Currently, the female empowerment in marketing has taken an upswing. Not all men are imbecilic, drink-swilling enthusiast and not all women are self-obsessed, domestic shrews. These types of obstinate stereotypes in marketing have been around for a long time. Brands should row away from the trap of stereotyping. The traditional marketing strategy of perfect bodies, perfect babies, and perfect homes, is not having an impact on the audience anymore. Reality is what the audience is demanding.
Moving towards this marketing strategy could be termed as the foundation for the next generation of marketing for women. There are companies who are trying to go with the trend and making the same mistake, i.e. they take their traditional marketing materials, add the color pink and tie it up with a fancy bow (also, raise the prices). This female-focused marketing should really be designed for women. Women should be at the center of product development and not just as the scenic asset. Women are multi-dimensional today and if marketers want to appeal to today’s women, they need to focus on many points of contact and a variety of messages that must be convincing enough.
Women Global Spending
Women account for 70-80% spending, which is $20 trillion globally. Let alone in the US, the purchasing power ranges from $5 trillion to $15 trillion annually. This proves that women are not a niche market or a minority; they collectively hold a significant purchasing power. Hence sticking to the traditional marketing strategy will lead to the loss of a great market opportunity. Keeping this in mind, the marketers have welcomed a new campaign of “fempowerment”.
Fempowerment defines the most recent string of female-focused marketing. Some of the brands genuinely were interested in this campaign in order to make a social statement, while others only jumped on board due to the popularity of the trend. Progressively more brands are supporting the feminist cause. However, the rise in female-centric advertising is a cause for celebration or concern is still in question, but marketers are gaining profits from it.
Fempowerment Campaign Tiptoeing In Heels towards Success
The brands have cracked the code of marketing by focusing on Female Empowerment. The products that are anti-sexist and pro-equality are the current market trends. A smart business move to market products that would appeal to half of the population—women. The fempowerment campaign is seen to be tiptoeing in heels towards success.
According to the survey, the new portrayal of women in advertising contributed to a 52% sale raise. Women agreed that they bought the product because the ad was believable. Where some brands genuinely oppose gender stereotypes, there are many pretentious brands doing female-focused marketing for the trend’s sake. When the pretentious brand fails to deliver the real feminist representation, the audience raises its disapproval and dismay.
A mega blunder of such campaign was the decade-old Real beauty campaign by Dove. The brand was globally criticized for exposure to the issues women face daily about their appearance and presented beauty products as the solution to it.
Female Empowerment in Commercials
In 1955 a print ad of the brand Lux presented a woman dressed in an apron and pearl earrings while surrounding her with a mountain of dishes. The text over her read “Get out of the kitchen sooner!” whilst the overlaid image depicted her husband and child relaxing outdoors.
This marketing logic clearly differentiated that women are in charge of housework and nurture. This marketing trend is backlashed, made fun off and also highly contributed to cringe. Brand campaigning when done right can have an incredibly positive impact and influence millions. However, when it fails to deliver, they risk pushing away their audience and harness their moral credibility. Female Empowerment is proving to be a great tool for marketing if utilized properly by the brands. Research is an integral part of the implementation of feminism in the key part of the brand’s identity or purpose. This will make the message genuine, the promises real and the impact lasting.
While some brands are still trying to achieve the correct standards of fempowerment, there are many brands that have created some creative advertisements questioning the stereotypes. The perfect example would be the #LikeAGirl campaign where Always released a video pointing out the gender disparity.
70% of women and 60% of men claimed that the video changed their perception
#LikeAGirl benefitted the brand with higher-lift in brand preference
claim purchase intent raised to more than 50%
Campaigns like Always prove that when done well, a feminist purpose can improve profits and customer preference.
Looking Beyond the Gender Demographics
To conclude, stereotypes cause a limitation in experimenting with marketing. Even with the upgrade, many products are not designed for women or conveyed in a way to be appealing for women. Most of the marketing for women is belittling. However, marketers have come around with the idea of looking beyond the gender demographics and Female Empowerment as a marketing tool. With the fempowerment campaign gaining popularity, the brands are making the most of it. The bottom is to believe in what you are trying to convey through the ad campaign and led the global change. It is important to consider the consumer feedback any not brush off the backlash with “well, that was not our intention” and move on. Female focused marketing is a great strategy for growing profits and also contributes to social change.
Also, Read Does Culture Really Affect The Women In Leadership, Or Is It An Excuse?
