My most recent SustainableBusinessForum piece takes a look at Outdoor Afro, the thriving social-media savvy business launched by Rue Mapp.  This business, which emerged from Rue’s personal passion, is now powerfully connecting African Americans with nature – and with each other – and is poised to do so much more.

Here’s an excerpt:

As the business has developed, Mapp has taken cues from the ways in which social media and interdependence of many systems of connections mimic nature. The more diverse, multi-platformed “habitat’ forms the strongest foundation, which lends Outdoor Afro its likely long-term sustainability as a community. 

In order for the business to create and maintain this, as Mapp puts it, “pathway for people to attach to, that is relevant in their own lives,” it must:

• Serve up deep, personal, authentic engagement. Mapp’s audience, for example, knows she truly understands their interests/issues/apprehensions about doing more camping, hiking or biking.

•  Provide many ways by which community visitors and members can connect with one another around the brand.
•  Amplify the passion and engagement of the core audience so that they then go on to influence their own families, friends and communities.
•  Partner with affinity groups and NGOs to broaden reach and influence.

Please check out the entire piece and let Rue inspire you!

#2 Urbanomics:  A global trend toward urbanization and density would bodes well for smaller carbon footprints and community-mindedness (can’t ignore how connected you are to your neighbors when you run into them every day…) – among other things.  Big city living may start to make sense to a few more people.

#6 Wellthy: Consumers are becoming more focused on preventing illness and pursuing a better quality of life.  Perhaps, at some point soon, 24/7 workaholic-ism WON’T reflect status, but instead poor choices.  Health is the new wealth, and guess which one can be more self-perpetuating and sustainable?

#11 Owner-less: Public bike programs and car sharing could well be just the beginning.  Sustainable thinkers see “borrowing” from the earth, and returning resources in the same condition, and for the next generation’s use, as crucial.  Whether a lofty concept or a real way to use and re-use material goods, this makes a ton of sense.  The bonus in these public bike and car efforts is that they are incredibly visible.  One person’s borrow can really nudge the next person to see the beauty in it as well.

Finally, there’s also the really obvious trend noted in this Trendwatching list: #10 Eco Superior – about the types of products consumers are now expecting.

However, seeing sustainability pop up where it is not being labeled, noted or marketed, front and center, is the exciting point here.  And, THAT’S a trend I’m keeping my eye on.

I can see it already.  When Dove first started releasing their various more noticeably women-focused, Campaign for Real Beauty ads – and they were effective/much talked about – brands all over the place went nuts trying to be similarly clever in jumping on the women’s thing.  Except, the women Dove was reaching so well were a very specific group of women, and no other brand, product or industry could simply slap a real women/not models campaign together and succeed.

Oh, but they tried.

“Marketing to men” may be the latest shiny object for marketers. But, I’m advising you to take a chill pill, step back – and perhaps revisit the “transparent marketing” guidelines in my book, Don’t Think Pink. Here are three:

1. Narrow your focus (and narrow it more and more and more – almost to pinpoint).  There’s no way you are ever marketing to all men everywhere.  Dove knows that, and did a ton of research.  That’s why the reality their Super Bowl ad depicted seems to resonate.  Guys are not being represented as uber-manly but more like the normal guys many of us know and love.  Life for adult men isn’t ALL about drinking beer and ogling hot chicks (who knew?).

2. Get to know and understand your customer community intimately. Dove found out that men connect with life in real ways – first you are young and goofy, then you get a job and find a great mate, then have kids and so on.  Life is rich and full.  The idea is to understand a day in the life of the man you are trying to reach, and also to understand a day that he may dream of (even if you don’t pose the question to him in quite that way).

3. Gather, utilize and acknowledge feedback. Without really talking to a few of the people they were trying to reach in developing the Dove Men+Care message, the skin care brand would never have gotten the tone and humor of this ad right –  just as was the case with their ground-breaking Campaign for Real Beauty women’s efforts.  And now, I’m guessing they are keeping track of how the ad campaign resonates and what is being said in blog comments and on Twitter to refine their future efforts.  Women are not the only ones who appreciate being heard, and given all the lame caveman vs. superwoman ad representations running now, guys are probably very receptive to brands countering that  theme (which has become cliched, in case you haven’t noticed).

Being guided and inspired by the customers you serve is the definition of transparent marketing.  Male consumers would likely say they don’t need a manly/blue filter on campaigns trying to get their attention.  Like women, they’d much rather be respected and connected with around values and ideas that are important to them.  So leave the grunting and burping for the beer ads – they do it so well.

*I’d give this ad campaign an  “A” for concept and execution.

First, let’s look at a health care example.  A recent post by Allison Arieff in the New York Times describes new facility layout and design changes incorporated by Kaiser Permanente.   That organization’s re-designs and built environment renovations appear to be to be walking the talk promoted by their new ad campaign, “Thrive.”  As Arieff mentions, Kaiser Permanente was motivated to change by research that found (among other things): signage was bad, waiting rooms were not comfortable, the cafeteria food was awful and the examination and hospital rooms were impersonal.

Let’s face it. These should not be stunning new findings for any health care organization. It’s just that, thanks to a bad economy, Kaiser Permanente got the kick in the pants they needed to start to look more closely and address those issues.  And, as Arieff describes, they did some very innovative things:

The collaborative team designated 22 key experiences that together add up to what they call a “Total Health Journey.” These touch on each moment of the patient’s experience, from the approach to the facility to the route down the corridor to any stop made along the way, whether at check-in, in an exam room, or at the cafeteria, pharmacy or bathroom. The design solutions that emerged include things as seemingly obvious as clearly marked signage; stairwells that might actually encourage people to take the stairs (and remove the fear that anyone who does so might end up locked in between floors); the creation of outdoor spaces that provide escape and respite, not to mention natural light; transforming typically unwelcoming cafeterias to more people-friendly cafés; and an exam room that emphasizes comfort, privacy and personal control.

In other words, the KP research team finally took a walk in a patient’s shoes. And, a lot of those patients or patient decision-makers are women who would have long since helped the industry figure that all out – if Kaiser Permanente had only asked.

Another industry that seems to have either just realized that women are key to the buying decision, or to only recently have decided to address that fact, is home building/architecture.  An AIA Home Design Trends Survey puts it this way:

The continued weakness in the residential market is changing how communities and neighborhoods are being designed. There is greater emphasis at present on integrating homes with activities such as public transportation and commercial and recreational uses. This in turn has generated greater density in developments, with infill locations viewed as popular.

According to that AIA study, a few of the specifics addressed by builders/architects for this newly more pragmatic home buyer include: simpler exteriors, smaller footprint, more energy efficient building, with an emphasis on low maintenance and sustainability; and a focus on creating walkable communities closer to or within urban cores.

But, here’s the thing.  Today’s home buyer isn’t “newly” more pragmatic.  The home builders and architects are just newly noticing what women have long wanted.  That industry, like many others, could have taken the lead long before the economic crisis – if only it had been paying closer attention.

Another two points to consider:

- Being guided and inspired by the way women buy (or experience your hospitals or the homes you build) does not mean you will alienate men.  Nor does it mean you have to start from scratch.  You just have to risk prioritizing your customers a tad over your profits.

- Incorporating efficiencies and sustainable practices, wherever possible, serves both the consumers labeled “women” and those labeled” eco-aware “- and yes, there’s a lot of crossover.  By learning how women make decisions about their health care or their new homes,  you also get a primer in how the more values-based buyer of either gender is making his or her choices.  (The more you learn about how women buy, the more you know about your “green” consumer.)

Hindsight is indeed 20/20.  But, the word is out: learning more about how women buy can keep a brand’s consumer perspective closer to perfect.

*note added 12.14.09 – just saw the CA Green Leaders 2009 (for arch/development) today via Twitter. The insights from those on the list definitely have marketing to women/sustainable home building implications (and I may write more on this at a later date).

1)  Every woman in the world shops as much as possible.

2) This shopping-obsessed woman can be swayed over to another aisle, and a product she has zero need for, merely by pink or shiny packaging of some sort.

3) Even if said woman doesn’t really wear make-up or is not buying soup much these days, this will do it.  She’ll stock up on whatever it is to give that 2 cents a pop to a breast cancer-related fund – as long as it is pink!

4) And, to be sure, even if women don’t do the Filene’s Basement run on your special pink October product, just IMAGINE all the press your public relations people can garner for the me-too campaign!

***

The above describes how an awful lot of brands today are looking at October and its breast cancer awareness drive.  What it doesn’t describe is any particular commitment or innovative approach to really getting the double-duty results a brand should want from participation in cancer prevention.  Traditional pink October efforts are a lame approach to “cause marketing,” not because the cause is not incredibly worthy (!), but because brands usually dip their toes too daintily in the water that every other brand has already walked through.  Over many years of Octobers, that lake has gotten murky, and all the pink and gloss can’t help it an iota.  So, I guess it isn’t so odd that your one big month’s worth of publicity doesn’t generate either a ton of money for the breast cancer cause or any sustained new customer interest in what our brand is all about.

Could we have seen that coming?  I do believe we could have.

So, yes, I am on the hunt for breast cancer month efforts that really speak to the cause, deliver some significant funding – and don’t rely solely on the pink wash.  I will give extra points to any that really serve the cause by raising awareness among a new segment (i.e. preaching to those outside the choir).  That may be younger women or teenage girls who still feel immortal or, perhaps more importantly, men.  How do you make pink month matter to them?

Well, according to a Los Angeles Times article by Dan Neil, it looks like one non-profit has come up with a new idea.  It’d be a cliche if it weren’t so true, but what is known to sell any number of things for men?  Starts with an “s,” my friends.  Well, the Rethink Breast Cancer organization was really rethinking.  Rather than leveraging the sad/fear of losing your wife angle, these ads make a point in Madonna cone-bra style .

I can see where they are coming from, and it may well be an attention-getter with men – but is lechery a truly effective motivator?  Guys – please comment to let me know your thoughts.

Otherwise – I’d love to hear about breast cancer awareness efforts that go beyond pink – and possibly even go beyond October.  If I hear about some good ones, I’ll write up the best practices and tell you why they work so well for this women’s cause that needs to resonate with men.

I’ve long believed that a great way to teach marketing to women is to start by taking a hard look at plain, old excellent marketing.  The idea is to make reaching the women’s market less “a whole new thing,” and more a focused version of what a lot of skilled marketers do already.  Start with the common ground or the existing “good” of previous marketing efforts, and re-build from there.  Remember: women are not from outer space, they are just tough customers.

Below, I offer the latest from Walker and Elliott as examples, and note key marketing to women influences in the campaigns:

1) Rob Walker’s column on Naked Pizza.  Women’s market influence: there is more than one consumer entry point, from just wanting good tasting pizza to seeking full-on explanations and long blog posts about the ins/outs of nutrition and food supply. This serves the pizza buyer, male or female, who is more linear (“just give me the pizza already…”) as well as the one who is taking a more holistic view of the product/brand and experience (“wow, this really can be healthy for my family and I love learning more about nutrition!”).  It is typical of a woman’s buying process to be more holistic and to appreciate a variety in depth of information – but delivering such is really a best practice in marketing, in general.

2) Stuart Elliott’s piece on Cloudveil’s new ad campaign.  Women’s market influence: The humor appeals to anyone who has or aspires to have an outdoor sports obsession so strong it gets in the way of other life obligations.  The effort also offers up an easy solution for making amends.  Outdoor sports fanatic clothing is not gender-specific but passion-specific, so the Cloudveil tone appeals to both men and women.  And, though tongue in cheek, the campaign really does offer a solution for the time-starved consumer.  (Usually, the time-starvation comes from daily responsibilities and obligations and is considered an especially big issue for multi-tasking women.  But, THIS time it comes from the choice of a man or woman to do something fun instead!)  Getting the humor right and providing a “solution” are best practices in marketing that are extra effective with women.

These campaigns – and all good campaigns that have some foundation in marketing to women truths – reflect an awareness of how THE CONSUMER thinks and goes about making a purchase decision, as opposed to what great features and specifics the BRAND wants to tell the world about.  Old-fashioned and ineffective marketing was not guided by the consumer much at all.  Twenty-first century, effective marketing is being guided and inspired by how women – or the toughest customers they represent, male or female – make purchasing decisions.

Go ahead and dig around in your own best practice history.  I bet you’ll find some marketing to women basics therein – like offering several layers of information (rather than assuming there’s one) to educate about a fairly complex product, or  connecting your customers to one another around a shared passion or shared sense of humor.

My point is: who cares if serving a “women’s way” was part of the plan?  The resulting best practices in marketing are the kicker.

I just read of a very smart move by the Chipotle restaurant chain to sponsor free screenings of the newly released documentary film, Food Inc.  By doing this, the company is supporting the broader education of consumers on the responsible and healthy food movement.  This effort also demonstrates to restaurant customers the authenticity of their own mission.  Of course, Chipotle is also risking the likelihood that super-educated consumers might call them on anything else they might be doing that isn’t quite to the highest expectations in that realm.  Here’s a bit about where Chipotle may be coming from, as noted in the Hollywood Reporter article I read:

Chipotle says that 35% of the beans it uses are organically grown and that it serves more naturally raised meat than any other restaurant worldwide.

“I hope that all our customers see this film,” said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle. “The more they know about where their food comes from, the more they will appreciate what we do.”

Now, why would a brand bother to do this sort of thing, given so much risk in opening consumer eyes to what may not yet be up to par in their own work?

Well, if we consider marketing to women the standard for best practices of serving all consumers well (as we should), there are two elements of marketing wisdom exemplified within this Chipotle “strategy”:

1) Admitting they are on a journey* toward a greater goal.  Chipotle’s healthy/fast food market segment is a very tight, focused consumer niche.  The brand’s executive team must feel confident that the sophistication level of such restaurant-goers will bear out.  They expect, and likely will get, goodwill points for all their efforts in the positive direction, AND they’ll get more patience from consumers regarding any less-than-perfect business practices thus far.  Consumers trust a journey – because it is human-scale.  Consumers don’t trust an “all and perfectly done” proclamation, because that is truly impossible.

2) Choosing to rise above competition as an industry educator.  Rather than figure out new ways to exclude themselves from the fast food industry, Chipotle is doing some learning and then deliberately sharing that with the competition as well as their customers.  It is incredibly counter-intuitive to share knowledge/content/ideas – but those that do often become shining stars.  Consumer education efforts may not garner a brand the big press or glamour of fancy promotions or quick and astounding sales growth, but it is an i-n-v-e-s-t-m-e-n-t that a more holistic consumer brain can really see (and that so many consumers are now looking for).

The Chipotle team is very upfront about all of this – which should be a model for other brands in pursuit of the more sustainably-minded consumer.  That person is either 1) a woman or, 2) is thinking a lot more like one today (using right with left brain to make decisions).

Authenticity actually can’t happen without vulnerability, scary as that sounds.  However, the right customers (your core market) will appreciate and reward you for it.  So, take the risk so few brands can manage and see what happens!

* My next quarterly newsletter (should publish in the next week or so) is on the process of the “journey,” rather than any particular end goal in marketing to women. If you haven’t yet subscribed (and you get a free download of the first chapter of Don’t Think Pink with that) – you may want to.  Also, if any of you have stories of how your brand risked vulnerability in a similarly pitched, consumer education manner, I’d love to hear about it: andrea (at) learnedonwomen (dot) com.

P.S. MediaPost just published a story on this Chipotle/Food Inc. connection too, if you are interested in more.

A few points:

1) Ball-less Baseball, innuendo or fact, is akin to bathroom humor.  Instead of being an open invitation, it feels exclusionary.  Rather than feeling fun, it makes anyone who hears about it think, “huh?”  This approach may well be a guy’s fantasy of how to connect with women, including the wink and a nudge.  Even the women who had been attending the games prior to this “clever” promotion, would likely find this a huge disconnect.

2) There’s no lasting public or community relations success that goes along with the event’s women-only through the fifth inning angle.  Once you get beyond the disconnect of the name of the event, very few women would find this pleasing or special treatment worth the bother.  I suspect a lot of female fans attend in the first place because it is fun to sit in the stands cheering with their husband, brother or kids anyway.

3) Don’t call it a “celebration of femininity and independence” (as the Hudson Valley Renegades minor league team did), if it isn’t anything of the sort – and any woman or man could see that.  Were any female fans surveyed before they developed this promotion?

The list of problems with the approach could go on, but instead I’ll offer up ways this team might truly invest in their women’s market:

• Serve up the finest possible in beer and food concessions.
• Make at least some of the seats a bit more comfortable, even if the ticket price needs to be a tad higher.
• Next time the facilities are upgraded, add in a few more women’s room stalls.
• Go the extra mile with your environmental and socially aware steps – recycling, groundskeeping, cause marketing, cleaning products, food/drink offerings etc.

In all the cases mentioned above, the beauty is also that you get points from female fans just for being aware and taking steps toward such suggestions (so re-think the way you tell your story to fans on that front as well).  Furthermore, take a look at those ideas again and you will see that most guys would not mind at all if you took such steps (including the one about the women’s room stalls – because it is a drag to wait for someone to get through those sports event lines!).

Those of you who have been reading my work for all these years know that I am not one to subscribe to the idea that a team, or brand, must have fancy “women’s only” events, promos or initiatives to serve its core female audience.  Additionally, though what I’ve mention in this post are all worthwhile suggestions (if I do say so myself), marketers will really only learn the truth about how to serve women better by talking with their existing fans or on-the-fence prospects.  No “ifs,” “ands” or fastballs.

So treat your fans well and think beyond mere pubicity stunts.  You’ll have much less chance of striking out and may even go into extra innings.

Something is very different in designing and marketing gadgets and “apps” in today’s world.  Performance, while important, is no longer king, and consumers demand that the darned things fit into or ease their lifestyles.  Interestingly to me, that often means a re-think of a concept or product from its masculine beginnings toward the feminine sensibilities.  Mind you, that means this is no simple “marketing to women” change.

Instead, the thing to note is that lots of great products designed in years past came from minds mainly focused on performance, status, and making a super cool gee-gaw better than the competition’s.  If you were able to review research that drove so many product developments back then, it would likely be clear that not a lot of end consumers were involved in the process.  The designer/engineer knew better than some silly user, after all.  The result?  Gadgets and technology that have all the necessary specs and functions, but don’t easily fit the various ways people want to integrate them into their lives.

Remember those first PDAs, way back when?  Talk about shiny new object-phenomenon.  The manufacturers didn’t really start to “get” how consumers used them for several years – but they sure looked good as described in marketing material bullet points!

Anyway – 21st Century consumers are now calling manufacturers and designers on the carpet for this disconnect.

I came across one such story in the July/Aug issue of Fast Company.  It’s about the designers of the Fitbit Tracker – a pedometer times 10.  This activity monitor calculates steps taken, as well as calories burned and sleep patterns – all in a discrete package.  Gadi Amit (designer) and James Park (co-founder of Fitbit) were interviewed by FC about how they came up with this clever product.  As Amit and Park put it:

“Most pedometers are quite male-oriented.  They’re focused on numeric achievement and look like electronic gear.”

They went on to say that their perspective switch in designing Fitbit was to go from pure performance to a wellness-centered one.  Their product suits a more urban lifestyle, not just  a “fitness” situation.  Fitbit is made to disappear into a person’s clothing, “whether that’s an evening gown or a running shoe, effortlessly carried 24/7 by either gender.”

As brilliant as it should have been obvious to earlier pedometer designers, don’t you think?

In this one little product and case study, I see evidence of a wise, wise shift.  Simply marketing a fancier but same-old pedometer to women might have attracted initial attention from female consumers (while alienating men), BUT applying feminine sensibilities – which everyone has – in your re-design is the more effective way to gain trust and sales.  By doing so, your product will very strongly resonate with women, as well as the men who like the numeric/performance aspects (and who actually respond to the more lifestyle-y stuff too).

Slapping on a “pink-wash” would have been beyond short-sighted for the Fitbit.  But, doing the work to revisit the entire concept and truly understand how people will most use it in their lives gave their product the elusive women’s market approval… and so much more.

Here’s an example of one of the informational tidbits shared in McDonalds 2009 Global Best of Green report:

…after Greenpeace published a report indicating that the soy used to feed McDonald’s chickens could be contributing to Amazon deforestation, McDonald’s Brazil worked with the activist group to commit to a zero-deforestation plan, including a two-year moratorium by farmers on producing and sourcing soy from newly deforested land. The ban has since been extended.

Probably more than offering “salads” (every woman’s favorite, just like “yogurt”), the content of this report reflects a deeper understanding of what women, or more generally, today’s more health and green conscious consumer of either gender, want:  The truth, delivered in an accessible – for all to see – manner and, an “on paper” commitment to continuing to do more.

That might include:

• the facts about why a brand has made the decisions it has,
• evidence of phasing in, or steps in the “right” direction (that would be the direction that reflects the values of most of its consumers), and,
• evidence of a fully integrated commitment to sustainable and socially responsible practices from packaging and recycling to nutritional efforts and supplier leadership etc.

One of the top five best green practices McDonald’s would like to spread throughout the company (globally) is this:

McDonald’s USA opened its first corporate-owned pilot green restaurant in Chicago late last year and it received LEED Gold certification last month. The company hopes to use it as a green building test ground for identifying practices to use in other restaurants.

Interestingly, the list of “top five” only includes the above USA example.  The other four best green practices cited came from South American countries, Japan, Australia and France.  I bet the brand’s corporate responsibility office will take note of that fact and figure out how their home-turf US business can show a bit more leadership in the coming years with green practices.

In any case, what is in this report should also be what women see happening on-the-ground at their local McDonald’s.  Each step in the greener, more sustainable direction will be noticed. All consumers will gain more trust, step by step, as they see evidence of the brand’s growing transparency both on paper (or web sites) and in action.

In this case, it seems like McDonald’s has heard what its more nutrition and green-aware consumers have been saying.  By getting the nod from the folks at Greenbiz.com, there is even more opportunity for brand trust-building.  Customers will make greater demands on McDonald’s and they will expect continuing full, transparent disclosure. Any brand today really has no other choice but to serve the same.

Salads or no salads, women will be the first to take note and reward McDonald’s for these improvements and continuing efforts, but everyone will follow their lead.  Green can be found in many places…