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Bringsome creates global P2P marketplace for authentic local goods
How green is your Boomer?
Travel to world’s hot spots on the rise
If ‘frolf’ is short for Frisbee golf, then we don’t know what QOLF (pronounced “kwalf”) stands for. But the golf-croquet hybrid has event planners saying “fore!” for cross-audience appeal and meeting success. Golfing hotspot Marriott Seaview Resort and Spa in New Jersey brought the game stateside from its native South Africa, where the sport rose from obscurity to extreme popularity. Qolfers play on a small course and putt a ball through an arch or launch it through a hole above the arch for bonus points. With broader appeal than golf, QOLF (www.qolf.com) is a game that has the feel of the green without the anxiety for those who tee off but once a year or less. ISM recognizes that golf has long been the leisure networking activity of choice for the good ol’ club, but as the population of business travelers gets more diverse, employees are looking for different and more inclusive networking and bonding activities. We think that offering an innovative fun activity can transform an elite environment into a welcoming, approachable scene that lets everyone have fun.
When in Rome, travelers can mail their Colosseum postcards without dealing with the ufficio postale (post office) or finding francobolli (stamps). Email a photo taken by cellphone to Wish You Were Here (www.WYWH.mobi), then fill in a caption, message and recipient address. WYWH prints the personalized postcard and mails it. WYWH requires only text-messaging and a mobile browser, and is supported by AT&T, Nextel/Sprint, Cellular One and Virgin Mobile. Other carriers are expected to be onboard soon. Average cost is about $1.99 USD. WYWH aims to affiliate with event-driven organizations so attendees can send personalized souvenir postcards. ISM sees it as the best of both worlds—travelers can simply translate high-tech data into fun-to-receive old-school greetings. Wish You Were Here combines the turbo, do-it-yourself, hassle-free aspects of mobile technology with the retro fun of staying connected via snail mail.
Boomers are living longer and working longer, spawning a new life stage: preretirement. PreRetirementLife.com helps consumers age 50 to 64 plot their course through the changing landscape of later adulthood. By 2010, 58.4 million people—20% of the U.S. population—will have entered preretirement, which marks the transition from career to the “next great adventure.” The full-service portal offers advice on everything from financial planning and travel to the secrets of staying young, along with community forums and a product expo you can search by topic. Leave it to youth-obsessed Boomers to create a new life stage that keeps the specter of old age at bay. Whether or not “preretirement” enters the lexicon, ISM knows the phenomenon it describes is very real. Older consumers exploring new directions welcome sites that guide the way and connect them with fellow travelers. We believe that as preretirees proliferate, so will the demand for products and services tailored to their unique needs.
Bringsome (www.bringsome.com) is a global online trading post built for consumers who want to score the local trinkets, tchotchkes and treasures you just can’t get anywhere but there. The Person2Person (P2P) network’s classified-style ads include both “I can bringsome!” offers and “Can you bringsome?” requests. Anything and anywhere goes (as long as it’s legal). At press time, posters were requesting everything from Croatian chardonnay to Australian sunblock and offering to bring back booty from places like Egypt, Indonesia, Germany and Brazil. Global e-tailers offer a taste of international goods, but for rare, authentic goodies, you totally have to go there. ISM continues to see the emergence of P2P beehives as ways to facilitate live, local connections—retail or otherwise—between people, places and things. Thanks to sites like Craigslist and eBay, consumers are getting more comfortable hitting up virtual strangers for goods and services.
They may have retired their love beads but Boomers still want to change the world. In a 2007 AARP poll of 30,000+ Boomers, 70% of consumers born between 1946 and 1964 said they felt a duty to improve the world and 54% said they make “socially conscious” buying decisions. The eco-elite aren’t the ones driving the trend. 57% of Boomers earning $50,000 or less said they were socially motivated, compared with just half of their richer peers. Green Boomers like to buy local and support companies that give back to the community. But only 41% are willing to pay a premium for products labeled “organic,” a designation they don’t always trust. The older they get, the greener they get. Matures born before 1946 are even more likely than Boomers to buy products they consider environmentally safe. The Greening of America became a bestseller in 1970, when many Boomers came of age. They haven’t forgotten their roots. They’re just doing it 21st century-style by greening the marketplace. The report doesn’t speculate why poorer Boomers are greener, but it’s certainly food for thought. Does idealism go down as income goes up? For lush lifers, maybe so.
As climate change continues to gain mainstream awareness, eco-travel is no longer just associated with greenies. “Climate tourism” to see-them-before-they’re-gone destinations is on the rise. On the itinerary: endangered animals, small islands and glaciers threatened by global warming, coral reefs and ancient ruins and mosques, to name a few. Of course, every trip offers more than one view: Some argue mass travel, which makes up a large segment of the travel industry, has a negative impact on an already feeble environment. Optimists hope for increased awareness and activism. ISM thinks that truly responsible consumers will have to recognize that green is a journey, not just a destination—that means opting for mass transit, eco-friendly rides or walking/biking upon arrival. There is a delicate balance between scaring and engaging, and educated travelers will gravitate toward marketing tactics that appear transparent and authentic. | |
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