The FT had an excellent article in the Creative Section, on the 10th Feb: Diamonds are an old girl's best friend. I am afraid it is FT subscriber only access.
The gist of the article is that DTC, the sales and marketing arm of De Beers, has been very successful with an advertising campaign in Japan, aimed at older women (55+). It has been so successful that the company has had to take advertising space to apologise about stock shortages caused by the demand.
In the US, a similar campaign was as successful but was aimed at men (buying the diamonds for their partners) whilst in Japan it was targeted at women, who purchase the diamonds for themselves.
A quote from the article: “..With Japan's population ageing fastest among OECD countries, consumer spending power has shifted to the older generations. According to Dentsu, Japan's largest ad agency, over-50s accounted for more than half of consumer spending in 2000, with the figure expected to reach 60 per cent in a decade. And while the prolonged recession has led to a crumbling of confidence among men, the gradual breaking down of traditional values has liberated women.
A growing number of businesses in Japan are targeting mature women. Older female consumers now account for a large chunk of the country's cosmetics' consumption, while an increasing number are travelling abroad and taking self-improvement courses…”
I guess the moral of this tale is that national characteristics matter and that the 50+ are no exception. Simple lesson but worth repeating.
