As I was looking for a subject for our agency’s weekly Tuesday Trend Talk, my sister directed me to a podcast talking about how boomer women are hitting their 50’s and like everything else this generation touches, they’re changing the traditional definition of what it means to be a “middle aged” consumer. It was author/researcher Marti Barletta’s interview with Hoag Levin from Ad Age. You can view the interview by clicking here.
The reason this caught my attention is because I am entering the “invisible years” of my life. Years ago my sister described a woman’s 50’s as just that, she’s invisible. She said to look around next time you are in the bakery or coffee shop when the clerk doesn’t know who’s next, it’s almost like they can’t see the middle aged woman standing right in front of him. This was around 6 months ago so it didn’t apply to me, so I ignored my invisible sister: Now, it’s a little closer to home. And it gives me pause to rethink how we look at this segment when planning and buying media.
After viewing this eight-minute podcast, I started searching the Internet for more articles about marketing to 50+ women. The numbers surprised me! I mean, its common sense that this age group spends lots of money, but the percentage of dollars they spend compared to the efforts and budgets expended to reach them is surprising.
Mark Miller, reporter from The Chicago Sun Times wrote: “The irony here is how poorly the PrimeTime woman is understood by businesses trying to figure out how to sell things to people. Rather than focus their marketing firepower on this lucrative consumer target, marketing executives lie awake at night worrying about how to sell to 18-to-34-year-old men — a market segment that’s increasingly difficult to reach, and far less attractive as a consumer target than older women by almost any measure.” Click here to read the whole article.
So, I’ve decided NOT to become invisible when I become 50. And marketer who can’t see me won’t see any of my buying power either.
Buffy O’Conner
Media Director
here’s to you, mrs. robinson…
I can see you!