What Women Want: the New Terms of Engagement Part II

May 5, 2008

            Much of the cross-platform outreach is taking place online, where Web sites go far beyond regular programming content to include games, quizzes, forums and news. Adam Rockmore, senior vp of marketing for ABC Daytime and SOAPnet, likens the trend to creating "connective tissue."

            SOAPnet.com relaunched this spring to celebrate life in a "soapy nation," where women are captivated by drama not just on the TV screen but by stories of real-life celebrities. Lifetime Networks developed a "360-degree approach" with its Web site relaunch. "The idea that women are solely watching television anymore is long gone," says Dan Suratt, executive vp of digital media and business development at Lifetime.

            Because women are harder to reach and trust fewer brand messages, it's important to tap into the sources they find most credible. "Women respond to women," says Linda Landers, founder of Girlpower*, a strategic marketing consultancy. "Their most credible sources are friends and family. Direct mail and traditional advertising are way down the list. They're looking for a more collaborative approach to problem-solving. People are looking to simplify their lives. They're busier than ever, and they are looking for people or products to make their lives easier and save time."

            At any point in their lives, women are powerful consumers. They have more financial and earning power than ever. Studies show they control 80 percent of the purchasing decisions in families. Women are buying cars, homes and financial products traditionally marketed as gender-neutral or to men. More women use the Internet than men and increasingly use online communities to replace the neighborhood interactions of old. And while women seek advice from their husbands, friends and families to make purchasing decisions, smart marketers know they had better appeal to them in a meaningful way, or else.

            "Marketing to women should not be a special effort; it should be mainstream. It almost seems like a nobrainer," says Kelley Skoloda, director of the Ketchum Global Brand Marketing Practice and author of the upcoming Too Busy to Shop.

            Nonetheless, marketing to women emerged as a specialty practice only recently. The first "mainstream" M2W conference launched four years ago, Skoloda says. Pink magazine, targeted to women in business, launched in 2005. Several books, such as The Soccer Mom Myth published in early 2008, are guides to effectively engaging women consumers. Industries such as financial services, real estate and automotive are waking up. For instance, CarTango.com recently launched a social marketplace targeted to female car buyers.

            To reach female consumers effectively, marketers must be credible, consistent and use multiple channels at the same time, Skoloda says.

            That means providing messages with "authenticity" that resonate emotionally. It means using new research and marketing insights. And it means using integrated marketing tools, from setting up bulletin boards and blogs, creating special events and providing non-commercial information online as well as using print and TV.

            "We've recognized that the definition of the point of entry has evolved," says Jack Bamberger, senior vp of corporate sales at Meredith 360. "A consumer may experience our brand in different ways. It's a horizontal story instead of a vertical story."

            Meredith's TV, online and print resources provide a surround-sound marketing message. The company participates in the National Kitchen and Bath Association trade show by exhibiting five kitchen and bath build-outs led by editors of Meredith magazines, such as Better Homes and Gardens. That multimedia project showcases ad sponsors at the event, on Meredith's TV programming, on the pages of the magazines, and on the Web. There's even a sweepstakes component.

            Meredith, which has long understood the life-stage approach, uses reader polls, its database of 87 million women, 5,000 yearly in home consumer visits, weekly online focus groups and other research to tap into changing consumer behavior.

            "We're really about understanding what women want," says Nancy Weber, chief marketing officer.

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