marketing to the female economy

Marketing to the Female Economy

Introduction to Female Economy

Females control about $20 trillion in annual consumer spending

Females represent a growth market bigger than China and India combined

Yet most brands haven’t been able to successfully market to women without it being labelled as condescending

Michael J.Silverstein & Kate Sayre (2009), ‘The Female Economy’. Harvard Business Review

Boston Consulting group study

In 2008, the Boston consulting group field a study on the daily lives of women

More than 12,000 women took part and the result was that;

‘Despite the remarkable strides in market power and social position, that the have made in the past century(women), they still appear to be undervalued in the

marketplace and underestimate in the workplace’

This depicts the vast opportunity for brands to overcome this hurdle and market effectively to females


Boston consulting group study Identifies 6 key Female consumer segments

Fast Tracker•24% of population•34% of earned income•Economic & educationally elite•Seeks adventure & Learning

Pressure cooker•22% of population•23% of earned income•Married with children•Feels ignored and stereotyped

Relationship focused•16%of population•13% of earned income•Content and optimistic•Focuses on experiences not productsMichael J.Silverstein & Kate Sayre (2009), ‘The Female Economy’. Harvard Business Review

Boston consulting group study

Managing on her own•10% of population•9% of earned income•Ample discretionary income•Focuses on experience not products

Fulfilled empty nester•15% of population•9% earned income•Largely ignored by marketers•Focused on travel exercise and leisure

Making ends meet•12% of population•5% earned income•No money for beauty or exercise•Majority lacks college education –seeks credit, value and small luxuries


Example of a successful female marketing campaign

DOVE – ‘Real Beauty’ Campaign

‘Edelman’ conducted tests with over 3,000 women in 10 different countries

Noted that only ‘2% interviewed considered themselves beautiful’

Introduced ‘Real beauty’ campaign to adhere to the thoughts and feelings of women

Campaign led to 1.5 million visitors to the ‘Real beauty’ website

They brought ‘Real women’ of all shapes and sizes into their advertisements

To reinforce their message that every woman is beautiful in their own skin

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/21/dove-real-beauty-campaign-turns-10_n_4575940.html

Gender of shoppers in the U.S

• From the information given in diagram it is clear that in nearly every country features the woman having total control of spending compared to male counterparts

• This is significant as studies show that most marketing is aimed at males, so companies are targeting the wrong gender who purchase most of their products

• Here lies a large opportunity for brands to capitalise on this information and improve profits by marketing specifically to women


Further opportunities for brands in Female economy


• Along with the sectors on the right, the largest markets for female customers is:

-Food industry-Fitness Industry

Clothes/Footwear Industry

• All of these industries have the most potential for marketers to capitalise on

To be successful in the female economy

It is necessary to:

Adapt to female’s feelings and desires

Refrain from having your advertisements anyway condescending towards women

Signify and relish in a females strengths and natural instincts in an advertisement

Be able to market the exclusivity and good quality of the product

Market your product to appeal to the different segments of women discussed in slide 4 & 5