Understanding Women

In the first season, second episode, of the hit TV series "Mad Men," set in 1960, advertising mogul Don Draper asks, "What do women want?" to which his boss replies, "Who cares?"Times have changed. You'd have to be a madman indeed to ignore women -- who drive up to 85% of consumer spending in the U.S. Women care about the total retail experience, from the convenience of parking to the mood evoked by the store's color palette; and they respond to messaging that speaks to value, family, efficiency, eco-friendliness, social consciousness and community.At retail, "Women notice more and weigh more factors than men," says Ruth Winig, senior vice president of public relations and social marketing for Frank About Women, a Winston-Salem, N.C.-based consultancy. "Men will tend not to ask, 'Was the top shelf reachable? Was the store safe and clean? Was the cashier friendly?' whereas a woman will." One retailer that creates an excellent overall experience -- including community-fostering events such as cooking classes and shopper marketing efforts that address women's key concerns -- is Whole Foods, says Bridget Brennan, CEO of the Chicago-based consultancy Female Factor and author of "Why She Buys: The New Strategy for Reaching the World's Most Powerful Consumers." "The lighting is so well done and the stacking of the produce -- you see these gleaming pyramids of apples," she says.Shelf talkers and signage emphasize healthy and Earth-friendly product features, as well as cooking tips, acknowledging that "moms today are really looking at ways to green up their environment and promote their family's health," says Sarah Cunningham, a Chicago-based vice president and group account director for the creative agency TPN.Whole Foods' most recent stroke of genius in the midst of the recession is recognizing that it's perceived as charging a premium, and highlighting its private label, 365 Everyday Value, using the tagline, "Have your savings and eat them too."Lululemon athletica, a Vancouver-based athletic apparel chain, hosts free weekly fitness classes as part of its "total retail experience," says Brooke Johnson, who handles community relations for the Chicago store. Each dressing room door has an erasable whiteboard, where a salesperson writes down the shopper's name for more personalized customer service. There are chairs and magazines to keep shoppers' companions comfortably occupied."If she sees that her husband or kids are tired or bored, a woman will cut her shopping trip short," Brennan says. Practicality also matters. Endust, a Sara Lee brand, embraces the fact that cleaning doesn't top the list of priorities for on-the-go women, who are all about expediency, says Frank About Women's Winig, whose agency handled creative for the launch of Endust disposable dusters and is holding a half-day symposium at the In-Store Marketing Expo about how women shop on Oct. 6. The Endust campaign featured freestanding inserts located in the cleaning aisle with $1-off coupons and taglines reading clever juxtapositions such as, "Between downward facing dog and walking the dog -- it's that fast," acknowledging that women squeeze housework between more important or rewarding activities like yoga and pet care. The campaign also included TV and print ads, and a microsite where women could upload photos of things they'd rather be doing besides cleaning.For the August 2008 launch of Endust Free, a hypoallergenic, fragrance-free spray, Sara Lee emphasized its healthy and eco-friendly aspects after determining through surveys that 30% of consumers have someone in their household with cleaning spray sensitivities. Using the simple tagline "A quick clean that's hypoallergenic," the campaign included innovative new packaging, in-store promotions, coupons, FSIs and a frequent shopper database program. Adventure Communications, Exton, Pa., handled creative, and CROWN Aerosol Packaging, Philadelphia, created the curved, easy-to-grip spray can, which uses 14% less material than standard 10-ounce cans.The company was wise to call out this eco-friendly feature in its marketing because "women continue to be committed to green as a desirable thing even in a recession," says Marti Barletta, president and CEO, TrendSight Group, Winnetka, Ill.Relevant MessagingAs far as marketing strategy goes, segmenting women by "life stage" (pre-parenthood, empty nester, etc.) underscores commonalities among disparate groups.In-store, "Your message should be put in language so it seems like a solution for her and her family and makes it easy for her to see how the product fits into and improves her life," TPN's Cunningham says. In other words, for this audience, lifestyle benefits trump product specifications and features. Displays should have pictures of people on them to maximize stopping power, not just product photos. "Women are so much more interested in people than anything else," Barletta of TrendSight Group says.Likewise, text speaks more persuasively to women when presented in such a way that it appears to be a quote or testimony vs. a company statement. "Putting it in quotes makes it look like a story, and that a real person is saying something about the product," Barletta says.Marketers need to realize the recession has changed the rules ã indefinitely. Barletta predicts that many women who've switched to private labels won't switch back, so higher-priced brands need to concentrate their efforts on communication and trust-building with their existing customer base."With the recession right now, the most profitable thing to do is hang on to current customers," she says. "It costs five or six times more to attract a new customer than to retain an existing one."Research conducted by Cone Marketing, Boston, shows that "Cause Branding" -- the agency's trademarked name for "corporate halo" marketing -- resonates with women in particular. "All other things being equal, 'cause marketing' will get the boost," Barletta says. As Whole Foods and lululemon have shown, it pays to give women an incentive to come to the store, such as a sushi-rolling class or a mom-friendly workout involving the baby stroller. "Once they're in-store, I think they will shop," Barletta says. "Women don't like to waste their time."Online ComponentsIt's also wise to develop in-store marketing as part of an integrated campaign with an online component. "There have to be multiple touchpoints, and everything has to tie in," says Linda Landers, CEO, Girlpower Marketing, Newport Beach, Calif.Frito-Lay, a PepsiCo brand, also created a micro-site for its "Only in a Woman's World" campaign, which included TV ads, designed to woo female consumers who on the whole prefer sweet over salty snacks, according to Frito-Lay's research. The goal was to reposition existing products (including portion-controlled 100-calorie packs as well as baked versions of several Frito-Lay snacks) and launch an entirely new one (Smartfood popcorn clusters) as "permissible indulgences" just for women, and to group them together as one product portfolio. The packaging is matte instead of glossy, with earthier colors. In-store, "We located all of them together for more of a blocking effect, and positioned them toward the end of the aisle" to entice shoppers who'd otherwise walk on by, says Marissa Jarratt, brand manager, women's portfolio.The microsite featured several animated webisodes, starring four friends in the vein of "Sex and the City" but with cleaner subject matter. One shows a character running at a dead sprint from her personal trainer, inadvertently getting a workout while trying to escape him. "We wanted to entertain and engage women, not beat them over the head with a product message," Jarratt says, adding that the campaign included a contest inviting women to submit ideas for the season finale.Not banking on the microsite's reach alone, Plano, Texas-based Frito-Lay "pushed out into the digital space," establishing Twitter and Facebook accounts (the latter attracted 35,000 fans in six months), and a YouTube channel. "Online is where it's at," Landers says. "Women are going online to find out about products and services."A new site, SheBlogs.org, recently launched to connect brand marketers and PR reps to more than 500 female bloggers, issuing press releases, stock images and announcing contests and giveaways for the women to blog about. "A tremendous amount of power has shifted to women bloggers. It's all about peer review and word of mouth," Landers says. "Women are turning into first-person narrators about various brands." To have a hand in shaping the story, "Brands are attempting to engage moms online and bring bloggers on board, making them part of the corporate family."In July, Sara Lee brought 13 influential mom bloggers to its kitchens in Downers Grove, Ill., to develop quick, nutritious school lunches using Sara Lee's Soft & Smooth bread.

Understanding Women

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