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Summit on being age aware Sheridan College's Centre for Elder Research is hosting an interactive conference to help business professionals better understand the marketing opportunity for a growing and diverse aging demographic. The Age Aware Summit will be a day-long workshop designed for leaders from smallto medium-sized businesses, marketers and marketing communication professionals interested in developing effective strategies for a mature consumer market. "The key message we want to communicate is that businesses really need to understand this demographic and their target audience," said Cathryn Oliver, program co-ordinator for Sheridan's advertising and marketing communications program and co-organizer of the summit. "The older market segment is a very diverse group and businesses need to spend a lot of time really understanding what their customers or prospective customers are all about -- their buying habits, media habits, and essentially everything about them as consumers." The event features a presentation by keynote speaker Dick Stroud, founder of 20plus30 -- a U.K.-based consultant firm specializing in marketing to older consumers. "(He's) a leading expert in understanding the implications of physical aging on the way older people behave and the products they buy," stated a release. "As an author, highlyregarded marketer and dynamic keynote speaker, Dick's inaugural Canadian presentation is sure to inform and inspire Canadian marketers interested in the mature consumer segment." The majority of businesses are coming to realize the older consumer demographic, which is growing at a fast rate in Canada, is a marketing segment it should be focusing on, said Oliver. "We have to approach our marketing strategies a little differently," she said, "with respect to their (older consumers') use of media, types of media, comfort level online and the influence of other family members and individuals on buying decisions older adults make -- marketers need to take all that into consideration." This is the first time Sheridan's Centre for Elder Research is holding a conference of this scale with an internationally-renowned speaker, said Oliver. It's hoped more than 150 business people attend. The summit is scheduled for June 12 at the MacDonald-Heaslip Hall at Sheridan's Trafalgar campus, 1430 Trafalgar Rd. It will run from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Tickets cost $195 for early-bird registration before Wednesday (May 1) and $225 per person, afterwards. To register, email paulina.camino@ sheridancollege.ca or visit http://bit. ly/1hyu94n. For more information, visit www. elderresearch.sheridancollege.ca. 7 | Wednesday, April 30, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com 4080 Fairview Street, Burlington (between Walkers & Appleby) 905-633-7226 Hours: Mon.-Wed. 10-6 · Thur.-Fri. 10-8 · Sat. 10-6 · Sun. 12-5 ® This This programmable programmable thermostat thermostat is is yours yours FREE for joining peaksaver PLUS. It gives you online online a ccess, so you can change the temperature in your home anytime, access f rom an ywhere. The touchscreen control makes it easy to adjust, and the from anywhere t hermostat is iinstalled nstalled and pr ogrammed a t no c ost to you. thermostat programmed at cost It It's 's F FREE REE a and nd it it's 's e easy! asy! J Just ust call call 1-877-727-1306 1-877-727-1306 o or rv visit isit o oakvillehydro.com/ akvillehydro.com/peaksaverPLUS P Plus lus receive receive th this is FR FREE EE In-Home Energy Energy Display Display In-Home En Energy ergy D Display isplay image is for illus illustration tration only only, , may n not ot b be e exact exactly ly as s shown. hown. Sub Subject ject to add additional itional ter terms ms an and d cond conditions itions fo found und at saveonenergy.ca.Funded by the Ontario Authority and of fered b y Oakville Hydro Hydro Ele ctricity Distribution Distribution I nc. OMOfficial Mark of the Ontario Power Authority. Used under licence. peaksaver PLUS® is a Power Authority offered by Electricity Inc. registered t rade-mark of Toronto Toronto Hydr o Corp oration. Used under under su blicence. Mu st have have cen tral air conditioning conditioning in good working working or der t op articipate. Limited Limited time time of fer. registered trade-mark Hydro Corporation. sublicence. Must central order to participate. offer.