In many ways, Baby
Boomer Women, currently in their mid-40s to early-60s—are ideal marketing
targets They’re affluent, at the peak of their earnings, and love to spend,
especially on themselves. But as they move beyond 50, they’re also moving
out of the marketing mainstream, and they’re not happy about it.
Projecting Youth
Marketers wishing
to tap this group need to be aware that Boomer women aren’t content to
be labeled “seniors” – and they never will be, says Ann Fishman of Generational
Targeted Marketing. As Boomer women age, they’re struggling with loss
of control engendered by physical symptoms of aging.
As members of a generation
that’ always defined itself through youth and vitality, Boomer women are
very resistant to the idea of getting older, and they’re using every tool
available to fight it. This translates into a wealth of opportunities
for products ranging from holistic health and nutritional supplements
to exercise and fitness products, cosmeceuticals to cosmetic surgery,
pharmaceuticals to fashion.
To make the most of
these opportunities however, marketing efforts must reflect Boomers’ view
of themselves as perpetually youthful. “Even when they’re 80, it’s going
to be about youth,” says Fishman. Candace Corlett of WSL Strategic
Retail’s 50-plus Marketing Directions advises marketers to steer away
from too much copy in ads aimed at Boomer women.
“Words can get you
into trouble because it’s hard to say anything without referring to age.
A better way to is to show ageless photos. The model (in an ad for a Boomer
woman) should be super-glamorous but ageless – so we don’t know whether
she’s a very good looking 58-year-old or a 37-year-old,” Corlett advises.
Corlett says that
although Boomer women are “very candid” about what’s going on with their
bodies as they age, they don’t want to hear about it from marketers. “They
don’t need an ad to tell them how old they are.”
A just-releases study
from the Women2Women (W2W) Communications Group of Campbell-Ewald
finds that seven in 10 Boomer women feel a lot younger than their real
age, and 62% say they work at trying to maintain a youthful appearance.
Half watch what they eat in order to keep their weight under control.
“They wake up one day feeling betrayed by their bodies, and they are determined
to wage war against age,” says Marissa Larson of W2W.
Fishman calls aging
“the A-word” among Boomers.” You must never say “age” in any way, shape
or form; you must not use metallics – golden years, silver moments. I
even shy back a bit from mentioning retirement.”
Not only do Boomer
women want to live to be 100 says Fishman; they want to stay young while
doing it. “This is a group of women who not only feel young in their minds,
but also have ways and means of prolonging youth – through surgery, supplements,
exercise, through advances in medicine. They have access to Botox, they
have access to of spas and gyms.”
More than a quarter
(27%) of female Boomers would like to have cosmetic surgery in the future,
according to the W2W study. Ion the 1980s, the average facelift candidate
was 60; today, she’s 50. The number of cosmetic procedures performed has
increased eleven fold in the past five years, according to W2W. “They
feel young mentally,” says Larson, “and they want their bodies to match,
which is why they’re trying to slow, or even reverse, the aging process
through exercise, diet, vitamins, facials, hair color, and plastic surgery.
So perhaps paradoxically,
marketers’ chief rule when marketing to women over 50 is to focus on their
youthfulness.
Understanding the
Target
As with any group
of women, it’s crucial to understand key themes of Boomers’ lifestyles.
♥ Spiritual
and Self-Improving
Women of all ages
tend to be more spiritually oriented than their male counterparts and
Boomer women are heavily spiritual. They are especially drawn to nontraditional
spiritual pursuits—such as yoga, meditation, crystals, New Age philosophies,
or Native-American folklore—although some have become deeply involved
in traditional religions, such as born-again Christianity, says Fishman.
For the self-focused
and individualistic boomers, spirituality can also take the form of self-improvement
or continuing education. For marketers, spiritual practices can be paired—very
profitably—with luxury.
Boomers are especially
good targets for services and products that combine spirituality with
pampering—67% like to pamper themselves as a means of fending off daily
stresses, according to W2W. This may explain the rising popularity of
spas, yoga, and Pilates—all of which combine physical fitness with nontraditional
spirituality and a sense of luxury.
Fishman points to
health spas as an example of an industry that has successfully tapped
into female Boomers’ love of spiritual practices.
♥ Sandwiched
and Stressed
Between work, parenting,
eldercare, and their own needs, Boomers are a busy group. Four in 10 (41%)
are worried about responsible for caring for both their parents and their
children, according to W2W.
Stresses associated
with being sandwiched between eldercare and child-care include financial
strain, time poverty, and emotional concerns (such as guilt over lacing
parents into assisted-living facilities). Two in 10 Boomer women surveyed
have reduced their work hours to care for elderly parents. Respondents
say women shoulder the majority of responsibility for elder care.
To cater to this customer,
says Fishman, clothing designers such as Ellen Tracy and St. John offer
consistent styles, colors, and fabrics from year to year, “so if a woman
has a little bit of time to shop…she knows that if she’s got the black
pants and tank, all she has to buy is a new jacket and it will be great
with her existing pieces.”
Another service that
appeals to boomer women is the ability to make appointments with a favorite
salesperson. This works well for Boomer women on two levels—it saves them
time, and it taps into their preference for building relationships.
♥ Increasingly
Single
Single women make
up a significant—and growing—segment of the boomer market, and one that’s
often overlooked by marketers. “You have to get out of the Noah’s Ark
mentality, with everything two by two,” says Fishman. You have a lot of
Baby Boomer women who’ve chosen never to marry…and women tend to outlive
men. So you have widows, women who’ve chosen not to get married, and women
who are divorced.”
Fishman cites the
Charleston Place Hotel’s wine-tasting-for-one menu as an example of the
simple things companies in the travel industry can do to meet the needs
of single boomer women. Many women feel uncomfortable dining alone in
hotel restaurants; the wine tasting menu and a complimentary tray of postcards
are designed to make single diners feel welcome. Fishman also advises
marketers of travel and hospitality services to look for ways to entice
groups of single comer women traveling together, not to mention dining
out together in their hometowns.
Tips
for Marketers
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♥ Friendships
are Key
An extension of this
trend, predicts Fishman, will be “the aging version of the hippie commune.
They want to age close to their friends. One of the ways Boomer women
plan to retire…is to move into apartment buildings with their friends.
Each person would have her own apartment, but they would share a cook,
a nurse, a physical therapist, a masseuse. They are really trying to take
such good care of their health they are going to try to hang on to private
residences as long as they can.
Three quarters of
boomer women say they spend more time with their families and friends
now than they sued to, according to W2W. Portraying older women with friends
and family members from other generations is crucial, says WSL’s Corlett.
Marketers need to “break the stereotype of the white-haired couple,” she
says. The best way to portray a Boomer woman is “to always include her
with women of all ages—with her daughters and granddaughters, with their
friends. Reflect how women actually live their lives.”
Not only does a multigenerational
portrait reflect women’s reality, but an age-segregated portrait reflects
their fears. “One of the greatest fears of older shoppers is that they’ll
be excluded from the younger world, which is associated with vitality,”
says Corlett. While previous generations were more accepting of this isolation,
Boomers are not going to put up with it. “Boomers feel their place as
they define it.”
♥ Feeling
Neglected
One of the key undercurrents
in Boomer women’s lives right now is a sense that they’re losing control—over
their bodies, at work, and in the media. Baby Boomers have been the center
of attention for a long time—first from their GI parents, then in the
educational realm, then as the movers and shakers of business and entertainment.
As they pass out of
the coveted 18-49 demographic, many are feeling left out, and frustrated
by the fact that marketers and entertainment companies are no longer clamoring
for their attention. “Baby Boomers are experiencing the reality of the
aging process and of a society that values youth—which they, frankly,
created,” says Fishman. “There were so many of them born at once that
wherever they were…they were the 500-lb. gorilla. Now they’re saying,
“Why aren’t they making TV shows for us?…Why aren’t they catering to
us like they used to?” So theirs a slight feeling of a loss of control,
and it’s a bit frightening.
♥ Big Spenders
According to W2W,
Boomer women are more ready than ever to spend money on themselves. In
many cases, they’ve just been relieved of the burden of paying for children’s
college tuition, and the extra money seems like a windfall to be spent
on new experiences, and on indulgences which Boomers view as part of taking
care of themselves. By and large, they aren’t worried about saving money
to pass on to their children, and if they have money, they prefer to spend
it on an enjoyable retirement. More than four in ten (43%) say that when
they like something, they buy it, regardless of whether it’s on sale,
according to W2W.
Corlett says many
fashion and health & beauty companies are missing out on a lucrative
opportunity by not shifting their marketing efforts to include older women.
WSL’s research shows a dip in spending on these items among women over
50, but Corlett is convinced that this is due to a lack of appropriate
marketing and products rather than a lack of interest.
“I think it’s because
they’re being ignored in advertising. They have more discretionary income
than ever, but they’re taking that money to other places, such as travel,
dining out with friends. Given their buying power, they’re o the tail
end of marketers’ lists, although the good news is that they’re on the
list now,” she says.
♥ Working
after “Retirement”
Boomers’ idealism—and
their love of spending—can lead some to have unrealistic expectations
of retirement. Many will have to work longer than their parents did, and
longer than they expected to. Fewer than half of female boomers (47%)
plan to retire in the next 10 years (63% of 50-59 year-old women and 32%
of 41-49 year-old women).
n the other hand,
Boomer women in particular have positive views of work after “retirement”;
many view it as an opportunity to pursue new careers or start their own
businesses. Whether or not they continue to work in some capacity after
retirement, Boomers expect to ramp up their activities, not wind them
down.
Source:
Mature Market
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