Womentum

Women on Top

It’s a good day on the international political front for women. Today in Monrovia, Liberia, Africa’s first female head of state was sworn in. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a Harvard-educated, 67-year-old grandmother, faces an uphill battle to rebuild her war-torn country where running water and electricity are the exception to the rule.

And in Chile, Michelle Bachelet has won that country’s presidential election. Bachelet, a former pediatrician and defense minister, endured torture and exile. “To have a woman president show that we are a freer, more just, more diverse, more prosperous and more modern Chile,” said the outgoing president.

We’ll watch closely as these two women lead their countries into the future.

One-leggers

Okay, so I was talking with a colleague this afternoon and the minute she told me this story, I knew I’d write about it here. It made my eyebrows go up. Okay, just the right eyebrow went up so I had that look of complete disbelief.

Tara is a successful business owner, and recently decided that she wanted a sunroom. Between her and her husband, she’s the point person on these kinds of decisions and also the main breadwinner.
So, she narrowed down her list and started making some phone calls. Her first phone call was to Temo, and she asked that someone come to her home and give her an estimate. So here’s Tara, ready to spend big bucks, and here’s what the Temo rep told her.

“I can’t come out to your home unless your husband will be there, too.”

Tara explained that he’s not really the main decision-maker and that this was her project. The rep didn’t budge. Tara explained that she’s the main breadwinner. The rep didn’t budge. She asked why. The rep responded that it’s company policy not to go on “one-leggers” and that if she had any questions, she could call the company’s sales director.

So Tara got on the phone with the Sales Director. He confirmed it and Tara told him that he can count on never having her business and that she was going to let other people know about their archaic policy toward selling to women. I believe she used the word “idiot” at least once.

And there you have it. An example of why this blog exists. To eradicate behavior like Temo’s. To educate companies about the new power of the women’s market. To illuminate the differences between selling to men and selling to women. To help companies be more in touch with their consumers.

And today, we’re writing about it for the 100th time, a nice milestone to mark with a good story. Thanks for reading and thanks for creating more Womentum!

Are You A Makeinu?

We’ve been discussing powerful social forces in Japan that are changing their economic landscape. For the first time ever, women are now more economically powerful than men in that country. You can read more about that in my previous two posts. What we’re going to look at today are some brief snapshots from Advertising Age that profile seven groups that are challenging the social status quo with serious economic implications.

• Schoolgirls/teenagers. The true arbiters of cool with wads of disposable cash and a sphere of influence that spans the globe. Obsessed with novelty.

• Makeinu. Single women in their 30s who have opted to forego the traditional marriage-children route in favor of careers and self-indulgence. The word translates to “loser dogs” but these women have taken ownership of the word as they reinvent what it means to be a young woman in Japan.

• Parasite Singles. A subset of Makeinu, these young, single women live at home, have jobs and spend their money on themselves at luxury spas, adventure travel, and other lavish extravagances. Total spending power estimated at $6.5 billion.

• Divorcees. These Boomer Japanese women have shed their husbands who devoted their lifetimes to work and not to their families and personal relationships. Newly empowered, these women are affluent, independent and ready for new experiences that let them flex their new status.

• Freeters. Young men and women who are abandoning their parents’ work ethic, working part-time or starting their own businesses and living at home with their mom and dad to save money. Not wealthy, but trendsetters nonetheless. The rise in young women entrepreneurs will likely have long-lasting repercussions on the expectations of future generations of Japanese girls.

• Otaku. Mostly male anime comic geeks who are deeply involved in the subculture and spend richly on anime-associated products.

• Neets. Stands for “Not in education, employment or training.” These freeloaders are still on mom and dad’s payroll, don’t go to school, don’t work and well, don’t generally contribute much to society as a whole. Estimated at 850,000 and growing. Further evidence of the physics theory that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction – this obviously reacting to the decades-long Japanese obsession with work first and foremost.

It’s getting interesting over there, folks. I’ll be watching with fascination as Japanese society weathers this latest cultural earthquake.

Japanese Women, Part 2

October 3, 2005

Yesterday we started talking about the rising economic power of Japanese women, and heck, I ran out of room. So here we are again, kids, with some additional insight into this new phenomenon. The source for this stuff is Advertising Age, so if you’re inclined to read the whole article, go check out the Sept. 19 edition.

According to the article, Japanese schoolgirls are an increasingly influential group with huge amounts of disposable income (as a teenager, isn’t it all disposable? Ah, for the good ole days of 100% disposable income…). These uber-hip teenagers prowl Tokyo’s uber-cool Harajuku district, but their influence spreads well beyond the country’s borders. Consider the popularity of Japanese anime in this country.

Their current obsession seems to be novelty, a trend that’s gotten so big there’s a word for it – otakuism. This pre-occupation with the latest and greatest is reflected on store shelves, where products are turned over at lightening pace. In the soft drink industry, for example, more than 1,000 new products are introduced each year and only three survive the brutal cut.

Another group that’s climbing up the influence ladder is recently divorced women. Japanese women are realizing that thanks to the “company man” behavior that was, and to some degree still is, expected of their husbands – spending more time working and socializing with their colleagues instead of their wives – has taken its toll and they no longer have anything in common. The Japanese term for it translates to “sticky leaves,” meaning retired husbands with no hobbies or outside interests.

Citigroup is addressing this new affluent demographic with a personal finance division with an all-female staff that delivers a message of positive empowerment and independence.

Dang. Here we are again at the end of a post and there’s still more to cover. So come on back again for a quick look at the seven groups that are steering Japanese culture away from traditional expectations.

Until then, here’s something to think about. What forces and groups of consumers in this country are redefining social norms? One example that springs immediately to mind is the new definition of family – if you look around, it’s not just mom, dad, 2.4 kids and a golden retriever named Buddy anymore. But a lot of advertising still clings to that old idea instead of reflecting today’s many different shapes of families – single parents, grandparents raising kids, blended race families, gay families, and singles. Are these new ideas reflected in your communications?

The Land of the Rising Women

29 September 2005

Alas, I’m a week behind on my reading and just now getting around to the Sept. 19 edition of Advertising Age. If you’re a subscriber, check out the article on page 18, “Women Wrest Spending Power From Men in Japan.” Or, if you’re not a subscriber or hey, just too dang busy to take a bulldozer to your desk, here are some of the highlights.

• The number of single, recently divorced and stay-at-home moms in Japan (the world’s second largest advertising market, by the way) is growing at a fast clip. But guess who the real trendsetters are in Japan? Okay, I’ll tell you. Schoolgirls. Really.

• One of those groups, dubbed “Parasite Singles,” are unmarried women who live at home and freely spend their money on luxury items and indulgences while running in the opposite direction from the traditional Japanese model of marriage and children. They spend $6.5 billion on themselves.

• So how are Japanese marketers responding to this powerful trend? For the Parasite Singles, marketing messages are more empowering and products are more indulgent. There are several cultural trends showing up in advertising, too, like costuming (apparently, Japanese women enjoy dressing up as famous people or icons), cuteness and novelty. Check out the new bank cards with a sweet, cute little bunny on them, the new McDonald’s ads that feature a female “Ronald” McDonald (would that be Rhonda McDonald?), or condoms with monkeys on ‘em.

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about those school girls and if we’ve got enough room, we’ll look at recently divorced Japanese women, too. Until then, sayonara.

Shall We Play A Game?

September 22, 2005

Let’s play a game I just made up. It’s called Megatrend Magazine, and here’s what you do. Pick up a magazine – we’re going to play today with October’s Real Simple – and see how many megatrends you can spot.

Right away, the inside cover's Crate and Barrel ad for their new bamboo furniture registers a hit for the Greenie column. Using natural, sustainable materials in an eco-friendly way. Score.

Did anyone other than me notice the crow’s feet on Andie McDowell in her L’Oreal ad for hair color? I’m giving it half a nod to the new Real Women trend that’s getting Dove and Nike tons of attention. Okay, she’s gorgeous. Only a quarter of a nod.

Here’s another celebrity that scores with her ad. Tea Leoni for Di Modolo. The jeweler is simply announcing that they support her work with UNICEF. Not a single word in the ad about jewelry. Put a point in the Good Corporate Citizen category. Ditto for watchmaker Baume & Mercier’s Meg Ryan ad.

Aveeno’s ads for natural lip balm and moisturizer score a potential bullseye for what Tom Peters call the Uber Target – Boomer Greenie Wellness Women. All natural lip balm. Model looks kinda “modelish” though.

Target. They are the poster child for the new importance of design in everyday items. Their two-page spread for their new prescription bottles, while not a great creative ad, is a great megatrend ad. Well done, Target, and thanks for leading the way in the design trend.

Cadillac gets the age of personalization. Their ad for the SRX mentions your Personal Assistant. From a car company? Really? Why can’t every company treat me like a real person?

Oh, here’s another one. The Shaw Flooring ad that has a headline that reads like a story. While not a megatrend per se, we all know that women prefer to read storylines than ad copy. The headline reads “I want a floor that looks like that stunning modern museum we ran into when we got caught in the rain in Chicago.” Nice.

Best Buy’s ad for digital cameras and lifebrarian.com is a great example of the Life Cacheing megatrend. Want to read more about that one? Check out trendswatching.com’s full report. It seems we’re all saving digital memories now.

That’s enough for now. And I’m only halfway through the issue. But you get the idea and now you can entertain yourself for hours. What megatrends are you out there spotting?

The Green World

I just got my monthly gas bill. It’s bad. It’s so bad that it makes me want to sell my SUV and buy a hybrid. It’s so bad that I’ve been hearing other people saying the exact same thing.

So this got me to thinking: who else is going green? Tom Peters says that the uber-target in the marketplace right now is Boomer Greenie Wellness Women, and hey, we talk about the women here a lot, so let’s take a look at the greenie part of that equation.

“Green marketing is a good thing,” says Jack Barkenbus of the University of Tennessee’s Energy Environment and Resources Center. “Consumers have begun to respond to it. That’s why you’ve seen so much growth.”

Here are five noteworthy examples:
• Wal-Mart. As much as I love to crack on Wally World, they recently erected a sustainable test store in Texas employing 26 energy-saving and renewable materials experiments. That’s one energy-saving idea for every 1,000 square feet.

• Hybrid cars. Toyota. Honda. Lexus. Ford. Mercury. Chevy. GMC. Let’s get some more models out there, fellas! Work faster!

• Ethos Water. You can read my previous post about this, or just know this. Starbucks bought a little water company and will donate a nickel for every bottle they sell to a foundation that brings clean water projects to underdeveloped communities. How about a donation to help rebuild the Gulf Coast’s water supply?

• Method Soap. All natural ingredients that get dishes clean all in a bottle that makes a fashion statement. Love it!

• General Electric. The new focus of this sprawling company is what they’re calling “eco-imagination” and they’re getting a good start with a train engine that produces less emissions. And they’re really putting some big bucks behind it, too – $1.5 billion a year in research.

Is there an opportunity in your category to be the green-friendly leader? Can banks shred and recycle bank statements? Or do what I do with my shredded stuff – donate it to the chimpanzees at the North Carolina zoo who make beds of it every night? Use your eco-imagination and see what comes of it.

An Homage to New Orleans

20 September 2005

I can’t believe it’s been so long since I last posted! I’ve been slammed at work – had a big meeting with almost each and every client last week – and to be honest, I’ve been preoccupied with the unbelievable aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It put a lot of things into perspective – for a lot of people I’m guessing.

For me, it was like this. I was in New Orleans last summer for a conference. Stayed in the beautiful Ritz Carlton (believe me when I say that July is off-season in New Orleans and we got a great rate) right on Canal Street. Ate some of the most incredible food for four straight days – yes, I gained weight – strolled down Royal Street with its amazing art galleries and antiques, watched the great show of people in the square by St. Louis Cathedral, recoiled at the rank smell and debauchery of Bourbon Street.

So to see whitecaps and looting on Canal Street, to think of the painting that we fell in love with but couldn’t afford on Royal Street, to remember the quaint little restaurant in the French Quarter and to see the president standing in front of the cathedral for his “we’ll rebuild” speech, well, it’s all been a little much.

I’m just starting to emerge from the post-hurricane haze and get my brain back into marketing to women. And for my first re-entry, I’d like to say this. Remember when we talked about how women value companies who are responsible corporate citizens? Remember when we talked about how if you meet the long list of expectations of women you’ll end up pleasing men with their shorter list of criteria? All to say to the amazing corporate citizens of this country who have rolled up their sleeves, signed big checks, filled huge trucks and spearheaded fundraising campaigns of their own, thanks. Not only from all the women of this country who notice this kind of thing, but from everyone.

We noticed. All of us.

The Positioning Ladder

One of my responsibilities is to track what we call megatrends – ideas and movements that touch most consumers – and no, you can’t have my job. It’s that fun. One of my favorite resources is www.trendwatching.com – a free monthly newsletter that does a great job of finding, explaining and following megatrends and giving us plenty of examples.

In the August issue, I found a great scale that measures where your company/product/service fits on the “position” ladder. With consumers demanding ever more from companies/products/services, it’s a good idea to take a look and make sure that where you think you are hasn’t changed in the face of lightening-quick competition and constantly shifting consumer expectations.

Here’s the short version – listed from the lowest to the highest:

Free Love: cool stuff that’s free. Like Wikipedia. Like a rental car company that gives consumers the car to drive – because it’s rented out to advertisers. With all this cool, free stuff, consumers are increasingly unwilling to pay for things.

Cheap Heaps: the lowest prices with no frills. Think Costco. But the danger here is that consumers will leave you so fast for the discount from your competition that your head will spin.

No Frills Chic: Cheap but well-designed. Consumers can choose to upgrade when they’re tired of the Cheap Heaps. Examples include Target and Song Airlines. I have got to fly on Song (www.flysong.com) soon – have you seen all the options you can choose from?

Mass Class: Used to be middle markets, but pressure from Uber Premium has forced products that used to be considered luxury into this class. Think Haagen Dazs and Starbucks. Anyone can get ‘em now and they’ve lost some of their cachet.

Massclusivity: This is also sometimes called Trading Up. This is the new luxury standard for the masses. Coach handbags. Bulgari hotels.

Uber Premium: Luxury only available to the richest of the rich. The Maybach Exelero (I had to look that one up – it’s a very expensive car).

So here’s an example. In airports, the place to hang out used to be the Business Lounges, you know, the airlines’ club rooms. But not to be outdone, several airlines, including Virgin, are building their own luxury terminal in London – the whole terminal will be upgraded to reflect a higher standard. So now, the club rooms have been demoted to Mass Class, or worse.

Where are you playing? How can you prevent yourself from being demoted? How can you elevate your company/product/service and reinvent it to stay competitive? Big questions that will need your attention in the near future…

A First for Forth & Towne

August 26, 2005

Let the clothing wars begin! On Wednesday, clothing giant Gap, Inc. opened its first Forth & Towne (www.forthandtowne.com) store in West Nyack, NY. The company’s first new concept in more than a decade, Forth & Towne is a direct challenge to Chico’s, the reigning queen of clothing for women over 35. (www.chicos.com)

According to published reports, the store features four clusters, each featuring a different private label brand. There’s Allegory, for more traditional office wear. Clothes in the Vocabulary cluster are less tailored and looser-fitting. Gap Edition styles offers up some of the classics from its sister chain, like khakis. The Prize area displays clothes that are more close-fitting.

Four more stores are slated to open in the Chicago area next week.

Should be interesting to watch…