Opening the Purses of the World’s Biggest Spenders

It is almost impossible to define the modern women and slot her into neat categories. Nevertheless, advertisers are still doing it and as a result, the female audience has stopped listening to a lot of advertisers’ messages, according to research by JWT London. The survey titled “The New Female Tribes,” reveals that 70% of women feel alienated by the bulk of advertising because it continues to stereotype them into categories such as “busy working mum” or the “singleton,” and characterise both as being submissive roles.

Head of Planning at JWT London, Rachel Pashley, comments that terms like “busy working mum” are outdated and that advertisers need to create a new narrative around women to highlight their achievements rather than their responsibilities. For advertisers, making the adjustment is crucial because women control two-thirds of the world’s $18.4 trillion consumer spend. So, brands need to start appealing to women’s purses, wallets, credit cards and anywhere else women keep their cash.

Samantha Ellison of Redshoe Brand Design suggests there are five guiding principles that advertisers can use to capture the female audience and stop wasting their ad expenditure, is falling on deaf ears according to over 40% of women.

Step 1
Get to know women think and feel. Only then can you create relevant advertising that shows empathy.

Step 2
Think relationships. But, not the romantic kind. Women generally tend to enjoy forming relationships with people and products. They are more likely to be drawn to a brand that is surrounded by a story, which involves people and problems that a woman can personally respond to. The John Lewis campaign is a good example of this approach.

Step 3
Don’t “talk at” women, have a conversation with them. Social media offers brands the opportunity to engage consumers in the story and women are more likely than men to do so. Also, women are brand literate and like brands that are honest with them. Samantha Ellison cites the M&S “we’ve boobed” ad after they foolishly imposed a surcharge on larger bra sizes.

Step 4
Women shop for a wider range of products than men, According to the research this gives them a more intuitive appreciation of good design. Powerful images that create raw emotional connections are appealing to women. Also, think about the small details that women will find exciting and appeal to all a woman’s senses.

Step 5
Appeal to a woman’s love of style, fashion and colour. The Dulux “Let’s Colour” campaign is a good example of positioning a product as both functional and beautiful.

One more thing advertisers should be aware of when marketing to women is this: women love to share. If a woman likes a product, she’ll tell everyone how fabulous it is. Get marketing to women right and you open up the purses of the world’s biggest spenders… and her friends.