Kathryn Roberts to Discuss Age Wave of Opportunity at Carlson School of Management
Kathryn Roberts, CEO and President of Ecumen, will be discussing 'The Age Wave of Opportunity' next Friday, Feb. 15 from 12 noon to 1:30pm at the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) Housing Forum, Carlson School of Management, Rm. L-110 (Honeywell Auditorium), University of MN - West Bank. RSVP to 612-625-2086 or curahf@umn.edu by Feb. 13A map is available at http://onestop.umn.edu/Maps/CarlSMgmt/.The CURA Housing Forum is a discussion of housing issues and research sponsored by the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) at the University of Minnesota. For more information, please contact Adrienne Hannert at 612-625-2086.
Strip Clubs and Financing Long-Term Care
When we talk at Ecumen about changing how America finances long-term care and aging services, this isn’t what we’re talking about … .From today’s St. Petersburg Times:Two Tampa Bay area lawmakers want to put a $1 tax on strip club admissions so they can give low-income nursing home residents more spending money. Rep. Rick Kriseman, D-St. Petersburg, said he got the idea after an elderly constituent complained that a $35 monthly stipend for Medicaid recipients was not enough to cover personal needs, such as haircuts, clothing and movie tickets. 'I’m sorry if I’ve taken a dollar that you would have otherwise stuck in someone’s garter,' said Kriseman, who is sponsoring the legislation with Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Brandon.
Citizens League’s Focus on Aging: It’s All About People, Not Experts
Yesterday we wrote about the fragmentation in public policy around aging. The Citizens League in Minnesota, which is one of the country’s top non-partisan citizen engagement and public policy organizations is taking a different approach to aging policy as part of their MAP 150 initiative, which is focused on big public policy issues in Minnesota’s Sesquicentennial Year.Here’s how they describe the approach, which will begin at the League’s Feb. 28th Policy Open House event:
Ecumen is sponsoring the first phase of this project. However, we have no clue what the outcome will be. And that’s the beauty of the Citizen League’s work - it’s transparent, independent, citizen-based work - You can’t buy an outcome. They’ve done incredible work on some of Minnesota’s biggest public policy issues, including a report about 12 years ago on the future of aging in Minnesota. It helped to bring focus to aging services policy and enhance opportunities for independence for more seniors. What also is interesting is how they bring people together to help shape solutions that you would think would never sit down with each other.To learn more about this project and participate in it, go here. Changing Aging readers from around the country can follow it on their web site and we’ll provide periodic updates.
Aging, the American Voter and the Inertia of Fragmentation
A few stats this Super Tuesday: … .About one in five votes in the 2004 presidential election was cast by someone 65 or older. By 2040, about 40 percent of voters will be 65 or older.Imagine if there were a successful aging platform' in America or in individual states, one that was about
For Long-Term Care Professionals Who Read Changing Aging
FYI for our readers in the long-term care profession … In March and April, Ecumen is providing two courses at several sites in Minnesota and Wisconsin. One focuses on a huge topic in the news lately: psychoactive medications and the other on optimizing reimbursement, which is always a big topic in long-term care. You can learn more about the upcoming courses and sign up here.
Aging and Technology Testimony on Capitol Hill
Aging and technology were the subjects of remarks by Ecumen customer Honor Hacker (pictured above viewing a QuietCare sensor in her home) and Ecumen’s COO and senior vice president of strategy and operations Kathy Bakkenist as they spoke before members of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging last week about Senate File 908. You can read Kathy’s and Honor’s testimony here.This bill creates a nonpartisan congressionally mandated Consortium to evaluate the potential of technologies to help the U.S. meet the needs of our aging population. When passed, the consortium will become the first public-private partnership around technology and aging that goes beyond medical records to explore the potential of new technology to assist older adults and their caregivers in such areas as promoting independence, facilitating early disease detection, promoting greater support to caregivers and minimizing medication error.The consortium will include 17 members appointed by the President, Senate majority leader and Senate minority leader, the Speaker of the House and the Minority leader of the House. Members will be selected from aging services providers, technology companies, universities, physician and healthcare providers, insurance and pharmaceutical companies.It is anticipate that the bill will be introduced in the House of Representatives shortly.
Aging in America: Would the U.S. Elect a Senior as President?
We’re going to have a first' in this country no matter who is elected President in November.But will age be a stumbling block for voters? It is for some, such as tough guy actor Chuck Norris (and Huckabee surrogate) who thinks John McCain is too old to be President, and said so in a number of recent media interviews.If McCain, 71, is elected, he will be the oldest President ever elected. He would be 72 at his inauguration and 80 years after two terms in office. Last year when we did our Age Wave Study, we asked baby boomers in Minnesota if a candidate for Governor were over age 70 would that be a negative factor in how they cast their vote. Here are the percentages:- 42% said it wouldn’t be a factor.-37% said it would be a negative factor.- 17% said it would be a positive factor.- And 4% didn’t know.One thing is for sure, no matter who you are going to vote for in November, they have one thing in common: They are aging.
Baby Boomers and DARTS
DARTS (Dakota Area Resources and Transportation for Seniors) has been a godsend for Dakota County (Minnesota) seniors in helping them stay independent. Now they’re looking at baby boomers … not just to serve them, but so that the larger community benefits from their skills and expertise as volunteers as we face the age wave.
Paying for Mom and Dad’s Care in Finland
In Finland, Gallup recently conducted a poll of Finns, age 49-60. According to the poll, every second middle-aged Finn is prepared to purchase care services for their parents to supplement services provided by municipalities.I don’t think you’d get quite the same response in the United States.
Why Does So Much Marketing to Seniors Stink? And Other Questions With Tom Mann
'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.