The Futures Company

Yankelovich MONITOR think tank, Q1 2008

www.thefuturescompany.com

Y Reports - 10 Things About Boomer Women

INTRODUCTION

This report is a part of Yankelovich's “10 Things” series, which leverages the insights provided by the Yankelovich
MONITOR® Consulting Group. It identifies opportunities to market to Baby Boomer women in dynamic ways by connecting
with their current attitudes and evolving marketplace needs.

About the Data in This Report

All data in this report are among Boomer women, unless otherwise noted. This report draws from two major studies: the
annual Yankelovich MONITOR and Yankelovich's Boomer Dreams study.

● The Yankelovich MONITOR is the longest-running tracking study of Americans' attitudes, values, lifestyles and behaviors. In 2007,
MONITOR contacted 4,378 consumers in a nationally representative study of adults ages 16+.

● For the Boomer Dreams study, a nationally representative sample of 1.023 Boomer men and women were surveyed in June and
July 2006, and the results were published in Generation Ageless, a book from Yankelovich on the Baby Boomers that Collins
published in October 2007.

● Throughout this report, numbers that are underlined are statistically significantly higher than the numbers to which they are
compared.

About This Report

This content is available exclusively to Sponsors of the Yankelovich MONITOR who subscribe to our Think Tank content,
available on our exclusive Client Gateway. The Think Tank is a continuously updated online catalog composed of detailed
close-ups, trends newsletters and strategic overviews, including our Y*Reports. Among those Y*Reports are the “10
Things” reports, designed to provide our clients with deep insights into a consumer target group in a convenient, “grab-
and-go” format that can enhance clients' own presentations.

These reports were created to provide a starting point and a framework for approaching any insights-driven marketing
project. We hope that, after referring to this 10 Things report, you' ll contact us with follow-up questions about how these
insights play out in your particular marketplace and what the opportunities may be for your unique marketing initiative.

1. iPRIORITY TO THE NTH DEGREE

iPriority, a consumer Vital Sign identified in MONITOR 2005/2006, is all about a personal focus-with a twist. It's about understanding that
the best way of assuring that you can be at your best, and be there for others, often starts with being in a good place yourself.

For Boomer women, this is a variation on familiar territory. Raised in a time of unprecedented optimism and prosperity, many Boomers
came to believe that because their financial well-being was a sure thing, it behooved them to focus on their personal well-being. Self-
discovery and self-fulfillment became overriding goals and guiding principles.

Today, 74% of Boomer women say that “living life to the fullest” is important to them. In true Boomer fashion, much of this pursuit will
center around personal exploration and new experiences because Boomer women still believe it's important to reach their full potential,
regardless of their age. Like most people, Boomer women understand that life today demands the inventive participation of individuals.
More and more, people must be creators and directors, not simply consumers and viewers. This new self-invention world is right up
Boomers' alley. Boomers as a group, are, in fact, the pioneers of identity shifting. Think of their multiple experiences, marriages, jobs and
brands. Boomer women, in particular, witnessed and, in many cases, benefited from the social and economic consequences of the women's
movement. The bottom line: Boomers have never seen many obstacles or limits to their fulfillment quest; today they see even fewer.
2. I AM SPECIAL, HEAR ME ROAR

Boomer women demonstrate no desire to move toward conformity as they get older. In the 1960s, Baby Boomers led the social and
cultural revolution that challenged the premise of individual needs being subservient to the needs of the group as a whole. The quest for
expressing one's individuality is indeed a Boomer hallmark. Not only do Boomer women value their own personal interests and journeys;
they give their generation as a whole kudos for its distinct contribution to the culture.

Because Boomer women fully intend to remain youthful, their personal-journey intentions are no pipe dream. In fact, these women want to
live endlessly as middle-aged people as they remake the experience of aging into one of aging without getting old. And this middle
ageless-ness will be characterized by the focus on exploration and transformation that is part and parcel of a more youthful approach to
life.

3. THE VIEW FROM THE EMPTY NEST

In her best-selling book I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts About Being a Woman, Nora Ephron includes the fact that “the
empty nest is underrated” on her list of things she wished she had known earlier. How do other women see the world after the kids have
flown the proverbial coop? For Boomer women, a lot has happened already...and there is a lot more to look forward to. A majority of
Boomer women say they have already discovered things about themselves!
4. GIVING A HOOT...AND HOW

Compared to only a few years ago, Boomer women place greater priority on traditional social/community networks and responsibilities.
Everything matters more—being seen as a “loyal friend,” a “good neighbor” and a “good citizen.”

Moving into the Empty Nester life stage affords Boomer women the opportunity to “walk the walk” and fulfill their cohort-characterizing
desire to fix social wrongs and inequities. Almost a third are reporting that they've already become more involved in community and
charity work since the children left home. A similar percentage plans to travel that road in the coming year.

5. WORKING AT IT

Millions of Boomer women entered the work force expecting that their careers would bring them fulfillment that far surpassed staying at
home and that might even be a path to making a meaningful contribution to society. These expectations have changed over time, and
Boomers have gone through periods when they felt lucky just to have a job. Yet many Boomer women retain their special relationship with
work and its role in their lives. In fact, almost half (45%) of Boomer women who are working full- or part-time say they don't want to retire
completely.

So what are Boomer women looking for from the work place today—and tomorrow? To achieve a balance between work and other things,
for sure. With financial responsibilities weighing on them (and life getting shorter), some Boomer women will seek to start over, determined
to find the careers that can provide them with the self-fulfillment they once sought and expected, thus keeping them in the work force past
traditional retirement age. Some might start their own business; about one-third (31%) say they'd really like to do so. In the minds of
many Boomer women, retirement is off in the distance.
6. CAREGIVER

Today, many Boomer women are acting as caregivers to aging parents. According to SeniorJournal.com, “Boomers are now more likely to
have living parents. Thanks to advances in life expectancy, 71% of today's Boomers have at least one living parent.... In 1989, just 60% of
people ages 41 to 59 had at least one living parent, according to a Gallup survey.”*

While some components of the caregiving experience are undoubtedly rewarding, the accompanying stresses and family friction can be
challenging—even overwhelming at times. Part of the stress may come from Boomer women getting a preview of their own future; many
worry about who will care for them when they are in the same situation their parents are in now.

7. RETOOLING MIND AND BODY

Since the 1950s, the presumption of basic health (courtesy of antibiotics, vaccines, et. al) and a determination to “fix” oneself through diet,
exercise and mental discipline has guided Boomers. From brown rice to biking, from tofu to tarot, they have led the search for maximized
health. As a result, health and wellness today is a combination of physical, spiritual and emotional well-being-with Boomers as the
vanguard.

Generally, Boomer women are voicing increased concerns about health, and many see these as long-term priorities/commitments. The
trick will be—much as it always has been—to translate good intentions into actions and to fill some important gaps in well-being, too.
Undoubtedly, some Boomer women are hoping for science and magic bullets to bail them out. Many have lived long enough to witness
some truly amazing things, from knee replacements to diet drinks that taste great.
8. MONEY MATTERS

Here's a daunting finding: According to “Baby Boomer Women: Secure Futures or Not?”, a recent study by the Harvard Generations Policy
Program and the Global Generations Policy Institute, “The fate of Boomer women could be worse than their predecessors, as the Boomer
women spend more, acquire more debt and are less likely to have traditional pensions, spousal benefits or retiree health coverage.”*
Indeed, Boomer women's attitudes about both present and future finances are quite sobering. In fact, only half say they know exactly what
steps to take to ensure a comfortable retirement.

Disheartened though they may be, Boomer women express a strong need to take some control over their financial houses. This is not an
easy task. While personal discipline continues to challenge many of these women, relevance and service issues also present formidable
obstacles for marketers who are eager to foster loyalty or encourage investment.

9. TAKING ON TECHNOLOGY

Baby Boomers have always had a critical eye toward technology, viewing it in their younger years almost as a character in a morality play,
separating technologies into the good ones and the bad ones, all the while seeking to avoid—even punish—the bad. While their perspective
is less ideological today, many Boomer women still demonstrate a thoughtful and selective take on tech.

Like their counterparts in the other adult generations, Boomer women feel much less compelled to become familiar with the latest tech
developments, although they do report owning many gadgets and goodies. Boomer women may, in fact, be relieved that it seems less
necessary to be up-to-date on tech, since it's not an area where they feel particularly in control-never a welcome feeling for a Boomer.
Perhaps that's why many Boomer women say they appreciate a company that doesn't make them go where they don't want to go when it's
a matter of technology!
10. MARKETERS AND ME

Like most Boomers, Boomer women's activist roots manifest themselves today in a mentality that says, “Push back when you feel you are
not being treated as you should be in the marketplace.”

Persistently cynical about businesses' motives, Boomer women continue to fight against invasions of space and privacy. Boomers have
long been skeptical of large institutions. Today that skepticism is directed at organizations and marketers who pursue Boomers-often
aggressively-without their permission.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR MARKETERS

● Don't take Boomer women for granted. Resting on your laurels is a sure way to make them see red. Cutting corners
when it comes to quality, service, indulgence, luxury, etc., is bound to disappoint these women.

● Go for special. Boomer women never want to be just another face in the crowd—in their own eyes or in the eyes of
marketers.

❍ Steer clear of cookie-cutter solutions. No matter how appealing standard offerings may be, Boomer women like to feel (and
to be reminded) that they are non conformists at heart.

❍ Don't forget that Boomer niches are mass markets in and of themselves.

❍ Smarter targeting is in order. Be mindful of the diversity at play: Think older moms, single never-marrieds, first-time
 grandparents, happy and sad empty nesters and more.

● Keep it middle age-less! Be part of the Boomer woman's life as she sweeps aside traditional age boundaries in pursuit of what
makes her happy. Reinforce her conviction that age is merely a state of mind.

❍ Plug into her zest for life with products and communications that reflect her intensity and exuberance.

❍ Inspire her with what is yet to be accomplished. Aspirational language can underscore that she is not finished shaping her
life.

❍ Reference life stage rather than age.

● Elevate experiences. Serve up products that facilitate her never-ending quest for self-fulfillment and her appetite for
experimentation.

❍ A range of options is called for—some that suit situations that call for the more cautious, circumspect approach that comes
with age, others that permit occasional toe-dipping into edgier areas.

❍ Bear in mind that even when Boomer women “shop their age,” they will reinvent category after category. The contemporary
RV market is a good example of this attitude in action. The RV lifestyle has moved far from the minimalist offerings of the
past and now reflects the luxury tastes and preferences of Boomers who refuse to sacrifice comfort or convenience.

● Make sure she is always in the know. Boomer women can't abide feeling clueless or less than on top of their game.

❍ Whether it is navigating a Web site or struggling with the font size on a label or a menu, make sure these women never feel
powerless or dependent.

● Take on the empty nesters with gusto. But take care to avoid stereotyping or playing to extremes.

❍ This “fresh start” not only comes in all shapes and sizes; it embodies diverse attitudes and lifestyle demands as well.

❍ Help her get her “house” in order—literally as well as emotionally—from quick fixes when the cleaning schedule is derailed by
a sudden need of an elderly parent to easy ways to find revitalizing iPriority moments.

© Copyright The Futures Company 2008

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