Women's Day Special: The Subtle Art of Marketing to Women in 2020

Since 1975, Women’s Day has been observed to work towards an equal world for women and of course, celebrate their achievements. However, in honor of the day, marketers tend to create ads that show the plight of women and often end up stating the obvious. In general, few brands create campaigns that resonate with women, and that’s what we’re focusing on here. What can you, as a marketer, do to market right to women without getting trapped in a haze of stereotypes and cliches?  

Apart from March 08, which is International Women’s Day, March is also celebrated as Women’s History Month. It commemorates the vital contributions of women in history and contemporary society. A history that is having to be re-written for having been so successfully ignored or erased.

International Women’s day has traditionally been observed as a day to eliminate discrimination against women and call for equal rights and opportunities. All around the world, people celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. Interestingly, gender equality is now being calculated by the gender-parity ratioOpens a new window , which is the measure of the female to male ratio with respect to the average income, college graduation rates, and workforce participation, among others.

Learn More: 5 Best Women’s Day Campaign Ideas to Try in 2020Opens a new window

Statistics on Marketing to Women

Research indicates that 91% of women believe advertisers don’t understand them, according to Yankelovich Monitor and Greenfield Online. Before you can create an effective marketing strategy, directed primarily at women, let’s understand this vital demographic a bit better. ForbesOpens a new window compiled the following data that could be an eye-opener:

• 85% of women will remain loyal to a brand they like
• 94% of 15- to 35-year-old women shop online for over an hour a day
• 70–80% of purchase decisions are driven by women
• 18% of homebuyers (after married couples) are single women, while single men are at 9%
• 40% of U.S. businesses are owned by women, and 19% of software developers, 53% of financial services workers and 40% of physicians and surgeons are women
   

Aiming for brand loyalty, reaching out through online shopping channels, targeting homeowners, women CEOs, and those in tech, finance, and healthcare could be fruitful, to begin with. According to StatistaOpens a new window , Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest have the highest female internet users in the U.S. These learnings could help figure out how to approach and influence the female shopper.

Learn More: What’s the Future of Women in Martech? Hear From 7 Leading Female ProfessionalsOpens a new window

Top 6 Secrets of Marketing to Women

While the facts we showcased above are not enough to understand female audiences fully, they sure are a great place to start planning your Women’s Day campaign or when marketing to women. Campaign Asia-PacificOpens a new window asked senior brand marketers and agency leaders about what they as women would like to see less of in ads featuring women. Answers ranged from lack of representation from women over 50 using technology, being portrayed as less intelligent than men, less airtime and dialogue, to lack of diversity in shapes and sizes of women, and so on.

Watch: Women leaders from from @VMLYRAsiaOpens a new window , Jack Morton & Weber Shandwick Australia, @MastercardOpens a new window , @GoogleIndiaOpens a new window , @JNJNewsOpens a new window , @AKQAOpens a new window , Universal McCann China and Rufus talk on stereotypes in ads @kaverikhullarOpens a new window , @SappyChadhaOpens a new window https://t.co/ZLpVOiBEgn pic.twitter.com/rUdxh8Ou4VOpens a new window

— Campaign Asia (@CampaignAsia) March 4, 2020Opens a new window
 

Campaign Asia-Pacific Asked Female Marketers and Leaders About Stereotypes on Women in Ads

Let’s break down how brands can take a page from this campaign to be more mindful and inclusive when advertising to women and in general, make a difference to the dismal status quo.

1. Aim to inspire and motivate
 

Rather than making an ad that highlights the sacrifices women make or portraying them as victims, brands can focus on sharing inspirational stories of women who have done great things and made a difference for future generations of women.

Example: Apple’s Behind the Mac ad is primarily a slideshow of images of the most inspiring women from all over the world. Malala Yousafzai, Marie Kondo, Lady Gaga, Olivia Wilde, Alicia Keys, and other notable women, including the all-woman anti-poaching team from South Africa, Black Mamba, are seen with their Mac laptops in this 48-second, minimalistic, black and white tribute.

         Apple’s Women’s Day Ad – Behind the Mac

2. Replace Pink with Purple and Think Beyond
 

Pink has been associated with the girl child and traditionally seen as a feminine color – it’s become a nauseating cliche. Using the color liberally in your women’s day marketing campaigns or while targeting women, in general, will not guarantee female engagement, but instead, it might keep women at bay.

If you are looking for a color that works, think purple! It is associated with royalty, power, independence, magic, wisdom, ambition, grandeur, and mystery. You can also experiment with colors for different purposes, depending on your goals. Red is associated with excitement and urgency and is used when promoting sales and discounts. Yellow for summer, happiness, positivity, and optimism, and so on. Understanding and applying color psychology can go a long way in influencing the desired action and therefore increase conversions.

3. Adopt a path less traveled approach to social media
 

Pinterest is known to be the platform where users go to get creative ideas, DIY-inspiration and tips, and fashion and jewelry trends. The much-neglected social media platform has been gathering steam and recently became the third largest social network in the U.S. after Facebook and Instagram. According to SproutSocialOpens a new window :

• 71% of global Pinners are female
• Pinterest reaches 83% of women aged 25–54 In the U.S.
• 80% of these pinners make the buying decisions in their households
• 85% of women on Pinterest use it to plan special moments
• 43% plan to get their ideal home within the next five years
• 58% use Pinterest to make shopping and purchasing decisions
   

Investing time and resources in Pinterest will depend on your brand and industry but know that the platform is the place to be when marketing to women. Get ready to prepare valuable graphic content while leveraging the right hashtags to be seen by this large audience looking for inspiration and their next favorite brand.

4. Make a point with the facts
 

This could come as a surprise, but the struggle for gender equality has not been very successful, with true equality seeming quite distant. The UN Women’s ad for International Women’s Days 2020 begins as a 1950s newscast and undergoes a technological evolution while the message about the state of working women remains the same. “For as much as our world talks about women’s equality, it was appalling to see the lack of real progress. We were looking at each other saying that these stats could be from the 1950s, and that’s where the idea was born,” Eric Kallman, co-founder, and CCO of Erich & Kallman, said to AdweekOpens a new window .

2020 looks a lot like 1950 in this sobering International Women’s Day film https://t.co/3iDt5wgJZ9 pic.twitter.com/yIlWDoC6UpOpens a new window

— Ad Age (@adage) March 6, 2020Opens a new window

                   Women’s Day PSA by UN Women

Using hard-hitting facts can make a huge impact and all the difference. While planning your strategy, find the facts that would resonate with audiences, and push them to change their thinking or behavior, to be the change. As we’ve seen time and again, marketing can have a real impact on society.

5. Prioritize values
 

In 2020, Gen Z and millennial consumers, in keeping with trends, are becoming sensitive to the values a brand espouses, upholds, and practices. Likewise, a brand’s messaging for women’s day needs to take women’s values into account. This is a sure-shot way of getting loyal female consumers who will also act as your brand ambassadors.

Aim to be a brand that supports the same values as your women audience. Make it your corporate social responsibility (CSR) to contribute to and take substantial action toward social causes that matter to your audience. Invest time and resources into making a difference.

Example: To avoid textile waste winding up in landfills, many brands have started recycling or repurposing activities. Levis stores and outletsOpens a new window offer 20% off a single item when you recycle denim.

6. Empathy, without pity
 

Brands need to convey solidarity for women and their particular needs, especially of the needs of women of all colors, shapes, sizes, races, ages, life situations, etc. Focus on inclusion and empathy, not sympathy, and aim to be more female-centric and female-geared.

Example: Back in 2013Opens a new window , Dove realized women are critical judges of their appearance and created a campaign to help change that. A forensic artist created two sketches of a few women, one where they described themselves and the other with the help of a stranger. You, too, could do some fantastic work to touch the lives of women through your campaigns.

Rihanna’s revolutionary Fenty BeautyOpens a new window , line of cosmetics, introduced various shades of foundation that cater to a wide range of skin tones “so that people everywhere would be included.” It’s hard to imagine before 2017, no other brand in the beauty industry could cater to the ‘hard-to-match’ skin tones. The brand now offers 50 shades to be inclusive across skin tones and gender.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by FENTY BEAUTY BY RIHANNAOpens a new window (@fentybeauty) on Mar 5, 2020 at 4:10pm PST

                          Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty, Line of Cosmetics

Learn More: Sensitizing Marketers on International Women’s Day: Women in Business Talk EqualityOpens a new window

Marketing to Women in 2020

When talking about marketing to women, we could go on forever. We’ve covered some of the most critical aspects, where marketers could go wrong. Here’s a quick recap of what you can do in 2020 and beyond:

1. Understand women, their needs, challenges, and preferred communication channels
2. Feature inspirational women and their success stories
3. Focus on the psychology of colors without succumbing to overusing pink
4. Market on creative, inspiring platforms like Pinterest to reach the right audience
5. Use hard-hitting facts to make a point
6. Stand for causes and values that matter to women
7. Be inclusive and accommodate their needs and wants to be memorable
    

Following these tips is sure to help you do you bit for women’s day and marketing to women in the future. Remember to be inclusive, shatter stereotypes, build trust and loyalty, and inspire and motivate, while being a compelling storyteller.

Good luck!

What, according to you, is the best way to market to women? Tell us on Twitter,Opens a new window LinkedIn, Opens a new window or FacebookOpens a new window ; we’re listening!