Friendly Funerals

In a bid to pre-sell more of their services to baby boomers, funeral homes are trying to make death a user-friendly experience

Shakespeare in the Park plays, gospel concerts, bird watching, tree hugging, historical walking tours, jogging and picnics are not the first things that spring to mind when you think of cemeteries and funerals. But for Mount Royal Commemorative Services, on Montreal’s Mount Royal, it’s all part of bringing life to an industry long known for its deadly dull marketing.

Armed with research by Pollara, which found the single biggest thing consumers want from the funeral/ cemetery industry is information, “we decided to (use) our marketing efforts to say we’re committed to educating Montrealers and consumers about the funeral and cemetery profession,” says Tim Thompson, director of marketing for the non-profit cemetery and funeral complex. “We took the approach of trying to demystify the business.”