Women Comfortable with Targeting but Want Value Adds from Advertisers

A recent eMarketer report featured research from Q Interactive revealed that women 88% of women would like to see more targeted advertising from brands they trust. Only 11% of women said targeted online ads were "weird" and nearly two-thirds of women said targeted ads were "cool."


According to Emily Girolamo, VP Marketing and Corporate Communications at Q Interactive, "Women...are creating new expectations of brands, agencies and marketers. They are past any fear or suspicion when they get a targeted ad online—and now just expect, want and seek out brands online with meaning for their busy lives." 

The types of targeting women seek are those that add value. Almost two-fifths of respondents said brands were “good partners" if they sent relevant information that women needed and used, while another one-fifth said good partners were those who were straightforward about deals and offers. Deals and discounts were a tactic that almost 60% of respondents said they would want to see more of. David Hallerman, an eMarketer senior analyst, said, "Offers such as discounts and deals appeal to most consumers." However, he cautions that, "A number of surveys reveal significantly divergent perspectives among consumers about the intersection of privacy, data collected about them and their relationship with targeted online advertising."

Word of Mouth Influences 81% of Moms' Purchasing Decisions

eMarketer recently released the results of a survey of online moms by EXPO, a video review site. 92% of respondents reported trusting consumer reviews' product descriptions, while only 8% trusted the description provided by the manufacturer, meaning that moms are12x more likely to trust consumers. Word of mouth also highly influenced respondents' purchasing decisions.

In a list of possible sources,  81% of moms surveyed reported word of mouth influencing a recent purchasing decision. It ranked second, after in-store promotions such as special sales (86%). Respondents unsurprisingly ranked traditional sources, such as newpaper inserts, consumer information magazines, and TV broadcasts high on their list. But nearly a quarter listed email advertising and 18% claimed that banner ads impacted their purchasing decisions.

80% of Women Fans of Brands on Social Networks

eMarketer recently reported on SheSpeak's Annual Social Media Survey about women's online behavior. Here are the highlights:

• 80% of female Internet users have become fans of a product or brands on a social networking site
• 72% of women have learned about or joined a group around new brands or products
• 50% bought a product because of a social network.
• 30% of female Internet users look at social network advertisements "sometimes", up from 13% last year
• 9% of women "always" look at ads and often click through, compared to only 2% in 2008

According to Aliza Freud, SheSpeak's founder and CEO, "Women have become more comfortable using social media, and for marketers, the overall growth and habitual use of social media represents opportunities to reach and engage women of all ages, and influence their purchasing decisions." 

Companies Should Use Mobile to Reach Women

With the smart phone battle underway, the US mobile Internet population is increasingly drastically. eMarketer estimates that 29.2% of mobile phone users log on to the Internet from their phones at least once a month, up from 22.3% last year. According to  BIA/Kelsey and ConStat, many of those qualify as “heavy” users—those who go online via mobile more than 10 times per week. And their online activities- researching products and services, purchasing items, and using mobile coupons- closely mimic the top online activities for women.

According to Rick Ducey, the Chief Strategy Officer for BIA/Kelsey, "Consumers have basically doubled their use of the mobile platform for non-voice communications....This represents a fundamental and rapid shift in media use, which needs to be considered in determining the appropriate mix and spending levels among local platforms. Media companies that do not currently offer a differentiated mobile advertising option had better get there quickly.”

Mobile advertising could be a particularly effective tool when targeting women. Smart phones are making the lives of women increasingly easier, with synchronized calendars, mobile applications, and the ability to access the Internet on the go. Forward-thinking companies would have the first-mover advantage to effectively women, particularly young women and moms.