Category — Engagements

After seeing Brokaw’s special on Baby Boomers I have more questions than I do answers. It’s a tease not a well-delivered package. I love the fact that he started and ended with Boomers in the middle of the country – Michigan. It grounded some of his perspective. He failed to acknowledge that this is a 20-year cohort, so the “duck and cover” reference means nothing to the Generation Jones segment of the Boomer cohort. The approach was blanket—no subtlety, insight or drill down.

While well produced, there was no acknowledgement of the sheer buying power—through every life stage—of this cohort. Entire industries and institutions were transformed by this birth boom. Think about baby formula; school districts; cars (the station wagon, then mini-van, then SUVs); housing—the creation of the suburbs, then retirement communities; and so much more! Often too much emphasis on the angst and not on the contributions.

Tom Brokaw loves the “Greatest Generation”. He is a member of the so-called “Silent Generation” – forever sandwiched in between two incredible generational cohorts. While we call them silent, they spawned JFK, Martin Luther King and many of the other icons of the early boomer movement.

At the end of this very shallow review, we need to remember some important points. First a huge generation of young people found their voice and expressed themselves—regardless of where or how they served. This was a first for the country, and because we were raised by depression-era parents we were given the gift—NOT THE EXPECTATION—of optimism. They told us we lived in the greatest country on earth—they fought for it—and we believed it. If we were spoiled, this was the spoiling!

This generation dealt with the rise of women, racial equality and sexual emancipation. This was dealt with by 20 somethings. We made mistakes. We made progress. We learned. Bill Clinton typified it, “I like rock and roll, I had long hair, was liberal, and opposed to the war…We were raised by the WWII generation; how could they be the worst parents and still the greatest generation?”

At the end of the day I believe the Boomer generation is, as Brokaw elicited, “unrealized.” The oldest of us are in our 60s and the youngest in our 40s. If we live to be 85-100—as longevity studies suggest we might—we have a lot of time to tell the world what our contribution and legacy will be. Stay tuned.

If you missed it: TOM BROKAW REPORTS: BOOMER$! will re-air on CNBC on Saturday, March 6th at 7PM ET/4PM PT, Sunday, March 7th at 9PM ET/6PM PT and Monday, March 8th at 8PM ET/5 PM PT.

These extras were posted to the CNBC site. Enjoy!

Slideshow: Growing Up Boomer: A Generation’s Joy and Angst

Quiz: 1960s Boomer Culture

Video Extras:Tom Brokaw Reports: Boomer$!

Thursday January 21 at 10:30 a.m.

The International Builders’ Show is the largest annual building industry tradeshow in the country, and the National Association of Home Builders is holding the 50+ Lifestyle Central Suite at IBS. This is a new addition to the 50+ HC offerings at IBS in intended to be a way to engage with the leaders and influencers in the Active Adult Builder community including the associate members of the industry. The 50+ Lifestyle Central should be the hub of activity for IBS attendees that are actively involved in the 50+ Housing Segment of the market. I am looking forward to seeing how this new format works.

If you’ll be at IBS next week, come participate in our panel “Networking Using Facebook, Blogs and New Media to Market Your 50+ Communities Panel”: Social media is gaining a foothold in the housing industry – find out how to make it work for your business. Social media, like signage to your active adult community, steers prospects to your web site and builds awareness and credibility. In this interactive session, find out how to use these new tools and technologies to connect to potential 50+ buyers, get them talking about your community and build your sales. We will be sharing our research on how different mature consumers are using social media.

The Anxiety Index has shifted! Based on our original research in December of 2008 with Boomers, GenXers and Ikes, the biggest concern then was collapse of the economy; 45% of Boomers were “very nervous”. Fast-forward to 2009 and Boomers biggest concerns have shifted from the state of the economy to the cost of health care and the political debate surrounding this issue (46%). Hear more about the impact of the headlines.

Most interesting in the recent study is a shift in media consumption. The only media activity that rose dramatically was time on the Internet. No doubt social media has made a significant dent in the time generally reserved for traditional media. Learn what media channels are being crowded out.

Meet the new Boomer Social Maven and discover the influence of their connectedness on their circle. Hear more about who they are and how they can impact ROI for your campaigns.

You can sign up by going to www.immn.org. Hope to hear you there!