Baby Boomers to Sleep With The Fishes???

Dean Chagaris | Marketing 3343 | Dr. Zhang

Original Article - http://www.wsj.com/articles/baby-boomers-encase-me-in-concrete-and-dump-me-in-the-ocean-1477583957

You read the altered title correctly; Baby Boomers are opting for this new burial trend as opposed to the traditional box 6ft deep or being placed into a jar!

There's dead people in these concrete things!

So those things pictured above? Yeah they are made out of concrete with the ashes your love one mixed into the concrete and formed into an artificial reef. These are then taken to the ocean location of choice (not sure how these options are chosen) and then it is placed on the bottom of the ocean to attract the fishes for millions of years to come!

How come people are choosing this option for their "final destination?"

• It's environmentally friendly
• Can be slightly cheaper (not much) than a traditional funeral ($2500-$7000)
• The ability to give back to a greater cause - Saving the Planet!!

The Skeptics

• Critics say that it isn't environmentally friendly as its just dropping concrete into the ocean
• Some scientist from a lab on an island in the Pacific say that it will not attract new fish populations to previously inhabited areas
• Hawaii has stated that it will not allow any further reef burials without further investigation into the results of this practice

Target Market - Anyone who plans on dying soon

Exact target Market - Baby Boomers

Product or Service - This is both. They provide the service of turning Uncle Harry into a funny shaped sphere of concrete (product) with holes in it so fishes can swim through him

Logistics - Deliver a jar of ashes then after your loved one has become a product, they are trucked to a doc, placed on a ship, craned into position, placed on the ocean floor.

There is some exclusiveness to all of this madness; once your loved one is turned into a reef and is hauled out to sea, the family, in a separate vessel, can watch their family member be placed into the drink. They will also be given rocks made from the same material to throw in after Auntie Edna as a sort of memorial service.

In addition to all of this you can have a plaque placed on the concrete reef with your loved ones details. Not that fish are going to read it but instead so people diving the reef at a future date. 

But wait theres more!!

All people tossing loved ones into the ocean will receive an exact GPS coordinate location of Cousin Lester so they can dive down alter on and visit if they so choose too! See pic below;