The other day after a client meeting and before I had to pick up my 2YO from daycare, I had an hour to spare. My lease is up on my current car in 2 months, and I was anxious to try out a few new cars since I had no idea what car I want to drive next. Perfect. One hour to myself to car shop! Oh, how I LOVE shopping, but car shopping was an exception – this was a dreaded necessity. Breathe. I walked into the dealership and asked for the guy that my husband and I met with 3 years ago – his friend from childhood. But the receptionist had no idea who he was and it turns out he no longer worked there. My heart sank. I HATE dealing with new sales people. Then I had a brilliant idea. “I’d like to speak with a new salesperson then – is there a sales WOMAN I could talk to?” The receptionist flashed me a huge smile and winked at me. “Of course,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”

She was back in a minute with someone looked 20 years younger than me. Again, my heart sank. Oh, boy. Would Tiffany really be able to help and relate to me?

She started asking me questions and the conversation was off and running. Pretty soon I was telling her my life story and the fact that I was nervous buying a smaller car, for what if we decided to have child #3? And that fuel economy was almost #1 importance, but I did need a 4WD to get through the Minnesota winters, and Bluetooth was a necessity but the color of the car was important too. So many options, so many choices!

An hour later I had test driven two cars and had narrowed my choices down to one. The conversation flowed so freely, I didn’t even realize I was car shopping! I walked away from the dealership, confident that my husband and I could have an intelligent conversation about my next car we were going to purchase. Had I made my final decision? No. But I felt much more confident about those 60 days closing in on my lease end that I could find a perfect answer to my new car dilemna.

Why was this so fascinating to me? From my research on how women and men communicate, we know that women connect through affinity. We like to share stories and find a common bond to connect and share more. We have a longer sales process. It’s not just about feature and benefit. It’s about a long cycle of, “What about this? What about that? How does A effect B, and so on?” And after all of that, the color of the car might just be the tipping point. Sound shallow? Not at all. We are looking for the PERFECT ANSWER. Not just a car. And the experience I had with the woman salesperson was just that. She was all about asking questions and listening to details.

It reminded me a lot of the process I go through with clients when we have a project or a problem to solve. We ask questions. And more questions. There is never a cookie-cutter answer to the creative process. We are seeking to discover what women want (after all, women do make 85% of consumer decisions). (And men, we’re not discriminating – on the contrary – when we find out what women want, men come along, too.) We discover, then we create. And we find that affinity that women have with products or services for which we are designing. The end product is a design that resonates on many levels, no matter the gender.

So there you have it. Car shopping with a woman, by a woman. I’m actually really excited to go back to the dealership and meet with my saleswoman to complete the buying process. Excited to wheel and deal and talk numbers about a car??? With Tiffany, I do not feel intimidated. Amen.

“You can align your business objectives with doing good in the world. Moms expect more from their brands,” says Ian Wolfman, SMO, imc2. This certainly isn’t a new idea, but it definitely is becoming more popular, acceptable, and even expected with brands. In fact, there is a movement out there that promotes just that: Conscious Capitalism.

The real goal is to be authentic and move from simply cause marketing to what Wolfman calls purpose-driven marketing. Purpose-driven marketing is intentional from all angles and perfectly resonates and aligns with your brand. Lets face it: Were all a little tired of PINK being splashed everywhere. On the contrary, here are a few examples of purpose-driven marketing campaigns that deserve a look:

BabyCenter and the Grameen Foundation
Besides being THE online destination for expectant and new moms (I have to admit, I visit BabyCenter at least once/day for information as an expectant mom and as a mom of a 2 year old), BabyCenter has teamed up with the Grameen Foundation to create Mobile Midwife, a way for expectant moms in Ghana to get reliable health advice on their cell phones. The text messages these women receive are similar to what BabyCenter moms get in their “My Pregnancy This Week” e-mails (which I love), but adapted for their cultural needs.

Secret and Let Her Jump
Watching this YouTube video is worth 57 seconds. Very cool.

Other Cause Marketing Resources

Marti Barletta’s book, PrimeTime Women is an excellent resource about Baby Boomer Women and Cause Marketing. For a quick summary, follow this link. In addition, I just came upon a recent article on CMO.com that reports on a larger scale the positive effects of cause-related marketing.

So how can your brand resonate better with moms?
Purpose-driven marketing might just be the answer.

“Busyness is the new social status for moms,” says Amanda Stevens, speaker at the 2010 M2Moms Conference in Chicago. In fact, 71% of moms are in the labor force full time (and this doesn’t include work-at-home moms). A simple look around confirms what we moms already know: Whether we’re rushing off to a board meeting or picking up the kids from swim lessons, chances are we have very few open spots in our days.

Being a mom can be challenging, but 80% of American women do it. Why? “Motherhood is the most rewarding job on the planet. It’s rewarding because it’s hard,” comments Katherine Wintsch of The Martin Agency. As a mom who collaborates every day with other moms, I say Amen.

So knowing moms are busy – and they have great purchasing power – I’m alarmed when I hear statistics like 80% of ads don’t resonate with moms and 30% of moms are actually offended by what they see. What does that say about what we’re communicating to them?

Moms aren’t a niche market, and representing the average mom in marketing and advertising isn’t necessarily a bad idea. Sure, perhaps we like to see representations of ourselves a bit more dressed up or with better hair, but most of us don’t want to see supermodels. There’s a fine line between aspirational and just plain unrealistic. In one study, moms were asked if they would rather get information from a celebrity mom or an experienced mom like themselves. 67% said they would more likely turn to a peer mom. That’s the kind of messaging we need to keep in mind.

MOMS TALK
Never underestimate the power of the MOM. Remember, moms talk. Women talk 13,000 words a day MORE than men! 88% of moms will tell others when they’ve had a great brand experience. And 56% of moms will tell people about brands they love even when not asked. When we design brands for moms, we need to make sure we’re being talked about – in a positive way. In fact, one of the most interesting quotes from the M2Moms Conference was “The number one objective of brands should be to be the topic of conversation at the dinner table.”

How do we become that topic of conversation? How do we reach mom – and get beyond her busyness and clutter to help her make solid purchasing decisions?

REACHING MOMS
BE that topic of conversation at the dinner table! Give moms a reason to talk about your brand. If she loves your brand, she will talk. Mom’s #1 mission: to create more family time. And, Moms are now the early adaptors of new technology. One study from Disney showed moms believe their roles are, in this order: 1) caregiver, 2) entertainer, 3) household CEO and 4) family historian. So what can we do to reach her? Make it easy for her to achieve these tasks. Create new technology that is easy and accessible. Let her be able to multi-task and accomplish her goals.

Moms are women, too! Today’s young moms enjoy being moms, but enjoy being recognized first as women. In other words, they are multi-dimensional and aren’t JUST moms. Women – and moms – expect more from their brands.

How can brands resonate more with moms? Check out Part 2 of Marketing to Moms next month when we discuss Purpose-Driven Marketing. We’ll dive into how and why moms are the epitome of the cause consumer.

Our final installment of the Environmental Footprints series looks at how speaking up about your smart environmental choices can attract female consumers – and increase your brand’s worth.

Creating a smaller environmental footprint is ethically smart. Yet many companies, focused solely on profitability, view environmentalism as an expensive endeavor. If they don’t see a way to make money off it, they’re not interested. In fact, being eco-friendly isn’t just about making profits off selling products. To find the financial benefits, you might have to look beyond sales.

Making green decisions can decrease costs, increase your brand equity, and boost revenues. For example, by cutting plastic bag use, Wal-Mart not only looks good but will save a whole lot of money. That’s a decision that creates a win for the environment and the corporation.

So how do you communicate what you’re doing positively to consumers? Well, if you’re actually selling an environmentally friendly product like Stonyfield Farms yogurt, Badger lip balms, or Seventh Generation cleaning products, the best thing you can do is get independent, third-party certified: like the USDA organic seal. LEED is another great example for companies with environmentally friendly buildings.

WOMEN + GREEN = YOUR BRAND

Connection: How does making a positive impact on the environment impact ME?

Transparency: Tell me the whole story. (Admit you’re not perfect.)

Engagement: An open, honest dialogue where I can voice my opinion.

Kermit the Frog famously sang, “It’s not easy being green.” Well, to environmentally conscious consumers’ dismay, these days it seems being green – or claiming your company or product is green – is perhaps too easy. As some companies have tried to mislead consumers with claims, trying to figure out what’s truly eco-friendly can be increasingly frustrating.  Several websites search out this misleading behavior, known as “greenwashing,” including Treehugger, Stopgreenwash.org, and the Big Green Purse blog. SinsofGreenwashing.org even gives a thorough annual report of what it calls “The Seven Sins of Greenwashing”:

1. The hidden trade off: Celebrating one positive environmental impact while ignoring others. For example, you make a product using solar energy, yet the product’s contents are very damaging to the environment.

2. No proof of your claim.

3. Vagueness: Terms like “natural” and “environmentally friendly” that aren’t explained

4. False labels: Unaccredited or even made-up certification labels

5. Irrelevance: Making a claim that’s worthless. For example, saying your product is CFC-free. CFC’s have been banned for years.

6. Lesser of two evils: For example, saying a particular SUV is better for the environment. True, it’s better than a Hummer, but it isn’t better than smaller cars.

7. Outright fibbing

Why is it important to avoid greenwashing? Well, first of all because it’s the right thing to do ethically. But it’s also important because the Federal Trade Commission is expected to crack down on environmental marketing claims, which will be updated this year for the first time since 1998.

Women + Green = Solutions
Here are some easy solutions to implement with your brand to make sure you won’t be accused of greenwashing:
Set a meaningful example. Be proactive.

Make the choice easy. Positively impacting the environment might be the tipping point for your brand.

Listen & act. Leverage social media to your advantage.

Communicate! Women talk.

Green has been a buzzword for years, yet most companies think of being eco-friendly only in terms of products. They wonder what can they sell that’s organic, fair trade, environmentally friendly, etc. But what about companies that already have well-established products and don’t want to reinvent what’s already selling well? And what about companies that sell services instead of products?

Consumer demand for environmentally friendly policies has evolved from niche to mainstream, and every company needs to take note. Even if you’re selling a service, there’s room to reduce your environmental footprint. Perhaps you’re an attorney whose office has gone completely paperless. Or you’re a financial planner with a LEED-certified office building. These are all important steps – and they need to be communicated to consumers.

We’ve recently begun collaboration with Paydirt, an agency that helps organizations design and implement practical sustainability strategies that deliver maximum benefit to both the environment and their bottom line. In our next few newsletters, we’ll continue our Environmental Footprints series with more about what companies can do as well as what they should avoid to be good environmental stewards – and communicate to consumers in a way that resonates.

Here are some quick tips to help you engage with women, regarding sustainability:

Consumer engagement. Women want to know how this impacts ME.

Competitive pricing. Greener products are “too expensive,” say 74% of women. Tipping point is to price competitively.

Quality. Greener products don’t work as well, say 61% of women. Prove that your product DOES perform as well as non-greener options.

Confusion. Vast majority really don’t know what to do or how to positively impact their environment. Show them that you know how (with your product OR service) and communicate that you ARE making a positive impact.

Credibility. Positively impacting the environment might just be your brand’s tipping point.

Sometimes I get jealous at breast cancer survivors. I know this is an awful thing to say. Of course, no one wants cancer. But the part that I envy is this: Most of the women I know who have breast cancer ARE survivors. They are living with cancer. They are fighters.

My mom was a pancreatic cancer patient, and she didn’t get to be a fighter. She died at age 56, before any of her grandchildren were born. As she put it when she was diagnosed, “Renita, this is a death sentence.” She was right. Seven short months after her diagnosis, she was dead. And my daughter will never meet her grandma.

While at times I have felt that pang of jealousy when comparing pancreatic cancer and breast cancer – not only because one has a drastically higher survival rate but also because one gets significantly more attention and research dollars – I know I need a bit of a reality check. I need to remember that these breast cancer survivors – these courageous women – over the past 25 years have created a movement. They have – and they are – making a HUGE difference.

I was asked yesterday, “If pancreatic cancer is so deadly, why does pancreatic cancer research receive so little funding: privately or publicly?” I’m no expert, but I gave the answer that I truly believe: people affected by pancreatic cancer fall into two camps: 1) “My loved one died. I can’t bear to think about it anymore. It was too painful.” Or, 2) “My loved one died. I will fight for the rest of my life to try to make a difference so that others don’t have to go through what my family went through.” I happen to fall into Camp #2.

What we – as pancreatic cancer activists – are missing is PANCREATIC CANCER SURVIVORS. Pancreatic cancer patients CAN’T FIGHT FOR THEMSELVES because most of them succumb to the disease within a year of diagnosis (75% to be exact). We have to advocate for them.

25 years ago, the media shied away from printing or voicing the words “breast cancer.” No one talked openly about the disease. There were no support groups. Susan G. Komen (a household name today, for sure) and the color pink have changed all that. There has been a 25-year movement from women around the world, and they will not stop until there is a cure.

Nancy G. Brinker, Susan’s sister and founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, notes, “When we started, the five-year survival rate was just 74 percent when breast cancer was diagnosed before it spread beyond the breast. Today, that survival rate is 98 percent.” Imagine that. 98%.

Only 6% of pancreatic cancer patients survive more than five years after diagnosis. 75% of patients die within the first year of diagnosis. The average life expectancy after diagnosis with metastatic disease is just three to six months. PANCREATIC CANCER IS ONE OF THE FEW CANCERS FOR WHICH THE SURVIVAL RATE HAS NOT IMPROVED SUBSTANTIALLY OVER NEARLY 40 YEARS. This is unacceptable.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) spent an estimated $89.4 million on pancreatic cancer research in 2009. This represented a mere 2% of the NCI’s approximate $5 billion cancer research budget for that year. With pancreatic cancer being the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, this is an outrage. In addition, in the next 20 years, the incidence of pancreatic cancer is expected to go up by 55%. This is just plain scary.

My idea, albeit a lofty one: What if pancreatic cancer was the hardest nut to crack, so to speak? What if, by cracking the code to what causes pancreatic cancer, we discovered the answer to what causes ALL cancers. WHAT IF???

Breast cancer survivors and activists have taught us all the importance of speaking up. Thank you to the many women – and men – who have taught us how to start a movement. Money going towards ANY cancer is a step in the right direction. I hope and believe there’s enough energy, commitment, and money to care about all types of cancer. And when we act on what we’ve learned from the breast cancer movement, we can help those with who have been diagnosed – or are yet to be diagnosed – with all forms of cancer.

In the spirit of passion, commitment and determination … Let’s start seeing more PURPLE. I’m one woman fighting for my mom (and perhaps myself or my children someday) AND I WON’T STOP EITHER. This month, the Twin Cities will be seeing PURPLE. The 5th annual PurpleRide Twin Cities will be held at Elm Creek Regional Park in Maple Grove. Please join me by volunteering, donating or simply raising awareness about pancreatic cancer. Thank you.

I attended a Women of Influence luncheon today, with Michele Tafoya as the guest speaker. From afar, Michele has always been one of my heroes. I have been a sports fan and an NFL fan (more specifically, Vikings fan) my whole life. I am continually in awe watching Monday Night Football games with Michele interviewing the big boys. From a distance (behind the TV) she clearly knows her stuff and doesn’t seem intimidated by any of the machismo that happens in the game or off the field. Love that. But hearing her speak and meeting her in person was even more inspirational than I could have imagined. Here’s a little about what I learned from Michele today:

Gender doesn’t matter. Well, it does and it doesn’t. I asked her how gender had influenced her career. She responded that she was very nervous as a young female reporter in a field of almost all men. SHE HAD TO KNOW HER STUFF. So she worked hard. She never wanted to get caught not knowing. It motivated her to be the best in the field. She put gender aside and make sure that being female wasn’t an issue. On the flip side, she had a lot of opportunity. When she started her career, she didn’t have much female competition (and she was good) so she was able to open doors for herself and pave her own way. Amazing. As women, we want to be recognized not for our gender, but for what we’re good at, what we do best. Thank you, Michele.

It’s all about the story. And it starts with her personal story: She had always wanted to be a sports reporter. So she worked her tail off to get the best stories. Her story doesn’t end there … She had gone through some difficult times to get pregnant and have a family. She talk about how “being happy” isn’t selfish. It’s responsible. Figure out who you are, who you want to be, what you want to be and make it happen. Her story was personal, smart and inspirational.

How does this relate to marketing to women? First, gender SHOULDN’T really matter, but we as female consumers have been ignored for a very long time. It is time we figure out how to design and market to women in smart ways. How do we do that? Like Michele said, “It’s all about the story.” Your brand story is that personal connection for women (and men) to remember and embrace your brand. Smart. Inspirational. Beautiful. Determined. Skilled. Dedicated. Real. Discover what YOUR brand is and live it.

Last week I was fortunate enough to be interviewed by Maria Reitan, of Carmichael Lynch Spong, for a radio show she hosts called Purse Strings. We discussed the influence of design on women and the top three tips I have for companies seeking to market to women. Enjoy!

http://www.affinadesign.com/interview.html

In prepping for the Peter McClellan Radio Show that I’ll be on tomorrow (Wednesday, June 16, 4-5pm on 1570AM), I was thinking back to examples of poorly executed brands that target women. Top of mind has always been the Aflac Iron Girl brand. I heard about this great concept — a duathalon just for women — a few years back. Imagine my horror when I did some online research only to find that it was called the “Iron GIRL” and a ghastly visual: the Aflac duck with a PINK un-original flowery/butterfly/person symbol for a logo. Really? I read on … “Grace, also the name of the symbol used within the Iron Girl logo, is within us all. It’s what makes women heroic, charming and limitless. Grace is with us in difficult times and happy times, silly times and sad times. Grace is with us physically, mentally and emotionally.” REALLY?

Now, to be fair, I’m guessing there were some trademark issues with the name “Iron Woman,” but really, who as a female athlete wants to be called a “girl?” I mean, imagine naming it “Iron Boy!”

And that flat, generic, overused flower/butterfly/person icon of a “logo” … Reminds me of a feminine hygiene product. Really.

I have to give credit where credit is due, because one of my original beefs of the Iron Girl branding was the pink website with decorative flourishes and frills. Nowhere was there a picture of a woman athlete! Alas, someone heard me, because the main photo on the website now has HER on it. Not that one picture makes up for the poor branding campaign, but at least it’s a start.