Older Adults Sold On Entrepreneurship

Good story on NPR:

Never Too Late: More Older Adults Sold On Entrepreneurship
by Ina Jaffe
If you've ever been driven to rage and despair trying to pry open one of those plastic blister packs, Paul Tasner says it doesn't have to be that way. According to the 68-year-old Tasner, all it would take is for more products to use the packaging he's developed for his company, Pulpworks.

The company web site:

Our environmentally thoughtful protective packaging is fashioned from the very same raw material that’s been used for decades to create egg cartons. Said another way, we turn garbage into safe, planet-friendly products.

Great outfit.

Of course, none of this is new to NostraChuckus, famed Soothsayer and advertising gadfly who has been startling the world for years with his mundane prognostications.

From June 2006:

"In England, they've done a lot of studies about 'wrap rage,' and it goes much deeper than not being able to open a bottle of medicine, for instance. It's anything, any consumer goods packaging that people have trouble opening, and as Baby Boomers are starting to age, they are very sensitive to this," says Chuck Nyren, who just happens to be another Baby Boomer and also creative strategist and consultant, as well as author of "Advertising to Baby Boomers." According to him, "bad packaging can make Baby Boomers feel incompetent; as marketers, you don't want to remind this group of people that they don't have the physical skills they had when they were younger."

Of course, the above has nothing to do with me. I can rip open any dumb, stupid candy wrapper with my bare hands .... as long as one of my bare hands is holding a pair of pliers.

March 2013:

Wrap Rage Redux
… Now it’s become a 2nd Amendment issue. Many folks believe that you have an inalienable right to protect yourself against Bubble Wrap with high-capacity assault weapons…

The Green Revolution:

December 2007
Green Boomers
…Forty million boomers use their purchasing power to buy environmentally safe brands…

February 2011
Green Boomers Redux
… A few of these Green toy companies might get the smarts – and market their products directly to Baby Boomer grandparents.

Entrepreneurship?  My book ©2005, 2007 is stuffed with information.  Download the Introduction and 1st Chapter and you’ll find this:

  I’ve corralled all the wild animals:

Entrepreneurs & Baby Boomers
All of a sudden every other news article about Baby Boomers is focused on business and entrepreneurs.

Listen to/Read the NPR piece profiling Mr. Tasner and PulpWorks.

Product Videos

Thanks to @creatingresults for tweeting this:

73% of Consumers More Likely to Make a Purchase After Watching a Video
A new survey reveals that video has an extraordinarily positive impact on consumers during the purchase life-cycle … video also plays a huge role in further research into the brand, as well as in comparison shopping and in post-purchase information…

I wouldn’t swallow this whole. The info is from two outfits marketing/producing product videos. 

Of course, the gold standard for video advertising:

You Won't Believe How Big TV Still Is
Staggering viewership numbers and dominant revenue figures
By Sam Thielman
… There’s a Silicon Valley expectation that there will be a desilo-ization of TV imminently, and nobody who took part in these dinners and discussions, not even the most ardent online people, thinks that’s the case…

NostraChuckus, soothsayer for everything obvious, predicted the rise of long(ish) form informational advertising videos way back in 2005:

Download the PDF of two chapters from  Advertising to Baby Boomers, courtesy of The Advertising Educational Foundation. 

He didn’t get the delivery systems quite right, but this was before YouTube, smartphones, tablets.  Give him a break. The Crystal Ball of Common Sense was murky.

Age UK Advert

Just saw this. Excellent:

Watch Age UK's new cinema ad, encouraging everyone to embrace ageing and seize the day. The advert features a poem by acclaimed poet Roger McGough and is voiced by actor Sir Christopher Lee.

For more inspiration, head for www.ageuk.org.uk/lovelaterlife

Oddly enough, Roger McGough and yours truly have something in common:

The New Millennium Tales: Baby Boomer Marketing Stories
It’s larger than this, hardcover and classy – suitable for dazzling display on a petite coffee table.

I’ve yet to appear in a movie with Christopher Lee, however.

Native Advertising is having a bad week.

What You Think You Know About the Web Is Wrong
by Tony Haile
Myth 3: Native advertising is the savior of publishing
On a typical article two-thirds of people exhibit more than 15 seconds of engagement, on native ad content that plummets to around one-third.

Native Ads Aren’t Engaging Readers
by Greg Sterling
Native ads are the “it format” of digital media right now. Perceived to be less visually disruptive and able to command premium pricing, publishers are widely embracing them.

No One’s Looking at Your Native Ads, Either
by  Peter Kafka
People who look at this stuff can’t wait to stop
reading it.

This all sounds vaguely familiar…

07 December 2012
What is Digital Advertising?
… The newest buzz-phrase has me completely baffled: Native Advertising.  One social media guru described it as advertising that is ‘baked into’ the content. I guess it’s sort of like the old Burns & Allen Show where one episode had Gracie baking a cake using Betty Crocker Cake Mix, a sponsor.

Or was that product placement?  Madison & Vine?  I’m still confused.  Whatever it was, I know it doesn’t work anymore, is old school, and nowadays native advertising is the future, and all advertisers should be all over it or their businesses will fail.

Say goodnight, Gracie.

The Déjà Vu No New News News

It’s always a treat to get up, make some coffee, open the newspaper (pixels or pulp) and read nothing new:

Why Boomers Are More Likely To Succeed as Entrepreneurs
A study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation reported that the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity over the last few years is not Gen-Y upstarts, but Baby Boomers in the 55-64 year age group. In fact, Boomers are actually driving a new entrepreneurship boom as they retire from their traditional corporate jobs and seek more meaningful sources of work.

How far back do you want to go?

March 25, 2005
ADVERTISING TO BABY BOOMERS Targets Clients and Entrepreneurs
A large section of the book is dedicated to helping Baby Boomer entrepreneurs get their marketing and advertising up and running. The author as well gives advice and guidance to the small businessperson on how to fashion a handmade campaign.

27 August 2005
Baby Boomers Conquer Self-Employment Market
The interesting thing is this boom, which is said will resemble the dot. com boom of the late ‘90’s, will be led by baby boomers and would-be retirees and tend to be better educated, healthier, and more tech-savvy than their 20-something predecessors.

Or check out all of these posts from the past:

Entrepreneurs & Baby Boomers
All of a sudden every other news article about Baby Boomers is focused on business and entrepreneurs.

Part II of The Déjà Vu No New News News next déjà vu.