Here's an interesting story about Cadbury's new Crispello and how it is being marketed to women (in the UK) - A Chocolate Bar for Women: At Least It's Not Wrapped in Pink by Susan Berfield.
Are you wondering why women need their own chocolate bar? Me too. Well, turns out Crispello isn’t actually a bar, it’s “three curved crispy wafer shells, each one filled with a smooth creamy center, dipped in Cadbury milk chocolate,” according to a statement from the company.
It's always a little dangerous to create a product, "just for women" unless women truly do have a unique need that is different from men. I've found a better way is to simply market a product to women without calling it a "product for women only."
But back to Crispello and Susan's article. Here's where Cadbury gets themself in trouble....
Here’s what a Cadbury spokesman (who was unavailable today) told the Daily Mail “The mix of wafer and chocolate is a lighter way to eat chocolate, and we know from experience that women are attracted to this particular format. It will also appeal to women, because it is in three separate portions so they can consume a little at a time rather than in one go.”I’m sorry, did the spokesman just tell women how to eat chocolate? “That is a bit of a no-no,” says Joan Steuer, who makes a living telling companies how to market chocolate. “Women have an emotional relationship with chocolate, it’s the most emotional food on the planet. We don’t need to be told what to do with our chocolate. We’ll do the opposite.”
I've written before about marketing chocolate to women - Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Hershey. It's a great example of how and how not to market to women. In the Hershey Mars example from the article, as in the Cadbury case, it's super important not to use judgemental language.
Be careful
If you have a product or service and you want to position it as "just for women," make sure there is a specific and real reason why you are labeling it a "women only" product. Consider instead marketing it to women without labeling at is "for women only."
If you do create a product just for women, beware of any judgemental language. Women are very aware of anything that sounds condescending.
I'm curious, when was the last time you saw a dessert product marketed to men implying they should eat less or smaller portions? Does anyone have any examples?
Comments