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If you wanted to pick one trend that will be on the ascendency for a long time to come, it would be the influence of women on thinking in society and marketing. This powerful influence is becoming known as “Womenomics”. Many of you will say, “Well yes, they are, after all, half the market”, but no, it’s much more than that. It’s about a very significant shift in the nature of decision making and creativity that is occurring; it’s the way things are happening in the 21st century. There is a seachange in how we are approaching problem solving today, and this new way of thinking is considered to be rather more feminine in character.
The past 150 years were in the hands of men, production geared to manual labour. The next 150 years will have more of a female focus in the way products and services are developed and in the way problems are solved.
Psychologists tell us that biologically, men’s thinking is dominated by the left half of the brain, the part that is rational, factual and linear, whereas women use all of the brain and that includes things like creativity and imagination.
The trend is now towards a more holistic way of thinking by everyone, and is a far cry from the misogynistic concept of marketing to women because it is fair. Marketing will be approached with a more right brain orientation because it has more appeal in the 21st century and leads to success. Apple is a great example of a company that is at the forefront of this change and its success speaks for itself. Compare it with Dell or HP products and you’ll see what I mean.
Apple products deliver a much higher contentment factor that connects with emotions. The iPhone and the iTouch were both designed by women.
Womenomics is a paradigm shift in the way all consumers think, irrespective of gender.
For designers and marketers it means referencing a new sensibility that speaks to both sexes and is more human, intuitive and cerebral.
There is lots of evidence of this influence around once you tune into it: - Women are staying longer in education and entering the workplace with better qualifications.
- More girls are going on to higher education in Europe and the US than boys.
- Girls are becoming more tech-savvy earlier, beating the boys when it comes to the internet. These are skills that will further elevate them in the dawning age of Womenomics.
- 44% of girls aged seven to 16 are able to create a social networking profile, whereas the figure for boys is 34%.
- 52% of girls know how to download photographs from the internet, compared with the 44% of boys.
Economists say employing more women will solve the pending pension’s shortfall in the US. They forecast this would increase GDP by 9% in the United States, 13% in the Eurozone and 16% in Japan.
Women-friendly companies have a better financial performance; companies with more women in senior management have 35% higher return on equity and 34% higher total return to shareholders according to “The Bottom Line” gender diversity specialists in the United Kingdom.
If you look around, you can see we are entering a more conceptual age. Today’s world of business relies more heavily on knowledge services and creativity. The currency in management today is one of collaboration, creativity and teamwork. This contrasts starkly with the authoritarian frameworks and male-dominated thinking if the last century.
With the accelerating consciousness of climate change that is currently occurring, we are seeing an increase in the sense of environment and community. This is leading consumers to seek products and experiences that feel genuine and not over-sold. “Approaching the marketplace with humanity and delivering experiences that feel unique is something that women are championing”, said Penny Spark, design professor at Kingston University in London.
As we say, these days in media, emotional engagement with content is critical to success, and this too is very much part of the influence of Womenomics on our business.
We live in an information age, with more and more facts and figures to aid our decision making. But in the end, the point of difference between successful campaigns will be the creativity and understanding with which we solve communications challenges.
This means a holistic approach to campaign planning is required where media and creative content complement and extend one another.
Harold Mitchell is executive chairman of Mitchell Communication Group
AdNews 27 June 2008 |
