How to Effectively Communicate Your Message to Baby Boomers (Part One)
iStock-1428223018-2 copy
By: Anthony Herring
Introduction – The Task at Hand
Communication is a wonderful skill. It has allowed us to forge relationships, establish connections, and bond with our fellow humans on a personal and professional level. It takes care, diligence, and, ultimately, trust, to communicate effectively and honestly.
Unfortunately, it has its flaws. It can be used to harm and misinform. It can be weaponized for abhorrent purposes. It can be warped and misshapen to the point where the intended message is unrecognizable to both those who received it and those who created it.
When considering these advantages and disadvantages, it’s of the utmost importance to fully understand the power of communication—especially as a member of the marketing industry. Communicating your brand message to consumers is a pivotal step in creating a relationship with them.
What ultimately makes the consumer base complex are the demographics, and since we work in senior living, our primary demos include baby boomers and members of the Silent Generation. While Silent Generation members make up a substantial portion of the retirement community population, baby boomers are the ones who will begin to think about staying in them. So, it’s key to understand how to properly communicate your branding to baby boomers so they’ll take your communities into consideration (and hopefully choose to stay in them).
1 – Who are the Baby Boomers?
Before we can discuss that, however, we must answer one important question: just who are the baby boomers?
According to the website Investopedia, the baby boomer generation was the cohort of children born in the eighteen-year period of 1946 to 1964. They are the successors of the Silent Generation (1928 – 1945) and the predecessors of Generation “Gen” X (1965 – 1980). They are given their name due to the eponymous “baby boom,” a result of the end of World War II. When the war ended, many were happy that a time of such destruction was finally over, so they celebrated by creating new families.
As of 2023, boomers are the second oldest living generation (the first being the Silent Generation, who would be in their eighties and nineties now). Thanks to this, boomers are either reaching or firmly in retirement age (as USA Today notes), making them the prime candidates for retirement communities!
2 – Boomers and Tech
Let’s just say that baby boomers and technology aren’t…the best of friends. Unlike their younger counterparts in Gens Z and Alpha—and even Millennials / Gen Y—boomers aren’t digitally literate. They have difficulty grasping the latest technological trends, often requiring help in attempting to use newer devices.
This isn’t surprising, as—like Jan Golden of the Huffington Post discusses—boomers grew up in a time when smartphones, social media apps, and the Internet were nonexistent. Back in their heyday (the seventies and the eighties), phones, mail—or “snail mail” due to its delivery speed—and fax machines were the dominant forms of technology. (Sure, the Internet did come around during the eighties, but it was a much different beast compared to the juggernaut that it is now.) Their brains are hardwired to the analog days of old, and because of that, attempting to adapt to a more digitized world is a rather difficult challenge.
However, the challenge is not impossible. Boomers have shown that despite their conflict with digitization, they are willing to work alongside it (perhaps knowing that they’ll have to accept it eventually, as change is inevitable). As the software platform Xeven Solutions touches upon, boomers over the past several years are open to welcoming assistance learning about new technologies. They understand it can benefit them despite how difficult the learning process can be.
Conclusion – To Be Continued
With that, Part One is concluded. We hope this article has helped to give you a better understanding of baby boomers and how their relationship with technology has changed over the years. Part Two will go into more detail regarding how to use this information to communicate your brand messaging to them effectively. Stay tuned!
The details in this blog article comprised information gathered from the sources listed below. I want to give credit where credit is due.
References
Young woman helping senior man with payment on Internet using laptop · Free Stock Photo (pexels.com)
Assisted Living Statistics: Population & Facilities in 2022 | A Place for Mom
Baby Boomer: Definition, Age Range, Characteristics, and Impact (investopedia.com)
Baby boomers: Age range, years and the generation’s impact on society (usatoday.com)
Why do baby boomers don’t understand technology? – XevenSolutions
The Real Reason Baby Boomers Hesitate with Technology | HuffPost Post 50
By: Anthony Herring
Introduction – Autumn’s Arrival
After a surprisingly brisk and sweltering summer, autumn has finally arrived. The time of beach visits, outdoor concerts, and amusement park hijinks will now give way for cooler temperatures, pumpkin spice beverages, and the changing of the leaves. With that, comes new and fun activities for everyone to partake in—particularly seniors.
Autumn provides several unique opportunities for senior activities, and we here at Ivy Marketing are here to detail a few to you in the hopes that your own community will host them. Let’s get started!
1 – Autumn Festivals
The first activity that we’ll discuss is the eponymous autumn festival, a time for families to get together, eat food, play games, etc. This would be the perfect opportunity to have family members get together with their respective residents and go to a local festival! (This will require plenty of planning ahead, so be mindful of timing and scheduling.)
There are plenty of local festivals in the Chicagoland area, such as Nightmare on Chicago Street in Elgin (October 21st), Free Family Day at the Chicago Children’s Museum on the Near North Side (October 26th), and the Corporate and Community Tree Trim in Brookfield (November 11 – 12th). Additional festivals are can be found on several websites, such as the news site WTTW.
2 – Nature Walks
With the sweltering summer temperatures now in our rearview mirror, the slightly frostier autumn temperatures have now arrived. With that comes an easier time for seniors to make their way outside for a lovely nature walk, whether that be in the local park or even the local nature preserve. Your community can schedule these walks for your residents on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, so as to give them some fresh air—and maybe even some exercise! The cool air will no doubt be a much-needed reprieve at times, especially if certain residents have been unable to leave the community.
That being said, there are some things that need to brought to your attention. Since the seasons have changed, the weather can have an adverse effect on your residents. (For example, during the summer months—as the website Lifespan explains—seniors are at a higher risk for heat strokes due to their older bodies.) The website Comfort Keepers goes into detail about how the cooler temperatures have a detrimental effect on seniors’ bodies, so it’s best to make sure that when nature walks are scheduled, have them dress in layers. Not only that, but the site also recommends that they be mindful of leaves on the ground, as that could make potentially make them fall.
3 – Halloween Movie Nights
October is the month of the so-called “spooky season”, so don’t be surprised to see an uptick in ghouls, goblins, and gremlins. Not actual ones, thankfully, but rather children dressed up as them! This time of the year is a special one for kids, as they’ll be treat-or-treating on Halloween night, collecting candy by the dozens—if not hundreds!
What also makes this season special are the movies. Hocus Pocus. Beetlejuice. The Haunted Mansion. So many to choose from, and what better way to bring children and the residents of your senior living communities together than by hosting Halloween movie nights! (And the great thing is, you don’t need to limit this to the day itself.) Perhaps every once every week—or even twice—you can invite the residents’ grandkids to come to the community and watch some spooky movies with their grandparents. It would be a fun way for your residents to spend time with family members, along with the kids themselves being treated to sweets and everlasting memories. Have the kids dress up in costume, too, if you like; it would only add to the experience.
If you are struggling to find movies to show, The Hollywood Reporter has compiled a list of films that might hit the spot!
4 – “Autumnal Decoration Days”
The last activity that we’ll discuss are what we here at Ivy Marketing like to call “autumnal decoration days.” What we mean by this are dedicated days throughout the autumn months where your living community can invite residents’ family members to make autumn decorations. (Perhaps make a limit on how many can be allowed.) They can partake in crafting multicolored leaves to hang in residents’ rooms. They can make papier-mâché pumpkins and squashes to post near the entrances and exits. They can hang orange lights in the main halls and eating areas.
These are just starting suggestions that you are more than happy to implement, along with some that you come up with!
The details present in this blog article were comprised of information gathered from the sources listed below. I want to give credit where credit is due.
References
Elderly Couple Holding Hands Near Tree Trunk · Free Stock Photo (pexels.com)
2023 Chicago Festival Guide | Chicago News | WTTW
HOME | NOCS (nightmareonchicagostreet.com)
Free Family Days with Chicago Children’s Museum | Navy Pier
Chicago Zoological Society – Tree Trim at Brookfield Zoo (czs.org)
How Seniors Can Stay Safe in Summer | Lifespan
Autumn Safety for Seniors | Comfort Keepers
6 Festive Fall Activities for Seniors – DailyCaring
Best Halloween Movies for Kids From Hollywood – The Hollywood Reporter
By: Anthony Herring
This article continues the subject matter first introduced in “How A.I. Can Improve the Lives of Seniors in Retirement Communities (Part One).”
1 – A Solid Pairing
As mentioned at the end of Part One, A.I. has already been implemented within senior living: two prominent programs are used by retirement communities that are quite beneficial to its residents.
The first program, dubbed “Minerva,” is mentioned by the retirement website myLifeSite in a piece they wrote; the program was created by the tech company TSOLife. Minerva acts as an A.I.-based software that collects data on residents within retirement communities. (Said data is collected with residents’ consent.) This software is in use by the retirement organization known as Benchmark. (The U.S.-based org is responsible for maintaining dozens of smaller communities on the East Coast.) They have a program called “Something in Common,” which is a project that aims to connect residents through mutual interests; Minerva is used to collect data on the residents and find possible matches for them through the project.
The second program, created by the tech company CareSmartz360, is called…well, “CareSmartz360.” This software is based upon A.I., and is used for home care usage within retirement communities. As detailed by the company itself, CareSmartz360 helps residents maintain their daily lives through multiple avenues: sending reminders for taking medicines, providing communication methods with friends and family, etc. Not only that—and this is probably the tool’s most beneficial feature—CareSmartz360 is capable of monitoring residents’ activities, which can potentially prevent emergency situations from happening.
For example, take the passive sensor technology that was discussed in Part One. An A.I. system like CareSmartz360 can be applied within a retirement community as a method both to help detect when a resident is about to fall on the floor or perhaps even predict the likelihood of a resident falling (a similar estimation made for if A.I. was applied to smart tech like Google Home in Part One). Depending on the situation, community staff can enact measures based on what CareSmartz360’s data determines and act accordingly.
2 – Proceed with Caution
As with every new technological advancement, there are grounds for caution—and A.I. is no exception. With the software’s usage growing at a rather alarming rate, it is unsurprising to see that people are worried at how frequently it’s appearing in our day-to-day lives.
Sadly, this means that seniors—the most vulnerable demographic regarding technology—are at great risk. A.I. is an incredibly malleable tool, so much so that it can be manipulated to spread misinformation, which the media company Decrypt has discussed in an article on the subject. The author, Nathan Reiff, notes that artificial intelligence can be used to create false news articles, blog posts, videos, etc., and that among certain circles, these pieces can spread like locusts. If seniors were a part of these groups—or even just generally browsing the Internet—and found these pieces, they might actually believe that they’re real. Now, if their loved ones were able to catch them in time, then they can prevent them from falling for misinformation in the future. (However, if they can’t, then these seniors might fall deeper down the rabbit hole, believing these pieces more and more to the point of disaster.)
Another notable danger is one that hurts everyone: the scam. Scams have grown more sophisticated since the Internet became more prominent in our lives, and unfortunately, they show no signs of stopping—especially when A.I. gets thrown into the mix. A.I. is capable of fabricating voices, so scammers can make it sound like anyone they wish. Their cousin? No problem. President Joe Biden? No brainer. Your little brother? Of course. It is a scary and dangerous practice, and with seniors as more-than-possible victims, they are easy targets.
One particularly troubling scam aimed at seniors is called “the Grandma scam,” which Forbes deliberates on in an article regarding A.I. According to its author, Carolyn Rosenblatt, this scheme involves scammers using A.I. to trick seniors into giving money to their “grandchildren.” The “children” in this instance aren’t that at all, and are actually the scammers using fabricated voices. Since seniors aren’t able to tell that the voices are falsified, they fall right into the trap.
Conclusion – Time Will Tell
A.I. is here to stay, and with it now being a part of senior living, it can be an incredibly helpful tool for seniors. Unfortunately, it is important to remain mindful of how it can be manipulated to harm them, and to take the necessary precautions. We shall see just how far A.I. goes in this industry.
The details present in this blog article were comprised of information gathered from the sources listed below. I want to give credit where credit is due.
References
A Bearded Man Playing Chess · Free Stock Photo (pexels.com)
Artificial Intelligence Used in Senior Living Communities (mylifesite.net)
TSOLife | Happier more connected senior living community
TSOLife | Minerva–AI for Improved Senior Living
Benchmark Senior Living | Assisted Living and Memory Care Communities
Home Care Management Software for Home Care Agencies | About Us (caresmartz360.com)
Cloud-based Advanced Home Care Agency Software Solution (caresmartz360.com)
Artificial Intelligence Enhancing Home Care for the Elderly (caresmartz360.com)
Cloud-based Advanced Home Care Agency Software Solution (caresmartz360.com)
What Are the Dangers of AI? – Decrypt
Will AI Help Or Hurt Our Aging Parents? (forbes.com)
