Eternal Image Inc (fka ETNLQ)

[al44]

more free publicity:

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/WestVolusia/wvlWEST02101908.htm


October 19, 2008

Baby boomers behind new direction of funeral offerings
By RAY WEISS
Staff writer

Convention goers scooted by the beautiful Brazilian model and into the display booth, where an unconventional line of merchandise caught their eye.

The empty caskets and urns sported the colorful logos of several major league baseball and college football teams -- the ultimate in eternal comfort for a diehard New York Yankees or Purdue University fan, sans the beer and bratwurst of course.

"The theory is people identify with certain brands. Coke. Mercedes-Benz," said Nick Popravsky, a vice president for Eternal Image, a company debuting its line of licensed coffins. "So we felt: Why not the funeral business? Why not go out this way?"

Personalization -- capturing the essence of an individual's life -- was the catch word at the National Funeral Directors Association's annual convention this week at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.

Hundreds of wholesalers on a floor the size of three football fields offered their wares to 5,000 morticians from as far away as Europe and the Far East.

Plenty of traditional stuff -- wood caskets, black hearses, sympathy cards -- was on display. But so were cutting-edge products that bordered on Addams Family eccentric. They included earrings that carried the etched fingerprint of a loved one, custom-made Hong Kong clothes and urns shaped like shotgun shells that fit into the rifle butt of someone wanting to remember a departed hunter.

"Personalization is big now, and I don't think it is going away," said Popravsky, whose background is in corporate America, not funeral homes. "People love their brands, whether it's beer, cigarettes or sports. A few years ago, I'd say there was not a chance I'd be selling caskets. But no one was filling this need. So why not us?"

Kurt Soffe, a Utah mortician, has overseen several unorthodox funerals. During one, the departed person's corvette was used as the hearse, while in the other a farmer's tractor and attached wagon led a procession of 18 tow trucks.

"More personalization is the big trend. It can help a family with their grief," Soffe said, generating fond memories of what made that relative so special. "They can focus on feelings about that life."

Robyn Constantino, a funeral home owner in DeLand who attended the conference, said a growing number of families in this area are going with more personalized services.

"It makes it more meaningful to the surviving family," she said. "You're honoring the way the person lived and what they liked."

Aging baby boomers are the current target for many in the afterlife trade. That generation has been the driving economic and advertising force from birth and beyond, starting with Howdy Doody and continuing through the Wall Street investment years. And as the end draws closer, the trend continues.

"The change (in the funeral business) is coming from baby boomers. There are so many more options," said Jessica Koch, a spokeswoman for the organization, which represents about half of the country's 20,000 funeral directors. "They've always done things their way."

And "their way" now includes environmentally correct, biodegradable caskets and urns, which can include a tree or bush as a marker, instead of a gravestone.

Take Spiritree, designed by Jose Fernando Vazquez, an architect from Puerto Rico. The seed-shaped urn is the size of a bread box. As the bottom section decomposes, the ashes inside help nourish a sapling that's planted at the center of the urn. Eventually, the ceramic top will crack as the tree grows.

"I designed it when I was doing my master's in industrial design in 1999," he said, recalling his late great aunt, his inspiration, who was cremated. "It looks like a seed, or pregnant belly. Death is part of the natural cycle of life, like birth, growing up and aging."

He signed a distribution deal with Batesville Casket Company, the largest in the industry.

Batesville's display at the convention matched its image, looking much like the showroom of a car dealership. Caskets were everywhere. The latest high-end models offered rounded corners ideal for displaying personalized "life symbols," markers made to celebrate a profession, accomplishment or favorite sport.

One honored the life of a firefighter, complete with folded American flag and sporting the shiny "meteorite" metallic finish of an Aston Martin luxury car.

"Consumers are focusing on shapes, colors and finishes," said Batesville spokeswoman Teresa Gyulafia of the 2008 caskets. "They have very high consumer eye appeal."

[e-mail]