I'm the Kind Of Person Who......

The recent M2Moms conference found that :

• 60% of moms feel that marketers are ignoring their needs.
• 73% of moms feel that advertisers don't really understand what its like to be a Mom.

Bottom line - advertisers aren't connecting with moms.  Moms don't see themselves in the ads.

I believe this is one of the main reasons why so many marketing to women campaigns fail.  The images/characters in the ads don't reflect the kind of person she believes herself to be (or strives to be) 

I'm the kind of person who....

How does she see herself?  What is her self-perception?  What values does she see in herself?   How does she answer the question....I'm the kind of person who.......

For example.  I see myself as a good dog mom.   When my lab got home from knee surgery this summer, she was in bad shape.  So I pulled a mattress off the bed so I could sleep next to her on the floor.  I'm the kind of person who.... goes above and beyond (and what other people might consider over the top) for the dog I love.  

When I see a commercial featuring a person who goes above and beyond for her dog, I see myself in that person.  The mental association is - women like me who are good to their dogs use this product, thus, I can picture myself using this product. 

I'm the kind of person who...does the right thing.

Liberty Mutual got a huge response from the original commercial in their "do the right thing" campaign. 

People watch this commercial and think:

• "I'm the kind of person who puts litter into the trash."
• "I'm the kind of person who chases after someone to return their dropped item."
• "I'm the kind of person who helps a nice old gentlemen when he needs a little assistance."
• "I'm the kind of person who helps make a kid's day." 
• "I'm the kind of person who does the right thing."

This commercial connected with so many people at such an intense level it turned into the brand rallying cry for the company. 

I'm the kind of man who.....is still in love with his wife.

Jeff Sexton has another brilliant post:  Emotioneering Your Messaging:  Four Steps For Inspiring Action.   He talks about this same theme of tapping into how people see themselves. 

"Emo­tional ads work their magic by rec­on­cil­ing your claims to the audience’s  self-image and world-view, evap­o­rat­ing emo­tional uncer­tainty in the process and leav­ing your audi­ence ready to act."

Jeff provides several examples including a radio ad by Roy Williams:

“Ladies, many of you will be for­tu­nate enough this Christ­mas to find a small, but beau­ti­fully wrapped pack­age under your tree bear­ing a sim­ple gold seal that says ‘Heisenberg’s.’ Now you and I both know there’s jew­elry in the box. But the man who put it there for you is try­ing des­per­ately to tell you that you are more pre­cious than dia­monds, more valu­able than gold, and very, very spe­cial. You see, he could have gone to a depart­ment store and bought depart­ment store jew­elry, or picked up some­thing at the mall like all the other hus­bands. But the men who come to Heisenberg’s aren’t try­ing to get off cheap or easy. Men who come to Heisenberg’s believe their wives deserve the best. And whether they spend 99 dol­lars or 99 hun­dred, the mes­sage is the same: Men who come to Heisenberg’s are still very much in love… We just thought you should know.”

I'm the kind of woman who.....uses credit card points for her own selfish whims.

I had to watch this commercial a few times before I got it.  Chase Sapphire is promoting their new credit card with reward points.  In the spot, the wife wants to talk to her husband about using their reward points.  He's dreaming of a romantic vacation together, but it turns out she's already used the points to buy a dress.

I'm not including the video here because the comments are so crass I don't want them anywhere near me or my blog.   Let's just say, most of the commenters would not be pleased if their wife snuck off and used the points to buy a dress without talking to them about it first.  So it appears not only does this spot miss the mark with women, it's missing the mark with men as well.

I'm the kind of person who....doesn't take themselves too seriously.

Compare that to this commercial.  In this Visa debit card commercial, who can relate to just letting loose and being yourself - no matter how stupid you look?  (I sure can)

How to apply this to your own advertising.

Apply the "I'm the kind of person...." test to your own customers.   If you don't know the answer, ask them!  Include it in your surveys and focus groups.   (Fill in the answer to the following statement:  "I'm the kind of person who......)  Look at the answers.  Does your brand share any of those traits?

And talk about commercial ideas - the answers to this question are creative gold.

Remember, women feel like they don't see themselves in your ads.   Use this technique to gain insight and create commercial messages that tap into her powerful self-perceptions.     

 

Comments

[Holly Buchanan]

It appears that the folks at Girlofwords.com have a problem with the Chase commercial as well
http://www.girlofwords.com/?p=2683

[Pixie Stevenson]

This post got me thinking, not about advertising although I love the Visa commercial and the Liberty Mutual ad, but about how I would finish that phrase. Check out my wall on FB and feel free to jump into the comments if you like.

Thanks for the stimulating thought.

[website design]

Thanks for writing such a nice post.Always enjoy reading your posts.The commercial is simply superb.

[Susan Payton]

Great post. As a marketer and a woman/mother/wife, let me answer that question: I'm the type of person who...

isn't a cookie-baking, PTA-participating mom. I love being a mom, but my business is important to me too.

I don't want to be marketed to as if I'm always crafty and perfect. Nor am I the frazzled mother some ads target. I am a professional. A woman. A wife. And a mother.

Is that so hard to target??

[Rodney Brooks]

Here is another article that talks to Women and Online shopping.

Women Are Online, Shopping For Cosmetics
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=116565&lfe=1

[Website programming]

Really loved reading this post on I am the person who...
Like you,i too feel that the ads fail to cater appropriately to the target audience.Btw,this video was very nice.

[vitamine h]

Hello
I like this post because its really very interesting to read all about I am the kind of person who...I like it.Thank you very much for giving such a good post to us.

[Hypnotic Dreams]

I thought the Liberty Mutual commercial was outright hypocrisy. The company engages in the unethical practice of sending junkmail to people who would never express any interest in life insurance, and then have the gall to claim they're doing the "right thing".

[Holly Buchanan]

Hypnotic Dreams - I think this particular commercial was brilliant at the concept of "I'm the kind of person who....", however, I agree with you that Liberty Mutual has done nothing that I can see to tie in how THEY are responsible. I've written before that I actually do NOT like their current campaign as it judges people for whether or not they "do the right thing" but says nothing about what Liberty Mutual is doing to "do the right thing." Total disconnect.

[External Hard Drive]

Hi,
Interesting article to read about the relationship of moms and marketing.I think the companies must do some research over marketing to fulfil the needs of these moms.