Half Condo, Half Hotel

Meet David Hess, a 47-year-old business executive and father of three children who found himself divorced and looking for new living arrangements. He had three main criteria: a place where his children would feel at home on weekends, a location close to their mother's suburban house, and a situation that accommodated his extensive travel. Solution: He settled in AVE in Clifton, N.J., a hybrid between an apartment and an extended stay hotel.

AVE, a project of Korman Communities, is located near a mass transit center. It offers both furnished and unfurnished apartments, and tenants can sign a lease for the unfurnished units for six months or longer. The facility provides concierge services, cafe breakfasts, a fitness facility and weekly social events. Korman's six AVE projects around the country (three in New Jersey, two in Pennsylvania and one in Virginia) are evolving into small "neighborhoods," says Lea Anne Welsh, who developed the AVE concept for Korman.

Reports Antoinette Martin for the New York Times:

Dozens of no-longer-married adults, many of them with children, have signed leases for a year's term or longer at each of the complexes [Welsh] said; divorced fathers account for about 25 percent of all tenants at the 785 units in New Jersey and 508 in Pennsylvania.

The price of these units are not for the "faint of wallet," Martin observes. An unfurnished, two-bedroom, two-bathroom suite in the Clifton facility can range from $2,595 to $3,330 a month when leased on a yearly basis. That's pretty steep, but it's probably no more than many tenants would be laying out for mortgage payments on a single-family dwelling in the tonier subdivisions ringing New York City, Philadelphia or Washington, D.C., much less the cost of maid service and health club dues.

If Hess is typical, affluent Baby Boomers are leading the demand for these hyper-flexible, low-maintenance living arrangements. Divorced Boomer executives have lots of disposable income but their lives are in transition, and they are super short on time. The last thing they want is the headaches that come with maintaining a single-family house and garden. If the apartment complex provides concierge services that make life a little easier, so much the better. A flexible lease length gives them the time to look for more permanent arrangements, but they may well conclude they like the hassle-free lifestyle just fine.

Korman's price point limits the market to the top one or two percent of income earners in the country. But don't be surprised to see imitators fielding stripped-down versions of AVE -- less luxury, fewer premium services -- that package a mix of convenient location, low maintenance and extra amenities for stressed-out, time-deprived divorced moms and dads.

Just another wrinkle in the ever-changing pattern of family structures, living arrangements and housing options brought to you courtesy of the Baby Boomer generation.

(Photo credit of Korman facility in Arlington, Va.: AKA.)

Boomer Consumers and the New Fru

A few weeks ago we reported on the "New Age of Frugality" that folks like BusinessWeek and others sensed was on the horizon.

Well, the "New Fru," as we like to call it, is here. Today's Wall Street Journal has three items that prove it:

1. Full-page ad by DeBeers on the back page of the front section with the headline "Here's to Less." The short copy is all about our misguided interest in possessions that "we do not treasure." Enter the diamond, something that can be "passed down for generations."
2. Article about the dramatic fall-off in luxury car sales in October and the first half of November. The reasons given are the recession, as well as a lack of desire by those with enough money to buy a luxury car to be so showy these days. Maybe this is a trickle-up mindset the very rich are learning from the rest of us.
3. Essay about the rediscovery of a class of Americans who have been shunned for decades: those prudent Americans -- the ones who pay their credit card bills and save money.
   

In addition, a guest Op/Ed in today's New York Times by the chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia about the "Dying of Consumption" contains similar sentiments.

Based on all the signs, we're ready to predict the New Fru isn't going to go away when the recession ends, whenever that is.

The New Fru is a permanent shift in consumer behavior, driven by the "Perfect Storm" of a variety of factors:

• The "Great Depression"-like recession we're in is certainly the kick-start to this shift in consumer behavior. If you don't have much money to spend, you spend much less.
  
• The emerging "Green" movement away from consumables and more toward renewables is another factor. Fully 80% of Americans in our recent "Green Matters" study either think or act in environmentally responsible ways. Our grandparents and great-grandparents never threw anything of use away. They couldn't afford to. In short order, our kids and grandkids will be doing the same. It's a life lesson they won't forget.
  
• Boomers, the consume-now-and-pay-never generation, have reached that stage of life where the goal is less about acquiring more materials things and more about acquiring better and more enriching experiences.

Modern marketing as we've known it since the emergence of TV has been all about consume, consume, consume. The more you consume, the better a citizen you are -- you're fueling the economy. But that's going to change as consumers embrace the New Fru mindset.

Interestingly, consumers understand the New Fru better than our government leaders do -- they still want to bail out banks and the auto industry, and send us "stimulus checks" so we'rell go spend and be good consuming citizens. But we're not going to spend. We're going to pay down debt and save. Pretty soon, we're going to want the government to do the same (probably within two years -- to borrow from Joe Biden, mark our words).

We're report more on the New Fru mindset and try to offer suggestions to help marketers make the shift. Some, as we've reported, are ahead of others.

One good starting point is to spend 20 minutes watching The Story of Stuff over this holiday weekend. Even if the facts cited are off by 50%, it's quite an eye-opener for anyone trying to understand consumer behavior.

Consider the Source withBoomer Word of Mouth

Big news released today from Prevention magazine on a year-long research study on how women use "word of mouth" (WOM) to share information about brands, products and services.

The big news:

The study, which involved an analysis of the conversations of more than 14,000 women over the course of a year, found that Baby Boomer women (43-62) have higher quality WOM than younger women (18-39)--what boomer women say is more credible, they're more likely to pass on what they hear to others, they're more likely to seek additional information and they're more likely to purchase.

And to that, we say consider the source.

No, we don't mean Prevention isn't a good source. But older women are much better resources for brand, product and services information than younger women. The reason is likely less generational (and unique to Boomers) and more age-based (and unique to older women).

That's because with age comes wisdom. Younger women instinctively know what they hear from their friends and other women has to be taken with a grain of salt. Older women are more trusting in the info from their older peers. Why? Because the source is older and wiser. How do they know it? Because they themselves are older and wiser.

We'll call this a blinding glimpse of the obvious and get back to crafting sharp commentary on the death of any "Boomer" oriented social networking sites that lack focus.

For those who want more rants on "word of mouth," visit Chuck Nyren's Advertising to Boomers blog. It really gets him worked up.

Greedy, Grasping Children -- and, No, We're Not Talking About Baby Boomers

Depressing news for Baby Boomers in Great Britain... Let's hope this trend doesn't cross the Atlantic!

Here in the States, Boomer parents are accustomed to the idea of their adult children living at home. Other than their predilection for raiding the fridge and forgetting to turn out the lights, the offspring don't cost a lot of cash out of pocket.

In the UK, the little moochers are digging deeper into their parents' pockets, putting their empty-nester and retirement dreams at risk. A recent Skandia Insurance study finds that 59 percent of British parents "are still expected to give financial support to adult children ... while 89 per cent will sacrifice their own financial situation in order to meet their children's expectations."

According to the Skandia research, one in ten parents aged 50 to 65 are expected to contribute towards the cost of buying their children's first home, while 15 per cent anticipate being asked to fund their child's wedding.

Says Michelle Cracknell, strategy director at Skandia: "Whilst many parents now in their 50s and 60s may have planned to cut the financial purse strings to their off-spring by now so they can fund their own lifestyle, changing demographics and the cost of living mean that, for many, this has not been the case."

Wow. And we thought American Boomers raised demanding children.

Continues the report: The most common way for parents to meet their children's expectations is to raid their own savings (48 per cent), followed by making personal sacrifices on their own lifestyle (42 per cent). The situation is worst in London, where children of Boomer parents have highest expectations from their children. One in four Boomers say their children see them as a source of unlimited funds (24 per cent), compared to just 17 per cent in the rest of the country.

Meet their childrens' expectations? Sounds like these greedy progeny are unconcerned about their parents' well being -- and the parents are a bit resentful. Sounds like some Brit Boomers never learned to say, "No," to their kids. I would hope that Americans would display a little more backbone about indulging their little darlings, but I'm not confident that a similar poll here would show any big differences.

Universal Design and Boomers

In a non-news news release from the folks at the Industrial Design Group of GE Consumer & Industrial (the appliance group), we see some good news.

Mainstream appliance makers like GE are finally realizing how the changing demographics of more older adults impacts their business. In the release, they talk about a research process they have been implementing with Carnegie Mellon School of Design to figure out how to apply "Universal Design" concepts into new product developments.


As they report: “The time has come for kitchens and homes that fit the real needs of real people—needs that will change over time.” It is their intention to be a leader in this effort. GE already has a Web site with examples of kitchens with universal design principles and appliances.

This is good news, and about time. We've talked about universal design as it relates to homes since 2004. The in-home "aging in place" business -- remodeling, retrofitting, upgrading -- is going to be a huge business over the next 20+ years as Boomers grow older and face diminishing physical capabilities.

We'll be watching for more major players to seize this opportunity.

Adventure Travel and Culture Cruises

Silversea Cruises, an ultra-luxury cruise line based out of Monaco, reports record growth in the number of passengers who have never before sailed with the line – a phenomenon the company attributes to its aggressive marketing to the “lucrative Baby Boomer market.”

While most marketers look upon baby boomers as a maturing market, the age cohort represents a “youth” market compared to the older demographic that traditionally has dominated the business. “We’re encouraging our travel agency partners to check their preconceptions at the door,” said David Morris, Silversea’s executive vice president of worldwide sales. “Younger people have the money and time to travel.”

(We like that. The last time anyone referred to us as a “young” person, we were talking to our 79-year-old step mother.)

As the Boomers displace the GI generation and the silent generation from the luxury liner suites, their tastes are driving tremendous changes. “According to many cruise line executives this one group of guests has probably created more changes in cruise ship programming than any other travelers since Noah's Ark,”writes Joseph Ewart, editor of www.cruisejungle.com.

Ewart quotes Dan Hanrahan, chairman of Cruise Lines International Association, as observing that Baby Boomers tend to collect experiences as they get older as opposed to physical possessions. Out goes Bingo, in come computer classes. Out go the bus tours, in come river-rafting expeditions and bicycle jaunts down the side of a volcano.

The industry also is tacking away from formal dining rooms with early and late seating times in favor of smaller restaurants in alternative settings that serve meals according to more flexible schedules. For entertainment, cruise lines are lining up more acts geared to Boomer tastes such as jazz, blues and rock ‘n’ roll. Spas are offering exotic amenities such as Thalassotherapy pools and hot stone massages. And an increasing square footage of prime, ocean-view space is being dedicated to weight machines and elipticals.

Silverseas’ HSH Prince Albert II, one of four vessels in the company’s fleet, appears to be built from the keel up with Baby Boomers and their cosmopolitan European counterparts in mind. Billing the vessel as geared to “adventure travel,” Silverseas has equipped the ship to take passengers to “some of the world’s most remote landscapes.”

“The interest in expedition travel is definitely on the rise, both among affluent baby boomers and seasoned travelers wanting to further enrich their already wide knowledge of more traditional and established destinations,” says Asiatraveltips.com.

The website quotes Silversea President Amerigo Perasso: "Adventure travel is also about having experiences that are intellectually enriching, so every voyage will feature a carefully selected expedition team of lecturers and leading experts who will share their insights on the natural, cultural and historical highlights of some of the most pristine and secluded regions on Earth."

As a sign of the times, Silversea has appointed a “director of expeditions” with responsibility, among other things, of recruiting expedition “lecturers” to cater the knowledge-thirsty Boomers.

Exercise in a Pill

Now comes news that researchers at the Salk Institute in San Diego have discovered a synthetic chemical that improves the physical stamina of laboratory mice on a treadmill by 44 percent over their non-doped buddies. The discovery immediately sparked speculation that scientists might one day create an “exercise pill” for humans that could put the most sluggish couch potato on a physiological par with the most avid of exercisers – with no additional effort.

The revelation is particularly pertinent to Boomers who have reached an age in which their physical fitness is experiencing a steady, seemingly inexorable slide. Although many Boomers have incorporated exercise into their lifestyles more passionately than previous generations have, that commitment requires a tremendous effort. Who wouldn’t like to spend less time on the treadmill and more time playing Sudoku or snoozing in the hammock?

The quest for youthful vigor is hardly unique to Boomers, of course. Human beings have been searching for an antidote to the aging process at least since Juan Ponce de Leon undertook his unsuccessful search for the fountain of youth (we wonder if he was friends with Luigi Cornaro). Assuming we can believe Wikipedia, ol’ Juan was seeking a remedy for sexual impotence. If the Spaniards had had Viagra back then, he might never have been motivated to discover Florida.

Speaking of Viagra, pills for sexual impotence already rank among the biggest selling pharmaceuticals in the world. Meanwhile, scientists are researching chemical compounds that can halt the effects of aging on memory and mental processing speeds. Although it’s a long journey from a chemical that works on mice in a lab to a drug safe for humans, it may be only a matter of time before “exercise pills” become a reality.

How long before there’s a pill to effortlessly perfect every human frailty? How will that impact the way we value effort and self discipline? And how will the demand of the huge and affluent Boomer generation skew research priorities toward lifestyle drugs, away from life-saving pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and orphan drugs that treat small but needy populations?

We don’t pretend to know. But stay tuned. We’ll follow the emerging debate.

Maybe Whining Boomers Have a Reason to Complain

We promised we'd weigh in on the recent Boomer-basing articles referencing various research studies about the unhappiness of Boomers.

We did so in our twice monthly Op/Ed column "Viva the Vital." You can read the piece here.

In it, you'll note, we reference "gen-ism," or bias and stereotyping based on one's generational cohort. That concept and term comes from Brent Green, author of Marketing to Leading Edge Boomers and a man on a mission to stamp out ageism and genism.

Brent has a blog worth a read.

Tell us your opinion about generational bias. Send in a comment.

A Boomer "Bucket List" for Ages 50-64

The folks at a newish Web site for Boomers ages 50 to 64, PreRetirementLife.com, have released a pretty good list of things Boomers should be doing now to get ready for life after work.

You can read the list here.

Not surprisingly, it starts with health related things to do. In our work with marketers and organizations trying to figure out what will drive Boomer behavior over the next 10, 20, even 30 years, we tell them it starts and stops with maintaining health. Because without it, Boomers won't be able to do all the other things they want to do -- travel, volunteer, spend time with family, etc.

The PreRetirement Web site is still officially in beta, so we haven't been compelled to comment on it publicly. However, since they are now issuing press releases, we'll offer up an assessment.

To be honest, we can't figure out the site's purpose. Sure, it says it is a "trusted resource for adults 50 plus" but that has no meaning without context. The first line of the site says

"You've found the premier guide to making your 50+ "PreRetirement" years the most rewarding stage of your life! You'll find advice, activities, and the most useful online resources to help you plan your future and maximize the present."

So it's a filter through which one can find things online relevant to them at age 50-64? A "guide?" It feels like that, especially when you select one of the 14 options, and then get a chance to "explore useful Web sites." But that promise of being a guide and trusted resource isn't explained well on the Home page, or even within the site itself. As outsiders clicking in for the first time, we were confused and unsure of the site's purpose.

We spoke with Andy Garvin, founder, and shared our observations. Garvin said the goal is to be a guide -- they have a staff reviewing sites and adding them to the resource lists daily. We think Boomers are pretty sophisticated Web surfers and will need to know exactly what the benefit is to them to use PreRetirementLife.com. Right now, it isn't clear enough, in our opinion.

What makes it confusing is that three of the six main navigation options appear to link to ads, product pitches or some sort of sponsored content -- in other words, PreRetirementLife.com exists to sell those 50-64 something. Not be a "trusted" guide. The site doesn't have any banner ads, and there has to be a revenue stream from somewhere, so this isn't surprising. But it is confusing.

We'll watch and see how it develops as it comes out of beta.

Yesterday's New Research on Retirement

This study was done for a coalition called "Americans for Secure Retirement" and funded by Ernst & Young. The Washington Post and others reported on it yesterday.

The key finding, as reported in their press release, is that middle class Americans don't have enough money saved for retirement. And, according to the study:

"Middle-income Americans entering retirement now will have to reduce their standard of living by an average of 24 percent to minimize the likelihood of outliving their financial assets."

We guess these same middle class Boomers didn't read the McKinsey study that said if they put off retirement by a few years, the "outliving your assets" problem shrinks, if not disappears.

Probably not, because that isn't the solution offered. Instead, this coalition wants Congress to give anyone who buys an annuity a tax break on the income paid out by that annuity.

We're not sure what to make of this study and report. Not new news, as we've said before. And not a broad enough solution being offered. What middle class Boomer can afford to buy an annuity?

The public radio show Marketplace reported on this story and the reporter's last line, meant as a throw-away was "Well, I guess we could all sell the country home... [to fund retirement.]"

We don't know about you, but few middle class Boomers have "country homes." Ugh.

New Retirement Research (No, This isn't a Repeat)

This time the study is across all generations, sponsored by Charles Schwab, the financial giant, and conducted by Ken Dychtwald's Age Wave and Harris Interactive.

Called "Rethinking Retirement," it provides a comprehensive look at how all four generations -- Silent, Boomers, Generation X and Gen Y -- think and feel about "retirement."

The Web site and information in the report are very well presented and informative. But at first glance, it feels like more of the same (even if it isn't).

Over the last few years we've been telling financial services clients that consumers of all ages no longer view "retirement" as an event of short duration (10-15 years), funded by others (company pensions and Social Security). Instead, consumers today see "retirement" as a life stage lasting 25-30 years and primarily funded out of their own savings (or continuing income).

To us, then, this "rethinking retirement" isn't news at all. But there is some news in their findings. For example, the Schwab study reports that most people think "old age" begins at age 75. That ground has been covered elsewhere. But interestingly, the study asks at what age one should be able to start getting money from Social Security, and consumers say that age is much, much younger than "old age" -- it is 63. The conclusion, mentioned almost in passing, is that today consumers think the "old age" benefit of Social Security is an entitlement due 12 years before you get to "old age."

That's a key finding to us. In fact, we suspect it will be the lead in most stories about the study, if reporters are on their game. One would think that such a finding might empower politicians to address Social Security. We wish Schwab had come down hard on this particular point. It's an opportunity to get action, and it's been underplayed so far.

One aspect of the Schwab study and the Web site that we like: They are trying to move beyond reporting on research to focus now on what to do.

Chuck Schwab and daughter Carrie Schwab Pomerantz have a section on the site where they comment on the study, and the need to provide more financial literacy education in schools, as well as change the financial services industry.

These are good steps, and we encourage Schwab to keep pushing for more steps.

Our belief is that research is only good if it leads to action. Let's hope this study generates some.

A Business about Heading for the Exit

We're always on the lookout for smart entrepreneurs who have interesting ideas about tapping into the Boomer market. Here is one we like:

TheCheckoutLine.org -- a Web site offering advice on managing terminal illnesses, mostly for friends and family.

Run by Judy Bachrach, a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and former reporter for the Washington Post and other newspapers, it offers advice to help Boomers through critical issues where little support can be found.

She named her new site TheCheckoutLine because it is the one area where no one's pushing really hard to get to the front ( so true, so true).

We like the idea because it fills an important need. We aren't sure how Judy will make money at it, but maybe that isn't her goal. Yet.

Reading through some of the questions found there, and her answers, we're holding out on whether or not she'll find traction with advertisers.

Although she should be talking with the folks at LifeGem, who make man-made diamonds from the carbon remains of loved ones (we're not making this up). Imagine: "Oh, what a lovely diamond necklace, is it a family heirloom?" "You could say so. It's my grandma." Creepy.

On second thought, Judy shouldn't pursue that synergy.

The Crowded Boomer Financial Services Market

Let it be known that July 9, 2008 was the day that two large financial services firms, both starting with the letter "P," launched new tools for consumers and financial advisors related to Boomers and retirement.

Prudential launched their Retirement Workbook, "a newly designed personalized enrollment guide that delivers simplified, reader-friendly content for participants in defined contribution plans who are transitioning to Prudential Retirement or for new hires joining existing plans."

Principal Financial Group launched Retirement Readiness Reviews, a guide that helps financial professionals walk their clients through retirement planning.

The products are different, but that's hard for the average reader to discern. It just goes to show that the financial services industry has a long way to go before it is less complicated and confusing. At the very least, perhaps the next firm developing a Boomer retirement-oriented product will peer out of their window to see what the consumer sees and try to differentiate more. Please.

Boomers Skewered in the Washington Post

No wonder Boomers aren't happy these days. It's articles like this one in today's Washington Post pointing out how unhappy Boomers are that is doing it. To wit:

Perpetually restless, utterly mysterious and so very multitudinous -- 76 million -- that the rest of us are doomed to study them, analyze them, wave shiny objects around for them. ...It's all part of the frantic tap dance of figuring out how to raise boomers' tender and flagging happiness, when what we want to say is, BUCK UP ALREADY.

The reporter, Monica Hesse, according to one source, is a twentysomething up-and-comer at the Post. Her story is about the recent Pew Research study that concluded Boomers are gloomier than other generations. We have been thinking about offering up our take on the Pew findings, and will weigh in with a separate post.

Hesse had contacted us last week for a comment, but we didn't connect and she proceeded with her piece. She mentions our Boomer Consumer book -- not exactly in the best context, but we'll take the publicity.

We sent Hesse a note and told her to expect an outpouring of comments from Boomers -- mostly defensive, but also agreeing with her. The reason Boomers will respond is that they don't like being generalized and labeled. Labeling them "whiners," as Hesse does, will surely stir the pot.

Sure enough, take a look at the growing number and intensity of comments the article has generated. There are too many great ones to share here, so here's two:

What an astonishingly ageist article. It would have had more impact without the snark factor, Monica. The way you've written it, the one who comes off as immature is you.

And this one:

My, the writer seems to have "issues" with the Baby Boomers. I thought the whole point of true journalism was to at least try to keep your own attitudes out of your stories - otherwise, there is another venue. It's called an "editorial." Might I say, however, that if the writer's attitudes HAD to have been incorporated, it would have been much more efficient just to say "neener neener neener" and let it go at that. The stick-your-tongue-out immaturity would still have been conveyed.

Gotta love those Boomers. Quick to defend their turf. And predictable.

Demography is Destiny, Again

Peter Francese, founder of American Demographics magazine (now owned by Advertising Age), has a long and fact-filled story in this week's Ad Age called The Changing Face of the U.S. Consumer.

If you're a marketer, you better read it. Especially if you're under the age of 40.

That's because it will tell you the important things you need to know about the future.

It's funny, of all the prognostications we see about Boomers and the future, only one is accurate: In 2028, twenty years hence, all of those Boomers who are still with us will be between the ages of 64 and 82.

The "age wave" rolls onward.

Francese's article has far too much to summarize here. So go read it.

New Boomer-Focused Snack Food is Nutty

Frito-Lay has ventured into Boomer marketing with its first line-up of snacks targeted to Boomers. Called "True North," the line of all natural nuts and nut-based snacks are intended for Boomers who are looking for a more sophisticated and refined snack experience -- and can pay for it.

You can read about this week's launch at Brandweek.

Or venture over to the True North Web site for more information.

We'll be on the lookout for the print, TV and online efforts, to see how exactly Frito-Lay tries to connect with today's Boomer Consumer. At first glance, from the quotes in the Brandweek story, we're a little worried they've gone over the deep end by linking the current Boomer mindset towards self-fulfillment and self-respect and their line of nutty snacks. If they are treating it as a tongue-in-cheek connection, then we'll be okay with it. If they are serious about it, we're going to freak out about it.

People, get a grip. It's only a snack food.

The good news in this is that it is one of the few major players in consumer products to attempt to target a new product line entirely at Boomers. This could start a trend.

Boomers Buying Brain Exercise

Data is in that the "brain fitness" software category is a $225 million industry, doubling the last two years, according to this article by the Associated Press.

By 2010, we think the entire "brain fitness" category, from software, books, gyms and who know what else, will be many, many times larger. Those same Baby Boomers who invented the physical fitness boom in the 1970's as young adults are going to spend billions on mental fitness as older adults.

Example: SF-based vibrantBrains -- which seems to have a good idea, but not an award-winning tagline:

A Health Club for Your Brain
Where the Sweat is Figurative,
but the Results are Real

Maybe their copywriter needs to use the brain gym a little more and try again...

"Aging Boomers" are Going to be the Death of Us All

The good news is that this isn't a post about how Boomers are financially unfit and unprepared for retirement. The seemingly thousands of stories appearing every day are starting to get on our nerves.

The bad news is that this post is about the other major topic covered in the media daily about Boomers: we're getting older and unless we do something about it, we're all going to die some day.

Oh, the irony.

Two news items today reveal the broad scope of coverage. First, a nutty press release from a travel insurance consolidator and seller, SquareMouth.com. It warns that "Aging Boomers May Prompt More In-Flight Health Crises." Then it states upfront that "Most of us will fly our whole lives and never experience a medical emergency. In fact, airlines typically don't even collect data on the numbers of passengers who become ill while taking to the skies because life-threatening situations on planes are so rare."

Okay, so it isn't a problem. So why is it news and why might "aging Boomers" turn it into a problem? According to the release, "Older passengers and those with pre-existing medical conditions are especially vulnerable to the impact of altitude."

Last we checked, most flights have a take-off AND a landing, so the altitude situation is temporary. Good grief. Talk about inventing a condition in the minds of consumers just to sell more product. Shame on them. Especially for trading on aging Boomers as the reason. As if we're senile enough to believe this. Ugh.

The second story is about the Kronos Longevity Research Institute's new "Gray is the New Gold: State of Science Report on Aging." Their goal is to understand how and why we age, and then to slow it down. This is going to be a big business over the next 40+ years as Boomers push longevity as long as possible.

We expect an endless stream of "news" about longevity tips and techniques over the coming years, from brain fitness products to the impact of bright lights on dementia.

We're dying to keep you informed about all of this. Even if it kills us.

When "We" Boomers are "They"

Today in The New York Times, columnist David Brooks writes about "The Great Seduction." Money. Wealth. Debt. He writes:

The United States has been an affluent nation since its founding. But the country was, by and large, not corrupted by wealth. For centuries, it remained industrious, ambitious and frugal.

Over the past 30 years, much of that has been shredded. The social norms and institutions that encouraged frugality and spending what you earn have been undermined. The institutions that encourage debt and living for the moment have been strengthened. The country’s moral guardians are forever looking for decadence out of Hollywood and reality TV. But the most rampant decadence today is financial decadence, the trampling of decent norms about how to use and harness money.

Brooks cites a new report by the Institute for American Values and other think tanks called, “For a New Thrift: Confronting the Debt Culture.” He points out that our debt culture has made millions for many, and made the less fortunate more vulnerable.

Social norms, the invisible threads that guide behavior, have deteriorated. Over the past years, Americans have been more socially conscious about protecting the environment and inhaling tobacco. They have become less socially conscious about money and debt.

Blame gets placed just about everywhere: the federal government, Congress, the White House, state governments (lotteries), payday lenders, credit card companies, Wall Street and so on. Brooks also points readers to another article, "A Nation in Debt" by Barbara Whitehead, that summarizes the report.

What strikes us in all this is the people in charge of all of those institutions over the last 30 years haven't been Boomers. But "we" Boomers are now considered the "they" running all of those institutions now. It's going to be up to us to fix these things.

Unfortunately, our track record to date has been poor. Fareed Zakaria, an author and editor for Newsweek, in a story about "Getting Back to Growth" quotes David Gergen:

“With the end of the cold war, we saw a new, destructive kind of partisanship,” says David Gergen, who has worked in Republican and Democratic White Houses. “And for much of the past decade, we’ve kicked the can down the road on our big problems.”

Some of this is because of the narrowcasting of American politics, a process in which the extreme ends of the spectrum have been magnified and the center gets lost. Part of it, Gergen argues, is generational. “I have a distinct memory that the World War II generation really put country ahead of party. That is simply not the case with the generation in power now."

He's talking about Boomers. So are we going to do anything about it, or simple move aside?

Boomers, TV and Digital

The New York Times reports in "More Channels are Coming. Will Anyone Be Watching" that the move to the all-digital TV world opens up more channels and more opportunities for channels than ever before.

In some markets, local stations are already broadcasting 24-hour weather reports on their new digital channels.

A reader asked us today if this new availability will open up new opportunities for Boomer-focused content. The short answer is "yes," provided there are local (and national) marketers interested in a Boomer audience. Without advertising sales, it is hard to run a TV network for very long, no matter how large a niche it occupies

Already there are major media players (and others) investing in created Boomer-focused content. The largest and perhaps leader is Viacom's TV Land brand, which created new programming for the "TV Generation" like "Family Foreman," a reality show launching in July about the hijinks of George Foreman and his ten children (five of whom are sons named George II, III, IV, V, and VI). And don't miss the 2008 TV Land Awards on June 15th.

Then there is Retirement Living TV ("TV for Your Freedom Years"), the brain child of innovative senior living developer, John Erikson. Much of the programming feels older than Boomer-specific, but they have a new half hour newsmagazine show called "My Generation," produced by AARP at their world headquarters in Washington, DC.

The third player is American Life TV (with a vanity URL of goodtv.com), which runs classic TV as well as original programming. If you haven't seen an episode of "Land of the Giants" in the last 40 years, well, now you can. Our money isn't on these guys, yet.

The broader point is that the first generation raised in front of the TV isn't done with it yet.