How 'PC' is too 'PC' in marketing... in life?

Christmas trees being pulled down from office lobbies and tokenism in advertising campaigns... how are we feeling about how diversity is reflected in the media and in our day-to-day environment? As Canadians we enjoy a truly multicultural nation and we are very careful to not offend anyone, anywhere, anyhow. But how far is too far? How PC is too PC? We went to the experts and conducted research with visible minority women-- part of our ongoing Salon Series on Diversity and Women.

Here is what we learned, understand and apply in our marketing practices:

• Stereotypes and tokenism are alive and well
• Ignorance and overcompensation (or being too "PC") is offensive
• Advertising campaigns that carefully drop "colour" into the picture often hurts more than it helps
• Advertising should be reflective of the market it is attracting. Period.

Best said by one of our participants, (authenticity is the primary consideration when it comes to diversity) "we need to ensure that the embracing of diversity is truly 'real'....that it is not done just at the surface but at a deep roots level".

So, attention all marketers... be careful about being too careful. Sometimes good intentions don't always translate into good results!

A Big Box of Word of Mouth

There is a reason why Hallmark does not carry "belated Xmas wishes" cards. The festive spirit/reminder started 2 seconds after the Halloween and Thanksgiving items are off the shelves.

As one of the Big Box shops in North America, Sears has just launched www.readysetholiday.com that leverages a few trends:

- Word of Mouth buzz is extremely effective especially amongst women and mothers
- Female internet users now equal or outnumber male users in US and Canada
- Mothers/women hold the key to the family wallet and they value convenience and safety
- Woman-to-woman conversations create unique and deep bonds and loyalty

Check out the Mom to Mom forum and tell me what you think!

Designed by Women, for Women

A team of 6 women student researchers at Canada's Simon Fraser University have invented a purse called the Ladybag that uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. RFID tags are inserted into your items (such as wallet or keys) and a reader at the bottom of the purse. If something is missing, a pattern associated with that item lights up on the outside of the bag.

I applaud innovators' enthusiasm especially utilizing technology in new ways. However, I could not help but wonder ... have they asked or observed how women use their purses in real life?

A woman likely has more than one purse (some many, too many!). The collection is needed for aesthetic or functional reasons, likely both. Inserting readers to every single bag sounds more like a chore than a "clever invention" to me.

Mothers of young ones may be at any time carrying multiple bags. Important items like cell phone or keys would reside in coat pockets, on the wrists, or other places deem more convenient.

In theory, key items can be defined as one's wallet, keys, and cell phone. In reality, they vary from day to day. My most important item today is a Thank You card for my son's school teachers. Will I forget it on my way out of the door? Maybe. Will I take the time to tag all important items du jour, a la high tech fashion? Definitely not.

Beauty, Self-Perception and Others

A fascinating piece on how we see ourselves in others' beauty decisions. Laura Kipnis also wrote a much-discussed book on women and monogamy and how social mores are evolving.

Please, mom!

A survey by NPD Group indicated back-to-school shoppers plan to spend the same (43%) or less (21%) time at brick-and-mortar stores. 51% will shop between Aug. 1 and Sept. 1, compared with 56% last year.

On the other hand, moms welcome online retail stores. A study from PersonalShopper.com found that 55% of moms are planning to do their back-to-school shopping online this year - an increase of more than 25% over 2005. Limited time and money are the reasons.

iVillage is going live!

iVillage earned my loyalty by providing content and links to almost every issue I would face as a woman, mother, and professional.

14 millions agree - that's the number of unique visitors to the woman portal, according to Comscore.

In March 2006, NBC acquired iVillage.

Now NBC Universal announced the launch of a new multiplatform talk show iVillage Live on December 4th 2006.

Sponsors include Bally Total Fitness, Calphalon and Estee Lauder.

The Campus Scene

Enrolment in Canadian universities surpassed the 1 million mark for the first time during the 2004-05 academic year.

Women continued to vastly outnumber men, accounting for 58% of undergraduate students and 53% of master's students.

The gender divide between subject areas remains conspicuous. Women dominate law, communications and humanities enrollments while many more men are stepping into engineering, mathematics and information fields.

Finding and keeping good women

Monster, the online job site, asked job seekers why they left a job or accepted or declined a new position, and found that the reasons varied based on age, gender, and ethnicity.

41% of women, compared with 26% of men, said inflexible work hours would cause them to turn down a job.

80% of African-Americans and 77% of Hispanics said upward mobility was "important" compared with 63% of Caucasians.

Older workers placed more value on competitive health insurance and retirement plans.

The Most Emailed Article at The New York Times (29 Oct)

"What Women Want? Just Ask"
While women have always influenced decisions about big-ticket household purchases, their direct spending has expanded substantially in recent years...

Nature or Nuture? Do I measure up?

Hard to miss Dove's latest evolution clip -- a build on its campaign for real beauty.

Dove is trying to send the message that natural beauty, no matter what you look like, is beautiful. The problem is that girls and women don't necessarily buy this. I am not sure we are ever going to change the way girls or women think about themselves. It is natural for girls and women to want to be pretty. It is a primal instinct. Even if we were going to eliminate media influences altogether it would still appear naturally in everyday life, in the schools, on the street.

Although Dove is doing a brilliant marketing and publicity job with this campaign, are they really hitting the mark with the intent to improve the self esteem of young girls today?

We all know that media images are manipulated. To invest heavily in communicating this message is simply underestimating the audience. Most social and peer pressures are much closer to home and certainly impossible to control or manage.

Feeling confident and good about oneself and having a strong sense of self esteem has less to do with outer beauty and more to do with the way we were raised and supported and our role models.

Although we all aspire to "you are beautiful just the way you are, honey..." that doesn't cut it for most.

As one blogger said... "then why didn't Dove put ugly fat women in their ads"? And, they still sell beauty products, don't they?

300 Million: More Women than Men online

On 17th October 2006, the US reached a milestone: Its population grew to 300 million.

- 51.4% Internet users are Female
- 63% aged 3 and older use the Internet at least once per month
- 26% of the Internet user population are aged 50 and older

Nivea's human billboard

I love marketing, I love technology, and I love skincare. But Nivea's recent use of all three - walking and talking human billboard is not my cup of tea.

"The Adwalkers walk about in public places, malls, or other venues where the client's target audience is most likely to be, wearing a high-resolution video screen bearing the client's message across their chests. They are trained to have friendly conversations with interested consumers in order to qualify them for offers and promotional messages."

When it comes to shopping for skincare, women like personal recommendations and a comfortable environment. I honestly do not see myself being stopped in the street and voluntarily engage in beauty talks with a strange guy strapped in a techno vest...then be sent off to an exhibit. I mean, that is 15 mins of my life! Enough for me to check in with my girlfriends about the latest and greatest in the beauty world.

Maybe I just am not a Nivea girl.

Your Beauty, Your Vote!

Our poll on Cosmetic Enhancement is here!

Casting Call: Define Yourself

There has been a lot of talk about beauty defined in the media over the last few years. The topic of beauty is undoubtedly one of the most personal and complex subjects know to women today.

SWING is embarking on a very exciting project with a terrific client and we are looking for women with an opinion, -- any opinion-- , on cosmetic enhancement.


• Are you a woman in her 30's, 40's or 50's, not afraid of the limelight, who enjoys sharing her opinions on matters of self image and enhancement?

• Are you the type of personality who believes that while aging is mandatory, it does not mean that you should look OLD?

• Do you see cosmetic injections as a miracle invention and a way to regain control over the aging process?

• Do you feel strongly that cosmetic maintenance or enhancement is a personal choice?

• Are you feeling in need of a cosmetic intervention?

OR

• Are you not sure how you feel about cosmetic injections but are open minded and self assured

If any one of these describe the way you feel and you are based in Toronto, we would like to talk to you.

SWINGThink, a Toronto-based marketing agency specializing in understanding women is conducting a casting call for an exciting campaign on behalf of its client, a well known brand in the cosmetic injectable category. We are seeking women to participate in this campaign to be launched in early 2007.

If this sounds like something you may be interested in, please contact Catharine Fennell, Partner, SWINGThink for more details. Casting call is open until Nov. 8th, 2006.

Women in the Workplace

In a recent Swing Salon, "Women in the Workplace" emerged as a significant issue. Workopolis.com offers an archive of useful material on this topic.

Female CEOs

FORTUNE's annaul ranking of Most Powerful Women in Business is here!

Be inspired.

Beauty, Self-Perception and Others

A fascinating piece on how we see ourselves in others' beauty decisions. Laura Kipnis also wrote a much-discussed book on women and monogamy and how social mores are evolving.

Gamers re-defined

Did you know that there are roughly 117 million "Active Gamers" in the U.S. in 2006, 56% play games online, and 64% of these online gamers are women.

Sun CTO said "Engineering needs diversity"

A must-read: Sun Microsystems CTO Greg Papadopoulos talked about the need for diversity in the engineering field from a variety of angles: Consumer-focused design, social justice, organizational enrichment and, last but not least, profit motive.

A beautiful courtship

To promote and reach the nation, Canada in 2020 has leveraged a range of communication tools on all platforms. You can read, listen, write, watch or attend a forum. There are websites, podcasts, online vmails, blogs, newsletters, RSS feeds..... all beckon you to participate IN YOUR PREFERRED WAYS.

Tell people something interesting is going on and provide them with the right options to find out more. You hate visiting content-rich sites, no problem, how about we deliver newsletters to your door? No time to read, podcasts are here! Want to comment, rant, rave, complain....pick your options, do so in person, in our blogs, in an essay, or even leave a vmail.

Whatever pleases you, my love.

A beautifully simple and effective formula! Put yourself on the receiver side and think FOR them, work WITH them, and create a relationship akin to a good old fashioned courtship.

Canada in 2020

On 13 Sept, we held a Swing Salon on "Women and Diversity". 9 exceptional women - of various ethnic backgrounds and life experiences - and 2 hours later, we were more enlightened than ever. We unearthed and visited many issues that will impact what Canada will be as a nation.

To help create this crystal ball, I strongly recommend a visit to Canada in 2020, an online space to debate issues, events and trends that could transform Canada by the year 2020. It a joint project by the Star, LaPresse, the CBC and the Dominion Institute aimed at highlighting what Canadians think will be the single most important issue facing Canada in the year 2020.

There are many ways to learn and participate:
- Check out the latest essays
- Contribute to the wiki
- Follow the blog
- Download a podcast
- Write comments, submit essays, leave online vmails
- Subscribe to the newsletters
- Attend a debate
....and more.

Impostor Syndrome/Complex: Maybe Not Such a Bad Thing?

ClickZ has a fantastic piece today on the importance of listening. It's a reminder that sometimes it's important to remind ourselves that we may know a lot of things, but we need to be in 'I know nothing' mode if we are really going to hear what customer feedback is saying.

Read on as to why the customer conversation feedback cycle needs listening and humility to work properly ...

Revlon - more than a branding Oops

Revlon is going through some major changes. What's also interesting is that its product line Vital Radiance, aimed at the baby boomers, will be discontinued due to poor sales despite $17 million spending over the last 3 months. Revlon said this was due to (a) their failure to leverage the Revlon name (b) organizational changes.

So, where did Revlon go wrong in terms of marketing? Scanning through the site, it seems to have great ingredients. For an ONLINE shopper, this may be an ideal destination. Colour matching (based on what I am already using), community, spoke models, makeup tips, product details, and much much more.

Sadly, the experience is not replicated in store. Imagine CVS and its shelves and shelves of products (most claim to be anti-aging in some way nowadays!). None of the "greate ingredients" listed above could be replicated in real life.

Like cooking, good ingredients do not necessarily mean good results. To truly understand shoppers behaviours...field observation.

Ah, a mobile Salon shopping trip!

Work Life Balance, again

Work life balance for women/career moms - old news? Looks like this is just the beginning in the Game industry.

News from the other planet

Revlon is going through some major changes. What's also interesting is that its product line Vital Radiance, aimed at the baby boomers, will be discontinued due to poor sales despite $17 million spending over the last 3 months. Revlon said this was due to (a) their failure to leverage the Revlon name (b) organizational changes.

So, where did Revlon go wrong in terms of marketing? Scanning through the site, it seems to have great ingredients. For an ONLINE shopper, this may be an ideal destination. Colour matching (based on what I am already using), community, spoke models, makeup tips, product details, and much much more.


Sadly, the experience is not replicated in store. Imagine CVS and its shelves and shelves of products (most claim to be anti-aging in some way nowadays!). None of the "greate ingredients" listed above could be replicated in real life.

Like cooking, good ingredients do not necessarily mean good results. To truly understand shoppers behaviours...field observation.

Ah, a mobile Salon shopping trip!

Women Talk About Leadership

Newsweek runs a great piece on women and leadership. In the wake of the Patricia Dunn disaster (what on earth is happening at HP?!?! the once proud company fabled for its good corporate citizenship has fallen on dark times), we needed that. I love Queen Latifah.

Yes, You Can Measure Those Head-On Ads

Finally, someone explains how - and when - advertising works. Must-read for marketers.

Broadsheet, or, is feminism alive?

Few topics provoke more polarized opinions than the role of feminism in the lives of women in 2006. In this strange post-post feminist world of hypersexualized preteens and padded bras for six-year-olds, Broadsheet is pink-hued (both metaphorical and literal!) feminist analysis of what's happening in pop-culture, politics and everything in between. Compiled by Salon's female contributors and including the unparalleled prose and opinions of Lynn Harris, who in my opinion writes more eloquently on what it is to be alive and female in 2006 than almost anyone else, it's a refreshing look at just how close we are at times to having our most basic rights and freedoms repealed in a society where many of us take female equality for granted.


Love it? Hate it? Is feminism a dirty word? Tell!

Katie Launches!

Katie Couric has been lauded and castigated ... but there is agreement on one thing. There's never been a primetime launch quite like her. I'm not a fan of the new news format and I think it has been appropriately castigated as news lite, but it also caters to an audience that is primarily getting its news now via the internet and needs context and depth versus an outlining of the headlines.

I hate that so much of the coverage has focused on her wardrobe and photoshopping. We ask for substance and then critique her for style? The ratings are good though ... do you think the ratings blip will last? Will the news format last? Are we setting up another female first for failure?

Raison D'Etre

Hello world! Welcome to ongoing, intelligent discussion on how women can have more impact on the products and services that companies market to them: how they are developed, refined and marketed. SWING is dedicated to closing the distance between female consumers and employees and the organizations they interact with by engaging both sides in meaningful, impactful conversation. So whether it's better washrooms on trains or more usable gadgets or why on earth skinny jeans are back, you'll find it here!

And we're off.