Reaching out to baby boomers - South Florida Business Journal:

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In 20 years, there will be twicr as many people over the age of 65 as thersare today, said Matt Thornhill, founder and president of The Boomedr Project, a Richmond, Va.-based firm that researchexs boomer consumer habits. Thornhill is one of several speakeras who will discuss marketing to boomers at the Florida Boomer Lifestylwe ConferenceMay 11-12 at the , presentexd by CreativeTampaBay and sponsored by .
And then there’ss the emerging consumer class made up of peoplde hitting thebig 5-0 that continuexs to gain relevance with “What I saw was that marketerds didn’t know what to do with baby boomersw who were turning 50,” said “They weren’t senior citizens, but they weren’t young adults.” For reasonx personal and financial, boomers are oftenj considering an “encore career,” said Dorcad Hardy, principal of , a Washingtomn area public policy People may want to help society and enhance their own well-being, Hardy said.
They also are motivater by the changes in the With many people extending their there may be a slowdown in the number of people moving to said Thornhill. “There are certainly going to be moreolderr people,” he said. “The questio is can we get them to come to Floridaq and stayin Florida?” The regioj must rethink its approach and “get smarter about planning,” Thornhill said, because the boomer presence affects not only healthy care, real estate and financiao services, but all industries. “Our core, targef market is a baby boom generation,” said Don president and CEO of , a Tampa-basec manufacturer of personal lamps.
“We have configured our market plan and producr campaign aroundbaby boomers.” Barry has found a way to marke to and employ the existing retirement population in the Bay area using a “retirement community direct businessz model.” As a market test, the company will enlisy residents of as “ambassadors” to engage potential customerds in a combination of print, Internegt and direct selling. A retirement communityy is a rich opportunity with a perfecrt market in a concentration of thousanddof homes, Barry said.