andHow To Reach Women

Savvy Auntie Gives Voice, And Virtual Space, To An Un-Tapped Market: Non-Moms Who Love Kids

The most powerful marketing opportunities, the ones that start movements and build momentum, come from recognizing a segment that has been there all along, yet was never directly addressed. For the last several years brands have been extending their reach and loyalty by developing campaigns to connect with the LGBT community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) or the Hispanic market, both of which wield huge amounts of spending power, and certainly did not just pop up out of nowhere.  Women have been dissected down further - both by generation (Gen Y, Gen X, Boomers) and parental status (Moms and Non-Moms).  And in that scenario, because they buy for so many, Moms are the hot market to chase.  Generally speaking, Moms are targeted with emotional messages about caring for families, being pressed for time and trying to do more with less.  Non-Moms get "me" messages that are about reveling in the joys of kid-free lives: more beauty products, more travel, more clothes. But what about the Non-Moms who love kids?  Who is talking to them?  

Melanie Notkin (pictured above), a self-described "auntrepreneur" launched Savvy Auntie this past July due to her desire to have a place where she could revel in her pride in being an aunt and connect with other women who had very important children in their lives that weren't necessarily their own.  In the first 2 months, without any advertising, Melanie's site had attracted 50,000 visitors.  

Marketing to aunts or PANK's (Professional Aunts, No Kids), as Melanie refers to them, gives brands the best of both worlds - women who have a deep attachment to children and want to spend time and money on them but who also have the time and disposable income to spend on themselves. As budgets tighten and retirement nest eggs continue to crack, aunts may be the best option to purchase the more indulgent items that parents and grandparents are being forced to strike from their shopping lists.  And as Non-Moms begin to comprise over 50% of the adult female population, it doesn't make sense to ignore them. Check out this stat from a press release on the Savvy Auntie website:

An ever higher number of American women are childless, according to statistics* released by the U.S. Census Bureau on August 18, 2008.  The data, which reports a significant rise over the last two years, shows that the percentage of non-moms is nearing the 50 percent mark, making the ratio of moms to non-moms in America almost 1:1. 

This aunt acknowledgment is reminiscent of the Right Hand campaign launched by DeBeers in 2003. Before then, in the jewelry world, women were divided into Brides and Non-Brides.  Only one could credibly aspire to wear a diamond ring.  DeBeers gave voice to a population of women who had financial means, were not married and/or weren't interested in waiting to receive a diamond ring from a man (or for that to be the only permissible reason to wear one) and opened up a whole new market segment and selling opportunity.  Single women, whether young, old, straight or gay, began to adopt right hand rings as their statement of independence and success. Many married women found the concept appealing as well. The campaign struck a powerful emotional chord that DeBeers could not have manufactured, they simply tapped in to something that was already there, just waiting to be named.

I believe recognition of "aunting" has the potential to resonate on an equally deep level.  Think of all the products developed to foster the connection between grandparents and grandchildren.   Aunts and uncles can have very powerful relationships and a profound impact on kids but those roles have no such cultural mirror.  Moreover "auntie" in many cultures is a term of endearment applied to any adult woman important in a child's life, regardless of actual blood relation, expanding the definition even further.  And the role is quite distinct from that of parent or grandparent.  Aunts can be confidantes, friends, supercool babysitters, shopping buddies, secret sharers (they know the stuff about mom or dad that grandma and grandpa still haven't figured out), homework helpers and surrogate parents, often flowing in and out of those roles as needed. 

Savvy Auntie's tagline is:The First Community for Cool Aunts, Great Aunts, Godmothers and All Women Who Love Kids. All Women Who Love Kids. Talk about emotional.  

Aunties of the World - Go spoil your nieces and nephews!

The Motrin Moms Debacle: A Better Response

The marketing world has been awash in the wave of the Motrin Moms debacle since Sunday, which I was first alerted to by Holly Buchanan's blog post on the topic.  Certainly a milestone in the influence of social media, Twitter allowed these pissed off mothers to send their messages farther, faster than anyone had previously imagined possible, even including a 9 min video montage of the tweets on YouTube - where did they find the time? -spurring an apology from Kathy Widmer the marketer who oversaw the campaign and an immediate withdrawal of the ad on motrin.com, though sadly for the company, as Widmer admitted, they can't do quite so fast a pull on the print ads.  Red letter day for social media, not so good news for print.  

But, onto the topic of that response...Seth Godin already pointed out the corporate feel of it, which isn't in sync with the medium, to say the least.  The tone is serious and grave, more apt to a product recall notice.  Look, it was definitely off target but no one's life was threatened. And I doubt the company set out to intentionally offend or alienate moms.  This is a giant, public case of foot-in-mouth.  So, why not apologize with some self-effacing humor?  Like a spoof video that begins by showing the executives and creatives involved needing to pass around a giant bottle of Motrin as they view moms' feedback to the campaign on their computer screens.  Then follow them going from their offices to their cars where everywhere they look a woman is happily toting a baby in a carrier while they duck their heads in shame. The background conversation could include the women admiring each others' carriers and raving over which ones alleviate back pain the best.  At the end each of the marketers involved adds their signature to a hand written message, which they hold up for the camera - "Sorry moms, we screwed up.  Next time, we'll talk to you first." 

Research has proven time and time again that when a company messes up and takes responsibility loyalty actually increases.  Motrin has a huge opportunity here, but corporate-sounding statements won't cut it.  The response has to be as sincere and personal as the reaction - the medium simply demands it. 

Perhaps there's still time...

 

In Sustainability Marketing, Grassroots Is Often Greener

As sustainability becomes a key platform, both in business plans and marketing programs, we’re seeing the emergence of a new c-level position, the CSO (chief sustainability officer), as well as practice areas in consulting and branding firms, such as Saatchi & Saatchi “S” to help guide CSO’s and their organizations on how to develop, measure and communicate meaningful programs.

Despite all this brainpower, industries are still struggling to define and communicate standards and consumers remain confused as to how to understand which products and companies are truly green vs. “greenwashed.” This WSJ article re: the environmental impact of reusable shopping bags illustrates the point perfectly.

As average citizens begin to wrap their minds and arms around these concepts, a key source of information and influence is coming from grassroots groups creating their own real-world and online “green” communities.  These movements are gaining momentum and a loyal and engaged following by doing three really smart things:

1) They deliver their message in dynamic, heart-felt, user-friendly terms

2) They offer a clear and easy way to participate 

3) They allow for ordinary citizens to share their accomplishments, both in person and online

While you want to communicate your green and sustainable efforts on your website and in your marketing materials, that’s just covering the baseline -  not enough to create engagement and build trust on a level that puts your brand at the top of the list.  Tapping into some of these movements that have credibility and passion built in demonstrates that your brand’s commitment is bigger than just selling products or engaging in a seasonal marketing campaign, shows that you are plugged in and paying attention to the people and communities that are making a difference, and will provide an informal barometer on how your brand and messaging are perceived, as well as a source of new ideas. 

A handful of examples are listed below, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg.  Seek out and connect with the groups aligned with your product or service area and brand values – this part is critical as anything that smacks of greenwashing will definitely not fly with these folks - and watch your own green movement grow,

Teens for Safe Cosmetics

EcoMom Alliance

One in a Million

Carrot Mob

Run Green Feet

 

Netflix looks to delight....will Starbucks do the same?

The thing about inviting customers to give you their opinion is that it gives them the impression that you plan to respond, particularly to feedback that is consistent and overwhelming.  Starbucks new social media site, www.mystarbucksidea.com, designed to create an open and visible communication with the brand has received loads of feedback that the company's new Pike Place brand is not strong enough for many coffee lovers tastes and they would like a stronger option available in the afternoons, which now only offers Pike Place as an option. Not get rid of the brew altogether, but offer an additional CHOICE.  In response, the company is beginning to sell a second, stronger coffee option in the afternoon, but only in select locations, and touts the successful attraction of new customers with the more accessible Pike Place blend.  Trading old customers for new is risky at best and the company seems uncertain whether to return to its connoisseur roots or challenge McDonald's head on, which is a brand cheapener if you ask me. Kudos to McDonald's for framing themselves as a true challenger to Starbucks and getting the brand to bite...Check out this WSJ article for more on the Pike Place controversy.

Netflix has no such robust and transparent communication tool but certainly responded when the announcement that they planned to remove their Profiles feature, which allows different family members to create their own queues, lists, etc. was met with a barrage of phone calls and emails.  In my email inbox came the following message yesterday under the simple and straight-forward subject line: We Are Keeping Netflix Profiles

	Dear Tami, You spoke, and we listened. We are keeping Profiles. Thank you for all the calls and emails telling us how important Profiles are. We are sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused. We hope the next time you hear from us we will delight, and not disappoint, you.  -Your friends at Netflix

Looking for Women Online? You Must Want Porn

At least that is what Google Adsense, or Nosense in this case, concluded. A hilarious posting on Women's Voices For Change highlights what happened when Google's Adsense service kicked in on their site and immediately started directing users to sites where they could conduct discreet affairs with other marrieds, meet a host of international beauties and more...

Come on people! Technology is great but don't imagine that computers will be replacing good old common sense anytime soon...now if we could only develop an algorithm for that...

Wowowow: New Women's Site Better Connected Than Facebook?

Today's New York Times reported the upcoming launch of Women on the Web - or Wowow.com - founded by a group of 5 "media live-wires' including entertainment columnist Liz Smith, 60 Minutes reporter Lesley Stahl and former Simon & Schuster president, Joni Evans. Women's Voices For Change, also a project of Smith's, has been getting some positive attention for a lively presentation of issues relevant to women not of the Gen Y set (and not looking to impersonate them either). One of the reasons this group, who did not grow up sending text messages or creating MySpace profiles, started the initiative was due to the lack of content they found interesting or compelling online. Joan Juliet Buck, a contributing editor to Vogue and consulting editor to the new site, described long-standing women's community iVillage as "like Macy's or something." Apparently these women are looking for more. Regarding why the group came together in the first place the NY Times reported:

Ms. Evans was struck by what she considered a dearth of online content provocative enough to hook sharp, driven women like herself. Weary of shopping and travel sites, she reached out to a klatch of women friends who are as blond as Jayne Mansfield and better connected than the most determined Facebook users.

That phrase - better connected - stuck out. Think about it: while many Facebook and MySpace users have scores of "Friends" who they know virtually nothing about, these women are far more likely to keep their contacts to the tried and trusted, and therefore have far more credibility and influence if and when they choose to talk positively or negatively about a brand.

Time will tell if this community takes off or tanks but rest assured that there is a significant and growing number of smart, savvy women who are tired of being marketing after-thoughts and are willing - even if choosing and registering a domain name takes hours longer than their younger counterparts - to do for themselves.

If you visit the site pre-launch (this Saturday, 3/8) take the time to answer their question of the day: If you could choose any women in the world, living or dead, which four faces would you put on Mount Rushmore?

Want to hear great stories about your brand? Do something to inspire them.

Sometimes you are traveling, going a zillion miles a minute, and thinking you've been neglecting your blog and wracking your brain for a good post topic when one just drops out of the sky, or into your email inbox as it were. This one is courtesy of Kimberly Palmer, author of the Alpha Consumer blog for US News & World Report. Kimberly recently wrote this post re: several companies who are soliciting stories from consumers as a way to connect and create marketing content, which is clearly directed toward women. She questioned how many women would really have the time or interest to post stories online. Below is part of an email I sent her, which seemed ideal to repurpose for this post:

I think storytelling, like consumers co-creating ad campaigns (Doritos) or products (a new Mountain Dew) is a idea that was grounded in something genuine and then got taken in a more contrived direction. What is fascinating to me is that companies are much more interested in soliciting stories for marketing content than they are in doing the things - providing extraordinary service, for example - that inspire people to want to share their stories - such as this excellent posting re: Zappos that has made its way all over the Internet.

Bottom line: If you want people to share great stories about you the first step is to give them something worth talking about. Believe me, they will.

It's Got To Be Real

Social media is the buzz phrase of marketers. From MySpace to YouTube to IdeaStorm and The Members Project, brands are working hard to find ways to engage and involve customers. And with every success there are missteps to learn from as well. Some so subtle that at first blush (pun to come) it's not clear why some campaigns hit a nerve and others languish. We learned of Neutrogena's The Big Blush contest, which promotes their mineral sheers blush, through Daily Candy. The idea, submitting embarrassing stories for others to vote on, sounded kind of interesting. Once we got past the oddly flirty virtual hostess, we clicked straight to Rate A Blushing Moment and checked out the top ten. One that got a "Wow" rating - the most embarassing edge of the scale - was a woman from Texas who admitted - gasp! - that she blushes every time someone compliments her. Other stories were equally tame and reminiscent of the kind of embarassing moments shared in Seventeen Magazine circa 1986. What was going on here? The clue was in the submission rules which prohibited most of the language and situations typically involved in really embarrassing moments. Understandable that Neutrogena wants to protect its brand but these "cleaned up" moments lack real interest and feel false, particuarly in an era where risque photos are a standard element of most MySpace profiles and being photographed with undergarments missing is a rite of passage for many celebs (and seems to have no effect on jogging their memories to don said undergarments for future outings). While less extreme situations may be blushworthy, it makes Neutrogena seem more than a bit out of touch to not acknowlege that cultural shift, even if only to poke fun at their own rules - "sorry people, but we've got to keep it clean." A minor change that could have made a big difference in making the brand feel relevant, without having to compromise it's values.