World’s Largest Event For Active ‘50 plussers’

Last September I was on a speaking/consulting tour in Europe. One of the stops was Utrecht, The Netherlands at a private business symposium coinciding with the annual 50PlusBeurs.

The symposium was running late. Very late.  Just before I was to go on (an hour and a half after I was scheduled) they asked me to do a twenty-minute presentation instead of my usual fifty.  I did (and wasn't happy with the way it went), then headed out of the conference room with Brent Green, Carol Orsborn, and my More-Significant-Than-I-Am Other to look around.

We'd never seen anything like it. I'd heard what it was, but was nowhere near prepared. Ninety-five thousand people in five days. Over twenty thousand the day we were there.  Six huge halls. Five hundred and eighty exhibits. The sheer immensity was overwhelming.  AARP puts on an Expo every year – but it’s one-quarter the size.

And with only an hour and a half to goof off we only saw about one-quarter of the exhibits, maybe.  The four of us were racing around.  That’s how big it was. Nobody could see it all in one day.

For example, there must’ve been fifteen bicycle exhibitors with at least one hundred bikes to check out - and room to ride them in a demo area.  Next, I climbed in and out of about twenty motor-homes – but never made it to the automobiles or motorcycles. No time. 

I never even entered four of the six halls.  One I just glanced in.  It looked something like this: 

Almost every exhibit was over the top, a show in itself.  Click here to watch a Windows Media Video that gives you a good idea of the quality and variety of offerings. 

What’s really amazing about this event is the return rate for exhibitors: 85%. They make money, they know it’s a great investment, great promotion. They know it's a great market segment.

The average age of 50PlusBeurs attendees is sixty-one. So the entertainment and general feel is for a slightly older demographic than Baby Boomers. My guess is that this will change over the next five or so years.

Time was up.  We had to fly to Munich. I was working, not playing (I kept telling myself – for practically the whole two-week tour).

I want to get back to 50PlusBeurs someday so I can really soak it in.

If you are involved in the European 50+ Market, 50PlusBeurs is something you should see.  And don't worry about waiting a year or two if you can't make it next month.  It'll just get bigger and bigger. This year they'll break 100,000 in attendance.  My guess is that the turnout won't plateau for a decade. 

Download the English version of the 50PlusBeurs Brochure for 2008.

———
Update September 3, 2008: This post was picked up by the international news service Agetimes.com. 

The European Speaking Tour (maybe Part I)

I'm finally back from the European Speaking/Consulting Tour sponsored by Bayard Presse, PLUS Magazines, and Roularta Media Group.

I guess you don't need a play-by-play. It was a success, Carol Orsborn and Brent Green were a notch above top-notch, our hosts treated us like Royalty everywhere we went, and my more-significant-than-I-am other had the time of her life as tourist and part-time nanny for the three prima donnas.

Carol is blogging about it all, so keep up with her musings. I'm sure Brent will also have a bunch to say when he returns and has some time.

I'll skip the travelogue, and only mention business stuff. The two most impressive things for me in Europe:

1) These incredibly dedicated, talented, hard-working, creative people I met, socialized, and worked with from all the companies, all the PLUS Magazines (along with Vi Over 60 and Notre Temps). I'm still reeling from being around such energy and artistry.

2) The 50+ Fair in Utrecht, Netherlands. Impossible to describe. Attendance over five days was just shy of 100,000. Almost 600 exhibits/booths. Seriously - I can't describe it. It was like everything I've been talking about for the last five years physically washing over and overwhelming me. The web site also doesn't do it justice. It can't. You had to be there.

A few bloggers have commented (but you may have a tough time reading their posts) - and the feedback from the attendees has been positive and enlightening. I still haven't answered all of them - and they keep piling into my inbox.

Can a Sandwich Be Slandered?

I got a kick out of this piece in The New York Times:

Can a Sandwich Be Slandered?
By LOUISE STORY

It bleeds into the previous post and comments made by my friend in The Netherlands, Martijn de Haas.

The idea of letting consumers be creative isn't a new one. Remember jingle writing? (Actually it still goes on.) The problem is this: with jingle writing the agency always had control over what was released. Now anybody can produce a pseudo-commercial and upload it to YouTube.

While I wish I had the technical ability thirty or forty years ago to put together a 'demo reel' like young folks do today (and it's great that they have this opportunity), it looks like Quiznos is getting into a bit of a legal tangle. I predict that before long companies will understand that they should retain control over their creative, marketing, and PR messages - and not just because it's smarter - but because of lawsuits like the Quizno's/Subway one in progress. Soon agencies and clients will be asking (or demanding) that YouTube delete fake spots before any lawsuits emerge.

Every so often some creative kid will rise to the top with a great idea for a spot. But 99% of the stuff uploaded is junk - and potentially harmful to the brand or product.

And … it's a fad. Not YouTube or making videos - but producing faux commercials. The amateur video makers will get bored - and the viewers will certainly get bored.

From coverage of The Idea Conference by Ad Age:

"We've got to stop thinking that consumer-generated content is an idea," he (David Jones, Euro RSCG Worldwide) said. "It isn't. It is a phenomenon."

Boomer Business Conferences in September 2007

September seems to be the time for conferences – certainly ones focusing on the 50+ Market. It’s a bottleneck.

Here’s one in Hong Kong, September 19th-21: Baby Boomers Asia 2007 (PDF)

Dick Stroud and Kevin Lavery will be featured speakers. I was invited to be a featured speaker, but …

Then there’s The Boomers Business Conference in Chicago, September 17-19:

Health & healthcare concerns are shaping Boomers purchase decisions about more than just healthcare; it's financial services, retirement, nutrition, housing and travel and leisure and much more...

Mary Furlong, Brent Green, Richard Adler and a few other folks I know will be speaking. I was invited to speak, but …

And don’t forget The 2007 Cascade Conference on Successful Aging in bounteously beautiful Bend, Oregon. I was invited to speak, but …

Instead I’m leaving Friday, September 14th for a European Business Speaking Tour sponsored by Plus Magazine, Bayard Press, and Roularta Media. Ten days, seven cities:

Stockholm: Monday, September 17
Oslo: Tuesday, September 18
Brussels: Wednesday, September 19
Utrecht (Netherlands): September 20
Munich: September 21
A free weekend in Paris, then …
Paris: September 24
Madrid: September 25

I believe some, most, or all of the engagements are open to the public. Here’s info on the Brussels Conference to give you an idea of what they’re about. Brent Green will be in Chicago, missing Stockholm and Oslo - then meet us in Brussels, continuing on to the other cities. More on all of this later.

And afterwards, a side trip to London for 2½ days. If anybody over there wants to take me and my more-significant-than-I-am other to lunch or dinner or for a warm beer — or let us stay with them and sleep on their couch because hotels are about $800 a night (I'll toss sixpence on the table when we leave) — email me. Better still, if you’re a business and would like me to speak for an hour or two on Wednesday or Thursday …

Hong Kong, Chicago, Bend. They’ll have to wait until next year.

New Blogs, Businesses, Resources

50+ marketing is exploding worldwide.

That’s a cliché-ridden statement I’ve been wanting to use for years.  Finally I can. 

Kim Walker of Silver Group Asia is blogging:

Observations, insights and innovations that connect with the 50+ market.
We INFORM with unique research, data and insights … We ADVISE on strategy and increase understanding through training and speeches …We help CONNECT to the market through relevant and targeted programs and media

Read an interview with Kim Walker on Brent Green’s blog – then download Kim’s keynote "The Rise of the Silver Surfers" presented to the iMedia Brand Summit in Kota Kinabalu, E Malaysia.

Ad Nauseam’s Christopher Simpson (Canada) takes a professorial slant with his new blog.  That’s because he is a professor.  And a seasoned all around creative:

On Editing and Writing
Dedicated to clarity, one sentence at a time
Perhaps it’s irrational, but I am tired of people telling me to attain a state of consciousness the means to which only they can provide.

(Great resource, Kit – and that appraisal  is coming from a Bloviating Pleonast.)

Martin Diano of The Baby Boomer [Knowledge Center] is collecting experts for his Boomer Authority project:

Boomer Authority
A Question and Answer Resource for the Baby Boomer Generation - Gain access to a community of professionals and organizations for free timely advice!

My friends in The Netherlands, Martijn de Haas and Arjan in't Veld, are involved in a new agency – and a new web site/blog.  Martijn told me that there might be English language versions soon. Until then, enjoy the pictures.

And Vince Vassolo, gerontologist/ad man and self-proclaimed Head Boomer, is blogging:

Baby Boomer Marketing Blog
Boomers are bright, opinionated and socially connected, so they’ll decide what your brand means rather than having you or some trendsetter define it for them.

If It’s Wednesday, This Must Be Belgium

More later on a whirlwind European tour I'm booked for in September. Ten days in six countries: Sweden, Norway, Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Spain.

Most of the seminars are not open to the public - but this one is:

Senior citizens: a growing market
Over 50s, baby boomers, the charmed generation ... Just some of the many names for consumers with high purchasing power and often lavish spending patterns. What are the trends in this market? How can marketers better promote their products and services to this consumer category? Is it one category or many different categories? These and other questions will be answered by a panel of expert speakers.

The speakers.

Back From Istanbul: Part Three

A few of the European ads and graphics used in the presentation:

United Kingdom 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

France

 

 

Germany

 

Belgium 

Click graphic:

The Netherlands

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Norway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back From Istanbul: Part One

Back From Istanbul: Part Two

Back From Istanbul: Part Four