Behind the Wheel ME Jan08r

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32 MEDIA January 2008

Constituting 27 percent of thepopulation, influencing 80 percent

of purchasing decisions, spendinga trillion dollars a year and controlling

(over the coming decade) two-

thirds of the consumer wealth inthe United States, you might want

to rethink those expletives the next

time a MercedesGL

450 cuts you off.Whether or not they are actually bad

drivers is up for debate, but the factthat they are a powerful, influential

force in our society is a given.

Carol Orsborn, Ph.D., co-chairof FH Boom, a campaign launched

by Fleishman-Hillard PR dedicated

exclusively to the study of BabyBoomer men and women and co-

author of Boom: Marketing to the

Ultimate Power Consumer — the

omen are on the verge, so to speak.

Females between the age of 45 and64 are the largest demographic in

the United States. That’s right: Thereare more middle-age women in this

country than anyone else. Nearly 40million, in fact. And if you think that all they do isshuttle their kids and grandkids around in silverSUVs all day, you would be mistaken (although theydo this as well).

thare

coun

BEHIND THE WHEELMIDDLE-AGE WOMEN ARE THE

DRIVING FORCE IN OUR SOCIETY —BETTER GET OUT OF THE WAY

BY COURTNEY HUMISTON



33MEDIA January 2008

— a new sphere where they are flex-ing their muscle. We’ve seen Oprah

mobilize the masses for Obama,and Hillary mobilize them for, well,

Hillary.

So, there are a lot of them. Doesit matter? Are they going to change

the world? Will Ms. Rice bring peace

to the Middle East? Will Hillary rev-olutionize health care? Will Laura

Desmond land every new accountpossibly up for grabs? Has Martha’s

ambition and resilience changed the

way we view corporate criminals?Will Oprah feed and educate all the

orphans in Africa while simultane-ously hand-selecting our politicians

and every single best seller for the

next 20 years?“Those individuals who have

potential, the Baby Boomer woman

is not one who accepts invisibility or

marginalization as an option. Thismindset isn’t changing, even as she

enters the unmapped territory of her middle age, and just over the

horizon, old age. The groundswell

of growing awareness promises tobe a sociological revolution.”

Not that realizing their potentialor defying expectations are anything

new for women of this generation.

They have been fighting their wayinto politics and business and ath-

letics and media their whole lives.

We are seeing women like HillaryClinton, Martha Stewart, Oprah

Winfrey, Condoleezza Rice andAnna Wintour challenging men for

media control and political power

Baby Boomer Woman (and a Boomer

herself, might we add) calls them“the largest and most economically,

socially and politically powerful gen-

eration in the United States.” Theyare the first generation of women to

enter the work force in large num-bers, and they are now in their peak

earning years.

Rumble Strips

Empowered, successful, wealthy

middle-age women are everywhere:politics, business and especially the

media. Orsborn says the demo isa new phenomenon, and maybe

the most radical shift brought on

by the postwar birthing bonanza:“Raised self-aware of her power and

Pedal to

the Mettle:

Hillary Clinton,

Anna Wintour,

Condoleezza Rice,Martha Stewart



34 MEDIA January 2008

real older women with laugh linesselling them cosmetics, not some

airbrushed teenagers. Take Dove’s

campaign for real beauty, for exam-ple, or Diane Keaton, wrinkled and

smiling for L’Oreal Paris.

Boomin’ Grannies

What is next for this aging super

power? Spanning an 18-year period,

Boomer women are in all walks of

life. Some of them are still rais-ing young children while othersare taking care of aging parents.

They are getting married, divorced,

changing careers and going back toschool. Because their demographic

doesn’t fit in a neat little box, thegood doctor believes that they are

going to be a dominating force for

at least the next 18 years. “A lotof Boomers haven’t realized how

in demand they are going to be inour workplaces and the key role

they will continue to play in oureconomy.” Because Boomer womenare living longer and retiring later,

younger professionals are findingthemselves bumping against a new

“gray ceiling.” Their competition is

experienced, motivated, and fierce.Women are living longer, retiring

later, and spending more moneythan ever before.

Once again these women are forg-

ing their own way and on their ownterms, just as they did in their youth,

and again, “They have few role mod-els or historical precedents and no

certainty about what the future may

bring.” They are, Orsborn asserts,“caring less about what others think

and more about using their full

power and potential... Still in themainstream, they are continuing

to explore new heights of humanpotential. I think we should tighten

our seat belts.”

was the last time you saw a guy ina suit on the LIRR with a Foster’s in

one hand and a copy of The Lipstick

Jungle in the other? Boomer womenare the ones putting sell in the best-

seller list. Both because they are theones writing the books and because

they are the ones buying them.

No different than most membersof their age group, these women are

early adopters, taking to new mediaand gadgets with surprising alacrity.

Yes, they’re usingGPS

before every-one else, buying the first iPhonesand blogging. Yet, even though eight

in 10 Boomer women are online

every day, they have not embracedthe Internet as a substitute for print-

ed material. Nor are they likely to:“Boomers are the last generation

raised on the printed word — before

DVDs, texting and the Internet,” saysOrsborn. “Educated and with lively

minds that continue to seek enrich-

ment, Boomers — women in partic-

ular — have fueled an explosion inreading groups.” And on the otherside of the publishing spectrum,

who knows better what women want

to read, than women themselves?“With the possible exception of por-

nography and hunting magazines,it is women who increasingly domi-

nate the publishing world, both as

editors and agents — and as con-sumers.” When they aren’t scouting

the shelves for Barbara Kingsolverand Anna Quindlen, they are watch-

ing, producing and hosting shows

like The View, and driving the adsand content for networks like WE,

Lifetime and HGTV.

And while they are creatingand consuming media, they are

also changing the face of it — lit-erally. Advertisers are beginning

to realize that as women age,

they want authenticity. Accordingto Dr. Orsborn, they want to see

managed to stay passionate aboutwork will be taking their indus-

tries to new heights,” says Orsborn,

“Women at midlife and beyond arerealizing that they are defying their

own expectations regarding aging,and finding a second wind.” And this

“second wind” has already resulted

in incredible change. As the groupreaches its peak,

their influencewill only grow.

And considerthis: Given mor-tality statistics,

they’ll outnumbermen by an even

greater number

as time passes.Better drink some

wheatgrass, guys.

Media

Mavens

While their influ-ence is everywhere,the media with a

big fat capital

M is feeling itsfull force. Says

Orsborn: “Olderwomen’s roles

are changing in

society . . . and the media is notonly helping to create this shift, but

reflecting it.”While struggling to capture

nearly everyone else’s attention,

print seems to have no problemwith Boomer women: They read.

Books. With pages. Made of paper.According to Orsborn, “There has

never before in history been a gen-

eration this large, this well educated,this vital and this healthy.” How

do you think Oprah’s book clubsbecame so popular in the first place?

Teenage boys? Businessmen? When

HAS MARTHA’S

AMBITION AND

RESILIENCECHANGED THE

WAY WE VIEW

CORPORATE

CRIMINALS?

WILL OPRAH

FEED AND

EDUCATE ALL

THE ORPHANS

IN AFRICA WHILE

SIMULTANEOUSLYHAND-SELECTING

OUR POLITICIANS

AND EVERY

SINGLE BEST

SELLER FOR THE

NEXT 20 YEARS?

Behind the Wheel ME Jan08r

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