Tag Archive for: Lori Bitter

2012 SCU Boomer Venture Summit Finalists Announced

This will definitely be one of THE events of 2012. Congratulations to the finalists of this year’s business plan competition! We look forward to seeing who wins.

Aside from the competition the summit has much to offer for the vetreins as well as the newcomers in this industry. Speakers include Jeff Makowka, Laura Mitchell, Laurie Orlov, Mary Furlong and Lori Bitter, just to name a few. This years keynote “A Fireside Chat: An Investor’s Perspective on the Longevity Economy”, will be presented by Marc Yi, Managing Director of Intel Capital. [More]

The top 5 finalists have been chosen!

The five finalists will give a five-minute presentation of their business plan onstage at the Summit. The finalists include:

  • Calcula Technologies – has created a treatment for kidney stones that are smaller than 10mm in size. Calcula’s minimal evasive therapy can be provided in a doctor’s office.
  • CircuSonic Therapeutics – has developed the CircuSonic Limb Tank to address peripheral artery disease (PAD). The patented non‐invasive medical device alleviates pain, accelerates wound healing and increases blood flow to the lower limbs.
  • HyloMimetics – is developing a bioinspired molecule that prevents the progression of osteoarthritis and restores healthy cartilage, getting patients out of pain and remobilizing their lives.
  • My Wonderful Life – is a free website where you can plan and personalize your funeral to celebrate the life you’ve lived. Its mission is to encourage the discussion of our deaths with our family members, and to take the burden off of our survivors.
  • ROTO Mobility – designs and creates ergonomic and efficient mobility products that improve people’s health and active lives.

The grand prize winner will be chosen by a panel of distinguished judges that includes Andy Donner, director at Physic Ventures; Anne Hawkins, vice president at Great Hill Partners; Jody Holtzman, senior vice president, Thought Leadership at AARP; John Hopper, managing director at Linkage Ventures; Xander Mahony, venture capitalist for Draper Fisher Jurvetson; Scott Oliver, partner, Morrison Foerster; and Jeff Shoemate, vice president of innovation and business development for the senior markets segment of United Health Group.

It’s not too late to register.

Sign up now and take advantage of our promo code sv12grandcaremp SAVE 20%!

GrandCare gets “called out” by Forbes on Social Media!!

To tweet or not to tweet….that is the question….

Back in March, I spoke on a social media panel for the 2012 What’s Next Boomer Summit hosted by Mary Furlong & Associates.  I spoke ( too quickly and spastically.. or so I’m told…) on guerilla marketing and using social media to promote your brand on a panel with Stephen Chen from NewRetirement.comAndy Cohen from Caring.com and moderated by Lori Bitter from The Business of Aging. When the panel was finished, Deborah Jacobs of Forbes introduced herself and said she was in the process of writing an article for Forbes on dos and don’ts for social media from a business perspective.  She wanted to know if she could interview me on my thoughts.  Not being one to hold my thoughts back (like….ever), I eagerly agreed.

I told her about how we got the word out about GrandCare Systems, back in 2005 when the market was in its prenatal stage.  As a high tech start-up, we didn’t have a large marketing budget and we certainly didn’t want to throw money at a deaf audience. There was so much education that needed to be done on digital health technology in general, much less which one to choose.  It was a bit of lucky thing that social media was really starting to hit its prime right around that time period as well. In the early days, having more time than money and the fascinating NEW world of social media was a perfect mix.  I unofficially began what would later be coined as our social media campaign.

It was odd and exciting because there really were no rules. There was nobody out there that could really say you were doing something wrong, because no etiquette had been defined (yet).  Nobody was considered an expert, because people were still exploring and experimenting and really trying to see how the new platforms worked and how they could benefit a business.  It was the perfect time to just try marketing strategies out. I still remember when LinkedIn was new enough that you could simply send an inMail to someone (and maybe you still can do this a little bit) and they would actually respond…well…if they were actually continually checking their account. Through LinkedIn, I managed to get in touch with people that I believe would have never responded to a basic email.

This reminds me a bit of back in the mid-nineties when email was new enough that you actually READ them! Remember when forwards and chain letters were actually things that people read and weren’t embarrassed to send?  It’s all about timing and the number one thing we are aiming to gain is someone’s attention.  Getting someone’s attention will continually evolve…we will need to move to new platforms to keep them engaged and interested in what we have to say and it will be even more important HOW we say it; whether it’s a video, a picture, an insightful comment, a quote, humor, etc.

The resulting article that Deborah released today on Forbes.com was an interesting and insightful piece on what social media etiquette might be…  She did a great job and I was proud to be a contributing source.

And as far as Deborah’s grandstanding? A+ for grace!!! 🙂

How To Grandstand (Gracefully) On The Web

by Deborah Jacobs

“For Laura Mitchell, who describes herself as a “grassroots guerrilla marketer,” the key to using social media is starting an engaging conversation. In 2005 she co-founded GrandCare Systems–a Milwaukee company that provides elderly people with technology that helps them age in place.

Mitchell writes her own blog, then drives traffic to her posts by a variety of routes. For example, if she sees an article somewhere else that interests her–say on Forbes.com–she might comment directly on the FORBES site; quote the article on her own blog and link to the FORBES story; then go on her LinkedIn groups and post her comments on LinkedIn, along with a link to her blog.

“Social media is about providing information on yourself and your interests,” says Mitchell. “That includes where you work and what you do.” Whether you’re selling a product, a service or entertainment, think of your website as a store, and social media as the tool that draws people into that store, she adds. The key is to offer some insightful comment, rather than purely trying to get attention.

By using that approach when she commented on an August 2010 NPR segment, Mitchell brought her company prime billing on the Discovery Channel …

To read the entire article, click here

2012 What’s Next Boomer Business Summit

The 9th annual What’s Next Boomer Business Summit is produced by Mary Furlong & Associates, and is the official post-conference event of the American Society on Aging (ASA) Aging in America Conference.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel Washington D.C.
Website: www.BoomerSummit.com

This years Theme: The New Normal

The New Normal will showcase the groundswell in social media, the surge in a Service Economy, and rising of the independent sector.

Join us where America’s leading analysts, corporate strategists, brand managers, entrepreneurs, nonprofit executives, authors, bloggers and tweeters meet to explore:
  • Who profits from the senior market and global boomer
  • Emerging trends in Markets, both Global and US
  • How mobile and wireless growth lead to monetization of boomers and their children and grandchildren.
  • Distribution models for reaching and engaging the boomer, the senior, the  caregiver, and the grandparent
  • Trends that engage consumers with integrated media; whether local, social, mobile, print or through gaming
  • New Normal Frugal Economy: the forecast for financial services, housing, consumer directed healthcare, aging in place, and entrepreneurship
  • Raising money for a start-up idea; brands entrepreneurs need to jump-start business
  • The boomer-seniors effect on the 2012 election

How to Accelerate Lead Generation Through Social, Mobile & Integrated Media 10:30 am – 10:45 am

In the new normal, it is all about customer acquisition, retention and service. Discover the latest trends in how companies are using media to drive leads.

Laura Mitchell – VP, Marketing, GrandCare Systems Will be a Featured speaker along side:

Moderator – Lori Bitter, President, Crew Media
Andy Cohen, CEO, Caring.com
Stephen Chen, CEO, NewRetirement

Thursday GrandCare Webinar: Lori Bitter speaks on Downturned Markets and Upturned Ideals

WHEN: Thursday February 3rd, 2pm EDT (1p CT).
WHERE: http://my.dimdim.com/grandcare
WHAT: Lori Bitter speaks on Downturned Markets & Upset Ideals

Topic Description:
This webinar will explain how the economic fallout has affected boomer and senior values and how you can stay relevant to this changed consumer. Learn how to reach the new mature consumer as Lori Bitter, President of Continuum Crew profiles them, describing their anxieties and shifting values. Use this information to improve your organization’s marketing strategy by understanding the trends and differences in Boomer and Senior consumer sentiment and uncover the messaging framework needed to engage this changed consumer to increase your prospect base.

About Lori Bitter:
Lori Bitter is President of Continuum Crew, an integrated communications firm focused on engaging mature consumers, which she launched following the closure of JWT BOOM, the nation’s leading mature market advertising and marketing company. Lori has more than 30 years of advertising, public relations and strategic planning experience and is the author of numerous white papers on topics relevant to the senior and Boomer population.

Webinar Objectives
1. Learn how to reach the new mature consumer
2. Improve your organization’s marketing strategy
3. Understand the trends and differences in the Boomer and Senior consumer

Upcoming Events:

NAPGCM- – May 12-15, 2011 | Sheraton New Orleans Hotel | New Orleans, LA
AgeTek Discounts apply: http://www.caremanager.org/calendar.cfm

Insight on how the Mature Consumer makes technology purchasing decisions

7-8-10
Join our weekly INDUSTRY aging & technology networking forum!

where: http://my.dimdim.com/grandcare

(optional dial listed on webinar)

when: 2pm EDT (11am PDT)

TOPIC: Lori Bitter, Continuum Care Crew, Learn the misconception about how mature couples make their purchase decisions and why it is all about functionality, not features, that lead to adoption and a consumer devoted to your product.

Sponsored by Celery
Celery’s computerless email system keeps families connected… and keeps you, the installer/integrator, just as close as we help you enter the expanding, high profit senior market. http://www.mycelery.com
Co-sponsors: Home Controls & AARP Orlando @50+

New research gives insight on how the mature consumer makes decisions on personal tech, consumer electronics and gadgets/devices purchases. What does this mean for the tech marketer targeting the mature consumer? Learn which half of your consumers is most loyal, and how can you better appeal to them. Learn the misconception about how mature couples make their purchase decisions and why it is all about functionality, not features, that lead to adoption and a consumer devoted to your product.