Changing Aging

There are a lot of senior housing and aging services professionals in a whole bunch of different professional sectors from journalism to technology to health care to development, but there are few online resourcs to bring them together. I want to share with you a new resource called Mature Market Experts.

It’s a free networking group connecting investors, bankers, real estate developers, consumer goods companies, health care professionals, journalists and marketing experts who are interested in serving the senior marketplace. In short, if you serve, market to, or write about people who are 50+, this is the group for you. The goal of this group is to help members:

- Reach other members of Mature Market Experts

- Accelerate networking/careers/business through referrals from Mature Market Experts members

- Know more than a name - view rich professional profiles from fellow Mature Market Experts Group members

To join, go to group founder and moderator Tom Mann’s LinkedIn profile, http://www.linkedin.com/in/trmannconsulting and scroll down until you see the Mature Market Experts badge. Just click on it and send an email explaining that you’d like to join and what your connection is to the 50+ marketplace.

In addition, the group has a blog (http://maturemarketexperts.wordpress.com/). The goal of the blog is to keep you up to date with current senior trends and profession news and serve as a collection point for profession related events. Contributors will include:

-Mark Miller writes Retire Smart, a weekly newspaper column syndicated by Tribune Media Services, and publishes RetirementRevised, the online companion to the column. He also has a wonderful blog 50+ Digital.

- Dan Rexford, Partner, Equity Partners Inc. Dan is the former Executive Vice President of Marketing at Erickson Retirement Communities, with over 18 years in the retirement community industry.

-Jodi Rudick, author. Jodi is putting the finishing touches on a book to be published by Human Kinetics focused on programming/marketing recreation services to baby boomers.

- Tom Mann, President, TR Mann Consulting, which is an independent marketing consulting firm focused on real estate, media and the senior marketplace.  His clients include 50+ communities, health care companies and media outlets, including GRAND, a magazine written for today’s active grandparents.

I also will occasionally contribute, and the group is also looking for bloggers from other areas to contribute (i.e. doctors, bankers, social workers, etc.) If you are interested, contact Tom Mann at trmann@verizon.net.

I dig these videos by Aging Services of California, the association that represents California’s non-profit aging services companies. They all come under the theme: Age is Just a Number.. They’re right. This is the kind of positioning and creativity that gets people excited about aging. It underscores that aging is all about living . . . even at the end of life.

. . .  Enough with the headlines that depict seniors like neanderthals who live in a cave.

Here’s one today from the Hartford Courant:  Seniors Unexpectedly Receptive to New Technology.

 HELLOOOOOOO  . . . . yes, seniors do use technology, they work out, they work, they breathe, they have sex, they’re human beings.  And pretty soon America’s going to have more people with seniority than we’ve ever had. 

Time for media, policymakers, businesses and every aspect of our society to get real to America’s new reality.

If you want to read how technology is changing aging services, download our technology whitepapers or visit our technology section, where you can find other resources such as the Center for Aging Services Technologies.

 Keep it Real.

Who’s that riding the Age Wave? 

Mickey and Minnie Mouse at Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Japan.  According to Telegraph.UK.Com, Disney Japan has announced new pricing structures focused on wooing older customers with their grandchildren.

Japan has the largest proportion of seniors in the world, with close to 20 per cent of the nation’s 127 million residents over 65, a figure that is going to continue to grow.

This May a guest from Disney, which is recognized globally for its customer service and hospitality, is going to be keynoting our annual Ecumen Leadership Conference, a gathering of 500 Ecumen leaders.  We’re going to be carrying over the discussion on “It” that we’ve been having here at Changing Aging.

“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.     

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 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.

Do you yelp?

Yelp is one of a growing number of websites where real people (customers) give real feedback on the real service (or lack thereof) they receive.  If they love the service they get, they rave.  If the service stinks, they let you know that, too.  If the reviews are good, it’s the best possible, most authentic, least expensive advertising.

Here’s an example of what someone yelped about regarding Abbot Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis:

 AWESOME HOSPITAL!!!This hospital as a whole is absolutely FANTASTIC!!!

Every single one of the many nurses assigned to my care truly took pride in their profession and provided the utmost in quality care!Kudos to this hospital- you set a good example for other hospitals to follow!

Here’s another one regarding the Veterans Administration Hospital:

A well run facility; one of the best V.A. Hospitals in the country. I worked for them a few years ago, and it was very gratifying to see how organized and efficient they were. From the hospital to the oncology dept, to their clinical research dept, to the records office. Well trained and dedicated public employees doing their best to helps veterans and their families. It’s amazing what the government can do when it’s well funded and ran by dedicated and competent people.

A Tool for the Aging Services Profession

There were just a couple of posts for health care; none for aging services.  What a great tool for long-term care providers (or any business) to let their customers do the talking and then promote that talking. 

And, conversely, if it’s bad talking that’s happening, what an opportunity to do something about the problems they’re raising, so customers have a reason to say something nice.

Can’t we just “spin” our way out of this?

That might be the question on the minds of some of the nursing home operators that were named today as ”the nation’s poorest performing nursing homes” by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

The answer is NO, and it’s an especially LOUD NO when you’re caring for fellow human beings.

Some people like to talk about getting “spin doctors” to help them in a crisis. Spin is simply another word for deception.  And the “doctors” who practice it shouldn’t be allowed to operate.

We live in a world run by imperfect human beings.  Crises, mistakes and bad news hit the best of organizations; And what the best of organizations have in common when such a situation hits is:  They don’t SPIN.  Rather they take some seemingly simple steps in what can be very difficult, embarrasing situations:

1. They go right to work to identify and fix the problem.

2.  They learn from mistakes so that they’re not repeated.

3.  They communicate openly and honestly.

4.  They become a better organization and build even stronger trust with the people who rely on them.

Some crisis situations are complex; how we respond to them shouldn’t be.

Posted by Eric Schubert, Director of Communications

People often talk about changing one’s brand name as being a scary process.  It shouldn’t be.  It should get the blood pumping and veins jumping - kind of like swimming in Lake Superior. 

You want a name where you’re proud to show your face when you say it.  Obviously the person pictured here isn’t very proud of the place he works for.  Pride is critically important in all professions, but especially in such customer-service intensive ones, such as aging services and senior housing.

As part of our transformation work, we’ve experienced a number of name changes over the last couple of years.  For example, Ecumen changed its name from the Board of Social Ministry three years ago.  Two Ecumen communties recently changed their long-standing names:  Parmly Senior Housing and Services became Parmly LifePointes and Mankato Lutheran Homes became Pathstone Living.

Change is good.

Here are a 5 tips for changing a name and doing it well - even if you have a small budget:

 1.  Find Out What People Think of You:  Before you do anything, hold a series of feedback sessions/focus groups with several groups important to your organization’s success - customers, employees, donors, community leaders, people who don’t know you but who you would like to know you.  How do they perceive you?  Are they hearing what you want your brand to communicate? Find out.

2.  Identify the Gaps Between Perception and Reality:  Your research should tell you where you’re falling short in communicating your brand.  This helps open the door to potential themes that your name/and or tagline will help convey.

3.  Develop a Story:  Determine the story you want to tell.  Good names should have stories bolstering them that tie to the work of the organization.  For example, the name Ecumen comes from the word Ecumenical, which is derived from the Greek word for “Home.”  Our promise at Ecumen is to “create home for older adults wherever they choose to live.”  Names without stories are just letters on a sign.

4.  Brainstorm and Test: Throw all kinds of stuff against the wall.  At this stage, anything is possible.  Assemble a group of people who aren’t as close to the project as you are — test several names with them.  What do they think?

5.   Draw the Picture and Go Tell The World Your New Name (And Story):  Assuming you now have a name that people are warming up to, get a designer and have them draw the logo.  At the same time, develop your rollout plan for telling the world your new name, but more importantly the story behind that name.

We’d love to hear your naming tips.

Not sure why nearly a 1/2 page in the morning newspaper was devoted to Britney Spears today , but check out this first paragraph from the Associated Press, especially the second sentence.

As in most train wrecks, it was hard to focus on just one thing as the Britney Spears disaster unfolded on MTV’s Video Music Awards. There was just so much that went wrong  . . . . Lethargic movements that seemed choreographed by a dance instructor for a nursing home.  . . . At times, she just stopped singing, as if even she knew nothing could save her performance.

It’s like the congressional ad last year in Minnesota that featured a young person dressed up in a grey wig, sitting on a parking bench, acting all meek and confused - generalizing that “old people” are ah, meek and confused.  Or the high-speed internet ad that’s running nationally that shows the “before” and “after” with high-speed internet service.  The “before” is a photo of a senior woman, the “after” is a young beauty queen.  You get the message . . .

Ageist advertising and media depictions that fuel stereotypes need to go, go, go away.  Aging is about living, even at the end of life.  If you see ageism at work in the media, please submit it here.  We can share it and hopefully help get it extinguished.

FACILITY.  I’ve used it a lot, but today I’m eliminating it from my vocabulary.  Who wants to live in a facility?  “Guess what, honey, I’m moving to the FACILITY.”  Yippeeee.

Language triggers visions in the mind. 

Would you rather go to the ballpark or the stadium?  Ballpark connotes smaller, open air, blue skies, maybe ivy on the walls.  When I hear stadium I think of a concrete mass in the middle of a sea of parking lots.  There’s a reason Major League Baseball doesn’t use the word “stadium” anymore or why the American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities changed its name from the American Association on Mental Retardation, or some people use the phrase “rightsize” instead of “downsize”  . . .

In our Age Wave study, we asked baby boomers about several words in our profession.  They can’t stand facility.  And they don’t like campus.  They really don’t like ”nursing home.”  The word they embraced?  Community.  Makes total sense.  Community vs. facility.  One is much warmer, more inclusive, more vibrant, and people have lived in communities all of their life. 

Here’s an interesting perspective on language from Elite Care, a senior housing company in Oregon:

We adopt a new vocabulary to erase debilitating stereotypes. Think about typically used elder care terms such as “assisted,” “caregiver,” “administrator,” “aide,” “nurse,” and “facility.” These words imply sickness, disability, and mindsets that inhibit creation of healthy power structures. Then consider words like “facilitate,” “elder,” “extended family,” “Life Enhancing Tasks,”™ and Neighborhood Coordinator. This new vocabulary does not make elders “objects of care,” or make staff overprotect residents, because of stereotypes bolstered by language.

Here’s another look at language from Paul Kleyman, editor of Aging Today, and a survey he directed at the American Society on Aging:

In the June 2007 ASA Connection, readers answering our “Quick Question” about terms for people ages 65-plus overwhelmingly favored older adults, with elders running second. Now, thanks to a new study from the Journalists Exchange on Aging, we have a chance to see how reporters and editors view the issue — and it turns out that both terms also made the journalists’ preferred list. By contrast, senior citizen found little favor in either camp: The JEOA study dismisses the label as “euphemistically sour,” and only 10.8 percent of the “Quick Question” respondents found it acceptable.

Interestingly, in the survey we did of Minnesota baby boomers, “senior” was preferred by 48% of respondents, 40% preferred “older adult” and only 9% liked “elder” the best.  

What is abundantly clear, however, is that there is a huge opportunity to change the language of aging services. 

 What are words that you’d like to see changed?

Posted by Eric Schubert, Ecumen, director of communications