A Marketing Promotion: Generation Ynot! - a force to be reckoned with

"I have always hated the idea that there are shoulds and shouldn'ts when women get to a certain age"

Dr Pamela Stephenson Connolly, Psychologist

When equestrian Mary King won her third Olympic team eventing medal last month, the 51-year-old told reporters that she 'had no visions of stopping yet'.

'I love the sport, I'm fit and healthy and even though I'm getting old, I'm loving it. I'm still dreaming of that gold medal.'

In many ways, King is the epitome of today's 40- to 60-year-old woman, a group the UK's leading consumer magazine and digital publisher, IPC Media, has dubbed GenerationYnot! Optimistic, influential and dynamic, this is a demographic that is richer, more powerful and better connected than ever before (see stats below). And they are everywhere - GenerationYnot! accounts for one-third of the entire adult population (NRS).

IPC Media's exploration of this group - across readers of its titles including Woman, Woman's Own, woman&home, Essentials and Goodtoknow - is moving into its second stage. The company is working with advertisers to customise its research, looking more closely at the behavioural habits of the GenerationYnot! woman.

It has committed to a long-term investment programme of research dedicated to unlocking the commercial potential of GenerationYnot! women. The publisher is partnering clients and agencies on ground-breaking studies that are fully tailored and specific to their needs.

This involves:

• Ynot!Talk: clients can question an online community to help with pitches and get answers fast.
• Inviting advertisers to join a three-stage project using innovative techniques:
• 'See-me cams' to understand the purchase decision process - users wear them around their necks so researchers can see what they are doing via photographs taken every 15 seconds;
• Life tours to see how she really lives her life;
• Peer-to-peer research - focus groups where she runs the show.

IPC Media has also integrated the campaign into its own editorial coverage to raise the profile of this group among consumers of its brands.

GENERATIONYNOT! - THE FACTS

• 49% of all GenerationYnot! women are the main wage-earner in their household
• 31% are more likely than the average woman to own a tablet
• 50% of the full-time female workforce are GenerationYnot!
• 90% are more likely than the average woman to earn more than £40k
• 64% love to try new products and brands
• 61% of female social networkers are GenerationYnot!
• 98% make the buying decisions

AN EDITOR'S VIEW

The Woman's Own reader is the embodiment of GenerationYnot!, making this an exhilarating and exciting time to edit one of the UK's best-loved and most well-known weekly titles.

Despite everything I know about our reader - which is a lot - it never ceases to amaze me how she is multi-tasking almost every hour of every day, yet still seems to find time for self improvement, whether it's keeping in shape, expanding her knowledge or trying out the latest anti-ageing products.

The Woman's Own reader is setting her own agenda around her commitments and, as a result, is happier and more confident than ever. It's this open-minded attitude and willingness to constantly evolve that sets her apart from her mother's generation, and I find it endlessly inspiring that she effortlessly embraces the old and the new in tandem. She may be planning that 'big' birthday, but will be doing it on Facebook, and ordering her party dress online via her tablet computer.

I know our reader is special, which is why I have reflected her lifestyle and energy in the new-look Woman's Own, on sale this week. It is of primary importance that I encapsulate the positivity that emanates from her and translate this into print and onto our new website. As a result, we have redesigned, revitalised and reimagined Woman's Own to create a modern classic that is required reading for today's 40-plus woman.

Catherine Westwood, editor, Woman's Own

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk