Marketing to Women Part I

By Kathy Gerber

Dec 3, 2007

     In one of the most memorable ad campaigns of the 1970s, the makers of drugstore perfume Enjoli dangled the ultimate aspirational message to women of that era: "You can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never let him forget he's a man"—that is, You can have it all. Pepperidge Farm's new social networking campaign, meanwhile, encourages women to connect with friends over tea and cookies.

     This is evolution?!

     Well, yes. Women's needs, wants, priorities, purchasing drivers and what's relevant to them in terms of brand relationships have changed dramatically in the context of today's fast-paced, technology-driven society.

     Cookies, conversation, real interaction (as opposed to e-mails with emoticons)? Now that's a modern marketing strategy.

     Marketers and media aiming to modernize their approaches to women need to recognize that the old stereotypes don't hold, and even relatively new ones are being challenged daily—female marketers decry the overuse of the "capable mom" stereotype, the soccer mom has been declared a myth, grown women are avid videogame players. Furthermore, women are delaying marriage, making more money, TiVo-ing their favorite television programs, evolving and on the move, and taking their media with them. In the words of consumer strategist Kelley Styring of InsightFarm, advertisers are always "chasing a moving target."

     For marketers and media following the target in all her modern forms, with her myriad interests and lifestyle arrangements, it's well worth the effort: The purse carriers control as much as 90 percent of household spending, according to some estimates. And while it's old news that women make the great majority of the purchasing decisions, their deeper pocketbooks have marketers waking up and smelling the money. New Web sites offering wisdom on home, health and family are launching every week; Home Depot has traded in its signature orange for earth tones at two new female-friendly prototype stores in California and North Carolina; fine jewelry purveyor De Beers has women buying diamonds for themselves with its "right-hand ring" campaign (signifying independence and power); and McDonald's is taking out some indoor playgrounds and putting in WiFi.

     The De Beers coup reflects a shift in women's roles and self-perceptions: They're still, by nature, caretakers, but now they're feeling entitled to take better care of themselves— part of today's definition of "having it all." They want to live well, live healthily, get more done in a day, look good, and feel good about their choices.

     Three major trends that Styring, founder of InsightFarm, a consumer strategy and market research company, has identified as driving women's consumer behavior are: wellness, preparedness and life enrichment. Snack manufacturers have caught on, says Styring, pointing to the 100-calorie packs of Oreo cookies and candy bars that have been cropping up on grocery-store shelves lately. Enjoyment "with guard rails," she calls them, suggesting they could represent two of the three trends, wellness and life enrichment.

For More on Marketing to Women:
Marketing to Women Part I
Marketing to Women Part II
Marketing to Women Part III
Politics: The Way to Women's Purses?
Automakers Getting Up to Speed