‘Changing Aging’ recently sat down with brand consultant Tom Mann. Tom was instrumental in his role as senior vice president of advertising at Erickson Retirement Communities in developing and communicating in a way that made older consumers want to choose (rather than making a decision on need) Erickson communities as places to live. In addition to his branding work, Tom was recently the Task Force Chair of the State of Maryland’s recent report: The Dynamics of Elderly and Retiree Migration Into and Out of Maryland.Today, Tom runs an independent brand development consultancy, TR Mann Consulting (www.TRMann.com), which specializes in creating brands, selling real estate and marketing to the 50+ market.Why does most marketing designed to connect with older consumers stink?Maybe it’s just me … but it seems like the so called experts and media just want to talk about the ‘Boomers,’ as if looking beyond today’s cause célèbre, the pert Boomer, might cause blindness.In fact, they’ve come up with a nice, little label for the generation beyond the ‘Boomers.’ They want to call the age group beyond the ‘Boomers’ the ‘The Silents.’ I guess the experts think that those born earlier than 1946 have nothing to say. And if that doesn’t fit, your other option is ‘The Matures.’Sadly, this incessant labeling overlooks one key fact … regardless of age, we are all individuals.David Wolfe, one of my favorite bloggers and a true expert on aging states on his blog Ageless Marketing:‘Needs drive our behavior. Our need to be physically and mentally comfortable, whole, safe and secure does not change from one generation to the next. In Maslow’s hierarchy, that bundle of needs is the most basic of all needs. Then, our need for love and to be loved never changes from one generation to the next. The same holds true of our need for self-esteem and the esteem of others.What does change from generation to generation are the ways in which we strive to meet our needs.’What does all this have to do with the price of eggs? A lot!I don’t believe that everyone over the age of 65 is the same. In fact, I hate labels and consider them an evil by-product of lazy marketers. Sadly, if you are over the age of 65, Madison Avenue and Hollywood have decided you are dead. Want evidence?In recent history, several TV shows, including JAG, have had excellent ratings that were trending up and yet they were cancelled. Why? Because they were being watched by an older demographic. A prime-time TV show with the majority of their audience in Madison Avenue’s beloved 34 to 49 range can charge 30% more per a sixty-second ad than one targeted toward people over the age of 55. Regardless of the fact that the majority of wealth in this nation is controlled by people 55+. This, my friends, is insanity.What do marketers need to know if they want to authentically connect with older consumers?Marketers need to understand that it’s about ‘stage’ … not age. In other words, where is that individual in their personal journey? My favorite example of this is one of my clients, GRAND Magazine. GRAND doesn’t address the readers’ age; it addresses the stage of life this group (Grandparents) has just entered. By recognizing the importance of this role, the grandparent role, GRAND and its advertisers, connect with their audience on a much deeper level. Think about it this way, there are over 72 million grandparents in America, and according to Age Wave Communications they’ll spend over 30 Billion this year on their grandchildren. And I would say that $30 Billion is low, I’ve seen estimates of over $75 Billion a year!As seniors increasingly become the new consumer majority in the United States, do you see ageism disappearing in American media?No, I don’t think ageism will ever disappear totally. Remember when you were a small child, maybe 5 or 6 … to you that 35-year old uncle seemed ancient. Now that we’re a nation of Boomers, 50 to 60 doesn’t seem that old. But it will be a long time before the media portrays 80-year olds as anything but a stereotype. That being said, I do think you’ll see a wider variety of ages being portrayed in the mainstream media. Madison Avenue and Hollywood can no longer afford to ignore the facts. People over the age of 55 own more than 77% of the financial assets in America and they represent over $2.4 trillion, that’s right TRILLION, in discretionary buying power. These are numbers that major companies can no longer ignore, especially in a recession.How do you see advertising changing as America faces this unprecedented age wave?I believe we are entering a new age of relational marketing … which I believe has less do with age, than it has to do with technology. As ever-improving technology and quality improvement measures level the playing field in most, if not all industries, we are moving to a marketplace where your relationship with your customers is your key competitive advantage (or weakness). Simply put, it’s not what you do; it’s how you do it. A great brand is a friendship unfolding€”with each new interaction marking a new stage in the courtship. Advertising is just the invitation to join the brand in a relationship.Boomers tell us they’re going to work far beyond age 65, what about you?I don’t think I’ll ever permanently retire. I love my job, why would I retire? I enjoy helping real estate developers sell their properties. I enjoy helping publications grow. I enjoy helping companies reach a consumer they’ve never reached before!Instead, I’m looking to enjoy a life dotted with ‘mini-retirements,’ meaning vacations of one month or more. These longer vacations allow for the opportunity to invigorate the mind and soul in a more meaningful way that the traditional vacation. I think that this constant recharging of the batteries, mixed with work you love makes you a much stronger individual. Today, it’s a lot easier to slip between the world of work and play, thanks to technology. It’s now just as easy to get most work done from the sunny Caribbean as it is from DC, New York, Chicago, or LA.I predict that we’ll see this as a growing trend … longer careers dotted with mini-retirements.