The Future is New Life Builders

No.110

Wednesday 31 August

Hi, it's David here.

For so many of our community members walking away from full time employment is not the end of an era but rather the beginning of a new chapter.

An opportunity to focus on the things they like doing, that uses their skillset to make a difference.

It's also an opportunity to do different things.

The much discussed Great Resignation is less about people not wanting to work and more about working in a way that works for them.

In this week's newsletter Dave McCaughan discusses the difference between retirement and retryerment.

As always, curious to hear what you think.

David Alberts

Co-Founder at?BeenThereDoneThat

Thanks Dave, it's a different Dave here.

The park near my apartment in Bangkok is replacing the kiddies playground with playground for older folks. It’s a thing. Near three decades of tracking the fastest growing, most dynamic section of the population has seen me spend a lot of early mornings in Tokyo, Beijing, Mumbai and a whole lot of other places watching 60, 70, 80 year olds starting their day, and the next stage of their life, with some exercise, dancing, and a whole lot of energy.

Sure some countries have fast growing populations and yes there might be more "millennials" or "Gen Y" (whatever those terrible over generalisations might mean) than "boomers" (see below … a really TERRIBLE generalization).

BUT the reality is that this year, next year, for the next decade and for probably your whole working life the fastest growing segment of the population, wherever you live, will be what I prefer to call "New Life Builders". The 60+ age groups. Those people in the 60 or 70s now, those who will be 60 in 2030 or 2040. People reaching a stage in life where they are focused on the new life they will lead for the next three or four decades. Yes decades.

Like it or not businesses will increasingly be defined by how they cope with those who have reached their 60th birthday and are now wondering what they will do next.

Ahh, but you're thinking "do people over 60 want to do, explore, trial, learn ?" Quick answer: of course they do. Focus on what those New Life Builders want. Think less about "preparing for the end" businesses like retirement villages, insurance and health care and more about the "exploration" categories where the New Life Builder is the most active and lucrative consumer like travel, education, entertainment, food, cosmetics, automobiles and just about everything else. Less retirement and more retryerment.

"Will they want to experiment with new brands, products, experiences ?". Absolutely. Today’s?60 or 70 years old,?and tomorrows, have been trialing the "new" all their lives. It’s their habit.?

"Will they be able to cope with the changes in technology, shopping, payment systems the world is offering ?". What is the hottest trend on Tiktok, seniorfluencers. No generation has ever adapted too so many technology changes from the first to watch television to the first to own iPhones.

Yes the ageing world is full of economic change and threats. But New Life Builders represent disproportionately high sections of spending power in nearly all categories from automobiles to movies to toothpaste. Oh and even if they do "retire" actual daily spend just shifts in to those "exploration" categories.

Of course we marketers, being the lazy souls we are, tend to ignore all this. The "focus on the young for the future" mantra still pervades planning despite all science questioning that myth.?The New Life Builder is where the money is. To buy the "better" version. To pay a premium for quality. To trial the new.

But be careful. "Ageing", "silvers", "older" can easily be the way younger marketers deride people who don’t see themselves as fading. "Boomers" is just not accurate because in many countries the baby boom came at different times and socio-economic conditions meant lifestyles and habits were more different than USA based text suggest.

Why then "New Life Builders"??People entering their 60s today, for the first time in human history, generally are aware and expect to live another two or three decades of healthy, active life. So what to do with those years ? Work more ? Work different ? Play more ? Play different ? Explore new opportunities ? Build new elements to their lives.

New Life Builders ? Those people somewhere between 60 and 100+ from Bangkok to Berlin, Tokyo to Turin who are focused on their future and building some new experiences.

Be a part of the future. Focus on New Life Builders.

Dave McCaughan

Community Member at?BeenThereDoneThat

Storyteller at?Bibliosexual

1. Japan's oldest DJ: 82-year-old plays techno in Tokyo nightclubs

Watch Time: 2m

The embodiment of a New Life Builder might be an 82 year old Japanese noodle shop owner who has developed a second career as a DJ … all hail DJ Sumiko.

Watch

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2. Lessons on marketing in an ageing population learned from Japan

Read Time: 6m

Marketers and their agencies always seem to have a hard time moving on from myths about ageing populations … something my academic friends refer to as quite simply the lack of sexiness.

Read

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3. Dove debuts anti-ageism #KeepTheGrey effort after TV anchor loses job for ‘going grey’

Read Time: 7m

Fortunately some companies do occasionally take a lead … Japanese beauty brand Kanebo led the way to rethinking older markets two decades ago and more brands are now getting on board.

Read

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4. New Life Builders

Total Read Time: 1hr | Pg.40-41 Read Time: 2m

Want to get a good range of thinking about the new realities of New Life Builders, then, in a shameless plug, try this free journal I co-edited … or just the short essay on page 40 & 41.

Read

We'd love to hear what you thought about this newsletter! Reply in the comments below or reach out to us! To find out more about BeenThereDoneThat, connect with us on?LinkedIn?or visit our?Website. If you'd like to receive The School of Athens weekly newsletter on every Friday directly to your inbox, subscribe?here.