European Speaking/Consulting Tour in September

The European speaking/consulting tour with Brent Green, Carol Orsborn, and You-Know-Who is shaping up. Here's the itinerary - and a few embedded links with info about the engagements:

Stockholm: Monday, September 17
Oslo: Tuesday, September 18
Brussels: Wednesday, September 19
Utrecht (The Netherlands): September 20
Augsburg (Germany): September 21
Paris: September 24
Madrid: September 25

Then I'll be in London for a couple of days.

Boomers Opt To Keep It Real

Here's a piece by David Graham of The Toronto Star that mirrors a lot of what I tell clients:

Boomers come of age and opt to keep it real
Fad diets are for losers. Bulging biceps are passé. And cosmetic surgery just doesn't cut it anymore … As (Baby Boomers) prepare for retirement, they are quietly reflecting on their obsessive struggles to stay young. And after decades of marathon workouts, killer diets and extreme makeovers, boomers are realizing - it's a sucker's game.

I've bloviated about this before. Many times. And there's a huge chunk about it in a chapter of my book. Here's a bit of it:

And this doesn't surprise me:

What's more, trend watchers are predicting this relaxed attitude among boomers is infecting younger generations … This new common sense revolution is extolling the aging process as a good thing, wrinkles and all.

Good to know that most Boomers would rather spend their time and money so they can feel, look, and be healthy - instead of self-consciously walking around like pod people wrapped in cellophane.

The Silver Market Phenomenon

I've just finished a chapter for a book due out in early 2008. It's a project spearheaded by Dr. Florian Kohlbacher of The German Institute for Japanese Studies and Dr. Cornelius Herstatt of The Institute for Technology and Innovation Management at the Hamburg University of Technology titled The Silver Market Phenomenon: Business Opportunities in an Era of Demographic Change. Springer Press is the publisher.

This will undoubtedly be the most varied resource of global marketing information and techniques for targeting the 50+ demographic. At least twenty-five (probably more) professionals from around the world will be contributing.

My prediction: The Silver Market Phenomenon will be the perfect companion for Dick Stroud's influential The 50-Plus Market. (And the rumor mills are buzzing with word that Mr. Stroud may be a contributor.)

That's all I know for now. Stay tuned.

Time to Retire the 'R' Word

Copley News Service columnist Joe Volz had me chuckling with this piece of his:

Time to retire the 'R' word
It's time to retire that infamous "R" word - retirement. At least that's the way it looks to this commentator, who has "retired" and unretired four times … Retirement, by the way, was an irrelevant word for the poor folks who needed to work forever. Now the word is irrelevant for nearly everyone. Many baby boomers, now turning 60, are healthier and want to work forever. Many shift to different kinds of careers … So "retirement" is kind of an inoperative word.

I was saying pretty much the same thing a few years ago:

Contrary to popular myth, Baby Boomers do not believe that they are still teenagers or young adults. (Some probably do, but they need therapy.) Boomers are slyly redefining what it means to be the ages they are. Included in this new definition are some youthful attitudes - but the real change is that instead of winding down, many are winding up. We're not 'looking forward to retirement,' we're looking forward to new lives, new challenges. Only a small percentage will opt for pure retirement. (I predict that in twenty years the word 'retirement' will still be in dictionaries, but followed by the modifier archaic.)

And Joe talks about all those names Baby Boomers (Whoops, there's one!) and everybody else assigns us. A client of mine is GRAND Magazine - and what Joe brings up is a big topic over there:

Even grandparents are trying to rebrand themselves. The Arizona Republic newspaper reports that the image of grandma and grandpa has changed markedly. Actor Will Geer who played Grandpa on the Waltons looked old. Like a grandpa. But blonde bombshell Goldie Hawn has just become a grandma and she calls herself "Glamma."

Joe is having a contest:

Well, let's work on some new vocabulary before some 30-something marketing wizard for a drug company comes up with some cutesy word. Send me your suggestions. Maybe, we can even get the American Society on Aging to change its name.

… Thirtysomething marketing wizards. Yeah, I talk about that subject every so often.

Someone You Should Check Out: Anna D. Banks

I keep bumping into Anna D. Banks as I slog through the virtual ether. Whoever she is, she's always making a lot of sense. And sense of the best kind: intelligent, common sense.

I've bookmarked a half-dozen of her articles, and tried to figure ways to cite her in posts - but nothing ever quite fits.

So I'll simply point you to her stuff.

Here's a good one about Boomers entering the Public Relations field (or they should be):

Baby Boomers make seasoned PRO's

Over the past few years, the public relations industry foundation has been cracked by standards that are less than your archetypal ones .... Unfortunately, these old school practices are so deep-rooted in the PR industry's culture and its antiquated business model that they are difficult to get rid off. So it seems.

But, what if there was a new public relations game? A game as next-generation as the XBOX culture and as stealthy as the Air Force technology? Consider this - baby boomers as seasoned public relations professionals …

It mirrors what I've been saying for years about hiring 'new older blood' - creative, energetic people over fifty who've never been in advertising.