If you aren’t targeting women, then your aim is off. Women buy or influence at least 80 percent of all household spending*. America’s 9.1 million female-owned businesses generate about $3.6 trillion in sales and employ 27.5 million people.
If they are not making the purchase, then women are strongly influencing all major purchases from cars to homes and financial services - even for products commonly perceived as male consumables.
In recent years there has been a shift in the approach
for marketing to women based on these consumption realities:
- Women are expected to acquire 94% of the growth in US private wealth between now and 2010
- Women make 69% of all household health decision
- Women make 75% of the decisions about new homes
- Women influence 51% of consumer electronics and 75% of all over-the-counter drug purchases
- Women purchase 74% of all NBA and NFL apparel and are contributing to a 10.3% increase in soccer equipment sales
*Source: www.sba.gov/library
L’Oreal’s brand heritage and corporate strategy are both tied to science. Scientific and consumer research has been at the heart of building prominent brands like L’Oreal, Lancôme and Kiehl’s.
To promote this brand differentiator and actualize its commitment to science and women in science each of L’Oreal’s 30 subsidiary countries has developed local partnerships with scientific organizations to conduct their For Women In Science program.
Designed to recognize, reward and advance the role of women in scientific research, each year, For Women in Science honors five American women at the start of their scientific careers. Each recipient is awarded $40,000 towards independent scientific research. They receive professional development workshops with accomplished women leaders in corporate, academic and government fields to help them prepare as they publish research, apply for grant funding and advance their careers.
Launched in 2003, as the USA component of the UNESCO-L’Oreal International Fellowships program, the L’Oreal USA’s program aims to raise awareness of the contribution of women to the sciences, and to identify exceptional female researchers to serve as role models for young women and girls. In addition, the USA division conducted a survey about the public’s awareness levels and perceptions of the issue of women in science.
“Science is critical to L’Oreal and part of its DNA,” said Jennifer S. James, Senior Vice President, Media Relations at L’Oreal USA. The company, founded by a scientist 98 years ago, today has 27 scientific and consumer research facilities worldwide and more than half of the staff scientists the company employs are female.
Since For Women in Science’s international start in 1998, 47 Laureates and 105 Fellows have been recognized from around the world.
Major League Baseball (MLB) boasts the most gender balanced fan base of the major sports leagues, with 46% of the league’s fans being female.
Why is this? According to MLB’s Mary Beck, Director of Advertising and Marketing, the League reviews its annual marketing plan and messaging to be sure that it is relevant for women. This includes weighing the appeal of possible spokespeople and ad campaigns to women.
While individual teams market their clubs, MLB facilitates regular meetings among staff to share best practices. MLB and individual clubs also creates female targeted initiatives such as:
The League’s largest promotion targeting women is centered on Mother’s Day.
After finding that over two-thirds of Clubs were aligned with a breast cancer initiative,“MLB decided to coalesce the message for this important cause and began a partnership with the Susan G. Komen foundation,” Beck said. “Players used pink bats on Mother’s Day in 2006, and again in 2007 with more than 200 players agreeing to use them.”
Baseball 101 – Teams such as the Dodgers, Phillies, Brewers, and Astros, invite women for pre-game events with a member of coaching staff to talk about how the game is played.
MLB Fashion - With 46% of all purchasers of MLB logo apparel female, MLB has greatly expanded its licensing efforts for merchandise for women and girls.
MLB Properties will introduce a line of juniors’ ladies MLB apparel -- under the label TOUCH – by Alyssa Milano -- available at better department stores the end of January 2007. This marks the first time MLB has partnered with a celebrity and licensee (G-III Apparel Group) to develop a line of ladies apparel.
Stitch N’ Pitch - Twenty-three Major League Clubs, in cooperation with The National NeedleArts Association (TNNA), are hosting ballpark events that bring two American traditions together – Baseball and the NeedleArts. TNNA started STITCH N’ PITCH with a Seattle Mariners event in 2005 with over 1,600 knitters in attendance.
