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 First Annual Baby Boomer Girlfriends Spring Break

Beverly Mahone - author, journalist, talk show host, media and Baby Boomer pundit - has something going on that has an exciting, fun, unique feel about it:

The First Annual Baby Boomer Girlfriends Spring Break
In 2007, many of you contacted me suggesting we have some kind of event to connect baby boomer women all over the country in order to network, make business contacts and to celebrate who we are. Well I listened and now we are going to do just what you've asked.

Listen to Beverly talk about it on Growing Bolder Radio.

This is the type of grassroots event that should be on all marketers' radar. It might look small and insignificant to a P&G, a Unilever, a General Motors - but the 'realness' of it will reflect on your brand more than a booth at a standard convention or event.

And the future of this Spring Break? Read on ...

I don't want to get into the whole story - but when I was on a speaking tour in Europe recently, my gig in The Netherlands was at this unbelievable event. Ninety-eight thousand visitors, five hundred and eighty-seven top-of-the-line booths. Ten or fifteen years ago when it began, the booths were folding tables and chairs, the vendors hawking trinkets and vacation packages.

Also in The Netherlands there is an impressive annual event on a smaller scale. One of the producers is Martijn de Haas - profiled recently on The Mature Market site.

Beverly left a comment on another post:

"Do you think you could put on a dress and come speak to the fabulous women at our Baby Boomer Girlfriend's Spring Break in Daytona Beach?"

Maybe next year, Beverly. But … where do I shop for this dress? It'll be tough finding something in my size - and is stylish. I might have to make a short detour here on the way to Florida.

Or ... I could wait until I get there. For the 2nd Annual, you just might have hundreds of booths, with dozens dedicated to fashion.

More about it all.

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."

Friends In The Netherlands

In The Netherlands I made many new friends, and finally met up with a handful of folks I'd been in contact with for some time.

Among other things, Arjan in't Veld heads up InTheField Marketing en communicatie and runs the Mokka Marketing Blog. One of his clients is PLUS Magazine. Arjan has been helping with the redesign and implementation of their web site - adding interactive sections like this one.

View the site through Babble Fish to get an idea of what's being done (although don't completely trust the quirky translation).

The Mature Market Interview with Arjan in't Veld.

Martijn de Haas and Michel van den Bosch own the marketing firm Active Development:

Active Development is a consultancy/participating company in the marketing and communication to the 50+ market. We advise and/or participate in efforts of companies in entering the market and effectively reaching the 50+ consumers. This could be in thinking up new marketing strategies, new communication, online activities, and product development. We have a growing database of 50+ consumers who are providing us information in all these activities and who are actively taking part in our panels.

We have developed a small local fair called "the fair for people who enjoy life", or short in Dutch "de Levensgenietersbeurs": www.levensgenietersbeurs.nl

This a fair that is held in relatively big cities in Holland and holds about 30 exhibits. The textual marketing is ageless but the target is attracting the 50+ consumer who has money to spend on luxury articles. From our experience and backed-up by psychological research we found that as people get older they tend to value local socials networks more and more. They want to build close relationships with local entrepreneurs who give them optimal service and a feeling of being a 'friend' rather than a customer.

Here is Active Development - and their Fair - stuffed in the Babble Fish meat grinder.

We can learn a lot from the Dutch about how to market to the 50+ demo. In some areas they're way ahead of us.

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.

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.

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.

An Award Winner

I received an email from Martijn de Haas of Active
Development in The Netherlands:

… I thought you might be interested in a Dutch 2005 example of how they tried selling broadband to 50+ consumers. The theme is: "it's hard to keep up with technology”:



They even won the Dutch advertising prize for it. Although I think it’s funny I seriously doubt they got many of the target group to buy it.

You can look at it in 2 ways:

- the target group laughed because they didn't identify but got the message that was told at the end

- the target group was insulted and laughed it off

I think the latter but would love to hear your opinion …

I agree with Martijn. I’ve written about these types of campaigns in my book and blogged about them a number of times. Here’s just one:

Passat's Midlife Crisis

The spot from the Netherlands is kind of cute, very well produced, acted, directed. Not particularly original. The first scenario is a direct lift from the 1st edition cover of my book (I’m sure it wasn’t intentional) - a clever tongue-in-cheek visual metaphor birthed by Anne Kilgore – graphic artist/book designer extraordinaire. Click here to take a look at it.

The driving into the bushes gag is old (at least since the invention of car navigation systems – so five or six years old). I’ve seen it before. The gag about the mouse held up to the monitor is even older (a variation is a piece of blank paper pressed against a monitor so it will ‘print’).

And, of course, it’s always older people who are the foils for these tepid attempts at humor.

Why would you want to viciously ridicule your target market? They might laugh – but will they buy your product? I think not.

On NPR recently there was a report about students who were given laptops instead of textbooks. While these kids certainly knew how to download music, hang out at Facebook, and play video games – they had real problems opening up and using a word processing program. Many had no idea how to save a document. And when they did save it, they couldn’t find it again to open and work on it – or figure out how to print it.

As an exercise, let’s pretend that a company wants to sell computers to teenagers. I come up with a brilliantly funny spot. It’s full of the greatest of gags. In fact, they’re hysterical. For example - a drooling, pimply-faced, frenzied kid is working on a homework assignment - and is trying to type with a joystick! What a moron! Ha-ha! In another scenario, a kid is unscrewing and taking apart a computer to look inside it – trying to find the document he saved! Ha-ha-ha!!!

I tell ya, everybody'll be falling out of their chairs watching this one. It’ll get lots of advertising awards, too.

And most teenagers will probably laugh – but you won’t see them rushing to buy these computers. They have been made fools of.

And they know it.

"I no longer enter my agency's layouts in the contests ... for fear that one of them might be disgraced by an award." - David Ogilvy

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.

The Netherland's PLUS Magazine

Back from The Big Apple for a private consulting/speaking assignment. Bayard Presse and Roularta Media flew in 40+ advertisers of their 40+ magazine PLUS - a major player in The Netherlands.

Of course, I was a bit concerned that I'd have to tone down my presentation, speak slowly, that any humor might not translate. Was I ever wrong. These wonderful folk followed me from start to finish - laughing, leaning in, asking questions. In The Netherlands English is not a tossed-off second language, but a requirement in schools.

And the Dutch are friendly, involved, jovial, and (no surprise) keenly intelligent.

I presented first - and for the next few days had lots of rousing huddles and chats with almost all the organizers and attendees.

Actually, I was one of the unofficial organizers, recommending three of the seven speakers: Laurel Kennedy of Age Lessons, John McMenniman (former Nestle/Disney exec and former president of The Advertising Hall of Fame), and John Migliaccio. And I had a few special friends of mine drop by for lunches, dinners, and meetings: Susan Silver, Mary Duffy, and Peter Himler. Peter had some other meetings that came up unexpectedly, so he wasn't around for too long - but Susan and Mary spent lots of time floating around and were appreciated by all.

I also popped in to say hello to Marcia Soling of The Advertising Educational Foundation and hand her a copy of the updated edition of my book.



A very special treat for me: I finally met Dick Stroud - and as a bonus, his beautiful wife Stella. Too bad she's not on this huge billboard in Times Square. She should be.