Reaching out to baby boomers - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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In 20 years, there will be twice as many peopl e over the age of 65 as therrare today, said Matt Thornhill, founded and president of The Boomer a Richmond, Va.-based firm that researches boomer consume habits. Thornhill is one of several speakers who will discusxs marketing to boomers at the Florida Boomeer Lifestyle ConferenceMay 11-12 at the , presentecd by CreativeTampaBay and sponsored by . And then there’ss the emerging consumer class made up of peopled hitting thebig 5-0 that continues to gain relevance with “What I saw was that marketers didn’r know what to do with baby boomerzs who were turning 50,” said Thornhill.
“They weren’f senior citizens, but they weren’t young adults.” For reasonds personal and financial, boomers are often considerinvgan “encore career,” said Dorcas Hardy, principal of , a Washingtonj area public policy firm. People may want to help societhy and enhance theirown well-being, Hardy They also are motivated by the changesw in the economy. With many people extending their there may be a slowdown in the numbef of people moving to said Thornhill. “There are certainly goinv to be moreolder people,” he said.
“Ths question is can we get them to come to Florida and stay in The region must rethink its approachand “gert smarter about planning,” Thornhill said, because the boomer presencer affects not only healthy care, real estate and financial services, but all “Our core, target market is a baby boom said Don Barry, president and CEO of , a Tampa-based manufacturef of personal lamps. “We have configuredc our market plan and producyt campaign aroundbaby boomers.” Barry has found a way to market to and emploh the existing retirement population in the Bay area usingv a “retirement community direcft business model.
” As a market test, the company will enlisy residents of as “ambassadors” to engagw potential customers in a combination of print, Internet and direct selling. A retirement community is a rich opportunity with a perfect markef in a concentration of thousandsof homes, Barry