Understanding Jane

Brands turn to BlogHer to connect in BIG way

2010-08-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

I just returned from BlogHer 10 in NYC. More than 2,400 women (and a few brave men) attended to find out how they can turn up the impact of their blogs either via greater outreach or bigger income (if that's their goal).

Also on hand were more than 100 brands, working hard to get their attention and earn their favor. There was more SWAG than I've seen EVER. But sidebar conversations revealed that many brand reps weren't certain of the ROI on this type of expense. They wondered how much more productive it might be to build relationships with the right bloggers vs. any blogger.

We do know from BlogHer research that women who blog are "super consumers" who over consume all media, including 5 social media outlets among their top 10. Blogging is growing as fast as social media, and is more and more defining itself as the go-to place for information and ideas. Social media like FaceBook are more for connecting and having fun. Twitter isn't in the top 10 which shows you no one has quite figured out its role.

We think access to women and their points of view in real time, in real world settings and over time is the best way for brands and women to benefit. Talk to us if you'd like some ideas for how to find the right people to share their stories, their ideas and their lives with you.

Scientific study on stereotypes has lessons for brands

2010-04-28T06:58:00.001-07:00

A recent Rutgers University study on the impact of imagery in science texts sheds some light on why after more than a decade of talking about marketing to women effectively, brands still fail.

Its simple really. When boys and girls are given texts of content with imagery that reflects their gender, they do better. Since most scientific texts feature males, there wasn't a big lift in performance among boys who read texts with male scientists. But when girls were given the exact same text with images of women, their scores went up.

While the sample was small and more research is warranted, researchers do believe that when people are given visual cues about what society expects, they tend to fulfill those expectations. So when girls fail to see women working in scientific fields, they may subconsciously believe that women don't do well in those fields.

I wonder if the same is true for marketing to women. The familiar stereotypes of women shown in advertising either as dumb blondes, well-endowed sex symbols, overly zealous Type A workaholics or mopping, carpooling, frazzled moms may be perpetuating the myths about women and preventing marketers from seeing them as they really are. We need to encourage and support those brands that get it right and steer others to follow their lead.

What brands are doing a good job of painting women as we really are?

Listening, Learning & Life Stage Hot Topics at M2W

2010-04-26T09:01:00.000-07:00

I just got back from the Marketing to Women (M2W) conference in Chicago last week. It was an info-packed, inspiring two days where brands and those who work with them shared their stories, successess and next steps to improve the effectiveness of marketing to women.

If I had to summarize the top 3 topics of conversation, I'd say they fall under three areas:
1) Listening
2) Learning
3) Life Stage

When it comes to listening, brands and agencies alike admit they need to do more of it (which they are), but they also need to do so with more intention. It isn't enough to simply report about all the tweets and fans and blogs and photos that are tagged with your brand for good or bad. They need to tie their listening activity to specific business objectives. And they need to tie in their results with the rest of what the organization is hearing and doing. Kodak, ConAgra Foods and Whirlpool Corporation are making great strides in this area.

Learning more about women has been a priority since Tom Peters and Marti Barletta brought attention to the power of women and the differences needed in marketing to them nearly a decade ago. For years, however, brands have relied on traditional research techniques which look at women at points in time and in very specific contexts. Today, brands are trying new methodologies that are more intuitive and well, female-friendly. We heard a lot about the use of friendship groups or girl's night out events where women and brands gather to just talk and learn from each other. We also heard from brands who are taking it further and going into the environments where their products are researched, bought or used. It's "ethnography lite", and it is shedding light on some very insightful truths. We also heard a lot about house parties where women invite their friends to enjoy trying a new product together and then sharing their stories online and off with brands and each other. Even better, some brands are involving women in co-creation sessions. Brands to watch in this space include Hershey's, Memorex, Midas and ConAgra Foods.

Finally, the topic of life stage marketing came up multiple times again this year. Stages to pay particular attention to are the the never married, the engaged, the newly single due to divorce, women in their prime-time of life and women in business either as an owner or a purchasing agent.

What brands do you think are doing a good job listening, learning or leverage life stage marketing? We plan to ask our Janes what they think in the days ahead. Be sure and check out their answers at JaneNation.com

Jane Nation marks major milestone at M2W conference

2010-04-21T02:08:00.000-07:00

Two years ago, I set out on a personal and professional quest to understand how brands could be more effective at marketing to women.

What I discovered was the opportunity to change the paradigm altogether--from marketing TO women, to marketing WITH women--using the timeless power of community coupled with the timely empowerment of technology.

And today we launch Jane Nation, an opinion, insight and ideation company that leverages online and offline community tools to bring women and brands together to affect change in the marketplace.

Our inspiration came from many places, including the women we heard speak at the M2W conference in 2007. I was shocked by the statistics that still stand today about how women influence 85% (0r more) of purchases yet 91% feel misunderstood by the brands that market to them. I was amazed that even though leading women like Marti Barletta, Mary Lou Quinlan and others had documented the potential for more effective women's marketing, brands still had a long way to go.

Our mission is to help close that gap--to make the marketplace more reflective of and responsive to women of all ages and life stages.

Our journey began with a nationwide "Listening Tour" where we met with more than 150 women in 12 cities across the US. They represented every demographic, psychographic and behaviorgraphic you can imagine. And most had never been asked what mattered to them--what was on their mind and heart, what kept them up at night, and what brands helped make the load a little easier...or not.

They kept journals, took pictures and shared their lives and stories, frustrations and fears, ideas and hopes with us. And they helped us shape the online women's community that has been in BETA testing for nearly a year and launches today.

JaneNation.com is where women can go to give their opinions about topics, rant and rave about products, offer suggestions and share their stories--all with the goal of helping brands better understand them and offer solutions that make their lives better.

Brands can sponsor conversations on the site or recruit community members into offline and online conversations and co-creation sessions. They can sponsor Listening Tours, conduct Jane Circles or Jane Shops. They can be a part of Jane's Journals either in analog or digital form. And soon we'll start regular Jane Says national opinion polling on a variety of topics.

Our point of difference is helping brands understand women over time vs. a point in time. And the beauty of community is the richness and context of life that gets shared on and offline as women connect, communicate and sometimes commiserate over the shifts in life.

We look forward to sharing what we are learning about women from inside and outside our community. We hope you'll join us on our journey and in our movement to change the marketplace.