WHEN IT COMES TO BABY BOOMER WOMEN, YOUTH IS THE MARKETING WATCHWORD

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

♥ 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