What is the "brand gap" between women and men?

"Men and women have been using their own gender filters to make decisions about what they believe the other sex wants in a product or brand message, and both men and women have long been feeling the pressure to conform to the socially accepted images of males and females. Advertising and media depictions of men and women as fundamentally different have perpetuated misconceptions of supposedly innate sex-based traits and preferences.

What makes a brand "woman friendly"?

"Brands that nurture new connections between people, but also concepts, disciplines and ideas have good conversations with women. Brands that understand that gender appeal marketing--that is, messages and images that appeal to a gender’s collective consciousness--has nothing to do with sex appeal marketing--that is, words and images that others find arousing.

Are you seeing many successful brand campaigns directed towards women today?

"Companies are not responding to the increase in the spending of women as well as we would expect. They are spending a lot of money to ‘market’ to women but, with some exceptions, they do not address gender in core issues. It is as if a decision is made that a product is either for women only or for men only. Communication and advertising follows accordingly.

For the moment women-oriented branding consultants still have a challenging and undiscovered path to explore with brands. Many women don’t think brands are listening at all, and they are probably right. The global trends driving women purchasing patterns are expected to drive the consumer economy in the future, but it is not obvious for brands traditionally built by males to internalize that knowing their audience as women must be accomplished before they can understand them as consumers.

What is the biggest mistake you have seen brands make when trying to connect with women?

"The problem arises when brands assume all women always listen, see, speak, react in one way, and employ stereotypes features in their communications to them. This has been, and still is, the biggest mistake a brand can make.

Advertising all too often presents an image of women that resonates with distorted cultural beliefs: women are weak, emotional and unpredictable and are always dealing with some personal, psychological or physical malaise. Brands need to adjust gears and start thinking in terms of having a full and lasting relationship with women consumers by keeping up with new skills: translating women’s visual and narrative language into their campaigns and becoming women-friendly brands and products.

You have two brand consultancies. Why did you found them?

"Brandnew is the result of a challenging and exciting publishing and advertising experience that Christopher Twele, my partner and friend, and I shared in Barcelona nine years ago. In creating new communication projects by putting together our different skills and backgrounds we discovered there was a need in the market for new design and storytelling branding proposals. The inspiration to found brandnewoman came from understanding the need for a brand-guided but gender neutral conversational approach and tools to effectively communicate and talk to women.

How did this understanding come about?

"A subject that seems to last throughout all generations is how well the sexes ever really understand each other. This apparent mutual incomprehension is what drives our roles as women and men, as can we see in songs, films, TV serials, campaigns, ads, work, business, etc. that we have been building up for a long time.

Things change and so do we. And the time comes to start thinking, 'what do women want as consumers? What feelings and skills do they expect from brands, managers, creators, designers, advisors?'

I believe in marketing with women, not at women and in discovering patterns in the way women communicate their feelings, needs and desires about the products or brands offered to them. This was the inspiration to found brandnewoman and the ultimate message would be to get women into the upper rank of decision making where brands are forged.

What are some of the most common questions that prospective clients ask you?

"Each client may have a different thing in mind when approaching a branding company like ours, but a common objective is to effectively communicate with the market to ensure that every 'brand meeting' builds the brand. They all share needs: the need for communication, for impact, for an involving, positive experience, the need to affect behaviour, the need for high payback. Communication is an interactive dialogue between the company and its customers and our objective is to improve the company’s ability to reach the right customers with the right messages in the right language at the right time and in the right place. Each brand is unique, expresses a different need and requests a different answer.

You frequently say "consumers are playing roles." What do you mean?

"We are born into a social context built up around our gender that has an enormous impact on our identity and the roles we play. In other words, the social context influences who you are, how you think and what you do and gender roles strongly determine a person’s actions, feelings, lifestyles and consumption habits. Exaggerated claims of gender role differences and consistent gender-biased speech in media and advertising have been used to support [the idea] that the two sexes are better suited to different lifestyles, experiences, products and actions.

What are examples of "exaggerated claims"?

"You find many examples in the roles typically assigned to women in ads. Many involve a woman’s confinement to the domestic sphere--caring for children, cleaning the house, shopping for groceries and making meals for the family or husband. Women have been portrayed as domestic providers who do not make significant decisions, are dependent on men, and are essentially sex 'claims.' Ironically they also reflect the multiple roles that women have to play.

Is it possible for brands to reach women and men with the same message?

"Men and women provide and respond to messages in ways that are much more similar than different. Studies underscore that men and women are basically alike in terms of personality, cognitive ability and leadership.

So, are male and female psyches actually alike or are they genuinely different?

"Psychology and neuroscience are quarrelling over sex differences in the brain, and the way their findings are reported are geared towards finding difference not similarity. Cordelia Fine, an academic psychologist, writes that male and female brains are far more similar than they are different and neuroscientists can't even tell them apart at the individual level: 'So why focus on difference? Although there is something captivating about neuroscientific information, please no more neurosexism!' I highly recommend reading her book, Delusions of Gender.

How can brands address the schism that does exist?

"Women's language is very context and mood dependent; so are her needs and desires. Brands need to open their minds to women’s way of thinking, and build and tell stories that go beyond gender to get women to enter their conversation.

How so?

"Women want products and services that truly meet their needs as opposed to some male notions of what is appealing to them. Women want brands that listen and talk to them in respect, consideration and understanding. Social media communities and networks are an excellent 'laboratory' to observe and test what women want and expect from their conversations and relationships with brands.

Understanding women’s language and moods is discovering why, where, when, and how they hear your words, if they hear them at all. If you want them to listen to your message and make purchases, apply gender knowledge to every element of communication, advertising content and marketing design addressed to them. Know who you are talking to, understand her words, listen to what she is saying and share rather than target.

Has the emergence of new digital media and the Internet impacted the "gender gap" in marketing?

"One of the most innovative and challenging aspects of new media is that it has empowered people and become a powerful tool of change. New media does have an impact on the gender gap in marketing, initially because women have found in it new channels to communicate, share, collaborate and network. The issue now is whether brands will carry women stereotypes with them wherever they may go, including new media.

Is digital media currently creating those opportunities to bridge the gender gap?

"Social media is an opportunity for the elimination of stereotypes, but tuning in to the conversations of women and men is difficult and it is very tempting to reinforce in it the use of gender stereotyped messages and ads. The primary issue now is investing in the conversations that are happening, learning the language, understanding the meaning behind the words and respecting his or her individuality instead of indiscriminately sending gender-biased ads into those social media communities.

New technology, digital media and social platforms will favour gender literacy and create new opportunities for brands to connect with men and women in their own language and context. The path to increased revenue in their business is to listen to them long enough to hear what they have to say."

 

Digital Media - Connecting with women consumers

The saying that "those who can’t, consult" does not apply to Marisa Iturbe. She is part of a new branding project called "Women and the City," which will be a peer-to-peer city shopping and service guide written by women residents and visitors, available through social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. Currently under development, the service will officially launch this September, initially in Barcelona.

What is the inspiration for the new guide?

"The objective is to create a 'women context scenario' for brands to talk to women.

Why is that important?

"[Women] want to find products at the right place, moment and time they are searching for them, they like to know what other women recommend when they have the same mood, they like to feel good about the companies they’ve bought from, and they want to share with their peers what they have learned and experienced.

Why is need for "user-generated content" important?

"In Women and the City, brands can connect their products and services with women in the mood to receive them. Word of mouth, referral marketing and the on-and off-line relationships that it creates are key to doing so effectively. Women value their time and appreciate having someone ‘edit’ their options, and what is better than other women's recommendations and referrals?"

 

Biography - Storyteller and Student

Today a brand consultant, Marisa Iturbe came from an advertising and publishing background professionally, after having studied journalism, languages, sociology and psychology. Before founding her current firm, she was partner at the consumer trends consultancy BPA, and was publisher and editor in chief of the lifestyle magazine 50_easy, both based in Barcelona.

"I have an innate passion for storytelling, and learning. My experience... has provided me with skills to construct stories that brands want to tell and customers understand, and are willing to hear."

Iturbe also brings an international perspective to her projects. Born in Mexico, she has also lived and worked in California, New York, several cities in Spain and in Switzerland, and the UK. She co-founded Brandnew in 2006 with Christopher Twele and Brandnewoman evolved a few years later. "To succeed in branding, you must start from the inside out and ensure that the common values of the company are internally and externally in synchronization, and aligned with the criteria of the brand value. You must also understand the needs and wants of every customer and prospect." Not one to rest on her laurels, this year Iturbe is completing a postgraduate course in online brand management at Ramon Llull University’s Business Engineering School.