What Women Want: the New Terms of Engagement Part IV

May 5, 2008

            Dangelmaier posted YouTube videos showing her advisory group of young women "flipping" ads they consider insulting and ineffective. "Who signed off on this?" is a common refrain. (For a peek, see http://www.youtube.com/user/3iying.)

            Meantime, their mothers are yearning for information and hunting it down online. "They don't want people to tell them how to do something-they want to be the authority in their own homes," says Morris, of Market- Tools. "They are looking for tools to help them do this. Companies that provide moms with information are the ones that moms trust more."

            About.com created two custom programs this year to focus on women's need for information: The Moms' Corner, sponsored by Disney, and the McDonald's-sponsored Family Balance microsite. This spring, the company is combining its pediatric health content with the parenting channels.

            "Advertisers increasingly want targeted and age-specific content," says Sylvia Barsotti, editorial director of health and parenting for About.com. "We feel this is a way to give it to them and to give the readers what they want as well."

            The election year has also served to focus more attention on women. JWT's Trendspotting lists among key advertising trends for 2008 the concept of "Queen trumps king." Hillary Clinton's candidacy may foreshadow increased career opportunities for women.

            "When women rise to points of power on the political stage, they rise up through the ranks in corporations," says Mack. "That is going to trickle down to the consumer. The products and services on the market will increasingly reflect her wants, needs and desires."

            Sometimes it seems most brands are focused on Moms, Gen X'ers, or single women, but every fifth female is a woman over 50, says Linda Landers of Girlpower*. "Some marketers still stereotype women over 50 as people headed to Grandma-Land."

            Ignore boomer women at your peril. "There's going to be a huge transference of wealth," says Landers. "They're going to get hit twice, not only when they inherit from their own parents, but they will inherit when their spouse passes on. This market has a lot of years left in them."

            They're traveling. They're savvy. They're online. They're key decision-makers. Boomer women are vibrant and they have money to spend. Older women see retirement differently; they're interested in longevity and staying healthy longer.

            Says Miller: "Those companies that keep living by the old rules are going to have a difficult time. At the same time, this represents an extraordinary opportunity to create something so genuine that the sky's the limit in terms of growth. This is a fascinating time for marketing to women."

            Clearly, dramatic changes are afoot, and marketers will need to be ever more nimble and agile if they are to tap into the vast consumer dollars controlled by women. The pressure is on to be more real, more authentic and less corporate.

For more Marketing to Women coverage:
What Women Want: the New Terms of Engagement Part I
What Women Want: the New Terms of Engagement Part II
What Women Want: the New Terms of Engagement Part III
What Women Want: the New Terms of Engagement Part IV