Episode 23:8 Matt Thornhill on Owning Your Age and Middle-Income Housing for Boomers

In this episode of the Glowing Older podcast, host Nancy Griffin interviews Matt Thornhill, founder and CEO of Cozy Home Community and the advocacy movement Openly Gray. They discuss Matt's career journey from advertising to founding the Boomer Project and his insights into marketing to the 50+ demographic. Matt shares the inspiration behind Cozy Home Community, a middle-income housing solution for boomers, and the advocacy work of Openly Gray to combat ageism. The conversation highlights the importance of embracing aging positively and the innovative approaches to senior living.

About Matt

Boomer Expert • Futurist • Founder of Openly Gray and Cozy Home Community

Matt Thornhill is a nationally recognized expert on consumer behavior and the Boomer generation. After two decades in advertising on Madison Avenue and beyond, he founded a think tank devoted to understanding how Boomers are reshaping industries and society as they age.

His insights have guided Fortune 500 companies and major organizations—from Google, Walmart, and AARP to State Farm, Wells Fargo, and the National Governors Association and have been featured on NBC, CBS, CNBC, TIME, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.

Co-author of the acclaimed business book Boomer Consumer, Matt now leads Openly Gray, a nonprofit advocacy grouptackling ageism by inspiring older adults to embrace aging as a privilege, not a problem. He’s also founder and CEO of Cozy Home Community, developing innovative housing for active older adults.

Key Takeaways

• Boomers have become the next generation of older adults. Ranging from age 61 to 79, next year the first boomers will turn 80. They are going to transform what it means to grow old.
• The 50+ market holds significant economic power, oftenignored by marketers. It takes lived experience to speak to the 50+ market. A 50 or 60-year-old advertising copywriter and art director know best how to talk to a 50- or 60-year-old consumer.
• Forty percent of boomers don't have a spouse or partner – 25 years ago it was 25 percent. Twenty-eight million people live alone. Being single means less income and social security and no caregiver in the home.
• Cozy Home Community is an intentional community of modular-built homes for middle-income older adults. Ten hours a month of volunteer time to the community is a stipulation of the lease. Neighbors serve neighbors. An AI-driven voice matching system establishes connection points between community members.