By 2025, a staggering 1.1 billion women are projected to experience menopause as a consequence of increased life expectancy. On average, women can anticipate spending 40% of their lives in the postmenopausal phase, grappling with a myriad of symptoms such as brain fog, disrupted sleep, hot flashes, anxiety, and fluctuating moods.
In light of this, World Menopause Day is an important event highlighting the challenges some women face.
Despite its prevalence and impact on women’s lives, menopause is still a taboo topic many people feel uncomfortable discussing. This lack of open discussion can lead to isolation and confusion through the menopausal stages.
This article will discuss how retail brands can promote menopause awareness and support midlife women navigating this transition.
Celebrities And Menopause Awareness
While we think that more can be done to increase awareness, it’s great that many celebrities are now speaking openly about their experiences with menopause. They also advocate for more education and support for women going through this stage of life. This has helped to break down some of the stigma surrounding menopause and bring it into mainstream conversation.
Celebrities like BBC’s Louise Minchin have done their bit to spread awareness and eliminate the taboos around menopause. Sharing how night sweats, heart palpitations, tinnitus, and more have affected her, Louise hopes to help other women going through similar experiences.
Rt Hon Caroline Nokes MP rightly emphasises that healthcare services need to up their game to tackle the shortages in HRT to ensure the continued productivity of perimenopausal women.
Stories like those of Loose Women’s Andrea McLean and Karen Arthur highlight the lack of understanding surrounding menopause and how it affects individuals in varying ways. McLean’s No 1 Sunday Times best-selling book “The Girl Is On Fire” demonstrated the need for more resources on menopause. At the same time, Arthur’s podcast focused on the experiences of black women who often face unique challenges in managing their symptoms.
Is it time to make World Menopause Day a household term?
It’s hard to imagine a time when ‘Sober for October’ and ‘Breast Cancer Awareness Month’ weren’t household terms. But these now-ubiquitous health-awareness campaigns were once small initiatives launched to spread a message about important issues.
World Menopause Day, celebrated on October 18th, is a similarly crucial event that deserves broader attention.
The day aims to raise awareness about menopause and support women experiencing this transitional phase. Whether through campaigns or personal conversations, it’s essential to ensure women’s needs during menopause are seen and heard.
Strategies for brands to redefine visibility with midlife women can be insightful and transformative, mainly when underpinned by exclusive research. Brands should understand that women in their midlife are a dynamic, influential, and independent group often overlooked by mainstream marketing.
What about scientific research?
Women suffering from menopause are a demographic often overlooked by brands and businesses in the marketing world. Research by The Behaviours Agency shows that 69% of midlife women feel overlooked, and 62% find advertising for them unrealistic. This data emphasises the importance of including menopause in public health campaigns and increasing awareness of its effects on women’s lives.
With this in mind, it’s essential to continue scientific research on menopause and its impact. The more we understand menopause, the better we can support and represent women experiencing this significant life change.
Conclusion
While we wait patiently for ‘World Menopause Day’ to build momentum, The Behaviour Agency has taken matters into their own hands to help bring awareness and understanding to women in the midlife. We are hosting a roundtable event focused on helping brands establish genuine relationships with midlife women. This event launches their report and with speakers Penny Brook from Canada Goose, Trish Halpin, a famed podcast host and Sam Walker, Group Marketing and Creative Director of N Brown, the roundtable discussion promises to be illuminating.
This event will provide insights, tools, and strategies for brands to make a difference in the lives of midlife women. By attending this event and following our research, brands can learn how to connect with midlife women and understand their needs, preferences, and desires. Don’t miss the opportunity to connect and create genuine relationships with this essential and often neglected demographic.
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