Women & WOWO Radio

Women and WOWO radio, a topic that I’ve talked about for nearly 15 years. Today,  I have some insight that business owners, especially retailers need to know.

When I started in the radio advertising business in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 2003, I worked for a competing company, not WOWO radio.  I spent over 9 years trying to convince people not to advertise with WOWO.

It was this radio station for old white guys was my usual argument, and you want to reach people who have money to spend, right?

A few years ago, I wised up.  In November 2013, I started the process to join WOWO and it has been fantastic for multiple reasons but the one I’m going to focus on right now is about the audience of WOWO.

Is it really a bunch of old white guys that listen to WOWO?

Well, yes and no.  There are a significant number of men age 50+ who listen and they are important people to reach with your advertising messages.  However, the number of women who actively listen is impressive too.

The Women of WOWO are likely to be Baby Boomer age and I’ve got a couple of reasons why that is important that I read in an article from Mediapost.  This article emphasizes why  you should invite Baby Boomer Women during the holiday season, but it’s appropriate year round. 

Here’s a couple of quotes from the story:

Today, every fifth adult in the United States is a female over 50. They are the healthiest, wealthiest and most active generation of women in history who control half of the country’s discretionary income and 75% of the country’s wealth.

Okay, think about that for a second. 75% of the country’s wealth is in the hands of 20% of the adults in this country. And these are not the grandmas of the past, these women are the healthiest, wealthiest and most active generation of women in history who control half of the country’s discretionary income. 

Wow, that sounds like the perfect group of consumers to aim my advertising and marketing to, right?  Problem is most retailers are not inviting these Boomer women to spend money with them.

Instead, they spend less than 10% of their holiday marketing budgets targeting Boomers.

Retailers should devote somewhere between 50 and 75% of their marketing budgets to reach Baby Boomers!

One reason marketers and retailers ignore Boomer women is the belief that they’re not tech savvy enough to keep up with the changing retail environment. With so many businesses moving to online models, the focus is on younger audiences, particularly millennials. But Boomers are much more tech savvy than given credit for, actually spending more online than millennials. Many may prefer the experience of shopping in a store, but they’re perfectly comfy with e-commerce.

The Mediapost article gives some impressive numbers regarding the online habits of Baby Boomer Women.  One that really caught my eye was the number who use their smartphone daily for shopping. 

Let’s address another ageism myth and that is that by a certain age, we become blindly brand-loyal. Not true.  If you take them for granted and don’t continue to invite them to be your customer, they are ripe for the picking.

Being ignored for years has resulted in many Boomer women abandoning brands to which they’ve been loyal for decades. And now those brands are in the position of having to figure out how to win these consumers back. An excellent first step for brands and retailers wanting to reclaim their loyalty is to take the time to understand what drives Boomers to make a purchase. What are their needs, and the emotional triggers that prompt a purchase? Believe it or not, their needs are similar to those of other generations. They want convenience, an emotional connection to the brand, and to hear a great story that resonates with their lives. And a loyalty program that offers real benefits and lets them know you appreciate their business.

There’s more you need to know:

Sure, Baby Boomers are tech-savvy and often purchase online, but many still prioritize good old-fashioned service above all else. Marketers and retailers can provide that service by sending follow-up emails that provide the opportunity for Boomers to give feedback and make their voices heard. They need to set aside their preconceptions and stop looking at Boomer women through dated stereotypes. Most importantly, they need to recognize that these women are not one homogenous group. All Boomer women are not grandmas or caregivers. Engage them, and let them know you want to build an ongoing relationship with them. 

In today’s world, our economy is heavily influenced by Boomer women. Marketers need to recognize that these consumers are not stuck in the “good old days” and that they don’t prioritize buying the brands with which they grew up. Take the time to build a relationship with these consumers. Make it clear that they’re important to you, and they’ll reward you.

And now let me circle back to the Women of WOWO radio.  I took a look at the latest radio rating information I have access to and asked how many women in the Fort Wayne area that are Baby Boomers listen to WOWO and all the other radio station in the survey.

27 radio stations were in the list. I bet you didn’t realize there are that many radio stations in the Fort Wayne area, and actually there are more than that, but the others didn’t have enough Baby Boomer listeners to qualify to be on the list.

WOWO radio is at the top, with over 30,000 Baby Boomer Women listening every week.  Number two on the list only has around 20,000. Everyone of those other radio stations have just a fraction of what WOWO has.  I can share this list with you privately if you want to see it. 

So to wrap this up, Baby Boomer Women control 75% of the wealth in the United States, even though they only make up 20% of the population.  Locally the very best way for retailers to invite them to spend their money with you is with WOWO radio.

I can help you with that.  Just ask.

(By the way, the women’s pictures in this article are from my Facebook friends, some of whom I’ve know since we went to high school together 40 years ago, all are Baby Boomers, and one is my bride.)