Social Networking and Mobile Marketing to Baby Boomers At BoomerSimmit

If not for certain facts you would think this a summit for young crowd that goes Social Networking and do everything with their mobiles. But come to think of it baby boomer's are not much different from todays young crowd when it comes to adopting technology and newer media. In fact they were the ones that pioneered the technologies these 20 somethings CEOs and CTOs run with. BoomerSummit will be an interesting venue.

Annual Summit of Top Business Leaders and Organizations Marketing to Consumers over 45 Convenes in Washington, D.C.

LAFAYETTE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Baby boomers, though aging, are not much different than the under-25 set when it comes to mobile technology adoption. Social networking, mobile marketing, and texting are exploding among the boomer population, creating unlimited new opportunities for organizations marketing to consumers between the ages of 45 – 64 years old.

These trends will be among the key agenda items to be explored at the What’s Next Boomer Business Summit on Wednesday, March 26 from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert Street, Washington, D.C.

Boomers are catching up to younger consumers in their embrace of mobile technology adoption and mobile phone penetration is spreading equally across the generations, according to research published in 2007 by InsightExpress. Although Gen Y (18-24) leads the pack at 85 percent, it is followed closely by Gen X (25-44) at 82 percent, younger baby boomers (45-54) at 80 percent and older baby boomers (55-64) at 79 percent.

Jeff Hasen, CMO of HipCricket, a mobile marketing company, will speak at the Summit about how to use mobile marketing to create relationships between consumers, broadcasters and brands. “While some believe texting is a young person’s activity, the average age of texters is 38,” Hasen notes. “The fastest growth group is folks 35-54. The mobile phone is a personal device – and the ideal way to reach boomers who opt in for information, reminders and offers.”

Jenna Woodul, another What’s Next speaker and founder of LiveWorld, Inc., a global leader in building customer relationships through social networking and online community, points to the importance of word of mouth and peer referrals in the growth of social networking opportunities for this demographic. “As social networking expands among boomers, shopping is often most satisfying as a social experience, and any transaction is potentially social, given mobile connection to one's network of trusted advisors,” said Woodul. “We will see huge growth in boomers connecting on line to consult each other, stay in touch with their children, and just plain socialize and have fun.”

Other presenters, such as Bill Johnston, director of community and research at Forum One Communications, will address privacy as a major issue of concern for boomers. "Facebook is a great lab to study. One of the biggest issues facing Facebook is the lack of formal guidelines -- there are no behavioral mores,” Johnston observes. “Data portability will be a huge issue for boomers as well because they will not just join a network unless they see the value in it for themselves."

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.”

“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 boomer 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 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.

Sponsors of The 2008 What's Next Boomer Business Summit include AARP, AARP Services, Inc., ALCiS, Boomj.com, DecisionStreet, EquityKey, Fleishman-Hillard, HipCricket, Life Stage Financial, LiveWorld, Inc., Longevity Alliance, MetLife, Microsoft, Pharmavite - Nature Made®, Phonak, Posit Science, Qualcomm, Quantum Intech, Inc./HeartMath, Retirement Living TV, Springboard Press, The Stress Institute, Verizon Wireless, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, and Yahoo!

Complete Summit details and registration information are available at www.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 & Associates

Founded 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. 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.
tag: baby boomers, BoomerSummit, Social networking, mobile marketing, texting, InsightExpress,