Learned On...

Archive for April, 2008:

NewsByte: Harley-Davidson Garage Parties Don’t Include Nail Polish

Harley-Davidson is celebrating International Female Ride Day (May 2) by throwing Garage Parties - women only events where bike mechanics, ergonomics and riding tips will be covered.  There is nary a mention of goody bags that include nail polish or hair care products (imagine that).  Harley continues to … Read on >

On Enabling Sexist Thought Patterns

I came across this post, Word Revocation: “Men” and “Women” on Squashed - and thought it might be a great inspiration/exercise for men and women on marketing teams. Here’s a clip:

The gendered terms don’t fit perfectly or even very well. The words aren’t the cause of … Read on >

Green Messaging: Consumers Are Really Going Online To Check Up On Your Brand

You can’t just say “it is so” and have consumers believe it. Today’s shoppers are looking under the hood and behind the scenes to see if your brand’s environmental claims, for one, are true.

It’s an awful lot like the process of committing to marketing to women - you can … Read on >

Start With What’s Right: Making Change Through Appreciative Eyes

At a time when nothing seems to be heading in a positive direction (the economy and the political campaigns for two), interest in, and passion behind, making change has to start with some nugget of hope. In my latest Huffington Post piece, I consider a way to inspire … Read on >

NewsBytes: Women’s Studies for Men, Curating an Experience

1) Since 2002, of the 8,724 students taking women’s studies courses at the University of Michigan (go blue), 1,124 were male. What’s going on? Here’s a quote from a male women’s studies student in an LSA Magazine article (click on the “What’s Different” article to … Read on >

Women’s Web Sites: Consumer or Advertiser Demand?

There’s been a recent flurry of “women’s site” activity:

- I’ve just read news of Dove.com’s new more social media-style web site. - Mom-blog, Dooce.com also recently got big coverage for its advertising sales numbers, even given the take-no-prisoners writing style of its founder, Heather B. Armstrong. - Yahoo just … Read on >

Size Innuendo and Women: Not Always a Perfect Fit

A friend of mine in the photo retailing business forwarded this new Ritz Camera ad, and it seemed like something worth mentioning here.  Why?  Because the brand is obviously trying, but even with all those good intentions, really misses the mark.

Read on >

Baby Steps: Women Appreciate Even Gradual Green-ing

Thinking about and protecting the environment is increasingly important to consumers (as per this recent MediaPost research brief on Nielsen Online findings).  To those of us studying female consumers, in particular, this should be no big surprise.

My latest post for eBrandMarketing presents a good example of one brand … Read on >

M2W Conference: Why You Should Go

M2w08_web_button125x1251) I will be there on May 9th, as part of a Glam Media workshop on marketing to women online (I am a contributing editor to their eBrandMarketing blog) - and will … Read on >

NewsBytes: Feminine Social Media(?) and Men Who Shop

1) There is a good post and interesting discussion of whether or not social media is “feminine” (i.e. because women like to connect and thus… you know, the usual stereotype) on SocialMediaExplorer. I put myself right out there as a freak of nature - in that I blog … Read on >