November 2004

Mature women prefer good health over good looks

Women over age 50 may be a prime target for your marketing — especially if you are into the anti-aging market. According to a marketing study, 86 percent of women over the age of 50 stated that the key to feeling great means maintaining good health, not good looks.

However, all women, no matter the age, are not above giving Mother Nature a helping hand when it comes to covering up the telltale signs of aging. Approximately one-third of women over age 50 use cosmetics and anti-aging products.

The study entitled “Aging Redefined II: A Frank Perspective on Marketing to Women as They Age ,” released at the Beyond the Numbers — The Mature Market Summit in New York challenges some of the assumptions marketers have made about maturing women.

And it points out that marketers who understand the motivations of women as they grow older have an enormous opportunity to grow their brands with older female consumers.

The national study debunks many of the age-old myths about women and aging, especially how they make buying decisions related to product categories and brands. The study focuses on women over the age of 50. It was completed by Frank About Women based in Winston-Salem, N.C., a marketing-to-women communications company dedicated to helping brands build enduring and enriching relationships with women.

"Overall, we found that older women lead dynamic lives, are more likely to seek out new experiences and develop new relationships with brands, long after many marketers have dismissed them," said Carrie McCament, managing director, Frank About Women.

Some key points of the study showed:

• 25 percent of women say “old age” never begins. They don’t see themselves as growing old.

• 73 percent fear health problems related to aging.

• 61 percent worry about becoming a burden to others; and

• 58 percent fear losing their memories.

• 71 percent over age 50 take vitamins;

• 67 percent see their physicians for regular checkups;

• 68 percent eat a health, balanced diet;

• 50 percent exercise regularly.

SELLING TO THIS MARKET

Jennifer Ganshirt, a director with Frank About Women, had several tips for marketing to this demographic group:

• Don’t patronize. The majority feel “talked down to.”

• Don’t use scare tactics.

• Be realistic. Don’t portray —in images or words — older women in unrealistic settings.

• Use advertising that appreciate the wisdom of aging.

• Appeal to a woman’s rational and emotional reasons.

The online study, weighted to be nationally representative, was conducted in November 2004 and was based on 1,155 responses from women ages 20 to 97.

Source: Frank About Women, www.frankaboutwomen.com/

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