From Sports Illustrated to the gridiron, changing the game

This month, editor Liz and I had a lot of fun with our cartoon, which plays off the news that Medline has partnered with Martha Stewart on a new line of home safety and mobility items. Martha’s instantly recognizable and lauded for, among other things, her good taste, two attributes that I am sure Medline is banking on. 

We changed it up a bit, though, by swapping out Martha’s famous, “That’s a good thing,” with one from her pal, Snoop Dogg, “If the ride is more fly, then you must buy.” I smile every time I look at Cartoon Martha saying that as she elegantly holds out a mobility cane in her well-appointed cartoon kitchen. 

Speaking of Martha, she’s also in the news this week for appearing – at age 81 – on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. Now, I realize, with her resources, she’s not representative of your typical 81-year-old, but damn, way to go! While ageism (and its evil cousin, sexism) are alive and well, it’s nice to see this breaking down of traditional norms. 

I like to think Martha is emblematic of a new attitude toward – and by – senior citizens, in general. Are providers seeing that in their businesses? Are they upping their game to meet these customers where they are at? 

Signs point to yes. Our HME Newspoll last month asked whether providers are using apps more to communicate with customers. More than half say they are; even better, so are the customers. Or at least, they are trying to, wrote one respondent, who says, “Not all our older clientele is capable of figuring it out, but they are working on it.” 

Speaking of sports… 

Meanwhile, down at the other end of the age spectrum, provider Jason Jones continues to make inroads with his unique marketing plan that combines his love of college sports with his passion for getting people healthy. He’s recently partnered with a local sleep center to offer sleep studies to the offensive linemen of the Troy Trojans. His campaign aims to educate the Average Joe football fan, who might be hit with the realization that, if a 20-year-old football player who works out regularly can have sleep apnea, he (or she) might, too.  

Keeping up with trends – in lifestyle, in technology, in business practices – is important to staying relevant and staying in business. Sometimes that means changing the game to try something totally out of the box. 

That’s a good thing.