary, many older people had many advantages as clients including paying promptly, always being on time and being prepared to pay for quality and reliability.

I've said before, and will say again, the ageing of society will deliver challenges and opportunities to just about every profession and business.... even lawyers.

Seniors Spend More On Nightlife Than Juniors

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:20:49 GMT

Free-spirited over-65s spend 20 per cent more per capita on vices than 30-49-year-olds, their seemingly more conservative children. Drinks groups such as Diageo and Bacardi may continue to urge customers to practice moderation but still have plenty to gain from a greying population.

This article in the Financial Times 'Boomer Profits', explains how some of the less obvious effects of the demographic change will affect other industries. Socialising seniors, for example, spend about 50 per cent more of their income on going out than their juniors. Also bucking the stereotype is seniors' expenditure on drinks and tobacco.

In 18 months the first baby boomers will begin to retire. Many companies expect a two-decade boom as members of this demographic bulge put away their working boots. Although over-75s in the UK spend about a quarter less per capita than anyone else, upcoming retirees have more cash than their predecessors. Over the past decade, the 6 per cent compound average growth in senior citizens' expenditure has also been twice the average - even if rising life expectancy means retirees will now have to spread savings more thinly.

The healthcare industry is an obvious beneficiary, but not for everyone. Longer lives do not directly translate into profit gains as the additional years are largely healthy ones. In the US, over-65s spend between $1,000 and $2,000 per month on healthcare, regardless of their age, until about six months before dying, when spending triples. It is the growing number of patients with long-term conditions such as dementia, where they can live medicated for 10-15 years, that could well favour drugs companies.

Opportunities abound!

'Cougar' Now Part of the Boomer Lexicon

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:20:09 GMT

Referring to an older (40+) woman who dates younger men, I think it's time to formally recognize the term 'Cougar' as part of the growing boomer vocabulary and further evidence that boomers are going to change the way we think about ageing.

I think it's great.

If you're puzzled by all this, take a look at this interview with Courtney Cox (Monica from Friends) about the pilot episode of her new sit-com called, wait for it, Cougar Town.

If it's good enough for Hugh Heffner and Bernie Ecclestone to brag about their younger dates, its good enough for the ladies. After all, we boomer did fight for gender equality, didn't we?

Asian Seniors Logging On

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:05:17 GMT

Dispelling the myths around older web users in Asia, here's an article from the Asia Media Forum that includes some interesting facts and stats e.g:

Internet penetration in Asia stands at 18.5 percent, compared to the world average of 24.7 percent
As of June 2009, Internet World Stats reported 704.2 million Internet users in Asia, or 42.2 percent of the world's users.
In March 2009, Baidu, the leading search engine in China, launched a search engine for elderly users that has more mature content such as classical poetry, larger fonts and less cluttered pages for easier navigation. Local industry reports say Baidu hopes to see the number of older users in China continue to rise. Only five million people over the age of 50 had used search engines by the end of 2008, out of a total of some 300 million Internet users in China at the time, according to the China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC).
But while the numbers of Asian users are large - China alone has 338 million users, Japan has 94 million and India 81 million -- the percentage of the population using the Internet is often much lower. This stands at 25 percent in China, 7 percent in India and is much higher at 74 percent in Japan.
In the Philippines, there's 'Teach Lola' website (www.teachlola.com), dedicated to teaching grandparents about the nitty-gritty of computer and Internet use. Unfortunately, it's far from age-friendly in it's design and construction.
According to BayanTel, the Philippine telecommunications company behind the ‘Teach Lola' website, only "11 percent of the elderly know how to use the Internet". But BayanTel officials admit that since there has not been any comprehensive study on the "Internet habits of the elderly", it is difficult to say how many of the elderly are really wired.

With the help of ComScore, we'll soon be offering more insights to the 50+ online activity in Asia Pacific.

Watch this space.

Harvard Advises Companies to 'Focus on older consumers'

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 07:44:56 GMT

It may not come as a surprise to our readers, but in the latest Harvard Business Review 'Trends to Watch', they advise Focus on Older consumers is one of the four strategic imperatives.

In a review of Shifting Consumption Patterns, the Harvard Business Review poses two major global economic scenarios and while strategies will hinge on which scenario materializes, publication advises that, for the moment companies should:

Prepare for slower long-term growth in global consumption. Companies that have relied on fundamental market growth, especially for mature products, now need to fi ght for market share or compete in new categories.
Shift investment to Asia. Consumption is clearly growing faster in China and India than in developed markets.
Focus on older consumers. Within five years, more than half of all consumer spending in the U.S. will be by consumers over 50, and the proportion of older households is rising in Europe and Japan as well.
Find ways to offer luxuries on a budget. Tighter household budgets don't mean lower aspirations. Our research shows that stretched consumers in slow-growing economies will still want to feel that they are living the good life.

Senior Kiwi's More Intrigued By Off-Beat Travel Destinations

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 07:27:07 GMT

Even more than their younger counterparts! A survey conducted recently by travel website Expedia.co.nz reveals that New Zealanders in their fifties are significantly more open to exploring more off-the-beaten-track destinations and experiencing culture shock than their younger travelling compatriots, according to this article.

Expedia, the world's leading online travel company, included responses of over 500 adult New Zealanders regarding their attitudes towards travelling to tried-and-tested destinations compared with those that are comparatively less touristy. The most popular off-the-beaten-track destinations to emerge include Eastern Europe, Africa, South America and China.

Whilst on average 62 per cent of New Zealanders still prefer to visit more conventional travel destinations, New Zealanders in the 55-59 year age bracket were revealed as the most vicarious travellers, with almost half (49 per cent) wanting to visit more far-flung places compared with less than a third (32 per cent) of Kiwis aged 30 years younger, who overwhelmingly prefer more conventional destinations.

According to the NZ Expedia Marketing Manager: "These survey findings fly in the face of conventional thought that Twenty-somethings are most radical and open minded to new and different experiences. The finding that New Zealanders of the baby-boomer generation are more up to veering off the well-beaten travel path is particularly interesting in that this is not necessarily an indication that they have already visited the more conventional tourist destinations, but rather an indication that people are more intrigued by lesser-known destinations as they get older."

The opportunity for a new and interesting travel experience was cited as the main inspiration for visiting a less conventional destination (46 per cent). Other reasons include: having the chance to closely experience the local community (32 per cent) and comparative affordability (11 per cent).

Touchscreen Provides Discrete Hearing Test

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 10:13:04 GMT

Digital touch screen technology is revolutionizing the way Australians approach hearing loss, with people now able to take a free, five-minute, interactive hearing test to see whether they need further treatment, without needing to visit an audiologist.

Check out the full story here.

Ageing Koreans Spend Big On Healthcare

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 10:12:32 GMT

Spending on medical treatment and other health care services surged 10 percent on-year, while expenditure on educational services increased 3 percent. According to the (Korean) National Health Insurance Corp., people aged 65 or older accounted for 32 percent of Koreans’ medical spending in the first half, up from 26.5 percent in the same period in 2006.

This shows that the increase in household spending on health services results partly from Korea’s ageing society.

China's Ageing Dilemma

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:18:16 GMT

It seems that the issue of China's rapidly ageing populations is stirring up a media debate in the papers and among bloggers.

This article in the Peoples Daily claims "Filial duty not a fig leaf for blemishes of old-age social security"

Some of the worrying highlights:

China would probably be getting old before becoming rich. Statistics indicate the ageing of China's population will approach its peak by the year 2050, since China has crossed the threshold of the ageing society by the United Nations' criteria since 1999, and the population is still ageing at a speedy pace.
For every five people older than 60 in the world, or every two in Asia, one is Chinese.
In the following 25 years there will be one senior citizen for every four Chinese.
By the end of 2004, Chinese over 60 years old had accounted for 10.97 percent of the nation's total population, and those older than 65, for 7.7 percent.
The suicide rate among the rural Chinese elderly was 4-5 times higher than the world average
When today's teenagers grow up, each of them will have responsibility for two parents and four grandparents. Referred to as the 4-2-1 problem.

Some bloggers have commented, if the adult children provided for their aged parents and fulfilled their filial duty, the well-being status of China's ageing population would not be so pressing a social problem.

Silver Job Fairs For Older Korean Workers

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:56:00 GMT

Silver job fairs, established to find jobs for people 60 and older, have mushroomed across South Korea in the past year as part of a government effort to assist a rapidly growing population of older Koreans adrift in a changing society.

The latest fair at the huge COEX centre, offered 2,000 private sector and 4,700 public sector jobs for retirees.

According to this article in The New York Times, until recently, the notion of older people having to look for jobs did not cross the minds of most South Koreans. The traditions of Confucianism hold that adult children should take primary responsibility for the care of their aging parents, who would enjoy respect and high status as sovereigns of the household.

But this practice is crumbling under the weight of longer life spans and changes in family structure, and many Koreans are entering the later stages of their lives unprepared. A government survey released in July found that fewer than 27 percent of Koreans 60 and older had made any provision for their post-retirement years beyond investing in their children's education.

Now, many of these older Koreans are dismayed to find themselves dependent on their children, often in cramped urban settings,2 with very different priorities. These days, if adult children are willing to take in elderly parents, they often make it clear that they expect those parents to do household chores and look after the grandchildren, prospects that can make the parents think twice about moving in.

According to the National Statistics Office, 48.3 percent of South Koreans 65 and older were living with their children in 2007, compared with 72.4 percent in 1990.

The government is scrambling now to fill the gap in support, and older job seekers are responding. This year employers have received an average of three applications for every job offered at the fairs, compared with 1.5 applications in previous years.

A government pension system, financed in part by employee contributions, was introduced in 1988 for retirees over 60. But only 28 percent of the working population is covered. Many Koreans of that age, particularly those who worked as farmers, never held jobs that qualified for such pensions. For those who did, many are not receiving the monthly allowance, which averages less than $193, because they chose to take their pension in a lump sum at retirement.

In 2004, the government ordered the National Pension Service to try to find jobs for older workers. By 2006, the project was made permanent, overseen by a new independent body called the Korea Labor Force Development Institute for the Aged. Job placements rose from about 30,000 in 2004 to more than 83,000 in 2006 and 196,000 in the first half of this year.

At the Seoul silver jobs fair, desperation was in the air as 30,000 or so people crowded the booths exploring openings for work most had never expected they would need.

Using Twitter to capture the "Memories" of One Million People

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 04:57:50 GMT

A new and unique Twitter movement launched today with the goal of revolutionizing the way social causes connect with online communities. The movement, called "A Million Tweets to Remember," (1Mtweets) seeks to digitally memorialize one million people who have lived with Alzheimer's disease (past or present) by having their loved ones tweet about them at http://1mtweets.com/. The campaign coincides with the launch of World Alzheimer's Day, a global initiative to raise awareness about Alzheimer's.

See the complete release here:

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2009/21/c7184.html

Follow The Fluffy Robot

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 04:45:39 GMT

Another robot to assist the elderly has been unveiled in Japan.

As reported in The Nikkei Business Daily (Sept 11, 09), The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) unveiled a healthcare robot designed to support preventative and rehabilitative exercise for the elderly. The 70cm-tall robot looks like a stuffed toy, but the cuddly exterior hides a hard body built with 20 joints, each capable of moving with 26 degrees of freedom. Servo motors control the different parts of the body and allow the robot to move slowly but smoothly.
The robot is programmed to perform about 30 different exercises, most of them while sitting in a chair.

The robot also has built-in speech recognition software so it can respond to commands from an exercise instructor. The idea is to use the robot to encourage elderly people to exercise along with a class.

The robot is being used on a trial basis at the Ibaraki Prefectural Health Plaza, which participated in its development. General Robotix Inc., an AIST spinoff, was also involved and plans to offer the robot for short-term lease starting next fiscal year after further work is done to improve operability and lower costs.

Luxury Losing Lustre Among Japans Seniors

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:35:06 GMT

Luxury goods are losing their luster among older consumers in Japan according to McKinsey research. Across demographic groups, one-third of all consumers-and as many as 43 percent of those 55 or older-agreed that "owning luxury goods is not as special as it used to be." Only 32 percent of the respondents said they were "very" or "somewhat" interested in luxury products, compared with 51 percent in the same survey in 2004.

Japanese luxury consumers today weigh the purchase of luxury goods against luxury experiences, such as a vacation, a meal at an expensive restaurant, or a day at a spa. Across demographic groups, almost half of the survey respondents said that they would rather spend money on such experiences than on luxury handbags, accessories, or apparel.

Japan dubbs 5-Day holiday 'Silver Week'

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 08:47:46 GMT

At a time when consumer spending remains lackluster, the string of national holidays this month could be a boon for the travel industry and retailers, or so they hope.

The Respect-for-the-Aged national holiday fell on Monday 21st September. So this year, the holiday on Monday, and with a separate national holiday marking the first day of autumn on the 23rd, the day in between is also a national day off. The added bonus of the Sept. 19-20 weekend thereby creates a five-day holiday that some have dubbed "Silver Week," comparing it to the so-called Golden Week national holidays between late April and early May.

Fonterra sees opportunity in ageing bones

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:54:49 GMT

50 percent of bone fractures in the world will take place in Asia by 2050 and 70 percent of Asian women are at risk for osteoperosis, as a result of diet and lifestyle factors according to a new US$40 million study.

In an effort to map out a clearer picture of bone health in Asia and the Middle East, the International Osteoporosis Foundation, New Zealand's Massey University and Fonterra (the New Zealand dairy company) has scanned around three million bones across Asia over the past three years on the Asian Bone Health Audit, and their results are clear.

Most Asians avoid the sun, preferring parasols and indoor malls to do their strolling. So they don't get enough vital vitamin D from the sun. Other factors such as smoking and not eating vegetables also reduce calcium absorption and bone strength. Vitamin D supplements can help, and naturally Fonterra has its own product designed to counteract bone deterioration: Anlene, specifically marketed towards women 30 and above who are at greatest risk for osteoporosis. The folks at Fonterra have even come up with Anlene 4X, a "concentrated shot" of Anlene milk the size of a tetrapak box with four times the calcium in one dose.

Fonterra has a range of products to meet this need including Anlene (for women), Anmum (for expecting mothers) and probiotics (yogurts and "good bacteria" products) as part of the company's drive of "using the power of consumer goods to make a positive difference."

In the Philippines, one project Anlene sponsored a few years back, was a nutritional milk bus visiting barangays where they had clinicians diagnosing health and giving advice.

Home Care Is Big Business - Globally

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:54:03 GMT

What will ageing folks without available kin do for companionship and support in their later years? Providing that answer has propelled Home Instead Senior Care into an international franchising dynamo that reaped $661 million last year and projects a 2009 jump to $738 million on domestic growth of 10% and 26% growth internationally.

With people over age 65 rising from 7% to 15% of the world's population by 2050, Home Instead was the first to franchise a new senior-care niche: nonmedical companion-caregivers. This article in Time explains that in most of the world, private-pay care services are virtually unknown. But with seniors' numbers soaring, public care dollars shrinking and extended families geographically scattered, Home Instead is mining a virtually untapped and limitless market.

Caregivers, usually female and aged 55 to 60, are assigned for 15 to 20 hours a week. The typical cost in the U.S.: $18.40 per hour, with the caregivers getting $9.43 of that. Besides helping with activities ranging from cooking to laundry and playing Scrabble, the caregivers may also plan excursions, such as having lunch in New York City, viewing cherry blossoms in Osaka or taking in cattle auctions in New Zealand. Depending on local regulations, some franchises also offer personal care.

The business model called for marketing to professionals like geriatric-care managers and hospital staff, who would refer clients. The first franchise was sold in 1995 and has steadily racked up sales to 874 - currently sold for $35,500 each and 5% of royalties. New owners visit Omaha, where they learn staffing, pricing and marketing and imbibe the company's feel-good vibe of helping seniors.

Yoshino Nakajima, an American-educated, Japanese-born woman manages the Japan business.

They partnered with the huge Japanese housekeeping franchiser Duskin. But the difficulty was selling the idea of for-pay companionship to the public and government-subsidized health-care gatekeepers. In a media blitz in 2000, Duskin coined the word companionshippu. But only patience and painstaking matching persuaded elders to bring a stranger into their typically small, private realms. "The seniors," Nakajima explains, "would invite the caregivers first to pull weeds in their garden and size them up from the window. Afterward, they'd invite them in for tea."

With Nakajima heading global development, 268 franchises have sprouted in 15 countries, from Portugal to South Korea, always with a local master franchiser to navigate native customs. In New Zealand, for example, managers must observe such niceties as never matching a Maori client from the Ngai Tahu tribe with a caregiver from the Tainui.

Competing franchises have sprung up, but only one, Comfort Keepers, has expanded abroad. Besides, there's plenty of business to go around. Even in dismal 2008, the industry expanded. While some clients have trimmed hours in the downturn, new ones just keep coming.

The wave of seniors is unstoppable, and so too is the business they bring.

Middle Aged - And A Bit Naughty

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 06:23:56 GMT

The Japanese expression, 'choi waru oyaji' may be about to join other Japanese expressions as part of the international language. It means to: the middle-aged man who is "slightly bad" i.e. naughty.
This makes a nice change from the purile, tired expressions used to refer to anyone older than 40!

The term, has been popularized in the pages of Leon, a Japanese magazine targetting middle aged men. For example, articles will include advice on the best overnight bag for a rendezvous and luxury watch advertisements.

Leon makes the age of its audience plain: one of the two models it keeps on contract, Gianfranco Simone, an Italian in his mid-50s. While magazines aimed at younger audiences are shrinking, Leon's sales of 50,000 to 55,000 copies a month have held steady even in the recession.

In March this year, Leon launched a Chinese version (blogged here) but I can't yet be sure if they've followed the same age profiling as the Japanese original. We'll check. Negotiations are underway for a Korean version.

According to the publisher, the premise is simple: "All men want to be popular with women. It doesn't matter whether they're young or old or whether the women are their girlfriends, their wives or their daughters."

They 'get it'.

Over 50s 'search out promotions' when grocery shopping

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 08:07:13 GMT

A new UK study reveals that money-off coupons and in-store promotions are more likely to influence the over 50s than any kind of loyalty to a particular brand.

The survey, reported here at talkingretail.com was conducted by specialist mature marketing consultancy, Millennium among almost 400 people aged between 50 and 80 also reveals that more than a quarter (26%) shop for groceries online, which is said to dispell any myth that people in this age range are uncomfortable using computers.

Other highlights:

Over half of the sample spend in excess of £150 on groceries per month; with 49% believing that this figure is higher than their average spend at the same time last year.
Most important factors when out shopping are (surprise) 1. quality and 2. price, (which rank equal).
48% said that publicised health reports did not affect their decisions to purchase or avoid particular grocery products.
Products claiming to be beneficial to health such as wholegrain, probiotic, vitamins and cholesterol-lowering products were particularly popular
Packaging and ethical concerns were also high on the agenda.
75% felt that products were over-packaged and 63% indicated that they preferred packaging to be recyclable.
Over half of respondents also said that they would be more likely to buy a product if they knew that it was Fairtrade.

Senior Adventure Travel On The Rise

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:06:12 GMT

More Brits over 50 are embarking on adventure holidays abroad, Saga Holidays has said, and recent figures from GoLearnTo.com revealed that 85 per cent of travellers over-50 journey independently and find that doing so is an ideal way to meet like-minded people.

Saga said this was because people were staying fitter for longer, meaning older holidaymakers are becoming increasingly keen to try new activities while abroad.

Saga has experienced an uptake in demand for destinations in South America, with Chile emerging as one of the most popular countries. Touring holidays in Nepal and India are also proving popular, while flights to Cuba are also in demand from Britain's mature holidaymakers.

Now, of course we know from our own recsearch that the Western mindset is more open to active ageing than in Asia, but it's surely inspiring both at an individual level and as a potential market, that older consumers are travelling this way.

BMW Goes Ageless ....... Again

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:47:48 GMT

I have often used BMW as a good example of ageless marketing and inclusive advertising because their advertising, famously, never featured people. Despite this, the BMW brand has always managed to keep it's youthful, image relative to its nemesis, Mercedes Benz.

But things have changed recently. BMW has just launched a new global campaign showing .......... people! Lot's of them and all different ages. No stereotypes. Very nicely handled. Tellingly, the first driver appearing in the commercial is definitely 50+.

Under the new brand theme "Joy", the company seems to be taking the consumer conversation to a higher level than metal, features and performance. (However, and unrelated to the ageing issue, it is conspicuously and unfortunately similar to the "Pleasure Comes In Many Forms" strategy adopted by Mercedes in their campaign recently launched in the UK. Click here to see/hear it.)

BMW maintains it's "Sheer Driving Pleasure tagline". See the whole BMW Joy campaign here.

Some research we have at hand suggests that people over 50 are responsible for 80% of premium/luxury car purchases in Europe. No wonder these two superb companies are sensitive to this consumer. Here's the brand print ad featuring our 50+ hero:

China's Biadu Makes Search Easier for Seniors

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 05:55:08 GMT

Do older people need a special search engine? Well China's leading search business, Baidu seems to think so and a few months ago, launched the first community service search engine to help the elderly get into the world of search. It's called Baidu123 and you can see it here. (Chinese only)

The modified engine was developed by 30+ engineers at Baidu through research and development and testing over 6 months. (We're going to try and find out more about how they arrived at this model and will blog the findings).

It claims to be a world's first. Baidu selected frequently used websites for the elderly so that it can become the "door" for the elderly to the online community. It reduces the layers of search results. The users can click on the link or the pictures to reach the desired contents. The search does not have any commercial or promotional messages (for how long?)

Baidu also hopes that the valuable knowledge and experience of the elderly can be unveiled and benefit more internet users via such platform. Baidu's CEO said "I want to let you know that there are already many elderly users who share their knowledge and experience with those needy via Baidu. I believe our elderly users can fully enjoy their old age lives with this search engine."

Naturally, the site is only in Chinese. However, you can get a sense of the site by the labels and menu items we've translated here:

Portals, News, Music, MP3, Games, Audio books, Videos, Music & arts, Poetry & painting, Birds & flowers, Taking care of health, Community, Financial management, Software,

and some other search categories are;

Weather forecast, TV programs, Online radio, Stocks, Funds, Forex, Maps, Lunar calendars, Hospitals, Menu, Travel, Mailbox, Online translation, Help manual

Older Users Drive Twitter's Success

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 03:13:39 GMT

Twitter's unparalleled explosion in popularity has been driven by not by teens but by a decidedly older group. That success has shattered a widely held belief that young people lead the way to popularizing innovations.

Twitter has proved that a site can take off in an older different demographic and become very popular.

This article in The New York Times cites new ComScore data.

In fact, though teenagers fueled the early growth of social networks, today they account for 14 percent of MySpace's users and only 9 percent of Facebook's. As the Web grows up, so do its users, and for many analysts, Twitter's success represents a new model for Internet success. The notion that children are essential to a new technology's success has proved to be largely a myth.

Adults have driven the growth of many perennially popular Web services. YouTube attracted young adults and then senior citizens before teenagers piled on. Blogger's early user base was adults and LinkedIn has built a successful social network with professionals as its target.

The same goes for gadgets. Though video games were originally marketed for children, Nintendo Wiis quickly found their way into nursing homes. Kindle from Amazon caught on first with adults and many gadgets, like iPhones and GPS devices, are largely adult-only.

Similarly, Twitter did not attract the young trendsetters at the outset. Its growth has instead come from adults who might not have used other social sites before Twitter, said Jeremiah Owyang, an industry analyst studying social media. "Adults are just catching up to what teens have been doing for years," he said.

Almost everyone under 35 uses social networks, but the growth of these networks over the last year has come from older adults, according to a report from Forrester Research issued Tuesday. Use of social networking by people aged 35 to 54 grew 60 percent in the last year.

For Twitter's future, young people's ambivalence could be a good thing. Teenagers may be more comfortable using new technologies, but they are also notoriously fickle. Although they drove the growth of Friendster and MySpace, they then moved on from those sites to Facebook.

Perhaps Twitter's experience will encourage Web start-ups to take a more realistic view of who uses the Web and go after a broader audience, said and industry observer. "Older populations are a smart thing to be thinking about, as opposed to eternally going after the 15- through 19-year-olds," she said.

Japan Targets Retirees to Invest in Govt Bonds

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 03:45:57 GMT

Expanding efforts to attract buyers to the nation's growing debt load, flooding the backs of taxi cabs for the first time with pamphlets in the hopes of getting retirees to invest more money in bonds according to this article from Bloomberg.

"Government bonds are worth another look," the Ministry of Finance says in its latest advertisement, which features a picture of 37-year-old Junko Kubo, a former anchor on Japan's public broadcaster NHK. Individuals can buy government debt at local banks for as little as 10,000 yen, or about $106, according to the ads. The ministry is hawking the bonds on its Web site with the slogan, translated from Japanese, "Peace of mind. Piece of happiness."

"We are targeting those people with money for retirement," said Masaaki Kaizuka, director of debt management policy for the government in Tokyo.

Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano is borrowing record amounts to help pull the economy out of its deepest postwar recession, increasing national debt to 684.4 trillion yen ($7.26 trillion). Besides taxis, the government is putting posters in banks and planning ads for television later this year.

The ministry is spending 650 million yen on bond ads for the fiscal year that ends March 31, which is "slightly" less than in the prior 12 months, Kaizuka said.

Baby Boomers

Kubo follows Koyuki, the actress and model who goes by one name and starred with Tom Cruise in "The Last Samurai" in 2003, who appeared in ads for Japan bonds that same year. The finance ministry in 2002 hired Koushiro Matsumoto, an actor in Kabuki theater, and model Norika Fujiwara in its bond campaigns.

Now Kubo is marketing bonds to the 17 percent of Japan's 127.3 million people who are over 65. Japan's so-called baby boomers, who were born from 1947 through 1949 and will start turning 65 in 2012, will have 80 trillion yen in pension funds to spend when they retire, government estimates show.

Households own 36 trillion yen of the nation's debt, or about 5 percent of the market. Their ownership has doubled from 18 trillion yen five years ago, while holdings of stocks have fallen to 79.7 trillion yen from 205.8 trillion yen in 2007, Bank of Japan figures show.

The taxi ads offer "guaranteed rates," with a floor of 0.05 percent, even if market rates fall below that, in line with the government's efforts to focus on the safety of its debt.

The ministry's latest ad campaign for bonds comes as Japanese stocks recover from last year's rout. The Topix index is up 12 percent in 2009, after a record 41 percent decline in 2008. Japan's economy expanded at an annual 3.7 percent pace in the three months ended June 30, growing for the first time in five quarters.

Silver market going to the dogs ..... and cats

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 03:47:39 GMT

Unicharm PetCare of Japan is chasing sales of Y100bn in 10 years due to the rising population of retiring baby boomer, pet owners according to Uchicharm PetCare President Futagami.

He seeks to feed more dogs and cats predicting that the market, which was worth 313.5 billion yen in fiscal 2008, will double in 10 years.

Ageing owners and ageing pets!? Demand is growing for new products for indoor pets as well as treatments for aging and obese pets such as pet food for dogs aged 13 years and older and thin pet sheets that have better absorbency but lower prices according to Futagami.

Pet business take note, Unicharm PetCare's focus will remain in Japan for the time being, and it will not venture beyond its sole foreign market of the U.S., the president says.

Macedonia boat accident - a tragic reminder of our ageing world

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:09:06 GMT

The tourism business and governments need to wake up to the changing needs of an ageing world before more die through poor safety standards that recognize their evolving needs.

In the lastest tragedy on Saturday, 15 mainly elderly Bulgarians drowned when a tourist boat sank suddenly in Macedonia's popular Lake Ohrid as reported here.

Echoes of a similar disaster on Lake George, New York State in October 2005, when a tour boat carrying a group of senior citizens capsized and sank killing 20 elderly passengers. Enquiries after that incident indicated that the older, and some obese people, were simply not nimble enough to escape the fast-sinking vessel in time. None were wearing life vests.

More recently, in July this year, a Japanese tour organizer was arrested on suspicion of negligence after eight senior citizens died of apparent hypothermia in cold, wet weather during a climbing tour of Japan's northern mountains.

When the business world fails to wake up to the opportunities and needs of the ageing societies, that's silly. But when business and governments fail to consider the health, welfare and safety of their ageing citizens, that's a crime!

Entrepreneur helps Silvers 'log on' in China

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:20:11 GMT

Pinetree in China aims to provide a one-stop shop for seniors to provide products and services in health, travel, home and finance to senior citizens.

With a passion for social responsibility, and the desire to bring a better life to her ageing parents, Ninie Wang, a China-born entrepreneur, set up an organisation called Pinetree in 2004.

"The Chinese government has made it very clear that the responsibility of taking care of and providing for the aged will (go) to the private sector ... We are now in a great time to develop the grey-haired market," says Wang.

The first order of business was to help make technology and the internet both accessible and fun for these seniors. China continues to lag behind in this area; only six per cent of those above the age of 50 are computer-literate, a stark contrast to its Western counterparts where internet usage can be as high as 70 per cent in Europe and the US.

The competency level Pinetree aims for ranges from basic computer skills like browsing the internet, using search engines, sending and receiving emails, to more complicated tasks like conducting online video chats.

To widen its reach, Pinetree has also partnered with the Beijing Community Services portal to make the programme available to 2,000 grassroot communities in the Chinese capital through its network of regional district management organisations in the city.

Other partnerships include the Gerontological Society of China, the China National Committee on Ageing, and the Chinese Association for the Promotion of Cultural Exchange.

This kind of outreach will inevitably expand Pinetree's market base, which Wang says can then support commercial online platforms promoting lifestyle products targeted at that same elderly segment.

Can't find her website though! Maybe only in Chinese?

Huge Opportunity In Senior-Friendly Housing

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:02:17 GMT

The world won't be able to build enough retirement communities so the only option is to help people reamin living in their houses. This means making them Senior-Friendly.

In the USA, according to the AARP, nine of 10 people older than 50 plan to remain in their homes for as long as their health allows, but most older homes weren't built to accommodate the frailties of old age.

People are having to remodel their bathrooms and kitchens so that they can use both more easily as they grow older. Replaced their bathtub with a step-in shower, enlarging the kitchen and installing pullout shelves. Wheelchair access and a kitchen big enough for two.

With 78 million baby boomers beginning to feel the aches and pains of their years, the "aging in place" market offers a huge potential for remodelers. Half of those boomers expect to make changes to their homes to stay there, the AARP survey said.

Remodelers have found that many older homes are inconvenient and possibly unsafe for anyone not surefooted. They have doorways too narrow for wheelchairs, carpeting too thick for walkers and staircases without continuous handrails. Kitchens where pullout shelves eliminate any stretching or kneeling. The no-slip textured floor discourages falling. The brighter lighting makes recipes more legible.

The recession has also prompted older couples to look more seriously at staying put because people can't sell their home and can't afford a senior community, so they're calling on remodelers to put in barrier-free showers, higher toilets, more grab bars, wider doorways or anything else to help them maneuver around the house.

Just as energy efficiency has become something that buyers look for in homes, so will accessibility, or easy living, become a big plus as the public learns more about it.

In the USA, remodelers report a 74 percent increase over the last year in inquiries from prospective clients interested in making their homes more accessible. Homeowners have begun to include age-related modifications in remodeling projects because they don't have to compromise on style to do it.

People have started to understand that an age-friendly house doesn't have to look like a nursing home. For instance, grab bars now come in a variety of styles and finishes that match the faucets and other bathroom hardware. Some changes are so subtle that most people don't notice. Door levers have replaced knobs and given more independenxce to homeowners with arthritis.

Consumers can choose from many more age-friendly home products than in the past. Coming onto the market are keyless door locks that read fingerprints and home versions of sensor-triggered faucets now found in public restrooms.

SILVER is in the process of creating an audit system that will enable a house, a product or a service to be evaluated against the major effects of ageing to determine their age-friendliness.

Older consumer attract Japans skincare industry

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:57:36 GMT

With 22 per cent of Japanese over 65, the older consumer is a lucrative market for the skincare industry.

But times are tough even for giants Kao and Shiseido who together command a third of industry sales. The widely reported tales of more-precious-than-gold skin creams obscure a more humble reality. Shiseido's 2008 annual report states that Japan's cosmetics market is "essentially not growing" and is a "zero-sum battle" for market share. A leaner and meaner Shiseido has reduced its portfolio of brands from 100 to 21. Kao's 2008 annual report called growth stable in the high end, sold mostly through department stores, and in low-priced, self-selection brands, while the middle segment between 2,000 and 5,000 yen is shrinking. Japan has the world's oldest population, making older women a key market and anti-aging products a growth sector.

Beautiful skin is a national fixation in Japan, and deep-pocketed consumers pay shocking prices for the promise of middle-aged beauty. Skincare priced above 20,000 yen (US$200) saw sales growth of 24 per cent last year, according to Shiseido. Prices scale upwards to ‘super premium' - those that sell for 100,000 yen. A 40-gram jar of Shiseido's Cle de Peau Beaute Synergique Cream or rival Kanebo's Twany Century Cell Rythm Cream both sell for 126,000 yen, while Kose's 45-gram pack of Cosme Deccorte AQ Cream is a relative bargain at 94,500 yen.

Skincare leads toiletry categories in Japan. Last year, skincare tallied sales of 1.5 trillion yen, or 42 per cent of the 3.5 trillion spent on cosmetics and toiletries, according to Euromonitor. This is nearly matched by ‘premium cosmetics', a high-end catchall with 41 per cent of sales worth 1.4 trillion. Both categories are mature, and, states Euromonitor, compound annual growth was two and 1.1 per cent respectively between 2003 and 2008.

New software helps 50 plus drivers stay sharp

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:53:12 GMT

One of the known effects of ageing is a natural decline in the brain's ability to process visual information. One of the activities most affected is driving, a task that demands you simultaneously track multiple moving objects, often at the edge of your field of vision.

The decline of this capability may be one of the reasons the elderly have to stop driving. But experts say that the speed and accuracy of the brain's visual processing can begin to gradually decline in middle age or even earlier.

Now there's a software program, for both PCs and Macs, that claims it can "train the brain to think and react faster on the road" by putting a user through brief, repetitive exercises aimed at bolstering his or her visual-processing prowess. It's called DriveSharp, and is from a San Francisco-based company called Posit Science. which also produces other brain-training programs.

DriveSharp isn't a driving simulator, but a pair of simple-looking visual memory games, plus assessment tests, that Posit Science says are based on published scientific research. The company says it purchased a training technique that researchers have proven to be effective at improving visual processing.

As this article in The Wall Street Journal explains, Posit Science makes some strong claims for DriveSharp. It asserts that people who use the program as directed (at least three times a week for 20 minutes at a time) can cut their "crash risk" by 50% and stop their cars 22 feet sooner at 55 miles per hour. It says these users can expand by 200% their "useful field of view," the area within which you can take in details with a single glance.

And the company adds that, if you use DriveSharp as instructed for a total of 10 hours, its positive effects can last for several years. To back up these claims, Posit Science cites a number of scientific studies and articles published in well-known journals.

The DriveSharp software, is sold both online (US$139) , or for $99 from participating AAA Clubs. (The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has endorsed the product.

People happier with age

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:32:49 GMT

Some interesting insights revealed from research reported in this article from the BBC.

Despite worries about ill health, income, changes in social status and bereavements, later life tends to be a golden age, according to psychologists. They found older adults generally make the best of the time they have left and have learned to avoid situations that make them feel sad or stressed. By reviewing the available studies on emotions and ageing psychiatrists found that mental wellbeing generally improved with age, except for people with dementia-related ill health.

Older people were far less likely than the younger to experience persistent negative moods and were more resilient to hearing personal criticism.
They were also much better at controlling and balancing their emotions - a skill that appeared to improve the older they became.
Older people are increasingly aware that the time they have left in life is growing shorter.
They want to make the best of it so they avoid engaging in situations that will make them unhappy.
They have also had more time to learn and understand the intentions of others which helps them to avoid these stressful situations.

Too many younger people assume that getting older is a process that will inevitably mean sickness, frailty and lack of mobility and greater dependence. However, this is far from the truth in very many cases. Many older people lead active, healthy lives enriched by experience and learning. "It's vital that there is growing acceptance that just because someone is getting older, it doesn't mean they no longer have a significant contribution to make."

Japanese seek fountain of youth in collagen

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:07:54 GMT

When the fastest-ageing society in the world gets enthusiastic about a possible antidote to ageing, the world should take note.

From Nabe (a hearty soup of chicken, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, onions and mizuna, a peppery mustard green) to bar cocktails and special supplements, the Japanese enthusiasm for collagen is on the rise.

The connective protein in bones, skin and cartilage, collagen provides structure and firmness to body tissue. But we lose collagen as we age, and that allows wrinkles to form.
In Japan, which boasts the highest percentage of residents over 60 and the longest life spans in the world, the bid to defy the wear and tear that Father Time brings has become an industry.

Nabe has long been a staple of Japanese cuisine, but a special, collagen infused nabe is being served in which congealed mustard-yellow clumps (chicken collagen) is piled on top of the meat and vegetables which then melts down to form the broth of the nabe, in contrast to the traditional mixture of water and chicken stock.

Collagen is popular in Japan, especially among women eager to lap up the latest trend in the ever-burgeoning skin-care market.

Cocktails at trendy bars are infused with collagen, and small bottles of daily liquid-collagen supplements - with pink caps and wrappers aimed at attracting women - dot shelves at convenience stores, selling for about $2.50 each.
The Shiseido beauty company, which markets a popular collagen supplement, said sales were up 65% last year compared with 2007, the first year they were on the market.

That's remarkable, considering that nutritionists have been sceptical about the health benefits of eating collagen, which they say is digested by amino acids in the same way as any other protein and thus offers no special effects. "There is no evidence that dietary collagen intake facilitates collagen biosynthesis," says Kuniko Takahashi, a nutrition scientist at Japan's Gunma University.

Ageing takes it's toll on jazz

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 05:32:36 GMT

Older people are much less likely to attend jazz performances today than they were a few years ago. The percentage of Americans between the ages of 45 and 54 who attended a live jazz performance in 2008 was 9.8%. In 2002, it was 13.9%. That's a 30% drop in attendance!

According to this article in The Wall Street Journal, the bad news came from the National Endowment for the Arts' latest Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, the fourth to be conducted by the NEA (in participation with the U.S. Census Bureau) since 1982. These are the findings that made jazz musicians sit up and take notice:

In 2002, the year of the last survey, 10.8% of adult Americans attended at least one jazz performance. In 2008, that figure fell to 7.8%.
Not only is the audience for jazz shrinking, but it's growing older-fast. The median age of adults in America who attended a live jazz performance in 2008 was 46. In 1982 it was 29.
Even among college-educated adults, the audience for live jazz has shrunk significantly, to 14.9% in 2008 from 19.4% in 1982.

These numbers indicate that the audience for jazz in America is both aging and shrinking at an alarming rate. No less revealing, though, is that the median age of the jazz audience is now comparable to the ages for attendees of live performances of classical music (49 in 2008 vs. 40 in 1982), opera (48 in 2008 vs. 43 in 1982), nonmusical plays (47 in 2008 vs. 39 in 1982) and ballet (46 in 2008 vs. 37 in 1982). In 1982, by contrast, jazz fans were much younger than their high-culture counterparts.

Jazz has changed greatly since the ’30s, when Louis Armstrong, one of the supreme musical geniuses of the 20th century, was also a pop star, a gravel-voiced crooner who made movies with Bing Crosby and Mae West and whose records sold by the truckload to fans who knew nothing about jazz except that Satchmo played and sang it. As late as the early ’50s, jazz was still for the most part a genuinely popular music, a utilitarian, song-based idiom to which ordinary people could dance if they felt like it. But by the ’60s, it had evolved into a challenging concert music whose complexities repelled many of the same youngsters who were falling hard for rock and soul. Yes, John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” sold very well for a jazz album in 1965—but most kids preferred “California Girls” and “The Tracks of My Tears,” and still do now that they have kids of their own.

Sex get better over 50. Study

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:38:39 GMT

According to a survey of 50 plus folks, 45% said their sexual inhibitions have decreased since turning 50 and 40% described themselves as more sexually adventurous.

The survey conducted by Leger Marketing (presumably for or on behalf of Pfizers' Viagra) among Canadians 50 and over (that's 1/3 of Canada's population!), also revealed:

27% report that since turning 50, their sex life has improved.
Almost half of Canadians older than 50 say they are sexually satisfied and 70% say that sexual spontaneity is important to them.
33% of Canadians surveyed over 50 say they or their partner have experienced erectile dysfunction (ED).
This past March, Viagra marked its 10th year in the Canadian market.
The Pfizer drug has forever transformed the way erectile dysfunction is treated, leading to a multimillion-dollar industry that's seen the arrival of Eli Lilly's Cialis in 2003 and Bayer's Levitra the following year.
Last year in Canada a $170 million worth of ED drugs were sold.

Then there's this battle to confront: As men age, testosterone -- vital for maintaining lean muscle mass, preventing osteoporosis and heart disease and keeping the libido strong and healthy -- gradually decreases. Lower testosterone levels is one possible contributor to Erectile Dysfuncton (ED), but less frequent or reliable erections means it's also time to take a good look at the vascular system. ED can also be an early warning sign of serious health problems such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes or high blood pressure that could be coming down the pipe in the future.

Doctors estimate about one third of men could reverse ED naturally by increasing exercise, improving diet, quitting smoking and reducing alcohol intake. But most choose a far easier approach: Swallowing a little pill.

Pills such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra don't actually boost sexually desire or testosterone levels but they do improve blood flow throughout the body, which can bring along the added bonus of better erections.

Adds a whole new meaning to the term 'Active Ageing'.

The 'Wizard of Oz' turns 70

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:12:27 GMT

It took almost 20 years for the musical to achieve 'phenomenon' status, and it was television that did it.

The film was first screened on August 17 1939 at Loew’s Capitol Theatre in New York. As the day went on, 60 policemen were drafted in from around the city to keep order among the tumultuous crowd and by the time Loew’s closed that evening, some 37,000 customers had passed through its doors.

As this article in The Telegraph relates, it is thanks to television, that Oz is now the most watched film in the world: 100 million people are supposed to have seen the film in Britain alone. CBS first screened it, in 1956, when most of the 45 million people watching would have missed the magical transformation from sepia to Technicolor for want of colour televisions. Yet today, everyone knows what happens if you knock your heels together three times.

Happy Birthday to 'The Wiz'

Older consumers set to spend in Japan

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:21:23 GMT

SILVER quoted in this article from the World Advertising Research Centre.

20,000 Japanese turn 100 this year!

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:17:51 GMT

The super-ageing of Japan has become a political, economic and strategic imperative and a lesson for other Asian countries following close behind.

According to this article in the Financial Times, Japan’s elderly face the prospect of a retirement age rising as high as 70 or 75!

Older investors more likely to use traditional brokers

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 04:53:42 GMT

A 2008 Gartner survey showed only 17 percent of "pre-booomers," those 63 years old and above, using online brokerages, compared with 29 percent of "Gen X"ers - those age 33 to 44.

Demographics point to growth for online outfits, because their users are those who have come of age with the Internet, according to this article in the New York Times. For this reason, boomers are also more likely to shift to online brokers particularly given the lack of confidence in brokerages as a result of the financial crisis.

Younger investors want instant access and execution, and can get more information on their iPhones than brokers could get 10 years ago.

Aso makes an 'asso' of himself over ageing gaffe

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:48:48 GMT

Elderly's 'only talent' is the ability to work according to : Japan PM, Prime Minister Taro Aso said in an address to young entrepreneurs in Yokohama, near Tokyo. What a stupid way to endear himself to younger voters.

He said that Japan's elderly people should keep working to pay taxes as their only talent is the ability to work, noting that more than 80 percent of people aged 65 or older in Japan were able-bodied and needed no nursing care.

The remarks could cause controversy in the rapidly ageing society ahead of an August 30 election that Aso's party fears losing, ending its more than half century of almost unbroken rule of the country.

With insensitive and idiotic statements like this, it's no wonder that support ratings for Aso, who came to power in September, have plummeted due to a number of gaffes and policy flip-flops, while the opposition party has gained momentum despite its own scandals involving political funds.

Aso apologised for making a quip about patients with Alzheimer's disease in 2007 when he was foreign minister. At that time he said "Regular-quality (Japanese) rice is sold at about 16,000 yen per (60-kg) bag here. But it can sell for 78,000 yen in China," Aso told a speech in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, Thursday. "Which, 16,000 yen (or) 78,000 yen, is more expensive? Even people with Alzheimer's disease could understand."

Maybe he should consider a name change to George W. Aso, to reflect his gift for 'foot-in-mouth' comments?

Free eye tests for 50+ in Australia

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 06:43:00 GMT

Older Queenslanders can use state-of-the-art equipment that is not normally available to the public.

As part of a test to detect the early signs of age-related macular degeneration, eye specialist and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researcher, is offering free tests to people aged 50 and over.

Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in Australia and one in three Australians will be affected to some degree by it, according to researchers. As yet there is no cure, but if it is detected early enough, steps can be taken to prevent the condition from worsening. It's very important to detect the condition before there is damage because you can only preserve existing eyesight.

The study will employ highly sensitive, non-invasive instruments only available at Queensland University to pick up any early signs of macular degeneration.

This test is not available for free elsewhere in Australia and while thorough, it will deliver immediate feedback.

App turns iPhone into a hearing aid

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 09:47:30 GMT

Hard of Hearing? Just Grab Your iPhone

People don't normally equate the iPhone with medical innovation but a now there's an application that doubles as a hearing aid..

The application, called soundAMP, is made by Ginger Labs, a California-based software applications developer, and is available in the iTunes store for US$9.99.

Though it's not an actual hearing aid, soundAMP achieves a similar effect. Users just launch the application and then plug in a pair of earphones. The application takes in sound from a microphone (be it built-in, in a headset or from elsewhere) and then amplifies and filters it.

Then you can adjust the volume to your liking with a slider on the touchscreen. You also can replay five or 30 seconds by tapping the appropriate button on the screen. Hearing aids often may be associated with the more mature, but soundAMP's developers insist their product is age neutral -- of equal value to the octogenarian hard of hearing and the college student stuck in the back of a large lecture class.

What happens when boomers stop buying?

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 01:53:01 GMT

After 10 years of growth, Harley-Davidson will be lay off 460 plant employees in September. Four hundred more will be idled in a shutdown for several weeks this fall.

The iconic American company, said the recession is cutting deeply into sales. Analysts also said the company continues to adjust because baby boomer consumers loyal to its brand are ageing.

There are enormous opportunities waiting for companies that can meet the changing needs of our ageing boomer consumer, but the risks are also great for companies that don't anticipate and adapt to these changes.

"Silver market" offers rewards in China

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 10:46:55 GMT

A new article on the massive opportunity in China quoting a member of SILVER's Advisory Board, Dr. Yuwa Hedrick-Wong.

Read the article in WARC here.

Some interesting cases are cited:

Baidu, China's biggest online search engine, introduced a service specifically for older web users this year, as it sought to tap into the particular needs of this demographic.
Nestlé, the food manufacturer, has also launched a version of its milk formula range, which is typically made for babies, especially for elderly customers.
In the international travel market, they make up 13.5% of holiday-makers, but contribute 45% of all spending.

Impressive stuff.

Shanghai promotes procreation to balance ageing society

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 02:06:57 GMT

Shanghai's initiative follows similar campaigns in other crowded Asian cities, such as Hong Kong and Singapore, which had previously worked to promote small families only to see birth rates trail off as incomes matched western levels.

This article in the Financial Times explains that the city is taking the dramatic step of actively encouraging residents to exceed China’s famed “one child” limit, citing concerns about the ageing of its population and a potentially shrinking workforce.Some 21 per cent of Shanghai's registered population last year were aged 60 or older, which was twice the national average.

Twelve categories of Shanghai couples are allowed to have two children, including those whose first child is disabled and those with a spouse who was a fisherman at sea for more than five years.

Officials say that the move reflected a wider change in attitude and that the country will gradually return birth rights to residents.

Guru advises Korea to build 'Silver Town' for Japanese seniors

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:09:52 GMT

Ohmae Kenichi, better known as ``Mr. Strategy,'' suggests Korean companies should target senior citizens in Japan who hold large amounts of cash.

He stressed that Korea should strategically nurture medical and tourism industries to attract more older Japanese tourists, recently in a forum organized by the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business on Jeju island.

As reported in this article in The Korean Times, he commented: "For instance, it could construct a silver town exclusively for Japanese senior citizens on Jeju island, a famous tourist designation among the Japanese. Also, companies here should focus on their core sectors and build up international competitiveness to survive intensifying competition. If they try to diversify into unfamiliar industries, they could jeopardize the whole organization,''

Ad mag says it's tricky to appeal to older consumers

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 03:04:23 GMT

Here's a very good article from a renowned ad magazine that explains the tips and traps of advertising to older consumers.

Among the words of wisdom in this AdWeek article are the following nuggets when dealing with a 65+ audience:

Most of today's 65-plusers either grew up with the Depression or more likely had the lessons of the Depression taught them hard by their parents. Today they are cautious. So you need to prove that there's a need for something new, rather than just winning by saying it is new. They are looking for real need.
This has left them with a deep desire to get some enjoyment out of life before they're done. Marketers who wouldn't have thought to associate "adventure" with 65-plusers would do well to take note.
Whatever the length of the copy, it had better be grammatically correct. This generation knows good grammar and does not welcome an overly familiar (let alone a vulgar) tone. A certain respect is due. This market reacts badly to hype and hustle. Saying 'last chance, hurry, hurry, rush today' will almost always have the opposite effect. Personal testimonials from real customers are worth their weight in gold here.
The desire for connectedness remains strong, even if it takes different forms these days. Older people now create their own families, their own groups. This is part of the appeal of tour-group travel for seniors, which can include the notion that you'll be joining a collectivity of people who might remain in touch even after the trip is over.
A deep-seated longing for connectedness carries over to the way they respond to the imagery in advertising. Ads that scored well in research showed 'connectedness' with people in the photos interacting with one another. People would much rather see a group of people than a single person or a couple. The photo of a single person can have an aura of isolation while the image of a couple can be problematic for an audience that includes so many people who used to be part of a couple but have been widowed.
The fact that older people have more free time doesn't mean they've ceased to value their time. They're not anxious to be wasting time. Some marketers treat them as if they need to be rescued from a life of boredom -- scarcely the way this audience feels about itself. So "Including 10 pounds of copy in a five-pound ad will not attract readers," in contrast to "a great image that reflects their values or desired experiences."
Vibrancy is the key. Don't worry about graying hair or a wrinkle line if it's on a truly involved individual. But the ad shouldn't go overboard, literally. Ads that show older folks waterskiing or otherwise behaving as "superjocks," are viewed as silly. They want to see the person being vital and active -- doing something that is relevant to their life, not necessarily to their age.
However averse they may be to some of the ways ads treat them, few grandparents are predisposed to react negatively when marketers depict and address them in this role. Grandparenting' is an almost universally accepted -- and even enthusiastically accepted -- theme for everyone from age 50 plus and is therefore a warm platform that can embrace almost any product or category. Marketers who think solely of toys and clothing are ignoring the breadth of the opportunity they have to reach grandparents should consider the emergence of a "grandtravel" category in which grandparents take their grandchildren on trips, without the kids' parent(s)

Well done AdWeek!

ADB worries about pensions over "seizmic shift in ageing of SE Asia"

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 05:02:08 GMT

The Asian Development Bank has completed a study among the eight countries in Asia that are facing an aging crisis. In these countries the pension system is weak and inadequate, the study says. What makes the situation worse is that modernization and lifestyle changes have also shrunk the Asians’ formerly solid family-based support system.

This article from The Manila Times quotes ADB’s senior economist Park Donghyun says "There has been a “seismic demographic shift, Asian females are better educated and more conscious of their rights, including the right to enjoy life. They get better medical care. Asians are imitating their American and European social models and are having fewer children. They enjoy life indeed and live longer".

But now have the problem of graying and aging. The ratio of retirees to actively employed workers is rising.

Says the AFP report on the study: “The median age of China, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam ‘will exceed the world average by 2050.’ This means trouble for their pension systems.

The graying phenomenon is more pronounced in East and Southeast Asia than in South Asia, the ADB study says.

Tragic reminder of the special needs of older travellers

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:20:41 GMT

Eight senior citizens died of apparent hypothermia in cold, wet weather during a climbing tour of Japan's northern mountains. This is a stark reminder of the tragedy on Lake George, New York on October 3, 2005 when twenty seniors died as a tour boat capsized.Then, as no doubt will be proven in this case, the special needs of seniors had been overlooked.

According to this AP article, the hikers, most of them in their 60s, were found dead Friday. They were climbing Mount Tomuraushi on Hokkaido, Japan's main northern island. The members of an 18-member tour organized by Amuse-Travel Co. Ltd. were found at separate locations on the mountain, a sign that they were not well escorted, the police official said. Another senior citizen died on the mountain in the same period while hiking alone, and a 10th died on another mountain on Hokkaido. Police and media reports said bad weather affected their descent and all 10 died sometime between Thursday and Friday.

The striking number of deaths exposed the risks of mountain climbing as a trend among Japanese senior citizens as a way to stay healthy. Yoshiaki Takeda, a local official near the 2,141-meter (7,024-foot) Mount Tomuraushi, said it was highly unusual for deadly accidents to occur on the mountain, which has several shelters.

The climbers had thin rain jackets that apparently were insufficient for the strong winds, chilly mountain air and rain, Matsuya said. The temperature in the area was about 46 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius), a few degrees lower than usual. The tour agency president is being questioned on a possible case of professional negligence.

An enquiry into the The Lake George tragedy determined that the boat was neither safe for the 'heavier' passengers nor did it consider the lower mobility of the older passengers.

As much as we talk about business opportunities in providing products and services for mature consumers, business must also recognize the imperative to review and change their offerings for safety as well as profit.

Insights into the ageing population - Radio interview

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:07:59 GMT

Here's an interview I gave on BFM 89.9 radio in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. On July 20th, 2009.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Global Strategic Implications of an Ageing Japan

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 06:54:23 GMT

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124741962937128701.html

As Japan ages, budget priorities will shift. This is an insightful article from the Wall Street Journal about the impact of an ageing Japan on strategic relationships. Some of the key issues:

Health care, currently underfunded, will become a considerable drain on the government purse.
Defense spending -- always a tough sell in Japan -- will feel a tighter pinch
Recruitment for the Self Defense Forces, already difficult, will get harder
Official development assistance and the investment capital that lubricated foreign relations will shrink. This will diminish Japan's status in the region as other countries replace Japanese funds.
The demographic transition will make it difficult, if not impossible, for other regional powers to demonize Japan as in the past
Will Beijing muscle Tokyo aside and assume the leading role in Asia?
Seoul could give vent to its long-suppressed anger over Japanese colonization of the Korean Peninsula and its junior status in the region. Or the South Korean government could reach out to a country with similar interests, values and concerns to forge a forward-looking partnership of like-minded nations.

The article argues that no relationship will be more affected by the demographic change that that of the U.S. and Japan.

The new Japanese mindset poses a direct challenge to the evolution of the U.S.-Japan security alliance over the last decade. Tokyo is likely to try to move even closer to the U.S. in response to its straitened economic circumstances and a fear that it is being eclipsed by a dynamic, rising China.

The author proposes three imperatives that the US should follow in view of Japan's changing role. Well worth a read,

Electric bikes a boomer opportunity

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:42:44 GMT

News from the USA suggest that electric bikes may be the next big thing for the aging boomer market.

44.7 million Americans rode a bicycle 6 times or more in the past 12 months. Average Age 40 years. The 40 ~ 60 year old biker is likely to be of higher income, more politically progresive and seeking a fun and athletic experience according to the Bicycle Market Research Institute in a 2007 report. It is understandable that ageing boomers are turning to bicyles as an alternative to running and other more stressful forms of exercise.

Check out this overview of the electric bike market in the USA.

Wal-Mart, Best Buy and REI have either already or will soon enter the electric bicycle market (as noted in an earlier Green Transportation article). In the U.S. electric bicycles are little known but in other countries (notably Europe and China) they are more popular and widely known. In the U.S. the electric bicycle market has long been the realm of small specialist shops rather than big business. It will be interesting to watch this market change to see if or how the existing electric bicycle dealers will survive in this new era. Remember what happened with other incursions by large corporations into business territory occupied by small specialist shops. Despite the ilk of Starbucks, Borders Books and Amazon.com there are still small independent coffee shops and bookstores, just not as many as before.

China is already advanced in the manaufacture of e-bikes. Take a look at Flybrother (love the brand name?)

Boomer Business Fails On a Fundamental

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:46:38 GMT

Older consumers are in denial about their age. It's a fundamental truism that needs to be respected when nmarketing to silver consumers.

Evidence of this is the recent failure of TeeBeeDee.com (a social network aimed at baby boomers) reported here by Reuters.

At it's launch, the founder said "I recognized that people my age were like our parents and needed an outlet that reflected that. Looking at social networks today, people my age are looking for information, not hanging out, so I saw a need there too."

But baby boomers apparently did not want to be categorized away by their age. TBD.com had only 70,000 unique visitors last month. Instead, they were quite content with heading over to open social networking sites like Facebook, which has seen its fastest growth in users 55+.

If only they'd asked SILVER, we could have saved them a lot of work and the US$9 million in venture capital to realize this basic flaw in their thinking.

New P&G Chief Ignores Ageing Opportunity?

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:37:39 GMT

New Procter & Gamble Co. chief Bob McDonald seems obsessed with new, young markets to drive growth. He plans to ".... reach at least another billion or more in the decade ahead" he said in his first media conference.

In a speech a year ago he also said, "There's no question that the basic demographics are going to take the center of gravity of our business to Asia, to Africa — where the people are, where the babies are being born"

I have a question for Mr. McDonald; how does he plan to 'better serve' the ageing customer base who have been buying P&G's brands for decades, who's needs are evolving and who have the money to spend?!

Fashion and Beauty brands using more 'age appropriate' models

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:36:25 GMT

Almost 25 years after she appeared in an advertising campaign for Olay, Twiggy has been re-signed to front a national marketing push for the anti-ageing cosmetic brand say this article in The Guardian.

Twiggy, who turns 60 in September, last fronted a TV ad campaign for the Procter & Gamble-owned beauty brand in 1985. At the time the range was known as Oil of Ulay.

P&G has signed Twiggy, who most recently appeared in a TV campaign celebrating Marks & Spencer's 125th anniversary, in a one-year deal to promote the Olay Definity range that "goes beyond fighting the appearance of wrinkles".

The first ad campaign, which targets women aged from about 50 to 65, will run in national press.

P&G said signing Twiggy was, at least in part, a sign of the growing trend among fashion and beauty brands to use "age-appropriate" models to target consumers.

New Report Shows Asians Unprepared for Retirement

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:12:56 GMT

The 2009 HSBC Retirement Report is just out and shows that although most countries in the region currently have very high savings ratios, in excess of 20% of GDP. people generally don't feel they are prepared for retirement.

Download the 64 page report here.

These high savings rates potentially mask some significant risks because they are distributed very unevenly and often in savings vehicles which might not offer the best long-term returns. Pension assets are generally quite small - pension fund assets, for example, make up just 5% of India's GDP. In China, the figure is just 1%.12 This compares with a global OECD average of 90%.

The study also shows that having high savings rates might not translate into sufficient retirement assets given the differing savings motives people may have.

The table below shows how it is only the traditional Asian Tiger economies which scored above the global average in terms of ‘approaching retirement' as being a motive to save. In most emerging economies the desire to save for one's children outweighs the need to save for one's own retirement.

More seniors become entrepreneurs

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:53:51 GMT

Economic volatility and more boomer retirees has led to a surge of senior-run businesses in the USA.

This inspiring article from BusinessWeek quotes data from the AARP Public Policy Institute, saying that in 2008, 21% of the self-employed are between 55 and 64, while 10% were 65 and older.

Five years ago, Boston's Putnam Research reported that some 7 million previously retired Americans had returned to work. Similarly, a 2005 study by the Center on Aging & Work/Workplace Flexibility at Boston College found that workers 50 and older are more likely than younger folks to own their own businesses.

A slow-burning fuse - Economist Report

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:28:06 GMT

As always, when the Economist tackles a subject, it does so thoroughly.

Take a look at this Special Report just released today.

The Leader reads "Age is creeping up on the world, and any moment now it will begin to show. The consequences will be scary".

I'd prefer to think of the glass being half full. The opportunities are immense and waiting.

GPS shoes for Alzheimer's patients

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:31:26 GMT

A shoe-maker and a technology company are teaming up to develop footwear with a built-in GPS device that could help track down "wandering" seniors suffering from Alzheimer's Disease.

The technology will provide the location of the individual wearing the shoes within 30 feet, anywhere on the planet.

According to the developers, 60% of individuals afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease will be involved in a 'critical wandering incident' at least once during the progression of the disease -- many more than once.

The shoes are being developed by GTX Corp., which makes miniaturized Global Positioning Satellite tracking and location-transmitting technology, and Aetrex Worldwide, a footwear manufacturer.

Embedding a GPS device in a shoe is important because Alzheimer's victims tend to remove unfamiliar objects placed on them but getting dressed is one of the last types of memory they retain.

A "geo-fence" could be placed around a person's home and a "Google Map" alert sent to a cell phone, home or office computer when a programmed boundary is crossed.

The shoe in development with Aetrex should help authorized family members, friends, or caretakers reduce their stress and anguish by enabling them to locate their loved ones instantly with the click of a mouse.

The companies said they plan to begin testing the product by the fourth quarter of the year.

Aussie research shows importance of boomer travellers

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 10:26:56 GMT

While the 14-29 year-olds are a shrinking portion of the travel market, the 50-plus group is growing, according to Roy Morgan's Domestic Tourism Trends report released in March.

In the year ended September 2008, 74 per cent of Boomers went on holiday, compared with 68 per cent of Generation Y, aged 18-29.

Baby Boomers are shaping up to be a tourism operator's dream, with research showing they are the most frequent and cashed up travellers. Often mortgage and child-free, Boomers on average take longer holidays and spend hundreds of dollars more than their younger counterparts.

But generally, the industry is overlooking them in marketing and advertising campaigns. Contrary to typical tourism ads showing young couples frolicking in swimwear, the Roy Morgan research indicates that Baby Boomers are more likely to travel than younger generations.

To the benefit of Australia's tourism industry, Boomers have a tendency toward domestic travel and "are very risk averse" and "not very adventurous", unlike younger travellers who find the prospect of overseas travel more exciting.

The research also indicates that there's the issue of interest. Young people tend to be more interested in computers or going to the gym. A lot of the money spent is on mobile phones or the latest technology.

While Generation Y and Generation Z (under 18) are likely to travel to Asia or South America, the Aussie Boomers predominantly travel to western English speaking nations, with New Zealand being the most popular, followed by England and the US.

"Baby boomers are the first generation to really feel that travelling is a right and not a privilege".

14% of online gamers are 50-plus

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 10:26:21 GMT

Forget the stereotype that gaming is just for kids, the 'face' of the American casual gamer now looks more like the average American. According to this article 50% of casual gamers are now male, 50% female... and usage is spread across all ages, if skewing slightly younger. 36% are under 24, 13% are 25-30, 19% are 30-40, 18% are 40-50 and 14% are 50-plus. So, 49% are under 30, and 32% are over 40.

Singapore aims to become "lead market" for ageing in Asia

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:20:36 GMT

Singapore stands to reap significant rewards by positioning the nation as a home for innovationaimed at addressing key demographic changes across the region according to Economic Development Board (EDB) Managing Director, Beh Swan Gin.

"The rising middle class in China, India and Asean will result in tremendous economic affluence ...... they will demand better healthcare, lifestyle products and services which will create tremendous new market growth opportunities here" he continued.

Singapore will benefit from developing innovations that will meet the unique needs of Asian customers from countries with greying populations, such as China and Japan.

For those who wonder why SILVER is based in Singapore, now you know.

Nintendo uses nostalgia to win mature gamers

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:19:34 GMT

Nintendo is offering old titles through its Virtual Console download service for Wii users.

The Virtual Console takes players down video gaming's memory lane. It offers a large collection of games created for past Nintendo consoles like Nintendo Entertainment System and Family Computer. The store also sells games that were originally released for the company's competitors and allows players to download arcade video games.

And the strategy is working. The Virtual Console is attracting droves of old gamers who had stopped playing "Space Invaders" and other classic titles but are now jumping on the opportunity to relive their childhoods. Or teen and college years.

Prices are affordable at around 500 yen to 1,000 yen (US$5 - $10) per title.

At the end of March, the company started adding video arcade golden oldies to the Virtual Console's game archive. One of them, "Space Invaders," which was all the rage about three decades ago, has been an instant hit.

Nintendo is also expanding the archive by steadily releasing old titles for past consoles of other makers, such as the Neogeo and Sega Master System. A total of 34 game makers now supply titles for the Virtual Console.

Nintendo has sold more than 8 million Wiis in Japan, according to Enterbrain, which publishes video game magazines. More than two years since its launch, however, the pace of sales is slowing.

The company has also produced remakes of such classics as "Super Mario Bros." and "Tetris" for the Nintendo DS handset.

US mags & newspaper grapple with ageing readership

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:22:53 GMT

The latest round of industrywide research revealed the average age of magazines' readers is catching up with the overall population. The median age of adults in the U.S. increased 1.3 years to 45.2 since spring 2004, according to the spring 2009 Mediamark Research report. But adult readers at the nearly 200 publications and publishing groups tracked in both studies saw their median age rise 1.6 years to 44. About 56% of the titles tracked in both years posted age increases higher than the general adult population's.

This article in Chicago Business states worryingly, that the audiences at many titles, moreover, are getting older fast. The median reader age rose 3.7 years at the Sunday Chicago Tribune, for example, 3.9 years at Car and Driver, 4.1 years at U.S. News & World Report and 4.9 years at Penthouse, according to the research.

An ageing audience isn't always a problem, said one publisher, "Our readers are extremely loyal and have grown with the magazine over the past five years,"

And it's not like the competition is getting any younger. Five years ago only one traditional women's service title, Ladies' Home Journal, had a median reader age over 50Now there are four with median reader ages of 50 or above.

Some categories, what's more, practically demand mature readers - especially in recession. "To me, age is a good thing, because at that age, they're the people who have the money left," said Deb Burns, chief brand officer at Hachette's luxury design group, which comprises Metropolitan Home and Elle Décor. Met Home's median reader age is 48.2 in the new study. That's 6.3 years higher than in 2004, which was an outlier - the magazine's "youngest" year - and 3.6 years higher than 2005, a more typical year.

Motor Boating magazine supports the "aging baby boomer," said Glenn Hughes, group publisher of Bonnier's marine group. "This market is a bigger market than the younger market. Their discretionary time is on the water with the boats. The retirees have more discretionary time."

"So the magazine's changed with the times over the years," he said. "We are supporting them editorially by communicating more messages of cruising on their boats than going fast on their boats."

Tesco boss predicts new markets & services with ageing populations

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 07:31:59 GMT

"As countries grow and become richer, what they buy and eat will change - meat consumption, for example, is expected to rise. And as the number of old people grows - the number of people aged over 60 will quadruple to 2 billion by 2050 - new markets and services will grow".

So said Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy, in his annual speech to the British Retail Consortium. on June 10, 2009. He continued "We need to keep an eagle eye on these trends, which will change not just the retail sector and how we operate, but what consumers demand".

Good one Tesco!

Any followers?

Online Commerce Growth Fuelled By 65+

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 07:14:58 GMT

Between 2001 and 2006, the number of Internet banking users aged 55-64 increased 425% and those aged 65 and over increased 275%, making them the two demographic groups with the largest percentage growth.

The figures also show that the majority of adults aged between 25 and 54 who use the internet now use online banking. Although the number of ‘silver surfers' - those aged 65 or over - who bank online has also shown large growth over the last four years, there is still an age split between those under 55 who prefer to use the internet for their banking and those aged 55 and over who prefer to use telephone banking.

APACS (The UK Association Of Clearing Services) has revealed a five-year snapshot of online banking, telephone banking and Internet shopping in the UK. The surprising results of the study have shown that the growth in online banking has been fuelled by silver surfers.

Baby boomers, seniors gamble most

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 06:29:31 GMT

Casino's (and governments issuing permits for them) take note! Slot machine maker, WMS Industries, says older people still gamble the most at casinos in the USA.

WMS surveyed 2,000 gamblers in the USA who had visited a casino at least once in the past year, and found that baby boomers and seniors made up more than 60 percent of all active gamblers.

The company also believes that gamblers are less patient than ever before based.

With many casino's under construction in Singapore and on the drawing board in other Asian capitals, it's worth taking note.

Older folks have the money, the time and, it would seem, the stomach to lose both!

New research shows resilience of the older market in recession

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:15:28 GMT

Dick Stroud, (20plus30) UK's leading authority on marketing to to 50-plus, has teamed up with Mature Insights to survey 1,600 older people across the UK.

Read the story and download the very insightful (and free) report from his blog here:

Dick summarizes the key findings as follows:

Over 25% say the recession has had little or no effect with a third reporting that they have not changed their spending patterns.
Over 60% say the recession has resulted in them only making a few cutbacks in their expenditure.
Despite older people holding 80% of savings and investment assets in the UK, the fall in interest rates has seriously affected only 20% of respondents.
Not all of the news is so positive - 12% have cut back drastically on spending.
The banks and the Labour Government are blamed for the economic problems resulting in a significant swing to the Conservatives and minority parties.
The 50-plus are giving far more financial support to their families than they are receiving.
Charitable donations have been badly, and I mean badly, hit by the recession.

Precious little on this subject so congrats to DIck and Mature Insights.

Magazine finds winning formula with multi-gen covers

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 04:34:13 GMT

People magazine grows as others shrink. There have been 10 covers featuring baby boomers in the first five months of 2009, compared with 11 in all for 2007.

While circulation at most celebrity magazines was down in the second half of 2008 - In Touch Weekly (down 29 percent, to 899,000); Life & Style Weekly (down 31 percent, to 472,000); Us Weekly ( down 1.3 percent, to 1.9 million) - People grew 2 percent to 3.7 million.

The latest 2009 figures show the magazine's readership up 1.2 percent.

Twenty- and 30-somethings falling in and out of love. Ageing boomers growing out of and into their clothes. All part of a demographic formula that has kept People prospering while so many publications are reeling in these hard times.

For interesting insight to how the ageing world is approached by a highly successful magazine publisher, read this article from the New York Times.

Most celebrity coverage skews young, but People has attained something unusual, attracting the young (18- to-34-year-olds are its biggest constituency, 38 percent of readership) while holding on to aging boomers (45 to 59 are second, 28 percent of readership).

People's Editor claims there's a good economic reason. "Compared to most, boomers remain economically sound," he said.

Retirement housing research debated

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 04:52:16 GMT

A second Australian seniors living organisation has called for caution in interpreting the results of a major two-year study conducted by Flinders Unversity on behalf of ECH, a leading provider of elderly care services.

The research concluded that most older people are not attracted to the type of housing that is found in large numbers of retirement villages all over Australia. It said the majority of older people would like to live in small clusters of single-storey houses that have two or three bedrooms and are well connected to the broader community.

But competitors warn against interpreting this as an endorsement of a "one-size-fits-all" approach saying:

Diversity in housing is just as important in seniors living as in all other sectors of society.
Instead of looking for solutions that suit the majority, seniors like all home buyers, have choices - and make decisions that may vary from what the industry regards as accepted norms.

Here here!

Thirst quenching Silver opportunity

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:07:39 GMT

People who say they pay either a high/very high level of attention to hydration is highest among Seniors and rises with age to a peak of 57% of respondents aged 65 and above when surveyed by Datamonitor (2008), compared to an average of 53.3% for all consumers.
This article in Australian Food News reports; the research suggests that the increased consumer awareness of 'sustainability', many products made with natural ingredients cultivated organically, or sourced from specific origins, are becoming popular among senior, sophisticated consumers. The appeal is not just related to the high quality image of such products, they also carry the signal that they are ‘danger-free' and benefit from the natural substances they contain.

In Australia, the relative consumption of bottled water by Seniors, compared to population numbers, is highest among the mixed Senior and Pre-Senior age group of consumers aged 45-54. According to Datamonitor, "Seniors tend to reduce the amount of water they consume and for those who have retired they may lead lifestyles which allow them to plan ahead better and do not need to rely on buying water in convenience retail channels. This could be either due to taking water with them when out of home or by having more time to stop for refreshments than is true of still economically active adult consumers".

Fruit juice is also one of the primary beverage types associated with hydration and consumption among Seniors has typically been high. In New Zealand, Seniors ‘over consume', but Australian fruit juice marketers appear to have a great opportunity as Seniors remain likely to ‘under consume' in the fruit juice category.

Singapore takes a "whole-of-government" approach to ageing

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 07:16:15 GMT

Aiming to achieve a vision of "Successful Ageing for Singapore" Mr Lim Lim Boon Heng: Minister in the Prime Minister's Office said at the opening of the latest Parliamentary session, that the Manpower Ministry will:

Continue to push re-employment legislation through by 2012.
The Central Provident Fund (CPF) will raise awareness of the "lease-buyback" scheme to enable the lower-income elderly to release equity from their public housing.
Under a concept called "Ageing-In-Place", the physical environment at HDB housing estates will be barrier-free by 2011.
There will be lift access to all floors in flats by 2014, and another S$60 million has been committed to make all pedestrian walkways accessible by 2010.
Singaporeans will also have more choices to live in housing appropriate to their stage in life and finances.
A substantial expansion of the healthcare sector to cope with intermediate and long-term care services.
Initiate a study on how to help Singaporeans with their long-term health care.
Continue studying how the Wellness Programme, now piloted at 12 constituencies, can help more older residents manage their health and be socially connected.

Increasing employment among senior Aussies even in tough times

Sun, 31 May 2009 10:46:28 GMT

The 55+ group are the only ones increasing their rates of employment during the economic downturn, while young people are being laid off, according to new research from Monash University.

In April last year, 79.2 per cent of males aged between 20-24 were in work, but by this April this figure had dropped to 77.5per cent.
Over the same period, women in the same age group suffered an even greater fall in their participation rate. In April last year 75.6per cent were employed and a year later that had dropped to 71.2 per cent. The same trends are found for those aged 25 to 29 and 15 to 19.
But employment rates start to improve as workers get older, with those 55 to 69 increasing their participation rates from April 2008 to April this year.
Men aged 60-64 have increased from 55.5 to 57.8 per cent in the same period. Men aged 65-69 had a 28.8 per cent work rate, with a rise to 32.8 per cent a year later. Similar outcomes are also found among women.

The figures contradict an argument by seniors groups that elderly people will be driven on to unemployment benefits and poverty when the aged pension age rises to 67.
The retirement age in Australia will be gradually lifted to 67 years by 2023, under changes outlined in this month's budget.

Anti-ageing cookie!?

Sat, 30 May 2009 13:56:14 GMT

Can cookies fight wrinkles, help stop signs of ageing? Reese Witherspoon, Courteney Cox and Renee Zellweger seem to think so.

Skin care line BORBA and bakery DeLuscious Cookies + Milk have come together to create Borba's DeLuscious Vitamin Enhanced Cookies. The treats contain acai which is said to help fine lines and wrinkles and hence eating them will apparently make you look younger.

Not only are acai berries beneficial to your skin they are said to help weight loss and boost the immune system.

The cookies also contain nine minerals and vitamins, A, B3, B5, B6, B12, C, E, and zinc, which are all great for making skin, hair and nails look healthy.

Only in America!

'Seniors' ride recession better than 'Boomers'?

Thu, 28 May 2009 02:55:12 GMT

USA research suggests that for many Seniors, the impact is much less severe than it is for younger people.

In the new Pew telephone survey, taken in March and April among 2,969 adults, here's how many respondents in each age group said they had cut back on spending in the past year:

18-49: 68 percent
50-64: 59 percent
65+: 36 percent.

And is the recession causing stress in your family?

18-49: 52 percent
50-64: 58 percent
65+: 38 percent.

This is partly explained by the fact that many people 65 and older retired and downsized their lifestyles before the economy imploded. Most aren't raising kids and many are not so worried about being laid off. Loss of income is a source of stress and displeasure.

According to the Pew analysis, "It's those age 50-64 who've seen their nest eggs shrink the most and their anxieties about retirement swell the most. It also finds that younger adults (ages 18-49) "have taken the worst lumps in the job market but remain relatively upbeat about their financial future.
Not everyone in any category is blissful, of course. Other research has shown that happiness in old age depends largely on attitude factors such as optimism and coping strategies.

Add financial planning to the list.

Philippine tourism lures Japanese silvers

Wed, 27 May 2009 10:42:15 GMT

Philippine Tourism Secretary "welcomes every opportunity to promote the country to the Japanese market, especially to the silver market who may find it a perfect haven where they can spend their retirement years.

Philippines Tourism (DOT) hosted a welcome luncheon to a group of 32 senior Japanese tourists who were in the country recently for a memorial tour of the Philippines.

The tour brought the Japanese seniors to Corregidor, Angeles, Baguio, Banaue, and Nueva Ecija, where the visitors offered prayers for their family members who were assigned in the Philippines during World War II.

The visiting Japanese seniors were from the Gunma Prefecture in central Japan.
He continued "What we can give them is a promise that the Philippines, with its health and wellness products and wonderful gifts of nature, can indeed cater to the aspirations and lifestyle of the senior Japanese populace."

Not surprisingly, Japanese travelers have contributed significantly to Philippine Tourism over the years.

Tabloid holds vote for ageing nude stars

Tue, 26 May 2009 05:48:45 GMT

It seems ageing celebrities are agreeing to show more than their acting credentials on screen.

The article in The Sun invites you to cast your vote from the following list:

Anne Reid in The Mother
Julie Andrews in SOB
Kathy Bates in About Schmidt
Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct 2
Julie Walters in Calendar Girls
Helen Mirren in Calendar Girls
Carol McGriffin on Loose Women
Joan Collins in The Stud

Actually, the vote is for "The Worst" ageing nude star. Why can't it be for "The Best" ............?

Personally, I think it's a positive thing that people see there's beauty in age.

10 reasons why the internet is great for older people

Mon, 25 May 2009 14:50:27 GMT

To mark the eighth annual Silver Surfers' Day in the UK, The Times published the list I've summarized here:

1. The internet makes tricky, or mobility-dependent tasks simpler

2. When you finally have time and head-space to follow your nose, the internet is curiosity's best friend.

3. It is available 24/7

4. The internet helps make and maintain vital relationships - This has benefits for young and old alike, and helps make society a safer, more cohesive place - simply because age-groups that often "miss" each other, start to appreciate each other.

5. The internet saves you money

6. The internet levels the "disability/age" playing-field

7. It is "personal" - no one else creates your communication world but you.

8. Introduced correctly, learners "cross a fear-barrier"

9. Brings health benefits, for example "self-health" websites, but improved contact can also ease depression/isolation.

10. Enhances sense of individuals' personal value within an organisation (whether through finding "civic voice" in local government or becoming active on a residents' committee or neighbourhood watch).

India's seniors get blogging

Sat, 23 May 2009 08:35:44 GMT

More and more senior citizens in the state are taking to blogging, which, until recently, was considered to be a youth- exclusive domain. Ageing citizens have shown that they have all the prerequisites to be a blogger: time to surf, read and write/comment.

Based on ComScore data from January, revealed in this Silver presentation, India had the lowest % composition of 55+ users among all online participants in the region at just 2.1% compared with the regional average of 7.8%.
India also 'boasted' the highest gender difference among online users with a whopping 98% being male.

China's Nepstar pharmacy chain a hot bet?

Fri, 22 May 2009 09:23:38 GMT

China's pharmacy business is highly fragmented and seems set for consolidation as seen in most major markets and with 2,700 outlets already, Nepstar may be in the best position to drive this according to experts.

Established in 1995, the green Nepstar store is becoming a familiar sight in many Chinese urban neighborhoods.

Nepstar is the only retailer to have successfully negotiated discount purchasing agreements with drug manufacturers and it has aggressively introduced private label products (with big profit margins) into its stores.

Much like American drug stores, Nepstar sells a lot more than just prescription drugs. In fact, only 20% of 2008 sales were pharmaceutical drugs - over-the-counter drugs (38% of sales) and nutritional supplements (21%) are even bigger sellers.

With its masive and growing Silver society, there will be huge demand for prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and nutritional supplements.There's also China's fast-growing middle class has the money to spend on better health care.

When Nepstar went public in October 2007, it had 1,800 stores in 62 Chinese cities. At the end of 2008, that number had grown to 2,700 stores in 76 cities - making Nepstar the largest drug store in China.

The Chinese government recently announced a sweeping reform of its health care system. Its pledge: to provide basic health care to 90% of Chinese by 2011 and comprehensive coverage by 2020.

Pepsi spans generations with Throwback drinks

Wed, 20 May 2009 22:27:47 GMT

Pepsi is bringing back sugar-sweetened soft drinks for a brief, eight-week run. According to the Pepsi marketing folks "For some, it will be a trip down memory lane but for others, it will be a chance to experience a new twist on their favorite brands."

I'd love to know if their media targetting was equally 'multi-generational'. But their marketing and communications are age-neutral, so 'well done' Pepsi! Click here to see the Throwback TV spot.

Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback are sweetened with sugar made from cane and beets, unlike their namesakes, which use high-fructose corn syrup. High-fructose corn syrup has been the mainstay for soda pop since the 1970’s.

A Pepsi spokeswoman says the intent is to remind baby boomers what the two drinks tasted like back in the 60’s and 70’s. Although the Throwback products will leave the market by the end of June, the company has begun test marketing a sugar-sweetened product called Pepsi Premium in about ten cities.

Here's a classic 'youth centric' category finding a smart way to reach boomers without alienating their youth franchise.

Ageing Aussies using hormones to stay young

Tue, 19 May 2009 15:01:22 GMT

They're spending up to $15,000 a year on human growth hormone (HGH) to give them more energy, but specialists warn it can have serious side effects.

Black market sales are also booming with Australian Customs reporting a four-fold increase in seizures of the prohibited import in the last year.

According to this article in the Melbourne Age newspaper, pharmaceutical companies refuse to disclose sales figures, but a senior industry source says HGH use has soared in the past two years.

John Levin, a 77-year-old Melbourne doctor, has been injecting it for 15 years and prescribes it to about 100 patients. "I feel great, I feel like I'm 50," Dr Levin said. "I don't give it to my patients for aesthetic reasons, I give it purely to get a better quality of life."

HGH is secreted by the brain's pituitary gland and promotes growth during adolescence. The synthetic form of the hormone must be injected daily and costs up to $200 a week.

A body builder and former HGH dealer, who asked not to be named, said demand had shifted to white-collar workers, the nightclub industry and the gay community. He said he supplied an AFL footballer and three professional rugby players.

Demand for HGH soared in 2007 after Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone was caught at Sydney Airport trying to bring 48 vials of the drug into Australia. Want to know more, ask the Mayo Clinic.
Good one 'Sly'

Later marriages a problem for Korean boomers

Sun, 17 May 2009 08:09:40 GMT

Baby boomers in Korea who are now in their 50s have a lot on their minds. They are facing an average retirement age of 53, while they can no longer depend on their children to take care of them in their old age. Their most pressing concern is getting their children married, preferably while they are still earning money so they can afford a ceremony. They also think that congratulatory money offered by coworkers can be used to help pay for the ceremony. But this becomes impossible after retirement. Adding to the frustration is the fact that baby boomers' children are old enough to get married, yet still dependent on their parents, with no plans to start their own families or move into their own places like young adults in the West.

This Story from the Chosun Ilbo explains that the latest statistics compound the frustrations felt by baby boomer parents.

Japan is also seeing a surge in the number of people delaying marriage.

People naturally tend to put off marriage when economic conditions are tough.

Maybe more Korean parents will be telling their kids to "get married or move out". Unlikely.

Filipino nurses to train in Japan

Sun, 17 May 2009 08:08:08 GMT

92 nurses and 188 caregivers from the Philippines have been accepted for training in Japan. This is the first group of Filipino health workers to get free language and skills training in Japan. The will receive six months of language and skills training at various hospitals and care facilities in Japan.

During the first six months the 280 candidates will learn Japanese and familiarize themselves with the Japanese hospital and care system. Thousands of Filipino job seekers applied online when news broke early this year that Japan needs nurses and caregivers to take care of its ageing population.

The 134 Japanese institutions and facilities that applied through the Japan International Corporation of Welfare Services, a semi-governmental organization, have agreed to provide free skills training to the 280 Filipino health workers.

15 percent of Baby Boomers have hearing loss

Sat, 16 May 2009 08:03:17 GMT

Rock 'n roll took its toll according to studies in the USA. The good news is that the 44-62 year-olds are much more eager to embrace new technology to aid and protect their hearing than their parents were.

50+ folks were part of the rock-'n'-roll generation, spending hours listening to loud music while walking, driving and relaxing, in addition to attending ear-shattering concerts.

As for improving their hearing, Boomers are vain and don't want to betray their ageing status by the devices/products they use. ...those old big, ugly flesh-colored banana-shaped devices their parents had.

This generation is also the iPod generation and devices they use need to be either invisible or 'cool'.

Interestingly, our SilverPoll showed on single digit percentage agreeement with "Not being able to hear clearly what's being said" as an annoyance of getting older, whereas poor eyesight was one of the higest rated frustrations.

Maybe there wasn't so much headsplitting rock music in Asia in those days!?

Seniors community portal launched in Singapore

Sat, 16 May 2009 08:02:05 GMT

Designed to foster activity and involvement among senior citizens in a Singapore district, the site includes events, games, health tips and contributed stories as well as a list of upcoming activities and events. I Not Old has collected a database of 3,000 registrations since launch and features over 250 upcoming events.

It's a wonderul initiative, but the design is a nightmare in terms of usability for seniors. Looks like it was deisgned by a teenager. The name too, 'I Not Old', doesn't exactly 'roll off the toungue'.

This article on the subject of usabilty is a bit extreme but it's a start.

Australia doubles the number of 'age-accessible' cinemas

Mon, 11 May 2009 07:41:15 GMT

This system provides captioning and audio descriptions as well. Captions are an English-language text version of the movie soundtrack, which includes not only speech but other important sounds. The captioning is seen by all audience members at a designated captioned screening.

Audio description (AD), is where the important visual information is presented in an audio format, such as scenery or sight gags, so that people can listen to it whilst the movie is playing. The AD soundtrack is available via headphones, so does not affect other audience members.

Here's a website listing all the 'Captioned Cinema' schedules.

Since 2004, audio description has been made available on a small percentage of DVDs in Australia, however until now this has not been available in cinemas, apart from at special events or festivals.

Under a Government scheme, 'Helping Older Australian Enjoy the Movies: Accessible Cinema', a grant of $350,000 was provided to purchase and install the equipment.

In mid-2007 the USA had over 830 accessible cinemas, representing about 15% of locations and an accessible cinema for every 357,000 people.
As at October 2008, the UK has over 300 cinemas, representing nearly 39% of locations and an accessible cinema for every 203,000 people.
NZ has 3 accessible cinemas (captions only), representing 3% of locations and an accessible cinema for every 1.4 million people.

Prior to the launch of this project, Australia had only 11 accessible cinemas (captions only), representing 2% of locations and an accessible cinema for every 2 million people.

Big money for smart investors in "Unstoppable ageing trend"

Sat, 09 May 2009 03:38:10 GMT

Security and telemedicine both offer fantastic business opportunities. They will no doubt make fortunes for smart entrepreneurs. And savvy investors could make big money, too, by finding the right companies with solutions to one major problem that's arising. That is that the public sector just cannot cope.

This article in Money Week explains some depressing facts:

90% of people over the age of 65 have one or more chronic diseases;
One third of people over the age of 65 will experience a fall
Two out of every three of the baby boom generation will have to take care of their elderly parents.

It continues; The biggest worry for the elderly is their health and their security.Telemedicine and home security are two industries that have emerged out of the information technology age and both are set for rapid growth. Both rely upon such gizmos as sensors, radio frequency identity tags, mini cameras, transmitters and receivers and, of course, the whole backbone of the internet and wireless communications.

Companies like Visonic (LSE:VSC), a world renowned Israeli company that has its shares traded on the London Stock Exchange, are certainly on my watch list.

The author concludes: "There will be opportunities to make big money from this in the years ahead. The hunt is on to find the right companies to invest in now so we can ride this unstoppable trend".

Elderly crime rises in Korea

Fri, 08 May 2009 09:17:11 GMT

The number of crimes committed by senior citizens has risen sharply over the last decade, especially serous crimes such as sexual assault, murder and arson.
This rise in elderly crime is considered partly the result of being marginalized and deserted by society. In some ways an indictment on society but on the other hand, a simple factor of demographics?

Here's the % of 50+ population in Korea:
1998 = 19.50%
2008 = 26.64%
2018 = 37.01%

The number of senior citizen criminals has more than doubled in 10 years between 1996 and 2006, from 34,492 to 82,323, while the total number of criminals in Korea stayed about the same. Therefore, the percentage of offenders aged 61 or more rose from 1.8 percent in 1996 to 4.3 percent in 2006. On the other hand, the percentage of young criminals in their twenties dropped from 24.4 percent in 1996 to 15.8 percent in 2006, and the thirties from 32.5 percent to 23.8 percent.

More senior citizens are committing serious crimes than ever. The number of senior citizens who committed sexual crimes in 1996 was 94, but this jumped more than four-fold to 423 in 2006. The number of senior citizens who committed murder soared three-fold from 20 to 59, and elderly arsonists increased five-fold, from seven to 46.

Businesses rush in with health systems for ageing Japan

Thu, 07 May 2009 12:24:00 GMT

Middle-aged and older people have declared war on metabolic syndrome and businesses are rushing to offer products and services for them.

In April 2008, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare launched a special medical checkup program to check metabolic syndrome, which can include symptoms such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.

At the Ginza Gen sushi restaurant in central Tokyo, a kind of rice made by mixing in konnyaku jelly "grains" is popular for its low calorie count. The Ginza Gen sushi restaurant in Tokyo's posh Ginza district has introduced this spring new sushi dishes using rice mixed with rice grain-shaped konnyaku, a jelly-like low-calorie foodstuff also known as devil's tongue made from the konjak root. A piece of sushi made using the konnyaku rice mix contains about 25% fewer calories than one made of 100% "real" rice. The new sushi dishes are offered as part of the course menus for lunch and dinner, but customers can also place orders over the counter.

Descente Ltd. has released the XaviX+D3 kit, which is designed to help people engage in a self-exercise program, measuring the daily amount of exercise with a mobile terminal and managing the data on a dedicated device that can hooked up to a standard TV. The sporting goods maker earlier this month launched full-scale marketing of the 24,800 yen kit, setting a high sales target of 10,000 kits in the first year.

In April 2008, Takara Tomy-A.R.T.S released released a novelty product that shows on a liquid-crystal display screen where the number of steps a user has taken brings him, on a virtual walk around Japan.Although he's actually just walking around his own neighborhood with his dog, the screen shows sightseeing spots and the local specialties. The around-Japan trip pedometer had sold about 110,000 units by the end of March 2009.

Tanita Health Link is a health management program encourages energetic walking by awarding points according to the number of steps taken, which can be turned into electronic money. 10 yen worth of points for at least 70,000 steps a week. Membership in the program, which charges from 900 yen a month, including the usage fee of a body fat scale and other dedicated devices, doubled year on year to about 50,000 people at the end of March 2009.

NEC Corp. plans to start a health guidance system for its employees using the health management software for Nintendo Co.'s Wii game console.

Again proving Japan's advanced ageing society is providing them strong motivation to develop unique products to service this market.

Age-relevant search engine

Wed, 06 May 2009 10:31:28 GMT

Perhaps the world's first Age Relevant Search Engine (unfortunately and bizarrely named cRANKY) comes from Eons, one of the few boomer-focussed web properties.

When you search, cRANKY shows the four highest-rated search results based on Eons editors' and members' ratings. After visiting a site, cRANKy will invite you to rate it. Added together, members' ratings raise or lower a site's ranking. The reactions and opinions of the community determine how Eons ranks sites, making cRANKy the world's first age-relevant search engine.

Get a grip-per!

Wed, 06 May 2009 00:03:42 GMT

Here's a company that makes products for ageing, arthritic fingers. B.A.Maze, Inc. has been helping boomers and seniors open their medicine with the PurrFect Opener, but the company is now launching PurrFect Gripper to help people get a grip on their bottles and jars.

The company claims that compared to counter-top openers, vinyl gripping pads, or bottle wrenches, the PurrFect Gripper uses an advance gripping material and rib design to open containers of all sizes and has a high-strength magnet for easy access and quick storage on the refrigerator.

Boomers Embrace Consumer Tech faster than GenY!?

Mon, 04 May 2009 04:37:22 GMT

Some interesting results of a two year study by Accenture about the usage patterns of various types of consumer technology products and services among U.S. consumers. (download here).
The goal was to determine if there had been any changes in usage between Baby Boomers (age 45 and older) and Generation Y (ages 18 to 24). The research uncovered several interesting trends:

* Baby Boomers are embracing consumer technology applications nearly 20 times faster than the younger generation.
* Generation Y's cravings for consumer technology applications are leveling off.
* Mobile handsets are not widely viewed as entertainment devices
* The connected home vision is not yet reality.

Accenture concludes:

1) Generation Y's Cravings for Consumer Technology Applications Are Levelling Off: For service providers, these results sound a cautionary note about the need to rapidly innovate on new services that leverage the network. New types of mobile data services, as well as extending choices for anytime, anywhere video, are critical focus areas.

2) Mobile Handsets Not Widely Viewed as Entertainment Devices-Yet: Creating a more enriching, entertaining, and stimulating experience is going to be key for the mobile handset market to realize its full potential. Finally, handsets need to be more customized to serve discrete demographic and geographic groups.

3) The Connected Home Vision Is Not Yet Headed Towards Reality: Although the digital home remains less than a universally craved phenomenon, there is a clear consumer segment that understands and is using the power of networked devices in the home. Consumer technology manufacturers have a tremendous opportunity to differentiate their devices through applications that leverage the network connectivity increasingly present in the home-and accelerate its growth.

4) By Wide Margins, Boomers Prefer PCs, Generation Y Prefers Mobile Handsets: One move to consider, based on these findings, is to emphasize investment in the next generation of mobile devices, as Generation Y preferences for mobile solutions can be expected to become more of the norm in terms of consumer preference and usage.

The rapidly growing network PC segment, featuring smaller, lower cost, and lower weight products such as net books, could be the answer for Boomers wanting to get a computer for basic applications they feel comfortable using. And the lower price fits the more limited economic resources of Generation Y.

A device that merges specific needs of Boomers and Generation Yers would be a small, portable mobile handset/computer hybrid with wireless connectivity.

Nursing robot a few years away?

Fri, 01 May 2009 06:31:25 GMT

Nursing robots will be helping in hospitals, working with carers in retirement villages and acting as on-call housemaids to elderly people in their homes and advising on their health care according to Dr Rajiv Khosla and his team of researchers at La Trobe University, Melbourne Australia.

Although Japanese researchers have designed robots that can communicate with humans, the machines do not possess the ability to understand human emotions and respond accordingly. This is where the La Trobe team comes in. They are developing what Dr Khosla calls "emotionally intelligent dialogue systems".

According to this article in The Age, other potential uses of emotionally intelligent robots would be in education, where online learning is already widely used and helping human resources managers recruit and assess new staff.

Passenger robots in cars would monitor driver fatigue and help reduce road fatalities, or web-based intelligent robots would match people's emotional preferences to their choice of holiday destination. Emotionally intelligent "security" robots could also assist in criminal investigations and anti-terrorist detection.

Try to see a video of the robots: www.latrobe.edu.au/news/articles/2009/article/emotion-savvy-robots

New range of PC's tout universal design

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:39:05 GMT

Plug it in. Switch it on. Get online. BenQ launches a range of PC's featuring simplicity of use for the old and the young and I'm pretty excited. It looks like a company who has clearly considered the needs of the ageing consumer and designed products to suit ...even thought it may be a bit of Mac catch-up!

Some folks can't be bothered with computers is because of complicated tasks such as program installations, software updates, cable connecting. So it's great to see the new BenQ net-top eliminates all that, promising to be a simple computer for everyone.

The nScreen only comes with a monitor, mouse, keyboard, and power supply. The LCD is fairly slim despite the company cramming all the PC components inside it. Setting up the device only takes four simple steps: take out all the contents (mouse, keyboard, monitor, stand, and power supply), plug the input devices and the power supply, turn on the device by pressing the knob up front, and follow the Windows XP installation process.

Along the left edge there's a memory card reader, two USB ports (four more on the rear), a microphone jack, and a headphone jack, allowing users to instantly connect their multimedia devices. A brightness button is found on the opposite side for easy adjustment.

Right above the screen is a built-in webcamera and microphone for instant video calling. A knob on the bottom right of the display is used to control the volume of the net-top and turn the unit on/off.

Wi-fi is built-in (no cables required).

The unit runs on Windows XP and comes pre-installed with some great software. The Dragnifier function is great for users with limited eyesight as it magnifies objects or texts with a single click. The TruSurround HD function launches automatically as soon as an audio or video file is played, giving users a chance to tweak audio output settings. BenQ has even included a ‘Senior Mode' on the output settings, which improve the audio for the elderly.

Other programs include WebCam Companion 3, AirFrame, Microsoft Office 2007 Trial, Norton Internet Security 2009 (60-day trial), Skype, Windows Live Messenger, Adobe Reader, and Yahoo Widgets. Backing up important data is also not an issue as BenQ has included the QDataTrove software for creating factory recovery DVDs.

Every time a user needs to go online, one only needs to press the knob and wait for the OS to load. The icons are big and using the webcam for video calls can be done by enabling it on the messenger.

Strangely, it seems no special enhancements were made to the mouse or keyboard, which is crammed.

Back to the labs for version 2.0!

Thai hospitals treat Ageing Male Syndrome

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:33:00 GMT

Doctors who understand marketing!? Here's a great example of repositioning to reach the senior market - by changing perceptions that testosterone therapy is for merely sexual disorders and that it can help restore the overall health of ageing men.

This article from the Bangkok Post explains that the Aging Male Symptoms (AMS) questionnaire digs into testosterone deficiency symptoms, asking about, for example joint pains and muscular aches, excessive sweating, sleep problems, decreased beard growth and decrease in the number of morning erections. After answering 17 questions and totalling the score, if it's 26 or higher the doctor may advise checking male hormone levels, and if abnormal, may prescribe testosterone therapy. The availability of a long-lasting testosterone injection in Thailand means that instead of taking pills every day, men can simply go for four shots of hormone a year.

Urologist and men's health expert, Sompol Permpongkosol MD says "Women may experience obvious menopausal symptoms because of a more dramatic plunge in hormone levels. Men may not be affected by a gradual decline in male hormones but some cases do suffer from symptoms which negatively affects quality of life," he continues "While women agree to menopause as a wai thong (golden age), Thai men don't seem to be happy with the term chai wai thong (men in their golden age). And so instead of a 'wai thong clinic' for men, Ramathibodi Hospital offers a men's health clinic instead."

He's done his research. Understood the customers needs and wants, by gender. Refined his proposition to broaden appeal to the ageing market place. This guy deserves an honorary marketing degree!

Home downsizing among Japan's Silvers creates business

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:19:07 GMT

Elderly, retirees trim their houses for more comfortable living.

According to this article in Japan Today, some elderly people and retired baby boomers whose children have become independent are hard at work reducing the size of their homes to a more manageable level.

If a house is reformed to make it smaller, cleaning it becomes easier, and if a two-story house is rebuilt as a one-story house its earthquake-resistance is stronger.

According to a survey in 2003 by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the average number of rooms in the household of a single person aged over 65 was 4.36, while the household of a couple aged over 65 had 5.47 rooms.

But more and more couples and elderly people have to face the fact that the number of rooms they use for storage increases as they get older.

Silver CEO interview on Channel News Asia

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 11:38:05 GMT

Here's an interview I did on the 'Primetime' morning show on Friday, April 3rd 2009.

Click on image:

Elderly care a massive opportunity in China

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:31:23 GMT

Beijing Sunshine Care House opened in January 2008, will triple the number of beds to 700 (and probably fill them all ) this year.

The retirement home is seeking to attract the city's elderly with a tropical conservatory, billiard room and calligraphy studio according to this article in The Seniors World Chronicle. This year alone, Beijing will see 15,100 new beds in nursing homes a 47% increase over last year.
Some might argue that China's Confucian tradition which places strong emphasis on the obligation to care for parents will hamper the growth of retirement homes in China and Asia genreally. Currently, many older people live with sons or daughters and take the responsibility for raising grandchildren.

In China, less than 5 percent of the urban elderly and 2 percent of the rural elderly live in institutional facilities, according to Zeng Yi, a demographer at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and Peking University in Beijing. While such centers have mostly been a last resort of the childless or handicapped, that is changing.

Quality nursing homes will provide a sense of community for ageing folks where they can also learn.

Already, in developed Asian societies (e.g. Singapore) some older people actually prefer to keep their independence preferring to reserve interaction with their children and grandkids as special occasions.

This 2009 research from MCYS (Singapore Government Ministry) illustrates the preferences of baby boomers:

You gotta read this: The New York Times 'Gets it'

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:03:07 GMT

The headline reads: The Older Audience Is Looking Better Than Ever. A typically insightful article from the New York Times endorsing the opportunities that are growing in the Silver market.

The article includes input from categories and brands as diverse as toys, Chrysler, Kraft Foods, L'Oréal, Procter & Gamble, Hallmark and Target. And specific percentages of sales among baby boomers of products considered mainstays of younger consumers. That includes beer, 59.7 percent; carbonated beverages, 58.9 percent; and candy, 54.2 percent.

For all we believers out there, this is heartening stuff!

My Favourite Things - about ageing

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 07:37:02 GMT

Julie Andrews recently turned 69 and performed a special, ageing-related version of her timeless hit 'The Sound Of Music'.

It was part of her special appearance at Manhattan's Radio City Music Hall for the benefit of the AARP. Here are the lyrics she reportedly used:

Botox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favorite things.

Cadillacs and cataracts, hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favorite things.

When the pipes leak, When the bones creak,
When the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.

Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favorite things.

Back pain, confused brains and no need for sinnin',
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',
And we won't mention our short shrunken frames,
When we remember our favorite things.

When the joints ache, When the hips break,
When the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I've had,
And then I don't feel so bad.

Thailand among fastest ageing in SE Asia

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 06:49:31 GMT

Almost one in five would be over 60 by 2025 and nearly one in three by 2050.

Thailand's population is ageing faster than any other nation in Southeast Asia, except Singapore, an International Labour Organisation study says.

The proportion of people over 60 more than doubled between 1975 and 2007, from about 5% of the population to 11% (7.2 million people). The cause was a decline in both mortality and fertility, said the report, released yesterday to coincide with Thailand's National Day for Older Persons.

Aussie boomer migration predicts property hot spots

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 06:25:05 GMT

A few places in Australia are expected to attract baby boomers on a grand scale over the 14 years to 2021 based on data from the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) analyzed by Bernard Salt and published in The Australian.

The leading destination for boomers on the move is Queensland's Hervey Bay (just north of Brisbane). In this quiet beachside town the boomer population is projected to grow by 8500 over 14 years to reach 19,500 by 2021.

No other statistical local area in Australia will attract as many boomers as Hervey Bay.

Other boomer hotspots include the West's Mandurah, which will add 7900 boomers over the 14 years to 2021, as well as the southern end of the Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula (up 6600), New South Wales' Tweed Heads (up 5400) and South Australia's Victor Harbor (up 2400).

Property developers take note.

New Disney movie sparks ageism debate

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 05:33:43 GMT

The 78-year-old, lead character in 'Up', the next cartoon from the Disney's Pixar studio has already been given the thumbs down by investors and toy manufacturers because the main character, a grumpy old man, is not considered commercially attractive.

The reaction has prompted accusations of ageism, as reported in the UK Telegraph.

I predict we will see many such debates in the future over the issue ageing and stereotypes, as the more vocal baby boomers start to react to their depiction as 'old people'.

According to the Telegraph artice, an advertising industry leader admitted ageism was a major factor when he said: "Older people are rarely the centrepiece of campaigns despite the booming grey market and the obvious reality that we are an ageing population. One of the contributing factors is that most of those working for ad agencies are under the age of 40 themselves".

While baby boomers will rile at the grumpy old man stereotype, just as womens lib groups reacted angrily to depiction of women in subserviant, domestic roles, the flip-side of the debate is well expressed in this quote from Professor Isabelle Szmigin of the Birmingham Business School "Age barriers need to be broken down in all walks of life and if we exclude older people from entertainment aimed at children we are not only dumbing down but discriminating too."

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Just be sensitive.

Japan's oldest porn star

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 03:47:00 GMT

Elderly porn accounts for up to 30 per cent of the $US20 billion market in Japan and at 74, Shigeo Tokuda is it's greatest star.

Now, I'm always on the look-out for business opportunities arising from the ageing populations, but this one came out of left field!

"Elderly people have a lot of time on their hands, and I think that their boundaries of possibility are widening," Tokuda said. "In that sense I want to give them vitality. I've always dreamt of doing something different." Indeed!

It seems, mature pornography has also grown as male viewers are comforted by the thought of being attractive to women, even if they are older. According to a report in the Age newspaper.

Apparently he's happily married in real life, with two children and a grandson. and he's managed to hide his second life from his family.

Now there's a twist on the adage the "you're never too old ......"

Go Tokuda san!