Discover Baby Boomer Market Trends and Opportunities at the What’s Next Boomer Business Summit

Fifth Annual What’s Next Bommer Business Summit brings together the country’s top business and organizational leaders in marketing to consumers over 50 .Lafayette, CA (PRWEB) February 4, 2008 — In the United States alone, there are more than 108 million people over age 45 — a group with more than $2 trillion in annual spending power. The nation’s 78 million baby boomers make up 28% of the U.S. population and own more than 77% of all financial assets, and the number of Americans age 65 and older is set to double by the year 2030. ¹At the What’s Next Boomer Business Summit, to be held on Wednesday, Mar. 26 from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert Street NW, Washington, D.C., attendees will learn about the latest issues facing the baby boomer market and gain invaluable insights by connecting with a broad spectrum of experts who have unique perspectives on the baby boomer generation. 

The value this event will provide to anyone interested in marketing to boomers is truly significant

“The value this event will provide to anyone interested in marketing to boomers is truly significant,” said Dr. Mary Furlong, president and CEO of Mary Furlong & Associates, the event’s producer and a leading authority on the baby boom generation. “You’ll walk out with great leads, insight that will inform your business strategy and an understanding of the technologies, causes, products, and services that are transforming the boomer marketplace.” The 2008 Summit boasts premier participants such as AARP, Microsoft Corporation, American Express, Verizon Wireless, MetLife Mature Market Institute, Phonak, HeartMath, Posit Science, and Longevity Alliance discussing their latest baby boomer marketing strategies.On its 5th anniversary the What’s Next Boomer Business Summit provides a unique opportunity for influential boomer thinkers and entrepreneurs to share proprietary research, innovations, market strategies and success stories. The theme for the conference is “Master the Big Boomer Deal.”Topics will include:

• the future of consumer-directed health care, home income and baby boomer lifestyles
• what’s ahead for boomers in the economy and housing
• cause-related marketing serving boomers’ needs
• innovations by entrepreneurs creating products and services for baby boomers
• the use of celebrities and branding
• integrated marketing, portal placement and mobile marketing strategies that work.

Among the keynote speakers are Walt Mossberg, Personal Technology columnist, The Wall Street Journal; Vincent R. Reinhart, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute; Larry C. Renfro, president and CEO of AARP Services, Inc.; and Gail Sheehy, author of Sex and the Seasoned Woman and Passages. Other speakers include Myrna Blyth, founder, MORE magazine; Andy Donner, director, Physic Ventures; Bart Johnson, president and CEO, Life Stages Financial, Inc.; Belinda Lang, vice president of Consumer Marketing Strategy, American Express Corporation; Gary Moulton, senior product manager, Accessible Business Unit, Microsoft Corporation; Elisa Camahort Page, co-founder and COO, BlogHer; and Emilio Pardo, chief brand officer, Brand Management, AARP. The summit will be particularly meaningful to advertising executives focused on the 40+ market, marketing managers in industries that include healthcare, travel, entertainment, financial services, consumer goods and housing; media who report on senior issues and the boomer marketplace; investors, venture capitalists and analysts interested in the baby boomer market; and association leadership who will have a large stake in the boomer population as their organizations swell with new members.Conference participants will have the opportunity to lunch with leading boomer researchers, authors, bloggers, analysts, portal placements partners, age beat media and representatives of Congress. Guests are also invited to attend an exclusive networking reception for speakers and sponsors at the Omni Shoreham Hotel.Registration is available online at www.boomersummit.eventbrite.com. Early bird registration continues through Feb. 15. For more information on the What’s Next Boomer Business Summit visit www.boomersummit.com or email inquiries@boomersummit.com.The What’s Next Boomer Business Summit is an official pre-conference of the NCOA-ASA National Aging in America Conference March 27-30. Come to What’s Next - stay for NCOA - ASA. For more information, visit http://www.agingconference.org.About Mary Furlong & AssociatesFounded in 2003, Mary Furlong & Associates (MFA) is a proven team of business innovators, comprised of talent from marketing, editorial, business, online content and community. Mary Furlong, Ed.D., the firm’s founder and CEO, has guided the offline and online 40+ market strategies of leading corporations and nonprofit organizations for more than 20 years. Furlong is Dean’s Executive Professor of Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business, and previously founded SeniorNet and ThirdAge Media. Her latest book, Turning Silver into Gold: How to Profit in the New Boomer Marketplace, was published in February 2007. More information is available at www.maryfurlong.com.¹ Mary Furlong. Turning Silver Into Gold: How to Profit in the New Boomer Marketplace. New Jersey: Financial Times Press, 2007.###

(LANSDALE, PA) – February 1, 2008 – Boomer-Living.com is pleased to announce its partnership with the Relationship Coaching Institute to provide worldwide relationship tools, information and resources to help create, preserve and improve love relationships for Baby Boomers.

The Relationship Coaching Institute (RCI) is the largest relationship coach training organization in the world. For the past eleven years, the institute has been dedicated to providing singles and couples with the skills needed to create successful and lasting partnerships. Coaching professionals from the Institute lend their expertise to help Boomers create their dream relationships.Frankie Doiron, RCI’s President, serves as the Program Director of Boomer-Living’s Relationship Center. Ms. Doiron’s passion inspires people to tap the power they possess to achieve their goals. She believes that success in life is based on relationships – especially the one we have with ourselves. The Boomer-Living.com Relationship Center provides Boomers with information and advice on a full spectrum of relationship issues including those specifically geared to Boomer singles and Boomer couples. The Single Boomers’ section focuses on dating and finding a compatible partner as well as creating a successful love relationship. The Boomer Couples’ section focuses on co-creating a highly functional and blissful relationship. In a special section entitled “Ask a Relationship Coach”, readers’ questions are answered by a worldwide network of relationship experts.Frankie Doiron and RCI coaches will co-host free Tele-seminars on the first Thursday of each month that will provide information and strategies on a variety of relationship issues. The first Tele-seminar, Conscious Dating for Boomers, will be held on February 7th from 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM EST.  This free Tele-seminar will focus on dating and will dispel the myths and misunderstandings that create so much frustration for mature daters.  The next Tele-seminar, Dealing with Our Baggage, will be held on March 6th from 8:00PM - 9:00 PM EST. The hosts will discuss how our past experiences, attitudes and beliefs affect our relationships. To participate in these seminars, or to find a complete list of upcoming seminars, visit www.boomer-living.com and click on the Relationship Center.   Dr. Douglas Fitzgerald, President of Boomer-Living.com, says “We aim to provide our members with trusted and reliable services. We take this role seriously. Frankie and the 400 relationship coaches, accessible through our Relationship Center, bring an exciting new dimension to our website.”Boomer-Living.com’ The goal is to MAKE A DIFFERENCE by striving to become the most comprehensive and reliable resource available to baby boomers. The website (www.boomer-living.com ) provides 12 Centers, each with its own specialty and represented by a top professional in their respective field. Each Center represents a specific Baby Boomer area of interest: arts & entertainment, culinary arts, financial planning, career management, fitness, healthcare, home center, relationships, total wellness, and travel in addition to a coffee house and home shopping. Boomer-Living.com continues to add new and exciting services and products designed to enhance and improve the quality of life for boomers. For more information, contact Dr. Douglas Fitzgerald at dfitzgerald@boomer-living.com or 215- 361-0779. ### 

This year, more than 4 million baby boomers will turn 50 - that’s more than 12,000 a day. They are the single largest generation in history, with more discretionary income than any other age group. And, unlike the generations before them, baby boomers are living longer and working longer, launching a brand new life stage: Preretirement.

Born at the end of World War II, boomers mourned President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, cheered for Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech and marveled as Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. They redefined civil rights and women’s rights. They were marked by the Vietnam War and embraced rock ‘n’ roll.

“Baby Boomers have done everything bigger than the generations who preceded them,” said Andrew P. Garvin, chief executive officer of PreRetirementLife.com, a new Web site designed specifically for adults ages 50 to 64. The site is live in Beta and can be previewed by going tohttp://www.preretirementlife.com and entering the password “preview.” Mr. Garvin is seeking as much feedback as possible before launching full-scale this spring.

“Now, boomers will be the generation setting the tone of a new life stage. They are no longer just baby boomers. They are Preretirees,” said Garvin.

Preretirement is a life stage between the ages of 50 and 64 that marks the transition between your career and your future, said Garvin. Research shows that today’s preretirees will not retire in the traditional sense. They are active, health-conscious and inquisitive, embracing technological innovation and the new experiences that come with life’s success.

By 2010, 58.4 million people will fall into the Preretiree group, making up 20 percent of the population. As they embark on this dynamic and challenging life stage, they will seek practical solutions to help make Preretirement more rewarding.

PreRetirementLife.com is the premier online guide for adults ages 50 to 64, providing valuable resources and information about innovative products that meet the needs of people in this newly defined stage of life.

“Our site embraces the vitality of this new lifestyle and provides trustworthy advice, all in one convenient place,” said Garvin. “PreRetirementLife.com allows visitors to connect with fellow Preretirees to share tips and insight on finances, health and other important issues. We also scour the Internet to find, present and describe the most useful Web sites for Boomers. We help them find what they need faster.”

PreRetirementLife.com features user-friendly navigation and unique content without intrusive banner and pop-up advertisements. Visitors can find exclusive deals and discounts; learn the latest secrets to staying young; read articles by experts in 14 topic areas, including health, financial planning, travel, 50-plus housing and self-improvement; ask questions on any topic and receive personalized answers from other registered users or from PreRetirementLife.com’s expert staff; and explore the PreRetiree Product Expo, the only year-round exhibit on the Web to showcase products and services from companies meeting the needs of Preretirees.

About PreRetirementLife.com:

PreRetirementLife.com, the Web’s premier online guide for adults ages 50 to 64, is being developed with input from distinguished experts in business, media, marketing and from members of the baby boomer generation. To learn more about this exciting new life stage, preview exclusive monthly deals and discounts and access weekly secrets to staying young, visit http://www.preretirementlife.com and enter the password “preview.”

He’s a member of the “Silent Generation,” a group that came of age during the Cold War conformity of the 1950s — a generation yet to hold the White House.

She’s the arch-baby boomer, an emblem of the idealistic us-versus-them student politics of the 1960s, the ruthless partisanship of the 1990s —

and the woman who could break the country’s highest glass ceiling.

He’s an emotionally cool Gen Xer, the rootless child of divorce who grew up in places as divergent as Kansas and Indonesia and whose racial identity resists America’s tendency for instant categorization.

This year’s energized presidential campaign features three front-runners to become the 44th president — John McCain, 71; Hillary Clinton, 60; and Barack Obama, 46 —

 who can be viewed as members of three distinct generations. Now demographers and marketers who study generations say the outcome won’t just be driven by the traditional categories of race, gender and religion, but by how America’s generations express their personalities in the voting booth.

Toss in a wave of younger voters eagerly entering the stage of American politics — a “Millennial Generation” —

and the contest can be seen as the interplay of four generations, a contest of candidates and voters defined by their historical times, not just their ages.

With California voters going to the polls Tuesday, few recent presidential seasons have offered voters such a wide generational choice. And on the Democratic side there has been a clear generational pattern in the early primaries, with Clinton winning baby boomers and older voters, and Obama strong among the young. “People wrongly see this as a phase of life issue. They should see it as a generational issue,” said Neil Howe, a demographer, historian and economist who says a voter’s generational identity drives his or her perception of the candidates.

Howe and the late William Strauss broke down America’s history from the Mayflower to the Millennium into four recurring generations. From George Washington to George W. Bush, they contend that leaders reflect the characteristics of their generation.

Born in 1961, near the end of the post World War II fertility wave that gave the baby boom its name, Obama has positioned himself as a post-boomer. In his book, “The Audacity of Hope” he wrote of wanting an alternative to the bitter partisanship of the 2000 and 2004 elections, battles that reflected “the psychodrama of the baby boom generation —

 a tale rooted in old grudges and revenge plots hatched on a handful of college campuses long ago.”

Howe says one reason Obama is drawing so much support among young voters — the race and gender gap in last week’s South Carolina Democratic primary did not exist among young Obama voters —

is that the Millennials have an inherent personality conflict with the boomers.

Boomers “are very much a generation of individuals, whereas the Millennials are very much a group-oriented generation,” Howe said. “Every boomer thinks they are a complete person in and of themselves.”

The presidential field includes a second boomer, 60-year-old Mitt Romney, who was trailing McCain by 13 points among California Republican voters in a Los Angeles Times poll this week. Where the boomers designated themselves the arbiters of the nation’s values in the 1960s, the Millennials have moved away from high-risk behavior and are gravitating in adulthood toward large organizations, seeking teamwork and protection against risk.

They dislike the boomers’ adversarial politics, Howe said, and are drawn to Obama’s talk of unity, which to boomers can sound hopelessly naive and empty of substance.

“We see Obama and we just see something different, someone who is almost radically different in his style, and in the way he carries himself, almost in what he seems to value,” said 20-year-old Amita Seshadri, a Stanford University junior from Fremont leaning toward Obama. “That’s very attractive.”

The standard definition of a baby boomer is someone born between 1946 and 1964, but Howe argues that Obama is a member of “Generation X,” which he and Strauss say began in 1961. Gen X was shaped by the boom in divorce and latchkey children, a group that grew up trusting free agency over institutions, an ethic that Howe says spawned entrepreneurs like computer mogul Michael Dell and Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

Toward the far end of the generational spectrum from the Millennials, Bart Gregg, a 65-year-old retired San Jose teacher, is leaning toward McCain. Part of the reason he could never vote for Clinton, he says, is her generation.

“Whether it be baby boomers who are not facing the fact that they’re going to age and they’re not going to be around forever … They have a certain selfishness,” Gregg said. “I think Hillary has wanted to be president since she was 4 or 5 years old. She’s a selfish, not a selfless, person.”

McCain’s group — the “Silent Generation” in Howe and Strauss’ formulation —

was overshadowed by the “GI Generation” that preceded them and fought World War II, and the baby boomers who came after them. Not only may McCain represent the Silent Generation’s last chance to win the presidency, but the position of chief justice of the Supreme Court also skipped directly from GI Generation William Rehnquist to baby boomer John Roberts.

“During that time there was a sense that the Silent didn’t have the right stuff,” Howe said. “They weren’t of the heroic quality. You remember that famous photo of 1988 Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis in the tank helmet? That said it all, didn’t it?”

If boomers stepped over the Silents to power, they see their generation and their standard-bearer as transformative —

not selfish.

“I had friends who died from abortions. I graduated in 68, so I had friends both before legal abortion and friends after,” said Jaci Hayes, a 58-year-old Hayward waitress supporting Clinton in part because of her gender. Abortion “gives us a freedom, and the youth of today don’t understand what that costs.”

Deborah Stapleton, president of Stapleton Communications in Palo Alto, said that from Watergate to the women’s movement, baby boomers like her and Clinton “have lived through a lot of the same things.”

As she went door-to-door in Palo Alto on Wednesday, dragging a child’s wagon laden with Hillary Clinton stickers, buttons and balloons, wearing a pair of black Manolo Blahnik pumps because she had an important business presentation later in the day, the 53-year-old Stapleton said she understood female leaders like Clinton are scrutinized more than men.

“She is definitely a pioneer, no matter how the election turns out,” Stapleton said.

Maddy Dychtwald, co-founder of San Francisco-based Age Wave, a think tank that focuses on the demographics of generations, said generational identity is more in play in 2008.

Boomers “have worked hard to try to make the world a little bit more gender-equal,” Dychtwald said of boomers commitment to Hillary. “We accept her — warts and all —

and the reason we do is we identify with her. We know what she’s been through.”

Other demographers say that ascribing too much to a person’s generation ignores the fact that many population characteristics stay constant from one generation to the next, such as the fact that people are more likely to be homeowners as they age.

But younger voters are coming of age in a different racial and political environment than their parents. Boomers have a single large minority group — African-Americans —

but the population under 45 is more evenly distributed among blacks, whites, Hispanics and Asians.

If boomers “are still fighting the wars of the 60s,” said Brookings Institution demographer Bill Frey, then people under 40 “are dating interracially. They are marrying interacially. Their identity with racial groups will not be nearly as strong as their tie to their generation.”

Young voters, of which California has among the largest shares, could represent a permanent break from the apathy of Generation X, some say.

Karlo Marcelo, of the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement, said that 2008 voter participation is up among all youth subgroups since 2000 and 2004 —

men, women, whites, minorities, college students and non-students.

“That says something about the generation as a whole,” Marcelo said. “There is something going on with the generation where they are more interested in politics; they are more interested in getting involved. There’s something sweeping through.”

Contact Mike Swift at mswift@mercurynews.com or 408-271-3648.

Press Release

Gerald Prolman with his World’s Tallest Roses

(CSRwire) SAN FRANCISCO - January 28, 2008 –

When Gerald Prolman fell head-over-heels in love with French Jazz singer Raquel Bitton, he used magnificent floral bouquets to win her heart. He went on to create something entirely unexpected: an eco-floral revolution worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Spending countless hours in florist shops, Prolman had discovered that, behind the beautiful blooms, lay a darker reality: flowers are typically grown with artillery of chemicals that can negatively effect the environment, the farm workers who handle the flowers, the wildlife, and the ecology.

Prolman – who had already helped build what has become the multi-billion dollar organic produce sector –

set his sights on converting the entire floral industry towards stringent ecological standards. No small vision, for a guy who, just a few years earlier, barely knew a gardenia from a gerbera daisy.

Today, as the CEO of Organic Style Ltd and its flagship floral brand, Organic Bouquet, Prolman is widely considered the pioneer of what has turned into a market sector worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Organically-grown flowers are one of the fastest growing segments of the organic market. In 2008, Organic Style expects to ship more than 20 million stems of organic and eco-certified roses, with an additional $100 million dollars worth of sustainably-grown flowers in the pipeline.

Prolman is joined by Adrian Bellamy, who serves as chairman of the board of Organic Style Ltd. Bellamy also holds positions as chairman of the Body Shop (a division of L’Oreal), chairman of Reckitt Benckiser PLC, and is a director on the boards of the Gap and Williams-Sonoma. Together with their team, they envision the day when all agricultural products are grown and harvested responsibly.

“By 2015, you won’t be able to purchase a non-certified sustainable flower in the United States,” predicts Prolman. “Public consciousness about environmental issues is at an all-time high, and never before has there been such a powerful alignment between the growers, marketers and consumers.”

According to the Natural Marketing Institute, 35 million Americans, or approximately 16 percent of the adult population spend nearly $209 billion for goods and services focused on health, the environment, social justice, personal development and sustainable living.

Prolman has been busy, very busy. A tireless and often sleep-deprived entrepreneur, he has initiated multiple projects that have put ‘green’ flowers on the map, including: conceiving the need for an initiating Veriflora, a sustainable certification that now boasts more than 45 farmers and expects to certify more than one billion stems in 2008; hosting an international floral symposium in conjunction with the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) World Environment Day; producing a musical tribute to the environment by world-famous Gospel singers; created the first eco-luxury online retailer www.OrganicStyle.com; and, later this week, re-launching Organic Style magazine, which his company purchased from Rodale Publishing in 2007.

As a floral innovator, Prolman introduced the 6′ high World’s Tallest Roses –

which made a huge splash when Christina Aguilera presented them to Ellen DeGeneres on national TV in 2007; honored Civil Rights hero Rosa Parks by naming a rose after her; launched the first collection of organically grown fragrant roses; and donated more than $250,000 to more than forty-five leading environmental, human rights and animal welfare non-profit organizations.

As for Raquel Bitton, she’s performed to sold-out crowds at Carnegie Hall, recorded seven albums, starred in a major film, raised two environmental-activist children, been married to Prolman for 21 years, and continues to be amorously courted with fresh, organically-grown roses every week.

Eco Floral Certifications at a Glance:

Organic is defined and regulated by the USDA. Organic is an ecological farming system that builds rich, fertile soil and uses natural defense mechanisms to combat pests and plant diseases.

Sustainable standards address the farm management practices relating to the environment, the farm workers and the ecology of the farm. Verfiflora is America’s first Green Label certification standard for the floral industry.

Biodynamic is a well respected agricultural practice and the oldest sustainable system in the Western world. The biodynamic system views the farm as a self-sustaining organism within the surrounding ecosystem. It emphasizes animals as part of the ecosystem and takes into account the soil, earth, atmosphere, and cosmos.

Valentine’s Day and Floral Stats:

# 214 million (nearly 18 million dozen) roses are being grown for Valentine’s Day sales in the U.S.

# In 2008, Veriflora – the leading sustainable flower certification –

will certify more than 1 billion stems.

# Valentine’s Day is the #1 in holiday flower sales, accounting for 36% of sales transactions, and 40% of dollar volume.

About Organic Style Ltd.:

Organic Style Ltd. (www.OrganicStyle.com) is an online eco-boutique for people seeking inspiring products that uphold the well-being of the planet and humankind. Their flagship floral brand, www.OrganicBouquet.com, is widely recognized as America’s pioneer of organic and eco-flowers.