Generation Reinvention: How Boomers Today Are Changing Business, Marketing, Aging and the Future

Mainstream business has been slow to react to dramatic population aging--maybe even in denial. All but a handful of enlightened companies remain fixated on the gold standard of demographic marketing targets: adults 18 to 49.

This is bound to change with Baby Boomers starting to turn 65 beginning January 1, 2011. As the generation that popularized the 18-to-49 demographic in youth begins to reach this landmark age, about 8,000 Boomers will turn 65 daily for the next 19 years. The bellwether birth anniversary signifies eligibility for Medicare benefits, as well as tidal changes in the nation's demographic composition.

What are the implications? Is Boomer aging a problem or opportunity? What can businesses and nonprofits do to take advantage of this historically unprecedented change in the nation's balance of old to young?

Experts in demography and sociology commonly agree that Boomers have shaped every life stage they've occupied. With nearly 85% now over age 50--and millions suddenly heading to 65 and beyond--Boomers are again shaping business practices and institutions.

This book gives readers astute glimpses into what it actually means to be part of this generation. An unprecedented workshop included in the Appendix helps readers gain deeper, more sophisticated insights into the Baby Boomer Generation. Readers also discover how their generational values are similar to and different from Boomers, thus opening the door to better intergenerational understanding and communications.

Through a more intuitive perspective, readers can then discover how to improve marketing communications, product and service development, nonprofit value, and public policies. Accurately forecasting the Boomer future has significant monetary implications for many industries, including, and especially, healthcare, education, financial services, housing, travel, and consumer retailing.

A special section of the book examines marketing to Baby Boomer men, including historical, technological and cultural touchstones; underdeveloped opportunities to combine gender and generational nuances in marketing; and, new segmentation research about the Boomer male cohort.