What I Learned About Marketing to Women at the Athena Film Festival

 

There are a lot of similarities between Hollywood and the advertising industry.  Both are largely run by men.  Both feature atrocious portrayals of women, or don't portray women at all.   Both try to play on women's insecurities.  The Advertising industry is especially guilty of this.

I hear many advertisers saying, "But that's what sells products."  

But there is another way, a better way, a more powerful way, to sell products to women.  A way that will resonate with her so deeply she will switch brands, be your biggest fan, and spread your message to her friends and family as well. 

I saw this "better way" in action at the Athena Film Festival in New York. The festival featured films by women, and about women.   The theme of the festival was, "Women and Leadership."  Here are the lessons I took away about marketing to women.

Marketing to Women Lesson #1

You will have a better product/commercial/campaign if women are included at every level of the creation process. 

I subscribe to all the movie channels.  Yet on any given night, I'm hard pressed to find even one movie I actually want to watch.  At the Athena Film Festival, I wanted to see every single movie.  All the ones I did see were superb.  Why did I enjoy them so much?  For many reasons, but one of the big reasons, I'm sure, is that the films featured women telling women's stories.

How powerful is that concept?  Look no further than Oprah for proof. Her new network, OWN, features a show - Season 25 - Oprah Behind the Scenes  We get to see a behind the scenes look at how the show is put together.  Oprah is surrounded by a team of smart, strong, women.   I don't know if there's any other show on television with so many women running it.  The results?  Arguably one of the most successful shows of all time.

Want an advertising example?  Look at the hugely successful Curves campaign developed by the incredibly talented Mary Dean.

Marketing to Women Lesson #2

Include positive, non-stereotypical images of women in your commercials.

There are very few products women don't buy, so their needs, preferences, images should be included, at least in part, in the majority of advertising campaigns.   Yet this is not the case.  When women are included in spots, they are usually not portrayed as strong central characters.  And stereotypes abound.

This problem is even worse in Hollywood, as proved by the Bechdel Test.

 

I have created a similar test for the advertising industry.  See if your marketing campaigns pass The Buchanan Test - ask these three questions about your ad:

1. Does it feature a woman/women outside of the home
2. Is she playing a role other than a mom
3. Is she NOT doing yoga

I'll have more on this in coming posts, but seriously - do this test on your ads.   Here's a typical example of an ad that fails the test.

 

Guys get to have exciting active lives.  Women - we'll take care of the kids and do a little yoga - that's our idea of active and adventurous.

Marketing to Women Lesson #3

These negative images/messages and stereotypes are harming your daughters.

They're actually harmful to all women, and men for that matter.  We are surrounded by media, inundated with it -  several thousands images a day by some reports.  It is naive and dangerous to assume all those images and messages do not have an impact.

And it is our daughters I worry about the most.   In this 24/7 media world, the effects can be devastating, especially during their formative, vulnerabale years.  Here's an excerpt from one of the most powerful movies at the Athena Film Festival - Miss Representation.

How severe is the impact?  Look at the stats here. or just look at the statistics on depression:

• Rates of depression among women and young girls have doubled in the past ten years.
• Rates of depression are the same among boys and girls until puberty, but twice as many women are diagnosed as depressed post-puberty.

"You can't be what you can't see"

This was the simple most powerful message I took away from the film festival.  It is the slogan of The White House Project which aims to bring more women into politics and leadership positions. But this problem goes way beyond politics. 

Who are the female role models?  Where are the portrayals of women that make us go, "Wow, I want to be her."  NOT Because she has a size 0 body, but because she emodies a quality we admire and want to emulate.

We owe our daugthers and our sons more positive portrayals of what it means to be a woman.

A Better Way

I promised you I'd share a better way.  Here it is. 

1. Portray a woman outside of the home
2. Portray her in a role other than mother OR as doing something that makes her kids proud.  (this does NOT mean getting rid of a stain in their favorite T-shirt or serving an afternoon snack)
3. Portray her doing an activity other than yoga

I want to be clear that I'm not anti-mom, I'm simply promoting that motherhood has more dimensions than what we typically see.  Here's an example of a commercial that understands "the better way" by Carnival Cruise Lines.  Yes, she is a mom, but she is not "serving" anyone.   She gains her kids respect by "catching air:"  Here is a mom letting her true-self shine,and her family loves it. 

 

 Here's another example from Ameriprise Financial. It features women who are real financial professionals.  How many commercials do you see with women who are professionals?  Not necessarily moms, not sitting in their homes, and NOT doing yoga. 

Conclusion

We all need to be more aware of the images we create and the message we send.  I want to make a pact with you that we will all do a better job of creating content/media/advertising that we are proud of - that we would want our daughters and our sons to see.

Not only is it the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do.  The "better way" ads stand out.  They tap into deep emotional centers that other advertisers are missing.  They make us not only want your brand, but genuinely love it.

And that is the holy grail of advertising.

P.S.

One final film recommendation.  Go see Desert Flower.  It was insighful, inspiring, heartbreaking, laugh-out loud funny, and one scene was so gut-wrenching I couldn't breathe for 15 minutes aftewards.  Go see it.  It will change your life. (This is Acadamy Award material).

Comments

[Roger Conant]

This is when I hate that my daughter doesn't live in NY,NY any more. And Houston is not exactly the mecca for indie films. The Ameriprise spot is so good because it's so different. I think the Quicken Loans spot looks real too ( http://tinyurl.com/6zhk6bm ). Hate that "follow the green line"! Thanks for the heads up.

[Holly Buchanan]

Roger,

I agree on the Quicken Loans spot. Good stuff.

[Tiffany Jonas]

I love the Buchanan Test!

I'd just add "or a wife" to Rule #2. (And apply your "no cleaning a stain" or "no feeding a snack" rule to that as well.)

[Gerry Myers]

Great article Holly. Full of true, but definitely not inspirational, examples of today's advertising. And, to add one other tip, "don't target women as a single group." They are young, baby boomers, elderly, single, married, businesswomen, athletes, entertainers, financial wizards, doctors and much more.

[Megan Svensen]

Is it any wonder women are tuning out advertising and turning to social media?

[Wayne Tarken]

A great blog. You can't be what you can't see is great lesson. We've found http://www.ceowomensclub.com/articles/Women-CEO-Engage-At-Top that having women role models in a work setting is good for men and women.

[JT]

Yes, so very much.
I just saw the newest AllState commercial, which I can't find a link to right now, and it's a perfect example of the VERY subtle ways women are portrayed as domestic and servile. They were very brief, blink-and-you'll-miss-it scenes of a mom and a dad. The dad was sitting on the couch, relaxing, reading. His child comes up to him and he smiles. The MOM, however, was doing a chore in her kitchen. I don't remember exactly what, but she wasn't relaxing.
Got me thinking: how often do we see a Mom in commercials NOT toiling away for her family? A mom, relaxing, pursuing her hobbies that have nothing to do with serving anyone but herself? A mom being fun? REALLY fun, not "OMG it's a MOM and she's being all fun, how strange!"?
Hardly ever!

[Holly Buchanan]

JT - terrific point!

[Karen Chui]

I know that the paid site is much better, but there are also free sites that are unique. I would prefer to have a free site rather than paying it. Though sometimes, the most priority is the high quality but free is good.

[Andre]

Yes! It is a matter of senttig up an original blog with good content and than driving traffic! I have two blogs and make money on both of them! Feel free to check my blogs out and email me for any more info or advice!good luck!

[Samuel]

This works! I've been oppressing my gernfriild for a little over a year now. Just yesterday, she started a really high paying job, all thanks to me! I am now one step closer to my life-long dream of being a house husband and I think if I keep up the pressure I can make my dream a reality. Thanks for the advice Mr. Tango 13, you have saved my relationship!

[Lelya]

The Numbers are even lower when you look at the low birthwieght and paturemre delivery numbers . I am sad to say that the racial and ethnic disparities could also do with hospital attitude toward nursing moms.I worked at WIC for a year and a half, as a Breast feeding peer counselor, and the stories I was told from the moms delivering early were horrific. Stories of women being told that because their baby was a premie, that had no milk anyway therefore they should begin the hi-cal formula until the milk came in! (This is so wrong because most women, paturemre deliveries or not , have colostrum, which is even more important for premies.)Our numbers have more to do with not being adequately prepared to deal with any adversity. I worked very hard to educate my moms, teach them how milk was produced, when it was produced so when met with less than helpful staff at the hospital, they were much better able to say, well I still want to breastfeed/pump for my paturemre baby because it's even more important.' Many moms, like Lyonside, were not give adequate opportunities to establish a great flow. This is criminal.Lactivism is important because women deserve the right to breastfeed, period. It is very typical for hospital staff to discourage African American/Hispanic moms from breastfeeding because it is deemed as a waste of time , since they are less likely to breastfeed exclusively. My thing is that it is not any health care worker's decision not to provide info based on that I might not breastfeed, but their JOB is to encourage and educate on the best options for the baby. I have a friend whose baby was born with complications and her NICU nurse was less that helpful in making the breastfeeding thing work . but SHE was committed and pumped to feed for many months ( sorry I don't recall the exact number, I think almost 6 months), before she was finally able to breast feed at the breast. She is still breastfeeding and baby is almost 2 years old.We really have to be strong enough to set the examples that many women so desperately need to see. Breastfeeding is not a privilege bestowed upon wealthy, upper class white women, but a right for all who are endowed with the great mammaries! I use opportunities every chance I get to educate my sisters on the benefits of breastfeeding. I will even speak to sisters who have daughters to just be open to the idea of breastfeeding for their daughters and loved ones. I tell them, They need your support whether you agree or not . Those who have had negative breastfeeding experiences really need to heal from their loss and support others. We can share but support and encourage. I know first hand the uphill battle we face in evening the breastfeeding disparities. We CAN make a difference when we make it our business to do so . while employed at WIC I was able to increase initiation rates in our community by 10% and continuation rates by 15%. I am very proud of this fact, although I wanted to do more!!! I was just one person. If we work with others we can make a bigger difference.Our women NEED us to assure and reassure them that not only is it a good thing for them to do, but they would be supported even if they decided to combo feed. If I can encourage a mom to at least combo feed for one child, she may bf exclusively in the future.

[Altas]

I would imagine that preagnncy complications do have an impact. We tend to have more preemies and lower-birthweight babies. I had all sorts of complications myself, including HG (couldn't eat any solids the last few months of my preagnncy), and early delivery. Plus I'd had breast reduction surgery. My supply was very low in the beginning. But I'd read up on it and knew that he herbs fenugreek and blessed thistle would boost my supply. I also had the support of a nursing pro who had nursed all six of her kids, including twins, to the age of two. I think that's where true nursing education comes in. Not just, breast is best.' Everybody already knows that. I think the main barrier for black women is that lack of support. Back in the day women, especially rural women nursed their children. It was simply what was done. So they had the automatic support and advice of other women. Those women knew about growth spurts and frequency days,' when it seems that the baby wants to nurse constantly. A lot of women give up during those times because they don't think the baby is getting enough milk. In actuality the baby is stimulating the breast to get ready for its' next growth spurt. If you're not expecting it, it can be scary as hell. If you've got folk around you telling you to give that baby a bottle,' or even worse, put some rice in that formula,' a mother who is already exhausted may just give in. However, if she's got another woman there to explain what's going on, its all good. To me, that's where the real lactivism comes in. Leading by example and by providing information and support for other black mothers. More of us must become lactation counselors, either formally or informally. Its a crucial part of the equation. Many young women aren't on the internet and don't have access to the information that is available. If WIC's message is breast is best,' but they're not providing support and advice, that's worse than useless. We live in a culture where as women, we're taught to distrust and fear our own bodies. We've medicalized even the most natural processes like childbearing and nursing to the point that they now seem scary and dangerous. The only thing that countervenes these notions is seeing, with our own eyes, women who do otherwise. That's why being a counselor is so important.

[Heny]

I'm not sure why biological deetiminrsm is so popular at the moment either. I honestly don't believe male bosses sit around in their secret men club and say ooh, those women sure are getting powerful these days, what with taking two per cent of CEO roles, let's start a campaign against them', but some days it feels like it.

[Annelies]

First, I didn't mean that fighting stepeotyres should be the top priority for anyone. I just meant that in relationship to the point you brought up about Saying Nice Things About Arabs, I think the stepeotyres are more pervasive than the Nice Things commentary at this point, and therefore more pressing. As far as overall priorities go though, I can't possibly say what should be at the top of the list for anyone, though clearly basic needs and safety will always be key. Also, I didn't mean the we to be US-centric at all, and I hope it doesn't come across that way. I'll be more careful about my use of pronouns in the future! I'll have to think more about your thoughts on social science. I guess for now though, I'd say that I think it should be possible to do rigorous work and on a subject that you take a personal interest in. I understand your point about discovering things you might not have thought of, but researchers are always biased. Even if you don't have explicit political beliefs about a topic, you will still be biased somehow. I think it's best just to acknowledge this bias and work from there instead of attempting to be objective.