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Marketing to Young-At-Heart Boomer Women Baby boomer females, who are responsible for the vast majority of spending decisions in today's market, are not comfortable with some designations we might be tempted to assign. Marketers who conceptualize them as "mature" or "older" are missing the point. Marketers are finally beginning to court the favors of female baby boomers, whose discretionary spending accounts for a substantial majority of consumer spending. Baby boomers, in general, control trillions of market dollars, and women are responsible for most of the spending decisions in baby boomer households. Yet evidence suggests that marketers and advertisers have, on the whole, failed to understand or connect with this crucial target market. Much of the problem would seem to stem from difficulties conceiving of what it means to be a "mature" woman in today's world. As in so many areas and eras of their lives, baby boomers are re-defining the "mature" phase of life, and women are at the fore. With divorce rates much higher than those of previous generations, baby boomers are not unlikely to find themselves single and dating at later stages in their lives. Many are seizing the opportunity to turn tables on tradition and date younger men. It seems to show in their faces: whether because of plastic surgery or a good attitude, the 50+ female faces adorning today's magazine covers are almost invariably greeted with exclamations of, "I can't believe she's actually that old…!" Fifty is the new 30, as many stylists and trend-watchers will tell you. When buying for themselves, their partners or their friends, baby boomer women are looking for comfort combined with style. They want products appropriate to their age, it's true – but they have different ideas of what's "age-appropriate" than any previous generation. Marketers are not likely to enjoy resounding success until they get inside the mind of the boomer female and realize how young and lively her self-image really is. It's not that they're ashamed of their age – on the contrary, most are proud to look younger than they really are. They want products that reflect that inherent vitality. Product 19 cereal, for example, had considerable success several years ago with an ad campaign that urged consumers to "feel like 19 again." One advertisement featured a sporty mother whose teenage daughter couldn't keep up with her. The commercials were on-target because they were straightforward in acknowledging the life stage of their target market. Instead of treating middle-aged women as youngsters or, on the other end of the spectrum, as dawdling pensioners, they celebrated the joie de vivre that such women could display. On the whole, baby boomer women are smart consumers and hitting the sweet spot involves a delicate balance of considerations. Soliciting consumer response and attempting to key into the sentiments behind it is the best tactic for getting in line with female boomers' self-image. Back To Mature Market News → Go To The GenerationTarget.com Mature Market Bookstore → |
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