Marketing to Women Without Turning Off Men

Posted on | July 31, 2008 |

by Holly Buchanan

Kaira Rouda wrote recently about her experience as a Mercedes customer. In all of the Summer of Love Event ads she saw, all of the people actually driving the Mercedes were men. What would have happend if Mercedes had an ad where the woman was driving the car and the man was in the passenger seat? Would men see that ad and think “Mercedes are for women, that’s not the car for me”?

Cadillac has an ad with Grey’s Anatomy star Kate Walsh asking, “When you turn your car on, does it return the favor?” Do men look at that ad and think, “Cadillacs are for chicks”?

Logitech had a TV commercial promoting their webcam video calling product. In the commercial, a woman business traveler is calling home to talk to her husband and children. Will men look at that ad and think, “This product is great for women business travelers, but not for me”?

If, as in the case Kaira points out, ALL of the ads feature one gender, and not the other, you may have a problem. But are there times when women drive their husbands? Yes. Do women want strong sexy cars? Yes. Do husbands have wives who travel for work while they stay home with the kids? You betcha.

If you want to market to both genders, feature ads from both points of view. Avoid stereotypes of women, AND avoid stereotypes of men.

I love the AT&T commercial where a father’s daughter gives him her stuffed animal to take on his trip with him. The dad sends home pictures of the stuffed animal enjoying the sites in all the places the father travels. I adore this ad because it portrays fathers in a positive light. Instead of the often stereotypical “dufus dad”, this dad is loving and caring and “gets it.”

There are three things you can do to speak to women without alienating men.

One - Don’t slam men in your ad. Despite what some marketers might think, women don’t like ads with negative images of men. If you think by slamming men you’ll get on her good side, think twice.

Two - Women often have more questions, more criteria that matters to them, more opinions they need to take into consideration before making a purchase (like when they are planning a family vacation). When you satisfy the added demands of women, you also create a superior experience for men.

Three - Be careful when creating a “women’s only” area. Is there a true reason why you need to create a separate experience for women? Do women have truly unique needs that need to be addressed? In some cases, the answer is, yes. Harley Davidson has women-only “garage parties” for women new to motorcycles. It’s a non-intimidating atmosphere where they can learn, and they address unique women’s issues, like how smaller-statured women can pick up a motorcycle that’s fallen over.

BeJane.com helps women do-it-yourselfers with home improvement projects. They offer a lot of basic instruction and community support which women love. But a certain portion of their visitors are men! Are there guys out there new to home improvement who’d like some extra instruction, simple language, and support? Sure there are. Men are welcomed.

So, if your advertising is speaking to men and women, understand each’s unique perspective, situations, and needs. Break through stereotypes. Feature both men and women using your product. Create a customer experience that meets all of a woman’s criteria and the men will appreciate the superior experience as well. If there are special needs for each gender, address those, but don’t feel you have to have a separate experience for women unless they truly want a separate experience.

Here’s to more relevant advertising for women AND men.

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