Women might think you’re an advertising bully if you’ve ever pitted one group against another, even in a seemingly innocuous manner.
Marketing to Women Approaches Must Avoid Put-Downs
Comparative scenarios with one party at a disadvantage or portrayed as inferior make women uncomfortable, and they react surprisingly strongly. Even indirect language can trigger this reaction.
When my client Wachovia was developing a campaign addressed to women business owners, one of the ads we tested included the statistic Women are starting businesses at twice the rate of men. Would you believe that not one woman, but several women, immediately rejected that language on the grounds that it was putting down men? We changed the statement to read Women are starting 70% of all new businesses, and it tested much more positively.
Similarly, when my Allstate client tested a copy claim that stated Women drivers have 15% fewer accidents than male drivers. To women drivers everywhere, we say THANK YOU, a number of women in focus groups saw that as male bashing, objecting, “That’s just as bad as they’ve always been about us.”
Women don’t like putting people down. With their peer group mindset, we’re all in this together. (For more detail, read “9 Key Differences Between Men and Women That Affect Your Marketing Approach“)
In marketing to women, no people put-downs are allowed. That means men, competitors, other women– anyone. While fact-based product superiority claims are probably OK, if they’re not too heavy-handed, user-based superiority claims are definitely not. Keep it positive or show self-deprecating “me too!” moments that are very relatable to your customers’ life experiences.
YES! I have seen this phenomenon in action with many clients. I had one client that ran an online site for moms and they had a competition going where one school would win based upon activity. I told them that moms would want ALL schools to be winners because all kids deserve to learn. We softened the language so it was less of a competition and engagement skyrocketed.
Great example, Kat! More companies should use “community” instead of “competition” to motivate women – not only in the marketplace, but the workplace too, don’t you think?
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