Co-op Targets Yuppie Women
Imagine a co-op for Ally McBeal.
The lovelorn and lovable Ally is one of television’s most popular young urban professionals. She also could be a prototype for the recipients of the Madison Woman co-op mailer – because she knows what she wants and she means to get it.
Slated for a September test, the piece targets 21- to 34-year-old professional women, earning $30,000 or more, who live in a city and “work out at a health club before work or at lunch, then in the evening go out to eat with their friends who also have interesting jobs,” says Chris Hulse, president of Madison Direct Marketing Ltd., Greenwich, CT, which is developing the co-op.
It’s a unique demographic, Hulse adds. “These [active, fitness-minded] women are at a time in their lives when they’re evolving as people, trying to develop their careers as well as themselves. It’s time for them to be the people they wanted to be throughout their childhood and education.”
It’s also a demographic increasingly attracting advertisers’ attention. After several companies had approached Madison about reaching these consumers, Hulse decided to pioneer the idea of a co-op for them. The group is well addressed by magazine and television, Hulse says. “But it’s never been covered by a direct mail advertising program.”
Part of the reason the group is being targeted today is the availability of lifestyle and demographic databases, from Acxiom and Experian for example, which make endless enhancements possible.
“It used to be, even five years ago, all a co-op mailer could get was very one-dimensional lists,” explains Hulse, whose company specializes in lifestyle-change co-ops. “Now we can get very, very qualified audiences, like this.”
Lifestyle data – such as responsiveness to direct mail – is vital in marketing to people in this group because there aren’t very many of them. Madison has identified 9 million women who fit the target. A quarter million will receive the first test. Plans call for stepping up to a 2-million rollout next spring. Then, if it generates enough interest, Madison hopes to mail 5 million to 7 million by 2001, Hulse says.
The primary advertiser in the test mailer is Allure magazine, which will be featured on the front of the envelope as a way to draw recipients inside. Allure’s readers possess the lifestyle and demographic Madison Woman seeks.
Many of the advertisers on board for the upcoming test are also Allure advertisers. Hulse won’t identify them by name but says they include a credit card company and an athletic footwear retailer, which will insert coupons. A packaged goods company will enclose a skin care product sample. Internet service providers EarthLink and America Online are also considering signing up.
High-tech advertisers find this gadget-comfortable group good bets, Hulse maintains.
“These are people who use a computer at work, are probably connected to the Internet and may or may not be online at home,” he says.
Indeed, Hulse plans to use the Internet to support the mail drop. Madison will publish in the piece a yet-to-be-created Madison Woman URL, along with a lucky sweepstakes number. The recipient will visit the site to see if she’s won. In addition, just for checking out the site, each visitor will immediately receive a “value added,” such as a dollars-off coupon.
Hulse, whose co-ops are sent to expectant parents, new parents, young families and new homeowners, among others, says although the Ally McBeal demographic is cutting edge, its time has come. “Advertisers have been family-oriented because there have been so many products chasing the kids,” he points out. “Now, there are enough advertisers that just want to chase urban professional women.”
