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The Unlikely Avenues to Reach African American Women

Feb 28

Tara MayTara May

by Tara May
Category: Consumer, Health, Social Marketing

Plenty has been written about the increasing reliance of consumers on the Internet for their healthcare information. According to a recent study by the Pew Internet & American Family Life Project, so much of health care is moving online that many physicians assume everyone uses the internet. However, that assumption could lead to patients missing out on important information, or being unable to access certain tools. With so much happening online, it is easy to forget the important offline – and often unexpected–resources that can influence consumer healthcare perceptions and behaviors. Such as…your hair stylist.

A 2010 study of African American women (Johnson et. al) confirmed earlier research studies revealing that, where health is concerned , many consumers listened to recommendations from their stylists at beauty salons. The 2010 study examined the impact of beautician-provided nutritional counsel to African American women in a beauty salon setting. The study found that the women who received instruction and materials from a beautician increased their average fruit and vegetable intake from about 2 servings a day to 3 and a half a day at the end of the program.

Those of us who work in healthcare communications know that behavioral change is very often the most coveted, and elusive, goal. It is one thing to provide information, but it is quite another for an individual to act on the information they receive. Meaningful lifestyle changes resulting in healthier habits often requires multiple exposures to a single message, delivered from credible sources and provided in varied formats. The 2010 study used a single source of information – the beautician – to achieve fairly remarkable results.

This insight is particularly important as African American women suffer disproportionately from a wide range of health disparities and can be difficult to reach using online or traditional offline channels. Scholars have posited that the influence of hair stylists is rooted in the cultural fabric of African American women, who have evolved a unique oral cultural tradition around beauty salons. This oral exchange of family histories and information remains important to the preservation of African American culture and social interaction. African American women, including those 50 and older, regularly network, exchange information, and talk about local news and issues in beauty salons and beauticians are often opinion leaders within this community.

To leverage these key influencers, organizations from the NCI to Proctor and Gamble have created programs to arm beauticians with health information to pass along to their clientele. Closer to home, our account team working with Softcup began exploring beauty salons and stylists as an avenue toward reaching African American women. Softcup is a menstrual cup and holds less than 1% of the overall feminine hygiene market. Consumer research has shown that African American women are more receptive to the concept of a menstrual cup compared to Caucasian and Asian women. In the second half of 2011, we hope to add to a growing body of evidence linking stylist advice to consumer action. We will be implementing several event-based marketing programs that will introduce and connect stylists to the Softcup product.

Given the community-based nature of these beauty salons, it is no small undertaking to reach the stylists that run them. Despite these challenges, it seems that offline forums such as beauty salons might be just the place to seed conversation…not to mention get a hair cut.

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Celebrities, The Red Dress, and Women-to-Women Social Media Messaging

Feb 23

Michaela ThayerMichaela Thayer

by Michaela Thayer
Category: Best Practices, Events and Conferences, Health, Social Marketing, Social Media, Trends & Behaviors

Back in 2002, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, recognized that raising public awareness of heart disease as the #1 killer of women was critical to reducing its impact on women’s health. The NHLBI charged Ogilvy with ensuring that their messages about heart disease would be heard by women around the country.

Today, The Heart Truth campaign continues to unite community groups, corporations, media outlets, and individuals alike encouraging women to protect their hearts. We created and introduced The Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness nearly a decade ago to remind women of their #1 killer and take action against it. Each February since its launch, The Red Dress has come to life on the runway at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

This year’s Red Dress Collection Fashion Show, held on February 9, 2011, was breathtaking. 22 celebrities walked the runway—including Patti LaBelle, Suzanne Somers, Gayle King, Ann Curry, and Natasha Bedingfield—in stunning red gowns crafted by top designers—including Zac Posen, Oscar de la Renta, Donna Karan, Catherine Malandrino, and Carmen Marc Valvo—to warn women of their #1 health threat.

Every year, we garner hundreds of millions of media impressions and generate stories that impact the lives of women around the country—helping them to live heart healthy lifestyles. But this year, more than ever before, our celebrity participants used social media to reach their female followers and fans about The Heart Truth and the meaning behind The Red Dress. Imagine…a symbol that not only helps women recognize the importance of their inner health, but additionally empowers women to reach other women with the messaging.

I want to share just a few examples of the celebrity social media that dominated online conversation about women’s heart health in February. Here is a tweet by Alison Sweeney:

A tweet by Cat Deeley encouraging her fans to “like” our Heart Truth Facebook page:

A tweet by Eve encouraging her followers to protect their hearts:

A tweet by Eva Amurri starting a conversation about heart disease in women on Twitter:

And another tweet by Giuliana Rancic proclaiming how important heart health is:

The above tweets make up just a small sampling of celebrity-created social media for The Heart Truth. We had Facebook posts promoting the show and raising awareness about the issue by Alison Sweeney, Suzanne Somers, Dita Von Teese, Julianne Hough, Cat Deeley, and even Laura Bush. We had full blog entries by celebrities like Dita Von Teese, Audrina Patridge, and Julianne Hough. And in addition to the tweets that are posted above, we had additional tweets written and posted by Dania Ramirez, Denise Richards, Audrina Patridge, Dita Von Teese, Julianne Hough, Katrina Bowden, and Patti LaBelle. These women, who largely have female audiences, exponentially spread our messages with their fan bases, reaching women that we may not have every reached without them, perhaps saving lives.

Working on this campaign over the past three years has given me so much. I work with the celebrities, and to my pleasant surprise, our participants are always very much appreciative of the campaign, and as women, they want to warn others to protect themselves against heart disease. Heart disease is largely preventable, and we fully appreciate the women-to-women social media efforts of our participants (who participate pro-bono by the way).  Coupled with other efforts of The Heart Truth campaign for American Heart Month, I believe that the increased celebrity engagement in social media contributed to a stronger Red Dress brand. This year has been a great year so far. As a woman…reaching other women reading this blog…I hope you take away the power of women-to-women messaging. And on a campaign note, please take care of your hearts.

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Beauty and the (Media) Beast

Feb 14

Layla RevisLayla Revis

by Layla Revis
Category: Consumer, Health, Trends & Behaviors

We’ve all heard that ‘sex sells,’ but we rarely think twice about it. In fact, it’s one tired cliché we’ve actually grown up believing. Unfortunately, for marketers and consumers worldwide…

We’ve been lied to.

And while there’s no denying that Britney Spears sold records in great part due to eroticized expressions of virginity, research has shown that the higher sex content in an advertisement, the lower the brand name recall. In fact, a study conducted by Steadman found that brand-name recall was significantly lower in sexual advertisements than non-sexual advertisements. Still, we can continue to tell our clients and our kids that same played out line.

The real question is this: what does this mean when it comes to perceptions of beauty and the body for women and men today?

In 2004, with the help of Ogilvy, Dove launched its famous “Campaign for Real Beauty“ after conducting a global study of beauty. The study confirmed that the definition of beauty had become impossible to attain. Dove found that only 2 % of women described themselves as beautiful and, when it came to body image and weight, women from all countries were unsatisfied with themselves. However, an overwhelming 81% strongly agreed that “the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that most women can’t ever achieve” and 75 % wish the media did a better job portraying the diversity of women’s physical attractiveness, including size, shape, and age. With women making up roughly 50% of the world’s population and influencing or buying 80% of products sold, companies ignoring what these women say and feel can be a costly mistake.

Dove’s response was to develop “Evolution,” a viral video with unprecedented success; viewed by more than 300 million people globally. Dove and Ogilvy won countless awards, including two Grand Prix Cannes Advertising Awards and a Grand EFFIE, which honors the most significant achievement in marketing communications. In the first six months of the campaign, sales of Dove’s firming products increased 700% in Europe and the United States. In the first year, global sales surpassed $1 billion.

Shortly thereafter, Spain made headlines for banning super-thin models from runways after the deaths of 21-year old Ana Carolina Reston and 22-year-old Uruguayan model Luisel Ramos, who reportedly died of heart failure after Read the rest of this entry »

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CES 2011: Where Are the Women?

Jan 24

Jenna BollerJenna Boller

by Jenna Boller
Category: Consumer, Events and Conferences, Technology

Having worked in Tech PR for four and a half years, I’ve been to my fair share of geek fest conferences and events. The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, however, was new territory for me this year. Given CES is typically a male-dominated show, I was curious to see whether women would be present and well received. After all, a recent study by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) found that women “possess substantial buying power and influence,” especially when it comes to personal technology.

According to the study, not only are women influential in making technology purchase decisions, but they are also increasingly relying on social media. Luckily, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet up with some of the women bloggers attending CES and asked them for their views on whether they felt they “fit in” at such a high testosterone conference.

Mia Kim, owner of Popgadget, a personal technology and lifestyle blog geared towards women, didn’t feel the industry has changed enough to recognize and accommodate true women in tech.

“After going [to CES] the previous 6 years, I thought this year was super crazy. After a few years of the ‘booth babe’ thing calming down, I think it’s come back,” said Mia.

Despite the mini-conference track specifically geared towards moms and parents, there wasn’t a lot geared towards true women in tech, said Mia. “There’s something ‘safe’ about tech for ‘Mom,’ but CES just shows how much the whole industry is attuned mainly to men. Somehow a ‘soccer mom’ is not threatening, but ‘entrepreneur super-tech woman’ isn’t showcased or considered when it comes to events, speakers, and products. The marketing is so male-centric – that’s why some of the booths looked like they were sponsored by Hooters.”

By contrast, Beth Blecherman, Founder of TechMamas and Chief Technologist of CoolMomTech, has seen progress over her past three visits to CES. After feeling like a “novelty” when introducing herself to exhibitors as a mom tech blogger in 2009, Beth was glad to see more than 30 mom and dad bloggers from her network at CES this year. In addition to a larger MommyTechCES summit and the first annual Fashionware tech fashion show at CES, Beth was able to meet up with fellow women bloggers during CES at mini events like Intel’s* women’s blogger meetup and a mom blogger breakfast sponsored by the Clever Girls Collective.

With a growing abundance of “smart” devices coming to market, technology is becoming more important for women to know and understand. Kristin Brandt, co-founder of Manic Mommies and tech blogger for Real Simple, interviewed Robin Raskin, founder of Living in Digital Times, about ways technology is changing the lives of children (see below video). For example, how motion-based technologies like the Wii, Kinect and Playstation, are changing children’s play patterns and is 3DTV ‘safe’ for kids to watch?

My takeaway? Consumer electronics aren’t what they used to be. From smart TVs and refrigerators to connected cars and a slew of new tablets, CES had it all: an overwhelming look at the latest gadgets out there, but also a glimpse into how our lives and interactions will evolve to include technology everywhere. What a scary, yet exciting thought!

*Full disclosure: Intel is a client of Ogilvy PR.

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Reaching Women: Can We Learn from the Kardashians?

Jan 11

Jessica SollowayJessica Solloway

by Jessica Solloway
Category: Consumer, Current affairs, Media, Social Marketing, Social Media, Trends & Behaviors

From jewelry to perfume, workout videos to diet systems … the Kardashian sisters know how to reach women. Whether you love them, or just love to hate them … they’re here to stay (thank you very much E!). While many think they’re just famous for being famous, they’ve created a brand that’s raking in big bucks. So, what can we learn about marketing to women from Kim, Khloe and Kourtney?

1. Appearances Matter
Although many of their wardrobe choices are questionable … the trio has their long-hair-tons-of-makeup-look down to a science. They’re always picture perfect. And when they’re not … they’re relatable. “Kim Kardashian without makeup” is an insanely popular Google search (and quite shocking to see!). No matter what they do … people actually care. And that’s the key to keeping any brand relevant – getting consumers to care and then of course, share with their peers. They know that every move they make – from a single Tweet to a cover story – is another opportunity to grow their brand, audience, and potentially achieve total world domination. Wouldn’t put it past them…

2. It’s Important to Think Big
Most reality show “stars” have their 15 minutes of fame and then wind up in a “How I lost 15 pounds!” magazine spread. But the Kardashian girls aren’t banking on just one big thing. Their growing empire is constantly evolving – new products, TV series, retail stores, and more. Brands that appear stale and stagnant don’t succeed in today’s marketplace.

3. Know What Women Want … And Run with It
Cupcakes. Check. Thigh toning exercises. Check. Teeth whitening. Check. If women want it, these girls are selling it. Their endorsements span across women’s lifestyle categories, not just limited to one small sector. Branching out and diversifying is crucial to expanding your audience and reach. But beware, you don’t want to be all over the map and veer too far away from your strategy or message.

4. Social Media is Key to Growing a Fan Base
Kim has close to 6 million Twitter followers that want to know what she had for an afternoon snack. She’s mastered the art of the tweet – using it to give fans a minute-by-minute glimpse into her real life and of course to promote EVERYTHING she’s doing. Right now it’s a sneak peak from her new music video – yikes! Staying on top of social media is key. A lackluster, inconsistent and unfocused social media presence will lose a brand fans faster than you can type 140 characters.

Okay, so they’re great at tweeting and helping women fit into skinny jeans. However, the Kardashians have had a few missteps along the way, specifically Kourtney giving birth on TV. Regardless of what you think of their fame and choice of boyfriends … they’re here to stay. Is it just luck? Shiny hair? Marketing genius? A little bit of each? Who knows … But maybe it’s not such a bad idea to follow a few rules from their playbook to reach women. Just don’t wear anything they would to a client meeting.

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Women are from Venus, Men from Best Buy

Dec 22

Monique Da SilvaMonique Da Silva

by Monique Da Silva
Category: Consumer

Just in time for the holidays, research giant GfK Roper has released new data on the differences between men and women when it comes to technology.  Their most recent “Need to Know Report”, derived mostly from online interviews with Americans 18+, found that men use technology for entertainment, while women use it to make practical purchases, like paying bills, or to form connections such as  social networking sites or sharing photographs with friends and family.

Marketing to Women, WomenOlogy

The risks with these data are of course that all women are not created equal. Depending on whether you are trying to communicate with a younger or an older woman, her use of technology will vary. Generation Y women are more similar in their use of technology when compared to men of the same age. GfK Roper reports that young women are more passionate users of laptops and DVRs than their male peers, and are as likely as Gen Y men to enjoy music, radio and podcasts online. They also report that these young women rate innovation as the number one buying consideration when it comes to smart phones.  Boomer women, on the other hand, rate ease of use and maintenance as the number one driver behind a purchase.

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Hope in a Jar: The Search Goes On (Despite What Brands and Consumer Say)

Dec 16

Margarita Miranda-AbateMargarita Miranda-Abate

by Margarita Miranda-Abate
Category: Consumer, Social Marketing

It was Leonard Lauder who coined the phrase the “Lipstick Index,” which described the reliability of lipstick to always sell, no matter the economic condition.  Modern times and leaps in innovation have given rise to more than just lipstick selling well.  In this economy, the beauty industry has seen an increase in sales from nails to foundation.

What drives this?  In my opinion ,and with more than 13 years experience specializing in the beauty industry, it is women’s never-ending search for that “perfect” product that will make their skin glow, lips moist, eyes shine and wrinkles decrease.  Brands are responding to this need with an ever-increasing plethora of products that offer highly-complex ingredients and formulations.  Beauty marketers are working hard to keep up with the demand.  It’s not easy – there’s much to consider: the actual formulation plus how it looks.

In truth, beauty is a perfect blend of technology, science and all that’s pretty.  It is not enough to know that the newest skin treatment has a combination of an unknown ingredient discovered in a crater at the top of the Swiss Alps that has been formulated into a multi-carbon polymer that helps plump up the collagen fibers that sit just below the dermal layer (um, electronic impulses in your beauty jar, anyone?  Yes, an unnamed leader claims to have this technology) – it also has to look pretty.  Talk about pressure.

So, is it marketers who are driving the need and the trends or are consumers leading the charge with demands for the next big thing? It’s funny, beauty brands try to not promise “hope in a jar” and women wouldn’t believe it if they did, but I think, deep down (way more than skin deep), women wish they could find it.  And as longs as women keep searching and buying; brands will keep searching and giving them products to buy.  Kind of like the chicken and the egg syndrome, don’t you think?

Well, gotta dash – I hear that some beauty company just discovered how to manipulate pulsar energy and dark matter into a thick serum that can be applied all over the body mimicking the skin of a 4-month old baby and, voila, they’ve turned back the clock by 40+ years!  WOW, I’ll take a gallon of the stuff!

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Marketing to Women in their Forties

Dec 13

Kathryn CummingsKathryn Cummings

by Kathryn Cummings
Category: Consumer, How-to, Trends & Behaviors

I surveyed several of my good 40-something female friends during the past few weeks – trying to figure out what they really want from marketers.  The results are not surprising…or maybe they are.

Not everything centers around their families anymore.  If they had children in their 20s, then their kids are independent, which means they are too.  A mom in her forties is finding out for the first time that she is free to make time for herself, free to rediscover her personal needs and free to spend money on herself.

And, why not?  If she’s a career woman, her income is peaking.   And if she’s managed her household finances wisely, she has put away enough money to indulge her self every now and then – even in today’s economy.

Yet, she often feels ignored or misunderstood by marketers.

“I’m bombarded with commercials, ads and coupons for things I don’t need – from diapers and juice boxes to skinny jeans.  Or I’m talked at about aging creams, menopause management and assisted living.” says Susan, 42, an attorney and mother of three teenage girls.  “All I really want is help finding a new restaurant to experience with my friends.  Or a cool recipe to make with my husband at home.  I want a recommendation for a good book for enjoying some alone time. And a face lotion that makes me feel good without offering empty promises of looking 10 years younger.  I’m over that.”

While women in their 40s are no longer multi-tasking super moms, they’re not ready for facelifts or assisted living either.  They’re somewhere in-between:  engaged, confident and refocused on self.  They’re techie enough to use social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to stay connected with friends and family and stay abreast of the latest news and information.  They’re savvy enough to discern which brands best meet their needs and earn their trust.  And they are no longer in a constant state of being on the go.  They have the time to get to know a brand’s products and benefits better.

Still, too many marketers prefer to chase the more seductive 18-to-39 year olds, believing their brand loyalty is more malleable, so they can be captured as lifetime customers.  Or they go after the 50 plus boomers, presuming that’s where the greater disposable income can be found.

Women in their forties offer both.  They can become your most loyal brand ambassadors — eager to share their brand experiences with others, and they are shopping for enjoyment – with money to spend on self.  They are interested in electronics, travel, home, beauty and fashion.  They are actually reading the catalogs found in their mailboxes – both print and online.

They may be the “in-between” decade, but they offer marketers the opportunity to create the kind of relationships that can build brands, and businesses.  Know their world.  Speak their language.  They have time again to stop and listen.

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Wisdom from WOMMA: 5 Takeaways from Vegas

Dec 01

Lauren MundellLauren Mundell

by Lauren Mundell
Category: Consumer, Events and Conferences, Trends & Behaviors

On November 17th – 19th, I had the opportunity to attend the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) annual summit in Las Vegas. In its 7th year, the summit aims to bring brand marketers, social media companies, and, yes, even “traditional” PR people like me together to learn and share best practices in the constantly evolving world of Social Media.

Most relevant to the specific topic of this blog (marketing to women), was the panel including Toms shoes executive, Doug Piwinski, and Recycle Bank’s Samantha Skey talking about social media cause marketing.  Samantha said that 80% of consumers, most notably head of household women, want to be more sustainable, and would choose a company that has a cause platform over one that doesn’t.  However, we want easy ways to give back, and we want to be rewarded by the brand for our good deeds – feeling better about ourselves is not enough.  The reason to care can be as simple as Nature Made Vitamin’s message — pledge to recycle your bottles and get a high value coupon,  or as central to its business as Toms Shoes’ — one pair for you, one pair for someone with no shoes.  But, it has to be simple, easy to do, and it needs to mean something to the consumer so that they can relate to it immediately.

Here are my top 5 WOMMA takeaways, enjoy!

1.  Social Media Nerds Are Here to Stay – The social media experts are big nerds (they know it, we know it), but nerds are smart, and the future of marketing lives with WOM.  Social media is not going anywhere, so learn about it, how to use it and learn to love it.

2.  Social Media Strategy Land Grab – Every marketing channel thinks that they should “own” social media strategy.  I heard a media buyer clearly state that since they know where the eyeballs are they should own the strategy.  Um…  I beg to differ.  Social media strategy should be a collaborative process, and at the end of the day, should be blessed by experts – like John Bell’s team of strategists here a Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence, of course.

3.  Facebook Does NOT Drive Sales – While Facebook was a hot topic for the WOMMA Summit, it is obvious that even while the platform is a great tool for engagement (big WOMMA buzz-word), awareness and to keep your brand top-of-mind, we have a long way to go until we can tie Facebook activity to sales.  As you may know, brands like Pampers are allowing consumers to click straight from Facebook to Amazon.com (and P&G is picking up the shipping cost).  This “social commerce” is a new sales vehicle for brands.

4.  The FTC is Not Kidding – WOMMA takes the FTC rules very seriously.  When working with bloggers/celebs/spokespeople, it is the brand’s responsibility to push for disclosure.  This prompted a big discussion about celebrity spokesperson tweets – do they have to put #SPON after every tweet, even when it comes from the heart?  The answer is, yes.  If they are being compensated, they must disclose.  As a PR traditionalist, I think that in order to be safe, we need to write this into our contracts when we sign on spokespeople.

5.  Men Love to Talk About Beer and Sports – Ok, this is a no-brainer, but the point is that it’s important to allow consumers to drive conversation on Facebook even if it’s not about the brand specifically.  This is the main reason why Buffalo Wild Wings has 3.6 million fans on Facebook, up from 0 fans less than a year ago.

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