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The Information - August 2007
By Sarah Rabia In this issue of The Information we look at the alpha female: why female consumers are becoming more important to brands, and how marketing is being feminised. We also investigate the Web 2.0 backlash in The Ignorance of Crowds and discover what a brand's role should be in the next cycle of the Knowledge Economy. The female consumer is now the most important for brands, leading towards the feminisation of marketing Old marketing models designed by and for men are starting to be replaced by specialist female approaches. PrettyLittleHead is the UK's first female marketing consultancy. Run by Jane Cunningham and Philippa Roberts, it advises clients on how to reach a female audience and feminise their corporate culture, outlined in their book, Inside Her Pretty Little Head, subtitled 'a new theory of female motivation and what it means for marketing'. 'There are now significant and proven hardwired differences between men and women which demonstrate that women purchase quite differently than men do,' says Cunningham. In order to target the female market successfully, brands need to know the fundamental differences, say Cunningham and Roberts. The book argues that marketing has always had a male bias, which fails to persuade today's dominant female consumer. It offers four codes brands can apply to feminise their business: the altruism code, which is about making your brand empathetic; the aesthetic code, which reflects women's need to make the world a more attractive place; the ordering code which responds to women's need to be organisers; and the connecting code, a tool for making your brand a community provider. Some of the most successful 'female' brands which adhere to these codes include: First Direct, Apple and BeneFit. The feminisation of marketing is being driven by economic factors, as we explored in last issue's Womenomics feature. Women now make 80% of household purchase decisions, including traditionally male products, according to the Economist. This is why car brands in particular are switching their focus to women, as Jaguar's 'Gorgeous' campaign shows. This shifting focus requires more sophisticated marketing, and therefore demand for specialists like PrettyLittleHead is rising. 'Women are more discerning than males with their money. You've got towork harder to get it,' says Glenda Stone, CEO of Aurora, the female marketing and networking company. A recent YouGov poll revealed that more than two thirds of women do not identify with women featured in advertising and that they feel brands try to sell them things by making them feel bad about themselves. Dove's 'Real Beauty' campaign was a paradigmatic shift, featuring 'real' women of diverse shapes. Dove's underlying marketing premise is that if more women feel beautiful, more will be inspired to take care of themselves by buying beauty products. The campaign surpassed the $1bn mark in its launch year and has become an industry template. The next challenge for marketers will be segmenting the female market into its true, complex form. As Stone points out: 'A lot of marketers think of women as one segment, but there are so many groups. That's why we still have the simplified, patronising solution of making pink products for women.' Amanda Stevens, managing director of SheMarketing, an Australian female marketing consultancy, believes brands need to understand that 'women are three consumers in one, because they are buying for themselves, their families and their business.' Inside Her Pretty Little Head: a new theory of female motivation and what it means for marketing, Jane Cunningham and Philippa Roberts, Marshall Cavendish, 2007 Add this article...            |