Do Women Want to Be Marketed To?

Posted on | July 13, 2008 |

That’s the question I was recently asked by a reader. The answer is, No. No one wants to be “marketed to.” I suspect that’s even more true with women. Why? In some categories, up to 80% of women say advertising does not speak to them.

Another reason why women don’t want to be marketed to is that there are so many stereotypes and negative images of women in advertising.

Don’t believe me? Pick up a women’s magazine and read nothing but the ads. Tell me you don’t want to kill yourself after that experience. All those stick thin models with looks on their faces like they are somewhere between bored and miserable. Fashion ads are the worst offenders. Plus, look at the barrage of weight loss ads and other ads aimed at encourage women to change/improve themselves.

What do female consumers think of the women in these ads? What’s the message the ads are sending? Seems all women are either supposed to be a sexpot or a supermom.

On the flip side, look at ads that don’t feature women. Take financial services ads. They either feature a guy playing golf, or sailing, or looking regal as he stands in his corner office. If women are featured, it’s almost always as a part of a retired couple.

The bottom line is, she does not see herself reflected back in the ad. She does not see herself, she does not see her life.

So what can marketers do to be more relevant to women? One idea is to portray her as she really is. Feature a slice of her real life. A fabulous example of this is the web series In The Motherhood. Episodes are based on real stories sent in by real moms. I believe one of the reasons for the phenomenal success of In the Motherhood is that so many women can relate - they can see themselves in these characters and their situations. Plus it’s snort-out-your-chardonnay-through-your-nose funny.

What’s her life really like? Find a way to reflect it back to her. Not only will it get her attention, she may feel you are actually talking to her. Which would be a nice change.