• by February 28, 2005

By Alex Miller

While the bulk of ad impressions aimed at women have traditionally skewed toward 18- to 34-year-olds, advertisers are starting to come around to the notion that there's plenty to gain by appealing to mature women. After all, women ages 40 to 50 generally have more disposable income than their younger counterparts. And even if they've already formed brand allegiances, they're still open to change if approached in the right way.

"Men tend to define success or pleasure with a single goal in mind," says Barbara La Placa, associate publisher of marketing for More magazine, a monthly aimed at women over 40. "Women look at things from a totality, more big picture. They draw strength and power from a collective and they're empowered when they feel they can help others," La Placa says.

In the past, women formed collectives by talking to neighbors, friends, and relatives about what products they liked. While word of mouth remains in the mix, busy women are connecting on the Web, looking for kindred spirits to inform their buying decisions. In traditional media, La Placa says, women respond to messages they can trust that imply the product is a good fit for their lifestyle.

Creating products for mature women is also becoming part of the mix. Chico's FAS, for example, has more than 570 specialty clothing stores in the United States aimed exclusively at women over 35. According to Reuters, the company's net sales rose 41 percent in 2004, to $781.3 million. Gap Inc. announced last fall that it will launch a new "women's retail apparel concept" in the second half of 2005 with 10 stores targeting women 35 and older.

The Players So how do you market to these women? Yvonne DiVita, president of Windsor Media Enterprises in Rochester, N.Y., saw so many examples of bad marketing to women online that she launched her own survey and produced a book: "Dickless Marketing: Smart Marketing to Women Online." To DiVita, the collective mentality is the key idea marketers need to understand when marketing to "Jane."

"I tell people, if you put it in front of Jane, whatever the product is, she'll get it in front of the person who really needs it," DiVita says.

Online, the trick is creating sites that appeal specifically to women. "You can't just throw up something that looks attractive and expect it to work for you," DiVita says. While her book gives numerous examples of how to build a female-friendly Web site, DiVita says the bottom line is more and more women are going online to research products prior to purchase, and those who design Web sites without thinking about how to make them appealing to women, do so at their own peril.

Online is big and getting bigger, but don't rule out traditional media. TV still comprises the biggest portion of the marketing mix. Even marketers who use radio are finding new ways to appeal to mature women.

Dave Newmark, whose Newmark Advertising agency in Encino, Calif., specializes in endorsement radio, says his approach can be highly effective in reaching women. "Women are a pretty skeptical bunch, so to really break through, it's important to have a strong story and a strong way of communicating it with credibility," Newmark says.

Newmark works hard to identify radio personalities with an established listener base. Working for clients like Cover Girl, Proflowers, and Gain detergent, he crafts copy points for radio hosts to read live. With women often hearing the message while alone in their cars, he says the impact can be tremendous.

The Vendors More has dedicated itself to women over 40, and it's seen circulation, page count, and ad page numbers grow in the past few years. Part of that is simple math: there are more women over 40 than ever before. But much of it has to do with More's attention to its audience.

"We're the perfect consumer," La Placa says. "If you present us with the next best thing and the message is good, we'll try it. We're not knee-jerk brand loyal."

La Placa uses the example of lipstick to compare older women with younger consumers. "Open up my medicine cabinet and I've got 700 lipsticks. You don't see that with young girls who get one brand everyone else has. Me, I'm 49, and I'm always looking for the right shade. And I have the money to buy the darn things," La Placa adds.

When it comes to TV advertising, the experts say the way to appeal to women is to show smart, strong characters.

For La Placa, it's a mixed bag. "Advertisers are in flux right now; they don't always understand how to speak to women," she says. "But some get it, like Dove's campaign about whoever you are, you're beautiful.' That's a very smart message, especially for women with a few years behind them."

But forget about reaching older women with ads that show nothing but young women, La Placa says. "They show us pictures of our daughters in underwear and expect us to flock to the store," she says. "You're telling me that I want to, or can look like that, and that's insulting."

The Outlook For DiVita, it's easy to look into the future and see online growing. She also predicts blogs will be popular with women. "Blogging ties into how women talk to each other," she says. "Blogging is so easy, and it represents viral marketing at its most powerful," DiVita says.

La Placa says greater attention to rhythm will inform marketers about what women want. "There's a lot of talk about balance,' but that's artificial," she says. "It's more about rhythm, how life flows with who you are. For marketers, that means not preaching to women (about the benefits of a product) but putting them in their place."

La Placa cites Swiffer as a great example of a product marketed to fit that rhythm. "It's an amazing product. It's inexpensive, you can put it in any room, and you don't have to make time for it. It fits into your life rhythm. That's what marketers need to tap into: products that you don't have to make an appointment for."