Women #WTF for Infopresse June 2013
37
WOMEN half of everything
-
date post
19-Oct-2014 -
Category
Business
-
view
512 -
download
0
description
A talk I gave at the Infopresse Femmes et Communications conference in Montreal in June 2013. It addressed the business opportunity that women represent, both within businesses as people we hire, promote and retain; and in the way ideas creative agencies and departments produce address women as customers.
Transcript of Women #WTF for Infopresse June 2013
WOMENhalf of
everything
bon jour, i’m @farrahbostic
I run...
the bad
We’re paid about 80 cents on the dollar for the same work.
We’re less than 5% of CEOs and corporate boards.
We’re less than 5% of agency creative directors.
We get ‘mommy tracked’.
So we leave - not for home, but for other work.
Some of us leave before we’re forced to...
We’re not ‘leaning in’...
What women want? The same things men want.
what we’re struggling with? the same stuff.
Pew Research “Modern Parenthood”, March 14, 2013
the truth is, the modern corporate environment
sucks for both men & women
but it’s women who will have to change it
Why?
Because we possess half of the available talent, and more than half of the college degrees.
Because we make 1/2 the purchases and influence the others, in every category.
Because we control half of the wealth, and start most of the businesses.
and yet
Women are more successful and stable entrepreneurs... but VCs don’t invest in us.
Women foster better results as executives & directors... but too few of us are promoted through ranks.
but especially
Women work, earn money, create economic growth, and control household and commercial purchasing...
But marketers and politicians treat us as a single type:
The busy mom on the go.
Weber Shandwick & KRC Research Digital Women Influencers Study 2013
We’ve seen these stats. A lot.
women & marketing #WTF
via: thehairpin.com
women laughing alone with salad #WTF
via: thehairpin.com
women struggling to drink water #WTF
everywhere you go... #WTF
#WTF
#WTF
#wtf
tech brands #WTF
take smartphone brands(please*)
* With apologies for Henny Youngman
mobile is 1/2 women44% of all US women own Smartphones. (Pew 2012)
54% of moms in the US own smartphones. (Nielsen 2012)
55% of US women aged 15-24 own Smartphones, leading the world in adoption. (Nielsen 2010)
Half of tablet owners are women.(Flurry 2012)
and yet, exhibit a: #WTF
2005’s SGH-E530 “specifically for the modern
Arab woman.”
Apps: fragrance/aromatherapy guide, calorie counter,
shopping list, menstrual-cycle calendar, biorhythm alarm
2008‘s Allure S LadyPhone.Apps: fragrance consultant,
calorie counter, and shopping list, SOS message/Fake Call
Came with a clutch with space for makeup, credit cards & the
phone
2010 Galaxy S Femme.A pink Galaxy S, with a complete
AVEDA traveling kit including creams and cosmetics, a travel
kit voucher, and a 4GB microSD card including an AVEDA app to
advise women on skin and haircare
why???
"[Y]ou must remember that arbitrary power is like most other things which are very hard, very liable to be broken; and, notwithstanding all your wise laws and maxims,
we have it in our power, not only to free ourselves, but to subdue our masters, and without violence, throw both your natural and legal authority at our feet."
listen up.
women are not...
A ‘segment’.
An ‘issue’.
An ‘initiative’ or ‘program’.
we’re not what you think.
women are...
A diverse group.
Half your customers & your talent pool.
In control of 80% of spending.
some brands get it.most of the time.
“Look at me, study me and understand me. Then, and only then, can you make my running shoes. Don’t give me a small, pink version of a man’s running shoes.
“I’m not a small, pink version of a man.”
then,‘pink it & shrink it’
now, kick ass
So what’s the big idea? Simple.Treating women with respect isn’t just a moral issue.
Nor is it simply a legal problem.
It’s a business decision.
we might not be your ‘target’, but we’re definitely your customer.
“If a board doesn’t look at all like the market being served,
then something (Big) is (Badly) wrong.”Tom Peters
it’s simple, really.Hire women, and see business results.
Create good products for women, and see business results.
Market to women intelligently,and see business results.
how do we market ‘intelligently’?Accept that women are your customers.
Understand the context.
Fight the urge to ‘pink it & shrink it’.
Don’t assume gender matters.
Know that women also like humor (and sex).
Play to your (and womens’) strengths.
ladiez ftw
