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Capitalizing on a Mature Market
By Jennifer Keats Curtis
Originally published July 2007  On the cover: John Erickson. Photo by Christopher Myers
The CEO and founder of Erickson Retirement Communities has turned the company into a multi-million dollar array of entities and partnerships, the core of which is building and managing homes for those aged 62 years and older.
But Erickson’s latest venture is the debut of Retirement Living Television (RLTV), the first network targeting people aged 55 and over.
“People live 25 years in retirement; they don’t want to be home watching passive re-runs of ‘Judge Judy,’” said Erickson, 63.
“I want to give them a network that inspires them, gives them a place to get information about post-retirement financial planning, travel, leisure, fitness, health and social issues.”
While Erickson is unsure what future growth will hold, he is certain that seeking national status to get positive attention for senior citizens is the right thing to do. He’s been doing it for some time now.
In the 1980s, Erickson renovated vacant St. Charles College and Seminary's property in Catonsville, and turned it into the highly successful adult retirement village, Charlestown. The sheer size of the neighborhood, number of amenities and potential for meeting others in the same stage of life continued to attract new residents and long waiting lists.
 John Erickson (left), CEO and founder of Erickson Retirement Communities and creator of Retirement Living Television (RLTV) at the controls in the Charlestown studio with Brad Knight (right), president of RLTV. Photo by Christopher Myers.
Today, 20,000 residents live in 19 Erickson retirement community campuses across the country. These full-service, campus-style, active-living communities are spread across Maryland, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Colorado and Virginia. Maryland's other two locations are Riderwood in Silver Spring and Oak Crest in Parkville.
Erickson’s concept has taken hold, especially in the mid-Atlantic, said Kathryn Brod, senior vice president of Ziegler Capital Markets, an investment banking firm that specializes in underwriting bonds for senior living facilities.
As for the future of retirement living in general, Brod, who works in the firm’s Columbia office, points to the Baltimore-Washington Corridor as a prime example.
There are retirement communities every few miles, those didn’t exist 10 years ago, she said.
 Residents at Charlestown, the first community created by Erickson. Courtesy of Erickson Retirement Communities.
But retirement living is big business, with the entrance fees for one and two-bedroom homes ranging from $185,000 and $300,000 and monthly fees running $1,550 and $1,925, respectively.
The entrance fee is 100 percent refundable, one of the things that makes the Erickson model so popular, said Brod.
Entertaining those masses is the latest innovation for Erickson. In September 2006, RLTV was created, providing what Erickson calls “infotainment.”
RLTV's educational and informational content can already be seen in over 29 million homes nationwide, 12 million of which are in the Mid-Atlantic and New England areas.
“The post-65 audience watches 52 hours a week; but, only 2 percent of [actors] on prime time TV are over 65 and they are all crazy — like Seinfeld’s parents, and Raymond’s mom and dad,” said Brad Knight, president of RLTV. “We are attempting to build community with this kind of daytime TV, and as part of that, let’s force some of the negative aspects of aging away.”
The four-hour block of 15 shows run weekdays on Comcast and DirecTV. Thanks to an international distribution agreement with a Canadian provider of multimedia content, S-VOX, the shows will also be broadcast in Canada.
 Dr. Kevin J. Soden (right), host of “Healthline,” on the set with a guest during a taping at the Charlestown studio. Photo by Christopher Myers.
“When you see [RLTV], it’s not a commercial for Erickson communities,” said Lauren Shaham, a spokeswoman for the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.
Erickson first began experimenting with TV— a closed-circuit channel that airs daily for all campus residents — in the 1990s to help keep residents up-to-date on community news.
“I figured this channel would create the glue to help people meet,” said Erickson.
He tried to get the campuses to coordinate subjects and create an internal TV station, but it didn’t work.
“They were too territorial; everyone wanted to produce their own,” said Erickson.
About this same time, he began to realize that no TV shows talked about aging.
“Media is a powerful educator,” said Dr. Kevin J. Soden, host of “Healthline,” one of RLTV’s programs. “Believe it or not, most people get their medical information from TV. This visual media can help tell a wonderful story.”
He adds, “baby boomers, people like me, will be the largest segment of our population in a year or two; and, this is a great opportunity to serve a neglected audience.”
Erickson plans to continue seeking sponsors and advertisers, but does not appear to be in a big hurry. He is, however, certain that the power of this visual medium will eventually draw in big business advertising dollars.
 Residents at Riderwood in Silver Spring. Courtesy of Erickson Retirement Communities.
Oak Crest resident Ilse Harrop regularly watches RLTV because the programming “addresses our issues and our problems with a positive outlook.”
Harrop has been a retirement community resident for nine years.
“It is true that old age is not for sissies, but these shows don't show weeping and wailing,” she said. “They feature people our age doing interesting things, like running marathons, not sitting in rocking chairs.”
 Erickson said he knows this group — he’s based his core business on them. This is why the company keeps expanding its vision and presence, and not just by building new communities.
Early next year, RLTV will move into a state-of-the-art studio in a new $20 million building in bwtech@UMBC, a research and technology park on the campus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Funded by Erickson, in partnership with UMBC, the building will also house the non-profit Erickson Foundation, the company’s IT department and the Erickson School, an undergraduate and graduate program founded in 2004 by Erickson to offer courses focused on aging services, housing and care.
“This will be the hub of Erickson’s presence at UMBC,” said Tansill. “The scope of the company is vast.” < Jennifer Keats Curtis is a contributing writer in Arnold, Md.
Staff writer Amrit Dhillon contributed to this report. |
