Integrated advertising connects with women

by Tony Fannin, President, BE Branded

In a recent research paper from NBCU researchers, data shows that mass advertising campaigns gets the attention of women audiences. Kindle, Verizon, and Hershey’s, for example, were all in the top tier of the women brand power index and all had recent heavy advertising campaign push. The index uses data from Compete, New Media Strategies (they track social media “buzz”), and conversations tracked by Keller Fay Group. The brands that dedicated to a large, integrated advertising campaign resulted in increased brand importance among women.

Why is that important? Women is not a niche. Women is the market. Marketers would be stupid not reaching out and connecting with women since they control over 80% of household purchases ranging from high end financial services to riding lawn mowers. If you count in their influence on purchases you need to raise that number to 95%.

For example, Verizon moved from #4 to #3 in the power rankings, Kindle leapt from #386 o #170, and Hershey’s came from not even being in the top 500 to #122. All of these brands gained brand importance with women after significantly investing in an integrated advertising push. To be transparent, many of these brands also made a conscience effort to appeal to women (for example featuring benefits, not facts or what’s in it for their loved ones not just for themselves) Even Ford, a brand that is assumed all male, got onto the list for the first time at #59 after their heavy advertising push.

What can be gleaned from this study? One, if you know who you are wanting to communicate to, it’s easier to craft key messages that appeal specifically to them. None of this, so called, shotgun affect. Second, real effectiveness comes from not being timid or unrealistic when it comes to investing in marketing. The research shows that it does take commitment to advertising to become important in the mind your customers. And, most importantly, your real audience should be women. Sorry guys, we really don’t have much pull when it comes to making purchase decisions. We just think we do and I’m guessing women like it that way.

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