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Adios Alphas, Go Gammas?

Move over Queen bee. That consumer who expressed her status through the clothes, homes, and cars she purchased. Even through career and family. A new force for the new media age has arrived: the Gamma woman, or girl as the case may be.

Who is she? Using Hollywood as a guidepost (with all the caveats that apply), forget Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada”– major Alpha. Think the hip and tech-savvy Ellen Page in “Juno.”

The new hero/archetype on the silver screen may also be the new prize for marketers. At least that’s one of the implications of the latest news from media powerhouse Meredith, publisher of such established and far-reaching women’s titles as Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle, Ladies’ Home Journal, MORE, Parents, Fitness, and American Baby.

A Gamma, the company reports on its new microsite, is one of 55 million American women whose “choices are about expressing their creativity and personal style… and doing their part to preserve the environment.” She is guided by her “internal beliefs, passions, and priorities… [and] motivated by the desire to interact, rather than to impress.” Take that alphas.

Now if Juno is not who leaps to mind when you read about Gammas (especially in light of that, um, teen pregnancy thing), that’s OK. What stands out for me is the emphasis on expression of creativity and personal style. As it apparently does for the ever increasing number of women and moms publishing blogs and Twitter tweets. In this sense, the difference between Alpha and Gamma does feel a lot like the difference between Anna Wintour’s Vogue and, say, a Heather Armstrong of dooce.com. (see previous post Mom as the Truman Show for more about dooce)

Gammas are “creating a groundswell in today’s new media and marketing landscape,” says Meredith on its microsite and materials. “Using multiple media—both online and off—to share ideas, information, and recommendations with her vast network.”

Perhaps not totally new news to some consumer marketers who’ve followed this emerging discussion over the past years. But the deeper dive they provide gives shape to what looks like a trend–if not a conversational or a cultural shift–that’s worth a harder look at. Particularly the social networking virtues Gamma women possess.

Sounds like another part of the new wave of advocacy to me. And whether it’s a Greek letter like Gamma that helps define your audience mindset or something else, the key is to understand the conversation that engages them. And if your audience is anything like Juno, what she’ll tell you is that: “I could so go for like a huge cookie right now like with a lamb kabob simultaneously.” I’m hungry how about you?

Image: Sheryl Nields