I learnt about the menopause to support my wife; now I’m helping brands do the same for their customers

Brands Need?To?Advocate for Women With Hearts And Minds Campaigns That Drive Aspiration and Success.

Health and wellbeing?is?a growing industry helping millions of people live a better life. Menopause,?meanwhile,?is still?lagging behind.?In this day and age, and with this generation, how can this be??

People?think of?hot flushes and poor sleep?as?‘menopause’?– in fact?there are 48 classified symptoms,?many worthy of?their own?product ranges.?Brands are missing a?trick in?not?seeing the scope of help needed and the scale of the purpose-driven opportunity being presented.?And it’s a big one.?

Menopause has long been dreaded and denied.?Outdated?language,?imagery of decline?and?despair?do women no favours.?There are?products that target this?cohort ofconsumers?– but?their approach is typically one?the?audiencedoesn’t identify with. For brands to reach?this market, they need to understand?it,?to show?these women?as?they are -?ambitious, active, goal-oriented?-?managing individual symptoms with choice.

Menopause isn't something?women want to?fear.?Positivebranding?would?position it as?another?of the many remarkable physical transitions of female life. Showing that life continues to get better?at every age?is the narrative brands need to lead with.?Menopause?really does lead?a woman into a?new?version of herself. Developing neuro-science points to?femalehormone changes literally?differently configuring the brain – producing a deeper focus on purpose-driven self-fulfilment. This is a?significant?shift from the?fertile years when?the female brain is?programmed to nurture and care for others.

And women?crave education about this new stage of life as much as they desire solutions.?In all female bodies,perimenopause and menopause take place at some point.Many?will have an early menopause,?either naturally or?surgically-induced.?At a range of points on this journey, the peri/menopausal body will?typically experience?a?mix of?the 48 listed symptoms.?

The more informed a brand is about these symptoms,?the more it can?provide the products?so?needed.?

Without?turning the?audience?off with?the branding…?Women want?to see products focusing on the?benefits?- in a?retail environment?that is compelling?and?seductive.?Ideally, peri/menopause will become?a tribe they?feel excited?to be joining.?

But?we?shouldn’t under-estimate the challenge.?

GenM’s?Invisibility Report in 2021 found that 97% of menopausal women believe that ‘brands should work harder’ for them and 87% ‘feel overlooked’.?This?has to?be a shout-out to brands to act and act fast.?

At Propaganda Agency, as part of our commitment as a Founding Partner of?GenM, the ‘menopause partner for brands’,?we focus?on supporting brands in seeing?this audience differently – in the way they see themselves and want to be seen. We work with products,?services?and corporates to show the?significant?value in?working harder for this audience. Retention and attraction at this level are key for businesses – where gender balance?at senior level directly impacts upon results. Internal campaigns profiling experience and age as the place to be can only ever be for the good of all.?Our understanding of this market, our insight driven approach to strategy and solutions informs employer branding from the top down and bottom up. We see menopause as a new lever?for organisational success.

Meanwhile, many existing product ranges would serve this market excellently – with the right signposting and positioning. And there are many brands perfectly set up to craft and launch new products addressing the 48 symptoms. Women desperately want access to suitable products and the technology is there to offer them. The more brands pioneer a re-positioning and reframing of?this space – and the sophistication of it?–?the more others will follow.?Whether a start-up or established high-street retailer, this market is worthy of serious consideration.

We would love to bring our proven expertise to help.?At Propaganda Agency, we predict that menopause is the next big purpose-driven market transformation. Watch this space – or even better, come and talk to me or Claire Lowson

And join the age revolution.

Brands wanting to join the revolution Heather Jackson .... GenM Official #menopause #wearegenm

Brands wanting to grow by serving this market better .. Propaganda Agency Ltd