Who’s tired of empty Women’s History Month campaigns? ✋🏿✋🏼✋🏾
During the month of March, where we celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day (Mar 8th), you’re going to see a lot of brands embrace femvertising, which focuses on women’s empowerment in marketing. But, like all inclusive marketing, good intentions don’t necessarily equal positive impact.
In this article, we’re going to explore how to do this meaningfully, rather than performatively.
Why Femvertise At All?
Firstly, let’s talk statistics. Women make up about half of the global population, hold over 85% of buying power and influence, and control $31.8 trillion in worldwide spending. There’s literally no risk or downside to authentically representing women either, because both men and women are 20% more likely to choose products that positively portray women in advertising. Lastly, brands that exclude women lose half their audience, and over 75% of buying influence.
So when it comes down it, women drive the world’s economy.
4 Common Ways Brands Get It Wrong
Brand’s Messages and Actions Don’t Align
A brand’s message and actions don’t align also known as “brand incongruence”. For example, cisgender men are paid more, the organization has a poor parental leave policy, or the corporate culture does not value women.
Representation
Despite women and girls making up a massive, complex and diverse market, representation is often stereotypical and prioritizes the most privileged. This shapes how women and girls see themselves, and how others see them. 9 out of 10 girls say they compare themselves to images in the media, and about half say they are negatively affected by this comparison. About 50% of adults believe advertising keeps men and women in traditional gender roles.
Stereotyping and Generalizations
Women are tired of being stereotyped and ignored. Many brands make sexist assumptions about what a woman is, and what types of products women want. In reality, women purchase over 50% of traditionally ‘male’ products, including vehicles and electronics.
Brands need to consider the various dimensions of diversity and go deeper into women’s lives and experiences. Trying to represent or appeal to all women results in stereotypes and exclusion. Equity-deserving women and/or gender-diverse folks are often harmed or erased in these situations. For example, women are often shown homogeneously or stereotyped, and content only represents the most privileged stories (featuring white, abled, heterosexual, cisgender women).
In other words, don’t stop at just “women”.
There is no universal ‘female’ experience or purchasing behaviour. Generalizing the population into two gender categories is a dated and ineffective marketing practice that doesn’t resonate with diverse and socially conscious audiences.
The Wrong Message
Women’s challenges or successes are shown only as individual, often competitive, wins and losses. These campaigns celebrate women who overcome their circumstances and outperform others, rather than encouraging solidarity or acknowledging that circumstances need to change.
When you make these sort of mistakes, you’re seen as using women’s empowerment for corporate status or financial gain.
3 Best Practices for Femvertising
The good news is, authentically feminist advertising is possible. Here are 3 best practices you can follow.
Be honest and humble
Don’t say you’re championing women’s empowerment if you’re not. You will get called out. If you’re not a role model in this space, amplifying others and being transparent is best.
Embrace intersectionality and go deep
Being a woman is not a universal experience. Use your marketing to elevate nuanced, authentic stories from diverse women. Focus on multiple dimensions of identity. Fight stereotypes. Don’t enforce the gender binary.
Ensure it’s women-led
When it comes to inclusive marketing, nothing tops lived experience. Ensure diverse women from equity-deserving groups are seen and heard not just in your marketing, but behind the scenes. Create inclusive spaces for these diverse women and elevate their stories and lived experience.
Sources:
- Forbes | “Who Runs The World? Women Control 85% Of Purchases, 29% Of STEM Roles”
- Nielsen | “Shaping Success: A Deep Dive into Women’s Impact on the CPG Landscape”
- Girl Power Marketing | “Statistics on the Purchasing Power of Women”
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