Jane Cunningham and Philippa Roberts look at why marketing is failing the female audience and discuss women's motivation and what this means for branding
Women make 80% of all consumer goods decisions, and are fast becoming the most important target audience on earth. By 2025, women will be richer than men and own 60% of the UK's personal wealth, according to female-oriented site Baglady. In the US, the female economy - worth $5tn (pound 2.6tn) - now makes up more than half the US GDP. Internationally, women contribute more than 40% of the developed world's GDP, says brand consultant Tom Peters.
Despite the huge opportunity that women present, recent research reveals that marketers are failing to appeal to them. One in two women 'does not think manufacturers understand women in the real world', according to Yougov. Fifty per cent of women say that manufacturers 'try to sell them things by 'making them feel bad about themselves', and 68% of women say they 'can't identify with women used in advertising' at all. While women represent a huge growth opportunity in markets like brown goods, technology and automotives, 71% of them believe that manufacturers only consider them 'interested in beauty and stuff for the home'.
Why is marketing failing the female audience? Historically, political correctness and the overriding influence of the masculine perspective in the workplace has led the business world to ignore, gloss over, or mistake the differences between men and women. Marketing principles and practices embody a masculine world view about what is important and motivating for women. Applying a masculine way of thinking to solve female marketing puzzles treats men and women as if they are the same and undermines the female opportunity.
Scientific investigation has provided sufficient evidence to discredit previously well-intentioned presumptions that men and women are equal because they are the same, and revealed that in fact men and women are profoundly and permanently different. Our studies have culminated in the six gender differences summarised below. We believe these are the most defining of the gender differences and have the greatest implications for marketing to women.
Male versus female impulse
We don't have sufficient space to explore the finer points of neuro-science and evolutionary theory, so we will cut to the chase and explain what these differences actually mean for marketing.
Men survive through self-interest, hierarchy, power and competition. For men, success equals the ability to outplay the competition, because it leads to a higher and less assailable position in the hierarchy of other men. This affords the man more opportunities to mate and to ensure the survival of his genes. The world viewed through masculine eyes is therefore a huge, complex, action-packed stadium in which he has to compete. The competitive context may vary - work, a social group, sexual conquest - but ultimately life is about finding ways to win.
This gives men a powerful impulse (a hard-wired, largely inescapable, inherent instinct) to do better, and be better. No surprise then, why brands like The Economist, Lynx and BMW resonate so strongly with men. We call this impulse the 'achievement impulse'.
Women, by contrast, are driven by the need to create a safe environment, in which people who depend upon them feel safe, secure and happy. Females have fewer chances to procreate than males because of the nine-month gestation period, so they contribute to the survival of their genes by protecting and ensuring an offspring's survival once born, rather than trying to create as many opportunities to mate as possible.
The world viewed through female eyes is not a competitive but a collaborative one, where females seek protection through alliances. Collaboration rather than competition drives a harmonious and safe environment for them and their offspring. We have named the impulse to create such an environment 'the Utopian impulse' because its end vision is an improved version of life: a world where other people feel safe supported and cared for.
The four feminine codes
We have developed four feminine codes that reflect the day-to- day strategies women employ in order to achieve their Utopian ends. The rare brands that appreciate how central these codes are to female behaviour will capture the imagination of the female customer.
The altruism code
This code reflects the female tendency to focus on the wellbeing of others rather than focus on their own individual success or achievement. It is borne out of the female ability to empathise - the ability to put oneself in another's shoes.
The Body Shop, Fairtrade and Red are strong examples of brands built on overt altruistic positionings. There are others that are less overt but equally relevant to the positive, altruistic sentiment to which women respond.
Among telecom networks, Orange stands out as the most powerful and developed brand. It has an inspiring brand positioning, encapsulated in the endline: 'The Future's Bright'. This thought resonates positively with the altruism code, because in the technical, grey, drab and unwelcoming world of telecommunications, there is a brand to choose not because you are afraid of being left behind but because you are excited about what is to come.
The aesthetic code
The aesthetic code reflects the female desire to make the world an attractive place. It is borne out of a belief that a more attractive environment is a safer, more harmonious and pleasant place to be for everyone.
Until the 1990s, computers were cumbersome grey boxes, designed entirely for function, enlivened only by a cheery - and annoying - mouse mat or screen saver. PCs represented the archetype of function over form.
Apple designer Jonathan Ive's iMac changed all that. There was an appreciation that the aesthetics of a computer were important: at a macro level, because it was something that you would live and work with all the time; and at a micro level because the way things looked and felt could help generate a sense of friendliness and approachability (encouraging experimentation). The iMac literally changed the face of computers.
The ordering code
This unglamorous code reflects the female belief that order offsets risk and creates harmony. Women's tendency to take on responsibilities like the running of the home, family matters and the meticulous planning of events are evidence of the ordering code.
The way women have embraced the internet is a reflection of 'ordering behaviour'. Women now outnumber men online, and spend more money than men online. The internet allows women to execute their many responsibilities and duties (most of which are self appointed) with ease, and it provides information to give women confidence in their decision-making.
Where once women had to trudge around car showrooms being ignored or patronised, they can now get online, find the information they need and execute the task of buying a car quickly and relatively painlessly.
The connecting code
The connecting code is concerned with the female need to build relationships and communities, the desire to draw people together and find common ground between them. Businesses that recognise the power of communities in building or destroying brands and use female networks to help provide momentum for the growth of their brands will benefit from 'free' marketing. They will also develop deeper, more commercially rewarding relationships with the audience.
For example, E45, an emollient for dry skin, was given huge credibility and momentum when it was rumoured that models coming over to Europe from the US, where E45 was not available, would stock up on supplies to take back. The success of book clubs, Weight Watchers and the problems the UK MMR vaccine scare created, all demonstrate the power of the female network. Don't underestimate it. n
Jane Cunningham and Philippa Roberts are the founders of the specialist marketing agency PrettyLittleHead and former directors of BMP DDB and Ogilvy & Mather. Their book Inside Her Pretty Little Head is published by Cyan.
prettylittlehead@btinternet.com
Key learnings
* Women are the most valuable target audience on earth, but the opportunity is currently undermined because marketers apply masculine thinking to feminine marketing puzzles.
* Men and women are profoundly, wonderfully and permanently different. The key to understanding women is in these differences.
* Women are driven by the 'Utopian impulse'. This is the desire to create a harmonious, safe and happy environment in which they and their dependents can thrive.
* To satisfy the 'Utopian impulse', women employ four main strategies. They operate in a way that is collaborative, altruistic and aim to achieve a positive outcome for everyone. They care about the aesthetics of their environment. They want order in life to offset risk, and create harmony. They create communities to provide protection, information and friendship.
* Brands that appreciate the ultimate female motivation, to create Utopia, and facilitate women successfully working towards that goal by embodying the four feminine codes will win the loyal female heart.
Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors
