Secrets of Midlife Women – or The Rise of the Queenager
By Eleanor Mills
When I founded NOON, one of the first activities we did at the company was to undertake groundbreaking research into our audience: middle-aged women. This research blasted previous assumptions and created a new, more accurate portrait of midlife woman, what they want and how important they are to brands.
We’ve branded these women “Queenagers”. As one woman puts it: “I feel like a teenager but in my own house, with posh sheets and nice tea.” And they don’t want to be invisible anymore.
They demand to be heard. Previously nobody was asking these women what they think – our researchers said they’d never come across a cohort so eager to be heard. Their voices are vital not just for themselves but for all the women coming up behind them: We want women to look forward to being 50 as the age of opportunity.
Research Methodology
The NOON Research is the most in-depth study of ABC1 women aged 45-60 undertaken in Britain.
We did it with:
- Focus groups, in homes at different locations across the UK:
- Edinburgh, Aberystwyth, Newcastle and London
- Filmed footage from each group to bring the issues and people to life
- Six in-depth interviews on Zoom to investigate deeper issues
- Survey of >2000 midlife women, informed by the focus groups
Why I began focussing on midlife women
As a journalist – columnist, award-winning editor, Editorial Director The Sunday Times, Chair of Women in Journalism 2014-2021 – my job was to read and create the zeitgeist. My antenna showed me these women were not being represented in the mainstream.
The data we’ve collected – the biggest ever dataset on this cohort – backs up that hunch. The enthusiasm with which these women have embraced NOON and our optimistic take on midlife and beyond shows the hunger and enthusiasm for this kind of targeted content for the midlife woman.
Yet big brands, media and social media have not yet caught up.
This research highlights the attitudes of this important cohort. It also demonstrates the innumerable opportunities for companies and brands who want to tap into and engage with this powerful demographic. These insights into this under-served cohort can drive business opportunity and a new growth area.
Understanding and engaging with these group is not just the right thing to do. It’s a massive commercial opportunity.
About the midlife woman now
To understand the current generation of women aged 45+, we have to put them in context.
- Work is key: This pioneering generation, who are now aged 45-60, entered the workforce in greater numbers than ever before and have worked all the way through, from leaving university till now
- Many are not mothers: Nearly one third of university-educated women aged 45-60 don’t have children
- They return to work: Many of those with children have returned to work after raising their families
- They are more than the menopause: While menopause has exploded as a topic of conversation and category for products and services, these women don’t want to be defined by a lazy “menopause” label. That’s like branding teenage girls as “menstrual” – reductive and disempowering
These women are big earners
- In 2019 Census, women over 40 out-earned women under 40 for the first time ever. These women are financially solvent and spend their money, their way.
- They drive 93% of consumer decisions
- They remain underrepresented in advertising and the market.
A snapshot of the survey results
Findings
- Most in-depth study of ABC1 women aged 45-60 undertaken in Britain: survey (2000 women), focus groups, in-depth interviews
- Representative of 8.5 million women globally, who spend £92bn & out-earn 40-year-olds
YET
- 41% don’t feel represented by wider society
- 54% more likely to buy from brands that do represent them
- These women view success “in their own terms”
- Work/life balance 16x more important than status at work
- Time for themselves more important than partner, job they love, friends or active sex life
- Enjoy money and will spend it on what matters to them
Forged in Fire
Happier after the challenges
But it is the women who have been through the fire who are now the most confident, happy and solid in their lives. Their wisdom is hard-won – they have survived and are now flourishing again.
The data we’ve collected in this biggest ever dataset on this cohort
Would you like to know more about this research? Get in touch: eleanor@noon.org.uk
If you would like to work with us on retaining your midlife women, understanding the commercial opportunities of this midlife cohort, refining the tone of voice you use with them, or to use the NOON community to sample your product or messaging get in touch with us at hello@noon.org.uk.
