Reading Brandweek today, I noticed Under Armour is making a big push in their marketing to women efforts with their latest campaign, “Protect This House.  I Will.”  Adrienne Lofton, senior marketing director of their women’s business, is quoted in Brandweek as saying, “[the campaign] aims to get beyond the message that this brand is the best in the world in performance training…” and change their target’s current perception of Under Armour as their “boyfriend’s brand.”  The campaign, which includes a facebook page and several TV spots featuring well-known female athletes (including Lindsey Vonn, my girl crush), will no doubt meet that goal, and generate a lot of buzz while they’re at it.  Everyone loves to see strong women kicking ass (especially when they’re wearing hot gear).  But looking closer at the core message of the campaign, I think they’ve also touched on something really unique…the emotional power of ‘the team’. 

We know from other categories (and from being women ourselves!)  that one of the most effective ways to connect with women is by touching on and understanding their relationships.  Women make deep connections—for validation, information, support.  Under Armour took this insight and applied it to sports, which works beautifully.  For women, teams aren’t just a way to showcase their individual ability, they’re the whole reason to compete.   They recognize the whole as bigger than the parts.   The success of a team is bigger than if it’s an individual win.  The loss hurts less, because you know there are other people that feel exactly the same way you do.  There is this group that can relate to you completely, no matter what your emotion is.  In my opinion, women are able to slip into that universal mindset and sync up with their teammates more effectively than their male counterparts, because that’s what they’re used to doing in their day to day lives.

Well done, Under Armour.  It will be interesting to watch the reactions.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to watch the spot for the 6^th time today.  Love that Lindsey!

Women Choose Being Richer and Thinner over Smarter and Younger

According to a new Adweek Media/Harris Poll, if women could be granted one wish to change something about themselves they would choose to be richer or thinner. In this poll, American adults were asked if they would most want to be richer, thinner, smarter, or younger, a large plurality (43%) professed that they would want to be richer, according to a recent Adweek Media/Harris Poll. However, it appears men and women view these traits slightly differently. Although just 14% of both men and women say they would choose to be smarter, that’s the only characteristic they agree on. More men say that they would choose to be richer (46%, compared to 41% of women), while 29% of women say that they would most want to be thinner, compared to just 14% of men who say the same. And while women may have the stereotype of lying about their age, 16% of men say they would most want to be younger, compared to just 8% of women who say the same.

Mary Lou Quinlan, CEO and Jen Drexler, Principal of Just Ask a Woman and co-authors of the recent book What She’s Not Telling You, see these results as evidence of women’s Half-Truth telling—a topic the Just Ask a Woman team spoke about during last year’s M2W®. Quinlan observes, “While in public most women might claim the Half Truth that they’d prefer brains to money, the Whole Truth (especially in this economy), is that they’d like to be richer. With a little extra cash, they can always study their way to smarter or buy their way to thinner. It’s not politically correct but it’s honest.” Drexler weighs in, “Likewise, we’re not surprised that women chose being thinner above younger. Gen Y, X and Boomer women don’t necessarily want to “be” younger or sacrifice the wisdom that comes with age. They want to “feel” and “look” younger which is often equated to a mythical or real time when they felt happiest with their weight. Leave it to women to find a way to have their cake and eat it too!”

From New York Women in Communications:
If you want to know what women want from your business, the woman to ask is Mary Lou Quinlan. She’s a nationally renowned speaker, author, TV personality and CEO of Just Ask a Woman, the country’s leading women’s marketing company. Mary Lou has interviewed thousands of women to turn insights into success for major corporations and now she will share her in-depth knowledge with you. Take a break from your email and come join Mary Lou Quinlan, and some of Long Island’s most respected and influential decision makers, for an interactive evening of networking, sharing of stories and education. Mary Lou’s entertaining and provocative style will make this one of the most powerful presentations ever.

Date
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Location
New Hyde Park, NY 11040
Time
5:30 p.m – 6:30 p.m. Cocktails/Networking
6:45 – 8:00 p.m. Marketing to Women Program/Q&A

For more information click here

On my way home last night I made a much needed detour into my local Trader Joe’s. The line was long but I committed to the shopping experience in order to pick up some coveted items. One cart full later and a fairly quick check out (where the cashier took time to get me another carton of eggs because one was broken), I thought to myself, Oh Trader Joe’s, how I’ve missed you.

In the September 6th  issue of Fortune Magazine, Beth Kowitt goes behind the scenes of Trader Joe’s, one of the hottest and most secretive retailers in America”.  One of my favorite secrets to success:  “swapping selection for value”. Go into any Trader Joe’s and you will be welcomed by a variety of paired down options. As Stew Leonard Jr. notes in the article, “Having a wide selection may help get customers in the store, but it won’t increase the chances they’ll buy.”  We’ve said it before, too many options can lead to analysis paralysis. Beth agrees.

So, I was surprised to read in Jack Neff’s Wal-Mart article in Ad Age a few weeks back.  Wal-Mart had announced that they were bringing back thousands of items which had been previously eliminated during Project Impact, the strategy that was initiated in 2008, to help reduce clutter and open up the customer space.  And even more surprising, sales were up since returning the displays to “Action Alley”.

How could one strategy work so well for one retailer and be the pitfall for another?  Could it be the customer base?  Or perhaps the answer lies in the role the stores play. Trader Joe’s is a supermarket, Wal-Mart is a superstore. While both offer great prices, Trader Joe’s has built a reputation for being a curator of the best food choices.  Therefore customers trust that if there are only one or two options, whether it be olives or peanut butter, those options are going to be good. Wal-Mart on the other hand, has always been the hostess with the mostest.  Obviously customers go there for what they can get at everyday low prices. They are not looking for the culled down version. 

I will still venture to guess that customers still want the aisles uncluttered and the shelves well-stocked. For Wal-Mart, allowing the customer to curate is a strategy that will be worth watching in the months to come.

22% more time, to be exact.
The CNN post reports, “The Nielsen report on the survey, conducted from April 2009 to March 2010, did not offer any possible explanations for the findings.”
I have one, women speak on average 7,000 words a day compared to men’s 2,000.
What else could explain these findings?

Thank you to Adweek.com for publishing my OpEd to Marketers about BlogHer10. The original ranting about this also on this blog.

If you’re starting your career this fall or maybe you’re already 10 years into it, who are you meeting now who will remember you later?  The assistant to the brand manager? The security guy at the reception desk? The junior media planner? Too busy for more than a quick nod on your way into your ‘important meeting’?  Think again.

I didn’t start my career planning to chum for every possible ally along the way. I just took my own personality to work, something I learned at the kitchen table from my gregarious mother, who worked as a secretary at various Philadelphia ad agencies in the Mad Men days.  She always told me how some people treated her graciously while others gave her the ‘where’s the boss?’ once over.

So, by osmosis or genes, I picked up her style along with my briefcase and always tried to see behind the eyes of those who let me in. It wasn’t hard; it was fun and I met so many fabulous people on the way.

Years later, the karma bounces back. This week I called the office of the chairman of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, hoping to get a foot in the door with a high-powered stranger. Even after three decades of success, I felt like a newbie again, fearing the kiss-off of “We’ll get back to you.” But when a woman named Kathy answered the phone and I started to explain that I’d sent my book, she stopped me in the warmest voice, “I remember you from when you worked for one of our agencies.” That was in the early 90s. Yet after thousands of wannabe-important’s passed by her desk, she’d remembered.

Many times I run into people I met briefly in some long ago client office. And whether it’s in an airport or in some corporate elevator, I’m always delighted to hear, “Hi, Mary Lou! Remember me?” Several years ago, I visited Avon’s NY headquarters, my 80s career “alma mater” and at least a half dozen assistants-turned-managers reached out, “You’re back!” It amazes me to know that in a no-human-contact e-mail, texting world, there are still hugs to be had.

It’s a small world in marketing and advertising. Yesterday’s junior is today’s CMO. More important, yesterday’s acquaintance can be today’s friend. I know we’re in a hurry to win. But if you pause long enough to listen, to meet, to thank… you won’t be alone when you get there.

I love that the Internet gets me. Privacy issues aside, I like knowing that when I’m on a favorite website the banner ads are directed at me and my interests.

It used to be that advertisers went where the content was but now with the help of technology, no matter where I am, the advertising content can be relevant. But if it is relevant to me, should it also still be relevant to the page content? Take for instance this article on being happy with living with less from NewYorkTimes.com today.

As I scrolled down however, I was struck by a real estate ad, not for a broker or agent, but for the New York Times Real Estate section. It was showcasing none other than a vacation estate in Paris.  While this did catch my attention, I wondered, was this poor placement on New York Times’ part, or was my online search behavior causing this ad to appear?  (Perhaps this placement says more about how my own interests can be at odds with one another – “How to live with less in a mansion in Europe”.)

As technology gets more sophisticated and websites continue to jockey for ad dollars, it is important to find a good balance between personalized advertising and ads that are also relevant to the content. Otherwise, one could ask, “are you really talking to me?”

This week, two great escape stories are on everyone’s lips. Steven Slater, the Jet Blue flight attendant allegedly got fed up with a rude customer and threw his career out the window (though he probably is already signed for a reality show) as he threw himself, beer in hand, profanity on lips, down the evacuation chute and into a lot of irate hearts. And today, in theatres nationwide, Julia Roberts AKA Liz Gilbert runs away from a series of identity-threatening relationships to find herself by eating pizza in Italy, chanting mantras in India and falling passionately in love in Bali. Two stories, a world apart, but emotionally linked for women.

While the jury is out on the details of the Jet Blue ejection, Slater has become something of a folk hero for those who feel imprisoned in dead end jobs and berated by the customers they serve. Women are so often the holders of these ‘pink collar’ jobs in retail and service. They are expected to hold their tongues to hold their jobs and the idea of taking the chute and giving customers the finger was just too tasty to resist. Postings on Slater’s fan page range from empathy to shared rage. How many women are thinking, “Let me out of here…but first let me give you a piece of my mind?” While at Just Ask a Woman, we tend to focus on the customer herself, who also feels abused, ignored and under-appreciated, it’s clear that the service workers who irritate her, are themselves often ticked-off women, too.

And as this weekend’s movie theatres feature “Eat, Pray, Love” and are filled with Liz wannabe’s or Liz-bians as I’ve heard them called, expect the swelling of press around women’s pent up hunger to run away and resolve their ‘what if’s?’ What if I had chosen another path? What if I ran away to a place where I could be blessedly alone and then met Mr. Wonderful, my soul-mate without baggage of his own? While critics will bash the idea of the privilege that affords a worldwide, yearlong time out, I believe that most women, fueled by Oprah’s endorsement and the friendly tone of the Gilbert book, will be ready to pack their bags and yoga mats for the chance, that maybe, just maybe, they can escape the boundaries of their lives and find nirvana.

Has the economy made us feel like prisoners? Are women on the verge of snapping out or swapping out their lives? While theatre tickets and cable ratings and even retail checkouts (have you seen the avalanche of EPL merch?) will tick up this weekend, it will be interesting to see if these two great escapes are signals of a bigger shift in women’s appetite for independence….or just an end of summer runaway from home. Stay tuned.

For more listen to this interview on NPR that aired on August 13.

Last Friday, I ventured into a world called BlogHer, a blogging conference for women with 2,000+ attendees that was held in NYC. Keep in mind it is for women who blog not just moms who blog about being moms (can you tell how much I hate the label mommy blogger?). Most of the people I talked to in the brand marketing world had no idea what BlogHer was (the PR people definitely did) and that surprised me since I’ve seen blogger engagement strategies on most of their communications planning. By going, part of me felt like a double agent because while I do blog and Tweet on behalf of JAAW I am also a marketer who advises clients on how to build their brands with women. I decided to approach the event with the goal of being a fly on the wall.

My observations:

1. Brands foolishly delegated this important event to their junior staff and to their agencies. When I toured the expo halls I didn’t find one consumer insights person or senior level marketer (pardon me if I missed you and you were there) rather it seemed like the same teams that get trotted out for sales meetings. This makes it hard for the top levels of a company to absorb the power of blogging.

2. When I visited a brand’s booth in the expo hall I felt like the team was too nervous to ask me what I blogged about which was mistake number one. Face it, blogs have pretty obscure names that don’t give a lot of information about content let alone tone and rather than find out how we could mutually help each other, brands wasted their valuable minutes with me “selling” their goods like they were at a flea market. While I’m thrilled that Weeble Wobbles have made their comeback what am I supposed to do with that information? (That said my twins loved the ones I brought home.)

3. Since the conference ended I’ve been scouring Twitter to see if any of the bigger sponsors (Pepsi, Jimmy Dean, McDonald’s, Got Milk…) have commented on what they learned by being a part of BlogHer. Radio silence. Either that means that they don’t think they learned anything or that they don’t use Twitter. Both pretty tragic. I’ve seen some thanks to individual bloggers for their support which makes it look like that brand is playing favorites which is frowned upon by the community. Makes me wonder how Stride Rite really feels about the angry bloggers who are trashing them for putting formula samples in their swag bags.

4. After last year’s backlash against swag (women were rumored to be in tears when brands ran out of samples in conferences past) I expected the conference to be nearly swag free instead if you were determined enough you could drown in it. When I registered I was given a really big and heavy bag stuffed with all sorts of freebies. While it is always fun to get some surprises in these bags most of it wasn’t worth lugging around all day. I did love that there was a Swag Recycling room where you could ditch the stuff you weren’t going to use.

5. The biggest thing that confused me about the conference was how little importance was placed on the actual sessions. Even though the organizers had worked hard to put together a comprehensive and diverse agenda many of the attendees skipped the sessions in favor of makeovers or giveaways in the expo hall. Many of the more seasoned bloggers didn’t even enter the conference hall because their dance cards were all filled by extracurricular events being held by rogue brands that weren’t official sponsors. Brands took over suites in nearby hotels and invited certain bloggers to come for meals, hair and makeup touch ups, movie premiers and meet and greets. Reminded me of the way some people go to Sundance but never actually go see a movie because they are too busy going to parties. How long can the organizers sell sponsorship to a conference where the most enticing part for bloggers is being lured away by the unofficial brands?

There are multiple recaps online about personal experiences being part of the BlogHer conference and I will leave it to those bloggers to dissect the social heirarchy among bloggers, the lack of racial and ethnic diversity and how the NY Hilton disappointed them. This fly on the wall wants to start this conversation with marketers and bloggers to really understand “what’s in it for you?”