PurseStrings 100th Show - “Best Of PurseStrings” - Tomorrow LIVE 3pm EST - right here

Posted on | February 8, 2010 | No Comments

Congratulations to Maria Reitan on her 100th PurseStrings show! Our readers and listeners love the show which we air every week at 3pm EST right from our site. Maria has interviewed many of our featured contributors, from Andrea Learned & Holly Buchanan to Marti Barletta and others. Keep up the great work Maria!!

Here’s a bit of press for tomorow’s show:

Tomorrow, “PurseStrings,” the weekly marketing-to-women radio program on WebmasterRadio.FM, will air its 100th show since its debut in 2007. The “Best of PurseStrings” episode will feature a compilation of some of the best shows throughout the past two and a half years. The show’s host, Maria Reitan, is senior principal and chair of the Marketing to Women and Lifestyle Marketing practice at Carmichael Lynch Spong.

WebmasterRadio.FM added Reitan to its lineup of more than 30 original radio programs in the fall of 2007, seeking to complement its search engine optimization, advertising, affiliate marketing, Internet marketing, international marketing and entertainment programming with a unique show devoted to providing expertise about the largest consumer segment in the country — women.
Reitan has featured high-powered guests ranging from corporate CEOs and marketing executives to authors, creative directors, bloggers, interactive strategists, trend spotters and market researchers. Past guests have included the president of the League of Women Voters, the founder of BlogHer, Washington correspondent Cynthia Gordy and the vice president of marketing for Overstock.com. Each and every guest shares ways listeners can create compelling relationships with female customers who wield trillions of dollars in spending power.

During the time it has aired, “PurseStrings” has been picked up as a complement to other marketing-to-women outlets, including ReachingWomenDaily, the number one multi-author blog publication on marketing to women by editor Penelope Stockinger and the audience of the M2W and M2Moms conferences, which were created by Nan McCann of PME Enterprises. Currently, “PurseStrings” is the only broadcast offering on M2W and ReachingWomenDaily.

“Reaching the 100th show is an exciting milestone for me and for WebmasterRadio,” says Maria Reitan, senior principal and chair of the Marketing to Women and Lifestyle Marketing practice groups at Carmichael Lynch Spong. “It’s quite humbling to look back and see the growth of the show – including the show’s expansion to several new outlets and the number of influential professionals I’ve been fortunate to feature. I look forward to more fascinating guests in 2010.”

How Brands Should Appeal to Women

Posted on | February 7, 2010 | No Comments

By Dr. Bob Deutsch

In my work as a cognitive anthropologist I study how the mind works, how people “make meaning,” how people form attachments to things, how people make decisions. Decisions like how to select what to invest in, whether stocks or mates; why and under what conditions, people prefer Coke over Pepsi (or vice versa), Charmin over Cottonelle; why a person believes in one God over another.

In that search I have inadvertently uncovered something about viva la difference: WOMEN CYCLE, MEN CONSUMMATE. Marketers need to understand the implications of this difference.

Men are oriented to the present, the concrete, the visual, the “hit,” the win, the “me.” Evolutionarily speaking, the male must bring home the bacon. No Dilly-Dallying. No excuses. The male is in the now and, above all else, is a pragmatist.

The female is oriented towards the conceptual, to underlying dynamics, to the relationship between things, and to stability over the long-term. The female understands and sees patterns over time.

Men act and say things like: “You’ve got to act, you can’t wait too long.” “You must know how to look at the environment, know what the data and specs mean. Then pounce.” “My goal is feeling powerful and getting peoples’ attention.”

Women act and say things like: “It takes time to have things in order.” “I want to feel good about where I am and what I’ve done.” “My goal is continuity, building positive relationships, and long-term stability.”

A Seattle couple that started a small business together have different ideas about inventory. Wife: “I live to reinvest in inventory when I have cash, so I can buy stuff off-season and sell it next year at a bigger profit. I also like to have inventory just as a customer service.” Husband: “Get rid of inventory as fast as possible.”

Men: Do what you set out to do and finish the job. Women: Evolve.
Men: Achieve. Women: Experience.
Men: Stay on top of things. Women: Create good relationships.
Men: Get the biggest piece you can. Women: inner peace.

Women want to understand things and want to be understood. Men are more focused on explanation.

Explanation entails seeing the world as governed by finite laws that humankind can direct through successive approximations. Understanding requires comprehending meaning from the inside out, in its unfolding. To understand, the world can’t be approached from solely an intellectual stance.

In general, the two genders have different ways of perceiving causality, time, and power. This implies seven principles for making your brand more appealing to women:

1. PATTERN, not just point. Recognize that women have the ability to perceive more than the metric of a product attribute or an instance in time; they appreciate the underlying pattern (idea) that gives rise to the fleeting moment.

2. AUTHENTICITY, not just immediate appearance. Recognize that persona, biography (or history), and current contingency must all be factored in, and that universal principles underlie particularities.

3. QUALITY, not just quantity (size). Recognize that for women bigger and more is not necessarily better; and that a steady build is often better than an impulsive response.

4. CONNECTEDNESS, not just individuals. Recognize that communality can reign over dominance. We are all bound together.

5. SOCIETY, not just markets. Recognize that markets are numbers, and that markets can be counted and the goodies duly noted. But numbers are not people. Women are people and people have personal feelings and social intentions.

6. QUALITY OF LIFE, not just accumulation. Recognize that there are material and spiritual needs made up of individual wants and musts, but that are cast in the context of a social matrix.

7. REASONABLENESS, not extremism or absolutism. Recognize that all issues have grays, and exaggerations to one side or the other only cover-up the reality of subtlety and nuance.

Marketing to women is not as easy as ‘pretty in pink’ or ‘basic black’. But knowing the inner reality of women can help marketers feel more in the pink and put them in the black.
- - -

Dr. Bob Deutsch is a cognitive anthropologist, founder and president of Brain Sells, a strategic branding and communications consultancy.

The Green Mom Eco-Cosm: PurseStrings LIVE 3pm EST today - right here!

Posted on | February 2, 2010 | No Comments

Angela Walseng, partner with the Social Studies Group, and Andrea Learned (author, blogger and gender insights/marketing to women thought leader) partnered on a research project that has lead to a white paper entitled: The Green Mom Eco-Cosm: A social study into their motivations, convictions and influence. The research focused on uncovering the various levels of “green” when it comes to female consumerism in this space. Specifically, how do self-identifying green moms - who are incredibly influencial - really think about environmental issues. - missed the show? check our podcast - left hand column under “recent posts”
Click HERE for the report

Advertisers Fumble ROI with Super Bowl Ads

Posted on | January 27, 2010 | No Comments

By Robert Passikoff

62% of Advertisers will Fumble ROI

Not all programs are right for all brands, even if it happens to be the Super Bowl. The 8th annual Super Bowl Engagement Survey, conducted by Brand Keys, Inc, reports that when it comes to the monetary return advertisers will get on their advertising investments in the Super Bowl, upsets are not limited to the playing field.

Five Winners and Five Losers
Brand Keys’ research shows that Denny’s, Viacom’s Iron Man 2, Hyundai, Anhauser-Busch (Budweiser), and Diamond Food’s Pop-Secret are the five advertisers most likely to get the highest return on their Super Bowl ad investments. Advertisers like TRUTV, Kia, HomeAway, Dockers, and Dr. Pepper are likely to see much lower returns.

Methodology
This year’s Brand Keys’ survey was conducted the third week of January, among a national sample of 1,350 men and women, 18 - 65 years of age, who indicated that they were going to watch Super Bowl XLIV, February 7th. The research examines most of the brands advertising ‘on the Super Bowl’ and includes brands reported in industry publications as having purchased spots.

This is more than Monday-morning creative quarterbacking, day-after creative reviews are always interesting, have a high ‘Water Cooler Effect’ and elicit lots of Monday after chatter. But advertisers should remember that ‘buzz’ comes in two frequencies: positive and negative. ‘Wasn’t that terrible?’ generally isn’t a phrase that appears in creative briefs.

Even setting aside the question of quality creative, the survey brings into harsh relief the question being more loudly articulated this year does the ad buy actually lift the brand?

More and more, clients want to know more than was their ad seen, and with 30-second spots selling for $2.5 million - $2.8 million, this is a whole new ballgame. Brands like Pepsi, which has advertised on the Super Bowl forever, have decided there are more effective media venues.

Predicting Brand Loyalty
The Super Bowl Engagement Survey, like the Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, is created to predictively measure respondents’ true reactions to brands within the context of the medium. Results correlate highly with consumer behavior, and are reliable predictors of future brand purchase. Think of it as identifying how the media reinforces, or in some cases degrades brand values. What you want to see is a minimum of seven points added to your brand to ensure you’re getting a real return on a very expensive investment.

Assessments for the 2010 Super Bowl XLIV advertisers:

Advertiser “Super Bowl” R.O.I

Anhauser-Busch (Budweiser) +8
Audi +6
Boost Mobile -0-
Bridgestone Firestone (Halftime Sponsor) +5
CareerBuilder +6
Cars.com -3
Coke +2
Denny’s +9
Diamond Foods (Pop-Secret) +10
Dockers -2
Doritos +9
Dr. Pepper Cherry -4
E*Trade -2
Electronic Arts +7
Go Daddy.com +3
HomeAway -3
Hyundai +10
Kia -5
Mars +5
Monster +7
Motorola +7
NFL +9
Telaflora -0-
TRUTV -2
US Census Bureau -0-
Unilever’s Dove Men&Care +7
Universal Pictures (The Wolfman) +7
Viacom’s Paramount Pictures (Shutter Island) -0-
Viacom’s Paramount Pictures (Iron Man 2) +11
Viacom’s Paramount Pictures (Last Airbender) +4
Walt Disney (Alice In Wonderland) -0-
Walt Disney (Toy Story 3) +6

Engagement assessments are separate from how many eyeballs were watching and are a reality check that lets advertisers know how super their media buys actually are, and it can be done before signing a check. It has nothing to do with ‘being watched’ or of consumers ‘being aware,’ and has everything to do with being emotionally engaged with the brand. That’s vastly different from just being entertained. A laugh is not an acceptable return on an investment of this size.
______________________________________

Robert Passikoff is the Founder and President of Brand Keys

PurseStrings LIVE - Chat, Chew & Chocolate

Posted on | January 26, 2010 | No Comments

Digital Moms are on the Move

Posted on | January 25, 2010 | No Comments

By Dr. Mary Lou Roberts
Every so often I get energized to write a post on moms on the web. I’ve done Mommy bloggers—who they are, how to reach them, and the importance of transparency. The latter was before the FTC proposed regulations and guidelines.

Moms have always been purchasing agents for their households; now they have digital tools to do it.

The chart from the Razorfish/Café Mom study shows the digital channels moms use, categorized by mainstream channels used by over 50% of moms, mainstream used by about 1/3 of them, and emerging used by less than 25%. eMarketer adds to this picture by pointing out that moms are using their smartphones to do things like searching for recipes online. Think of the opportunities for reaching them in the course of such activities, but also note that the best way is not advertising in many channels, especially mobile. The second chart suggests that ads on social nets get a rather small amount of attention and even less action. Awareness? Maybe.

What made the subject top of mind was a headline in Marketing Charts a couple of days ago: “Retailers Can Lure Moms with Social Media, Free Stuff.” That’s not exactly a surprise, but the chart on what promotions moms find most influential is interesting. It’s also interesting that moms are more influenced by everything than are adults in general—the purchasing agent effect in operation. What interests me even more when I look at this chart is the ways in which marketers can reach moms with the promos they care about. Just a few examples:

• Notify moms of Product Samples In-store on their social networks (message your fans, advertise to others) and by reaching out to the ecosphere of mommy bloggers
Actually, that advice hold true for most of the items on this list.
• Use the database from Store Loyalty Cards to reach moms with permission email and mobile coupons based on behavioral data.
• In-Store Events and Parking Lot Events can be Tweeted to build excitement and momentum.

Think about it: what promotional techniques should you be using? How can you notify moms that they are available?

Ponder this quote from the RAMA study that produced the promotion data:

“Retailers who aren’t engaging customers through social media could be missing the boat,” said Mike Gatti, Executive Director for RAMA. “Twitter, Facebook and blogs are becoming increasingly popular with moms as they search for coupons or deals and keep in touch with loved ones. The web provides efficient, convenient ways for brands to stay in front of their most loyal shoppers and attract new ones.”

He’s being tactful! Unless your women customers are all over 80, you need to be actively pursuing social media strategies—listening and engaging, not advertising. Otherwise, the boat goes without you!

Chat, Chew and Chocolate on PurseStrings - Jan. 26th 3pm EST - right here!

Posted on | January 22, 2010 | No Comments

My guest for next Tuesday’s show is Dena Patton, founder of Chat, Chew and Chocolate… which is all about providing fun, friendship and inspiration for busy Superwomen. So how does a female focused company about making some “me Time” capture women’s attention when they have so little of it to give?
- Maria Reitan

Power of Cross Media Engagement

Posted on | January 21, 2010 | No Comments

Embracing more and different media touch points theoretically optimizes the opportunity a brand has to be exposed to the target consumer.

So reasonable people might ask that if each medium has its strengths, and if a combination of media has the potential for greater potency, won’t the brand with the most touch points win?

The article below from Advertising Research Resource answers that question by examining cross-media consumption affects on the basis of media’s ability to generate increased level of brand engagement as well as actual consumer behavior in the marketplace.

C-MEEs: Cross-Media Engagement Evaluations

Nearly four decades ago, Neil Postman, professor, media theorist and cultural critic, predicted what he termed media ecology: ‘Media ecology looks into the matter of how media of communication affect human perception, understanding, feeling and value.’ This reflects remarkably the concerns modern marketers are facing, especially in regard to how consumer engagement is facilitated by cross-media utilization.

Almost ten years later, Marshall McLuhan observed that ‘media ecology means arranging various media to help each other … to buttress one medium with another’, which sounds even more like the current conundrum regarding measuring cross-media consumption, and its effect on consumer engagement, brand development and sales.

You can argue about the precise date when media ecology finally arrived in its full complexity, or the continuum on which the media environment migrated. What is incontrovertible is that a real, 21st-century media ecology, where consumers are cocooned by media of one sort or another on a 24/7 basis, has arrived, and that media planning for this environment is more complex than ever.

CROSS-MEDIA MEASUREMENT
Read more

Modern Girl’s Guide to Sticky Situations - PurseStrings Tues. 3pm EST - right here!

Posted on | January 11, 2010 | No Comments

My guest Tuesday is Jane Buckingham, founder of Trendera, an innovative marketing and media consulting firm focusing on digital and non traditional trend forecasting. She’s the author of the best-seller “The Modern Girl’s Guide to Life” and is anticipating her newest book out this spring, “The Modern Girl’s Guide to Sticky Situations.” We’ll be talking about what it takes to make a Gen Y connection and what 2010 holds for our youngest adult population.
- Maria Reitan

Federated Media - Media Trends 2010 - PurseStrings - Tuesday 3pm EST, right here LIVE

Posted on | December 21, 2009 | No Comments

My guest on PurseStrings this Tuesday will be Emily Goligoski. Emily works to develop strategic marketing programs for Federated Media, an online publishing company that represents Apartment Therapy, NOTCOT, and BoingBoing among other sites. We’ll be talking about trends that will be key for communicating with women in the marketplace in 2010.
- Maria Reitan