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Archive for March, 2008:

Pink Think in Russia

According to an article by Michael Schwirtz in the New York Times (3.30.08), Russia is seeing a surge of marketing to women with a variety of products, often using the color pink or stereotypical messaging to get attention. Schwirtz reports specifically on a Russian vodka brand – Damskaya … Read on >

Consumer Advisory Boards, Large and Small

My latest post for eBrandMarketing.com considers the consumer advisory board (or customer advisory board, aka CAB) concept.  Taking a cue from Chrysler (and the other huge brands like P & G that have formed them on a large scale), smaller brands/even independent retailers might gain much from developing their … Read on >

NewsBytes: Online Gaming Women, Hypnotic Focus Groups and Men in the Kitchen

1) Gaming doesn’t attract the young female audience you might assume it would.  Recent research shows: "Consumer product advertisements on Gaming sites tend to perform much
better among women ages 45+ compared with younger females. And
this is not a small audience, says the report. 8.3 million women ages
45+ say … Read on >

Just Don’t Call It Investing “Like A Girl”

Quick – what’s the first name that pops into your head when I say "hugely successful investor."  Yeah, that’s the name I came up with too: Warren Buffett.  Well, it turns out, his style of researching and being patient with where he puts his money is more typically feminine than … Read on >

Diamond Promotion Service

I spent a few days in Bermuda with a small group of independent jewelers looking to learn more about reaching women, without alienating men, and how to allow for the generational differences they had begun to notice – in terms of store layout, music, marketing tone etc. Outside of … Read on >

NewsBytes: “Let It Out” Olympics, Element-al Dogcars

1) As reported by Karl Greenberg in MediaPost, Kimberly-Clark has announced that its Kleenex brand will continue it’s "Let It Out" campaign with its Beijing Olympics sponsorship.  The launch piece for that partnership is a documentary-style video, described this way in the article:  "The film extends … Read on >

Want to Annoy A Lot of Women? Just Add Diet, Fashion and Sex Tips

Because I still see examples of it, I feel the need to occasionally return to the dangers of making assumptions about your female customers.  These assumptions are reflected in the brands that seem to be trying desperately to reach more women by adding nail polish, diet tips, sex advice or … Read on >

NewsBytes: QuikSilver Lifestyle, Luxury Consumers Like Hybrids

1) A commonly pondered question in the consumer goods world is this: how does a brand continue to serve its most passionate core customers and still expand into new markets?  QuikSilver has launched a new 20-something women’s clothing line that is all about lifestyle and not directly linked to the … Read on >

How Men Learn About Marketing to Women

Brands are facing a gender-fraught crossroads and it may well be a little uncomfortable there.  Should they focus in on women and forget about men, or vice versa?  Are men really starting to shop more like women?  What the heck does that mean?

Well… it IS complicated, but as is so … Read on >