Marketing to Women Online

An Apology to Manolo Blahnik

It's a never ending joke - women love shoes.  When advertisers survey women, they compare luxury vacations with buying new shoes.    When they need humorous creative, they have a skit with women obsessing over shoes.    When they depict women's fantasies, there are almost always shoes involved.

I have been ranting about the "women and shoes" cliche for several years now.   I've just never bought it.   Women simply can not be that obsessed with shoes.   That has always been my stance.

Until last Thursday.

I responded to an 11pm cry from my sister to help her move.  She rented her house for the summer and had to be out by midnight.  She was not going to make it unless she got some serious help.

So me and my car rode over to the rescue.  She had almost everything out of the house, except for some plants and her clothes.  I figured that was one trip in one car.   

I was wrong.

Women in the Workforce who Overcompensate

I was giving myself a pep talk this morning.  (do you ever do that?)  I had a really interesting conversation with Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg at Future Now last week.  I've been with them for almost four years now.  These are two smart dudes who are really good at getting my brain juices flowing.  It's really interesting to look at myself through their eyes.

I am so far from the person I was four years ago it is amazing.  And yet, in some very basic ways, I have not changed at all.  (that may sound strange to you, but it makes perfect sense to me)

We were discussing confidence.  I have a huge amount of confidence - in myself and in what I do.  I've been very successful.  I am really good with clients.  I can get up and speak to a room of hundreds without getting nervous.   I will put my brain up against just about anyone's.

So why am I always overcompensating?   

You've heard me speak about my 3:07 AM "aha moments".    Well, it hit me again last night.   I overcompensate.   I've done it forever.   

My reports have to be more thorough.  My presentations have to have more slides.   My strategy has to have more reasoning.   My insights have to have more research to back them up.   

The only thing that makes me feel better is - I'm not alone.  I see women everywhere doing the same thing.   

Do you work in a male dominated industry?   Do you feel the need to do everything better just to be accepted, to be acknowledged?

Dove's Pro-Age Campaign

Here's something to get you thinking...

Nearly 60% of women globally believe that if magazines were reflective of a population, a person would likely believe women over 50 do not exist.

It's tough to respond to ads when you never see yourself in those ads.  When you do see women over 50, it's almost always a stereotype in an ad for Medicare, or a financial planning service, or someone's grandmother.    Break away from those stereotypes and she will notice you and your ads. 

Dove is doing just that....again.   They are generating a lot of interest.  Check out Michele Miller's blog for some insight into how women feel about the campaign.

As usual, I was interested in how well the website was integrated into their marketing strategy.  I think they did a pretty good job this time.  But I do have one suggestion (Come on Dove, you didn't think you were going to get away that easy :)....

There is some awesome information, but it is completely buried in the FAQ section.   Some of this should really be front and center in their campaign. 

I was curious about the products - if they aren't supposed to stop aging, what are they supposed to do? 

 

Is It Good or Bad To Be a Princess?

When you hear the word "princess", what comes to mind?  Do you have positive thoughts of a pretty girl/woman who lives a fairy tale life where all her dreams come true?  Do you have a negative picture of a demanding young woman who always wants her way?   Do you think of a powerless female who has no choice but to sit around and wait for prince charming?  or are you envious, wishing your prince charming would come riding in on his white steed?

Do you think of Zena Warrior Princess, Princess Diana, or Cinderella? Does the word "princess" make you smile or cringe? 

Words are loaded - absolutely loaded.   I have heard so many differing opinions on "princess" I can't get any reading.  Some women love it, some don't really care, and some hate it.   

There seems to be a big resurgence of princess merchandise for little girls.   I wonder if it is because

A - little girls naturally gravitate to pretty pink princess icons

B - merchandisers think that's what girls want and bombard stores with princess merchandise so little girls really don't have a choice

I don't have the answers, but this article from a mother who doesn't know what to do certainly got my brain whirring.   Check out What's Wrong with Cinderella.

What do you other mothers out there think?

Miller Lite vs. Amstel Light

I was sitting at a bar the other night (imagine that) and when the bartender asked "what'll ya have" I replied "Amstel Light, Please".    (always be polite to your bartender - you want to make friends)

It wasn't a very exciting order.....no Pomegranate Martini or Hairy Navel or a Caribbean No-No (couldn't get the recipe out of my Rasta bartender bud) - but what made it interesting was - I am a long time Miller Lite drinker.

It was really only the last year that I switched to Amstel Light.   I like the taste slightly better, but not enough to really justify the higher price.  So what happened?   I suspect that sneaky little devil called......marketing...might have had something to do with it.

This only surfaced into my conscious when I read that Miller Lite is pulling their "Man Law" campaign.   To be honest, I found some of the Man Law stuff funny.  So apparently did others.  But alas the true test of a campaign's success is sales - and Miller Lite sales are down.  (Bud Light and Coors Light sales are both up)

Lots of folks are spouting opinions - while I don't agree with all of it, I did find this post from Joe Sixpack interesting.   He brings up a good point - men don't want to drink girlie beer.  But do women want to drink manly beer?   It's an important point because women are drinking and buying a large portion of the light beer market. 

beer marketers are increasingly coming to grips with a stunning fact about their customers: Though 75 percent of their product is consumed by men, the vast majority is bought by women. Studies show as much as two-thirds of beer is purchased by women, mainly on their weekly trips for groceries.

The stats I've found have varied as to the exact percentage, but it appears to be growing.   

So why my defection to Amstel Light?  Did it have anything to do with the Man Law commercials?

More on Sony Bravia's Marketing Efforts

I was teaching a seminar last week and one of the attendees commented on my laugh - she said it was "distinctive and genuine".    I took it as a compliment.

One of the reasons I love writing this blog is, it makes me laugh.   I'll be writing at work or in an airport and I'll just be sitting there chuckling to myself.   Every once in a while a true guffaw will escape my lips.   This causes people to look at me strangely.   

Another reason I enjoy writing a blog is - I get to hear from you.   I love hearing your thoughts and opinions.   When you disagree with me - I genuinely try to look at it from your view point.    Then I shake my head, laugh at you, call you a name, and move on.    (hah - just kidding)   

I really do love hearing from all sides.   I learn a lot from you.   But it is nice when every once in a while someone agrees with you.   Check out Slate's take on the Sony Bravia "TV for men and women" campaign.   Seems I'm not the only one shaking my head.

I've wrtten before about Sony Bravias poor effort, in my humble opinion, to connect with women.   

What do you think?   

   

Sony Bravia - Marketing to Women?

Sony has some interesting ideas when it comes to marketing their Sony Bravia flat screen TV to women.    They have focused on the one thing that really matters to women when buying a TV - shoes.

Yup, that's right - shoes.   Because we know, when it comes to women's deepest desires and motivators, it's all about shoes.   When it comes to technology, what women really care about is.....shoes.    Want her to buy your television set?   Lure her in with.....shoes.   

Think I'm kidding?   check out this landing page.   There is a video that shows a man and a woman looking at a Sony Bravia in a store window - the video stops mid-stream and you get to pick the ending - you must choose "men" or "women" to see your gender specified ending

Do Women Respond to Sexual Ads?

Warning!  This post includes honest discussions of sex and porn.   If these topics make you squeamish, stop reading now.

OK - for those of you brave enough to continue, here we go.

We've certainly seen how different genders react differently to advertising messages.  What women want and are attracted to can be different from what men want and are attracted to. This is not true in every case, but depending on the subject matter, the differences can be striking.

Sex is one such subject matter.   I've written before about studies on how men and women react differently to sex in advertising.

Now there is another study with similar results.  Do fashion magazine ads that ooze with pictures of sexy seductive women work?  Especially magazines ads aimed almost 100% at women? 

A research team at the University of Florida in Gainesville studied this question.  They conducted a study where 100 college aged women rated photos of attractive women.   the participants rated their emotional reactions to the pictures.   

The results were quite interesting.

Hot Moms

Ok - this was just too good to pass up.   As you've probably heard, Cadillac has a new agency - Modernista, Boston.  In their new work, Modernista says they want to "put a little lust back into the brand." 

In a recent Ad Age article, they talk about Cadillac's dilemma of keeping their older customers (average age 59) but also reaching out to new younger demographics.  I'm not sure how "putting a little lust" into the brand is going to sit with the 59 plus folks, but you you never know.

But here's the best part of the article -

[put a little lust back into the brand] So said Liz Vanzura, marketing director of the luxury marquee, in unveiling new print work from the agency that replaced Leo Burnett, Detroit and Chicago, as the brand drops the former shop's "Break Through" ads after a four-year run. Ms. Vanzura said the new push aims to boost consideration of the Cadillac brand among three main targets younger than its current owners. She calls them alphas, hot moms and move-ups.

"hot moms"?   This I gotta check out.   You all know by now how I feel about soccer moms.   But I'm hugely curious about hot moms.  So I googled it.  You can imagine some of the less than politically correct sites that came up, but I did find a brilliant article about "hot moms" by Ana Veciana-Suarez of the Miami Herald.   

Please read the full article - it is incredible interesting and insightful.  It's worth it just to see the names of some of the new books on the subject coming out like "I'm Too Sexy for my Volvo" and "Womb with a View".   But don't think this is fluff.  There is a serious discussion of what it means to be a mother and a woman today.   

Women and Mobile Gaming

Donchaluvit?   Another "women don't use technology" stereotype smashed.   A recent report by Telephia, a mobile industry performance measurement reporting company, found that in the mobile gaming space, four of the top five revenue generating titles were in the Puzzle/Strategy category.   These mobile games do very well with women.

Sixty-five percent of mobile game revenue is driven by female wireless subscribers, comprising 72 percent of the total share of revenue, while men made up 28 percent. Women dominate revenue generation for all mobile game categories, with the exception of Action/Adventure mobile games, in which men drive 60 percent of the revenue for that category.

Ad placement in mobile games is a rapidly growing industry.  Don't make the mistake of thinking young men are the only target market.   Check out the following stats:

Category Share of Revenue and Gender Revenue Share (U.S.)
Category	Share of Revenue	Male Share	Female Share
Puzzle/Strategy	33.8%	28%	72%
Card/Casino	18.3%	34%	66%
Sports/Racing	12.9%	39%	61%
Action/Adventure	12.8%	60%	40%
Trivia/Word	11.4%	26%	74%
Classic/Arcade	10.8%	38%	62%
Source: Telephia Mobile Game Report, Q1 2006

See the full report here.