Brands miss out by ignoring nuances of midlife women

Brand marketers are being encouraged to identify women by their mindset rather than their age on the back of a new analysis which reveals women in midlife who do not have children – to many typified by Friends star Jennifer Aniston – as the most underrepresented in media and marketing.

In The Midlife Revolution, a study by The Kite Factory in partnership with strategic creative agency Southpaw, 44% of women aged 45 to 54 without children felt their lifestyle wasn’t represented in advertising – despite making up 1 in 4 women in their age category – because marketers are not recognising the nuances within the audience.

A difference in hobbies, interests and attitudes to issues such as ageing were seen across the age group, largely influenced by whether the respondents had young children, older children or no children.

The study, which combined YouGov and TouchPoints data with qualitative research, found that those without children, for example, were over 20% more likely to be engaged in topics including cars, technology, and personal finance – sectors that traditionally prioritise male or younger audiences in their marketing and media mix. In comparison, the highest indexing interests for those with children covered sports, politics, and beauty.

The study also addressed attitudes to ageing, with 9% fewer women aged 45 to 54 agreeing that “it is important to stay looking young” than those aged 35 to 44. This rejection of societal pressure is at odds with media caricatures of the self-conscious ageing woman, fraught with worry about menopause and retirement.

The identification of newfound confidence and self-assuredness in women in this stage of life was reflected in respondents being 8% more likely than the general female population not to care what other people think of them and 9% more likely to admit, “I have been known to dance around while no one is watching”, demonstrating that women are embracing their instincts and turning their backs on external validation.

Elsewhere, a reliance on the lazy “busy mum” stereotype is seeing brands miss out on reaching a significant audience. Less than a third (29%) of 45 to 54 women without children say advertising helps them choose what to buy, 9% less than those with children under 18 and 4% less than those with adult children.

Meanwhile, for those women without children, the ability to be creative and express themselves through their hobbies is often more important than professional milestones.

The Kite Factory strategy director Charley Day said: “This is the latest study we’ve undertaken into underrepresented audiences, and once again, the feedback is that brands could be doing more to reach and connect with more experienced audiences more effectively.

“It is widely reported that women feel ‘invisible ‘over a certain age, and when advertisers bundle them together and see them all as simply caregivers, ignoring the interests and attitudes that go hand in hand with their lifestyles and life choices, they are missing out on a diverse, affluent and influential audience.”

When it comes to media consumption in this age group, audio trumped visuals, with the report showing 60% of 45 to 54 women listen to the radio in the background when alone, and 40% saying they sometimes rely on radio for companionship, the highest proportions of any female cohort.

Podcasts were also mentioned, unprompted, in the qualitative research, suggesting that as a media channel frequently lent on for “me time”, there is an opportunity for advertisers to speak to women of this age in an engaged, high-dwell time format that bypasses visual stereotyping.

Southpaw head of strategy Niki Jones said: “Only 6% of midlife women feel represented in the advertisements they see, indicating that brands have yet to grasp how to resonate with this dynamic audience. These women are ‘super consumers’, commanding unprecedented economic power and representing a vast untapped market.

“At pivotal moments in their lives, they are reassessing their needs to achieve midlife self-actualisation. This is a call to action for brands to delve deeper into understanding the unique nuances of this demographic. By aligning insights, tone of voice, language, imagery, and media, brands can show this powerful audience that they are seen, heard, and, most importantly, valued.”