the spark - female fever
TRANSCRIPT
the spark.female fever.
According to Beyoncé, it’s girls who run the world. And looking at recent research, she is probably right.
Worldwide, women are responsible for nearly four times as much consumer spending as China and India combined. Moreover, women around the world are getting wealthier and splashing more cash than ever before.
Their control over where the money goes should not be under-estimated. Just look at the figures:
∙ UK Mumsnet research amongst mums and dads shows that the better half is responsible for 46% of family finance decisions.
In the USA, women…
∙ are responsible for 85% of all consumer purchases
∙ make 92% of vacation purchases
∙ own 51% of all personal wealth
And guess what? They’re worth more than the entire Japanese economy*.
But it’s an influence that reaches far beyond the hard numbers. The stereotypical ‘chat over the garden fence’ of yesteryear has evolved into a social influence that can dictate the rise or fall of brands. Women talk about brands about 92 times in the course of a week; and 96% of women will recommend a product to a friend if they like it.†
So what are brands doing to acknowledge the rise in female spending power and persuasion?
*Source: Newsweek, July 2010 †Source: NBC Universal, Sept 2010.
The consumer is your wife, sister, mother, girlfriend, niece…
Harley Davidson’s dedicated programme for female riders isn’t just a girly makeover of its traditionally mongrel product. The dealerships now have washrooms and play areas for children; there are brighter colours in the clothing range; even the famous Harley skull has been re-designed with tattoo-styled wings and flowers.
But it doesn’t end there. The brand has created an online mentoring programme for women riders to teach each other riding skills. Its dealer-hosted
‘garage parties’ are designed to give women inside tips. And there is now a range of Harley motorcycles with narrower seats, softer clutches, adjustable handlebars and lowered frames so that women can plant their feet firmly on the floor.
In 1990, 4% of all Harley Davidson motorcycles purchased were by women. Today they account for nearly 12% of new Harley Davidson sales in the U.S.
Are you staring in the face of a completely untapped market? What could you do to your own product or sales experience that would break the male stereotypes and invite women in?
Leather chrome engine oil
what could be more feminine?
Old Spicefor women.
Old Spice’s famously awarded campaign breathed new life into an ailing male cosmetics brand. But not by targeting men. The secret to its success lay as much in the fact that it spoke to women as in its brilliant writing, casting and social networking.
‘The man your man could smell like’ was the lock-up for the whole campaign, fronted by the perfectly honed Isaiah Mustafa wearing nothing but a bath towel.
It’s a simple equation: women buy cologne for their men, so run a campaign that talks to them rather than their partners.
The question to ask yourself: men might be the end-user for your products, but who’s really making the purchase decision? Is Old Spice the brand your brand could sell like?
With its tagline ‘The men don’t get it’, Singaporean United Overseas Bank has tapped right into the mindset of independent women with its Lady’s Card.
The card is only available to women over 21 and earning a minimum of $30,000. For a small annual fee, membership includes a range of exclusive female-friendly health and beauty perks. These range from complimentary access to fitness classes and Air Miles rewards to discounts on beauty services, travel, restaurants and shops.
A credit card that
men just don’t get.
Could you re-structure any of your own products to make them more attractive to women – and then get them to pay for the privilege?
The appreciation of fine wine is traditionally associated with stuffy, tweedy chaps. So it’s lightly refreshing to discover a group of women who are treading all over that particular variety of cliché.
Based in Southern California, Keyways Vineyard is owned and operated by women, and runs a women-only wine club.
Monthly meetings of the club’s ‘Chix’ might include wine-tasting, food, networking, education on wine and women’s topics, as well as games and a whole lot of fun.
Perks include a 20% discount on wine and gifts plus a 10% discount on events at the winery.
Chateau la femme.Does the image of your sector or products put women off getting involved? Would a woman-only approach remove a barrier to entry? Could it open up a whole new channel of profitability?
In a male-dominated sector, it’s good to find a company that understands how women can have different financial concerns from men.
Fenomenal Woman has developed a portfolio of life insurance products that are structured specifically to meet the particular concerns of women.
Their features include Female Trauma cover as well as a Baby Bonus.
WOMENcovered.
They’ve got
The differing concerns between men and women are usually blindingly obvious but often over-looked. Do you know what the differentiating factors might be in your sector? Are your products striking the right note with women, giving them what they really need? Are you putting your products in the right context for women’s lives in your communications?
WOMEN
The key is not to assume that men hold the purse strings when it comes to household purchases. The responsibility for financial decision-making can shift from man to woman, purely on context or life-stage. Do you really know who’s in charge? And when?
driving seat.Insight is a wonderful thing. Did you know that 44% of pregnant women will buy a new car before the birth, whilst 39% of them will do so during their baby’s first six months?
And they don’t even defer to their other halves in their choice?
We used this insight to introduce SEAT cars to women at exactly the moment their minds were on childbirth and babies. Our cute talking baby caught lots of attention amongst the pages of the Bounty website. And he gave us license to talk about the cars from a uniquely parental perspective.
Putting mums in the
