A Website for Up-and-coming Older People – the "elderly" Need not Apply

Every year Glazer+Kalayjian is proud to work with a select number of non-profit organizations, one of our most recent clients being Service Program for Older People, or SPOP (http://spop.org). As one of New York's leading providers of mental health and related services for older adults, SPOP offers a number of services to its clients including Counseling Services, an Adult Day Center, Services for Seriously and Persistently Mentally Ill Adults, Bereavement Support, Government Entitlements and Insurance Benefits, and Education and Training. At SPOP, they don't ease the last years of a person's life; they enhance them!







Despite their older clientele, SPOP prides itself on staying away from images of elderly and geriatric people—the term "old" is not in their vocabulary. Older, yes—but not "old". As Diane Adler of SPOP explains, "For over 35 years, Service Program for Older People has been showing adults in the New York area that aging is no barrier to maintaining an active and meaningful life." As she further details, SPOP's philosophy is based on professionalism and respect, which meant GK needed to create a website that showed older people who are great at living life, and by modern standards they should be; they have the most experience at it.







It was this unique twist on adult life that inspired GK to create something that was user-friendly, up-to-date and fun without being too complex. To do this, we changed the color scheme from an institutional blue to a vibrant, yet sophisticated color palette of blue, orange, brown, red and green and kept the font and images neat, clean and extremely simple.







We also included a text-enlarger, making the content easier to read for those with less-than perfect eyesight, and an easy-to-read RSS feed that quickly and easily updates SPOP siteseers on the latest SPOP news. SPOP.org also offers an online newsletter, previous issues of their paper newsletter and the ability to register online for SPOP seminars. Then of course, the SPOP site also features the newly updated SPOP logo created by Glazer+Kalayjian.



In the end, it was no Myspace, it wasn't even MyOldSpace, it was exactly what it needed to be: a website utilizing today's top technological features while still appealing to those who prefer the simple things in life.



According to the United States Census, 7,918 people per day turned 60 in 2006, and by 2030 we can estimate there will be 57.8 million babyboomers across the US. One might even be surprised just how often they're online. In 2002 CBS reported:



* Online boomers were more likely to send or receive e-mail on a given day: 54 percent versus 49 percent of younger Americans who are wired.



* Sixty-six percent of online boomers have looked up health information online, compared with 54 percent for younger users.



* Boomers were more likely to visit online support groups for specific medical conditions and personal situations: 55 percent versus 36 percent.



* Half of online boomers have used the Internet for financial information, compared with 28 percent for the younger group.



* Fifteen percent of wired boomers have traded stocks or bonds online, while only 9 percent of younger Americans have.



* Boomers were also more likely to have gotten religious and spiritual information over the Internet and used government Web sites.



Today, Glazer+Kalayjian is well positioned for the niche babyboomer market. "Every generation offers us something new or different," says Caitlin E. Brown, Project Manager of Glazer+Kalayjian, "and it's up to us to return the favor."