Watching Jackson Browne and the remaining Eagles performing during the Grammy Awards this past week really got me thinking. Man, these guy are OLD. Well, NO, not really. They’re not much older than I am, and in my head, I’m far from old.
In fact, as I think about some of my musical idols, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Tina Turner, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and others…these rockers are still going strong…and they’re in their 70s! And just behind them are Bonnie Raitt, Alice Cooper, Steven Tyler and a bunch of other icons who are deep into their 60s but a very long way from the retirement home.
So what does “old” mean in 2016? A generation ago, anyone 65 or older was handed a gold retirement watch, their first social security check and a free ticket to the Pearly Gates valid anytime. But today, you see people in their 60s, 70s and some even in their 80’s living life while hardly skipping a beat. Just last year, I met a guy who had celebrated his 80th birthday by skydiving 81 times on that one day! And today at 82, he still skydives together with his wife.
This aging (but not old) population is as untraditional a market as any previous generation of old folks. They live longer, stay healthier, enjoy life more fully, and still rebel in their way as they did growing up in the 1950’s and 60’s, the era of James Dean, Elvis, the Beatles, and the Stones. They may have been smoking pot before you were born, and they’re still doing it! Don’t sell them short. Don’t think they’ll make the same kind of funeral plans their parents did. Don’t think you can talk to them the same way that may have worked for the last 50 years.
Most of these so-called old-timers carry smart phones and they know how to use them; they’re on Facebook; some even have Twitter accounts. But unlike Generations X, Y and Millennials, these Boomers and Pre-Boomers are still consuming the forms of media they grew up with: radio, TV, newspapers and magazines. So don’t abandon what works for them, even if it seems so old-school to you. Regardless the medium, you have to speak to them in ways that can capture people’s attention. Stay fresh and relevant, interesting and even iconoclastic, because that’s who these people are. In other words, be non-funereal.
These are the people driving the cremation market. And even among those who choose burials, they still seek celebrations, not funerals. They want music, pictures, multi-media and storytelling at the farewell party. And they may not invite the minister or rabbi.
So as a funeral services provider looking to survive and hopefully grow, you have to ask yourself if you’re driving in the same lane these people are. If your ads look as though they came from a stock art clipping book, or if your commercials feel too comfortable and familiar, and if you’re still offering the same menu of products and services that worked great 20 years ago, I can only recommend looking at current photos of McCartney, Dylan, Jagger and their peers and think about what these “old folks” would be attracted to. If it’s not to you, it’ll certainly be to somebody else.
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Dan Katz is president, creative director of LA ads. To discuss your thoughts with Dan on this blog or any marketing matters, email via this link, or visit www.LAadsMarketing.com. You can also connect with Dan on LinkedIn. See agency work via this link.
Funeral Marketing for the Perplexed 