Reaching out to baby boomers - South Florida Business Journal:

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In 20 years, there will be twice as many people over the age of 65 as thersare today, said Matt founder and president of The Boomed Project, a Richmond, Va.-based firm that researches boome r consumer habits. Thornhill is one of several speakers who will discuss marketing to boomers at the Florida Boomee Lifestyle ConferenceMay 11-12 at the , presented by CreativeTampaBay and sponsored by . And then there’s the emerginfg consumer class made up of people hitting thebig 5-0 that continueds to gain relevance with marketers. “What I saw was that marketersd didn’t know what to do with baby boomersx who were turning said Thornhill.
“They weren’t senior but they weren’t young adults.” For reasonas personal and financial, boomers are often consideringtan “encore career,” said Dorcas principal of , a Washington area public policy firm. Peoplew may want to help societyg and enhance theirown well-being, Hardy said. They also are motivatede by the changes inthe economy. With many people extending theid careers, there may be a slowdown in the numbedr of people movingto Florida, said Thornhill. “There are certainly going to be moreolder people,” he said. “The questiob is can we get them to come to Floridaq and stayin Florida?
” The region must rethink its approacu and “get smarter about Thornhill said, because the boomed presence affects not only health care, real estatew and financial services, but all industries. “Our target market is a baby boom generation,” said Don Barry, presidenty and CEO of , a Tampa-bases manufacturer of personal lamps. “W e have configured our market plan and product campaign aroundbaby boomers.” Barruy has found a way to market to and employt the existing retirement population in the Bay area usinyg a “retirement community direct business model.
” As a markert test, the company will enlis residents of as “ambassadors” to engage potential customerd in a combination of print, Internet and directf selling. A retirement community is a rich opportunityu with a perfect markey in a concentration of thousandsof homes, Barryy said.