The power of the pink purse

Editorial Comment
HAVING had a little bit more time to watch television during the holidays, I noticed that most advertisements on DStv seem to target men.

HAVING had a little bit more time to watch television during the holidays, I noticed that most advertisements on DStv seem to target men. This inequality reflects the society that is typical in developing countries where women are not seen as the people with the means to buy prestigious products such as cars for instance.

handbag-pink

Marketers, however, need to be attuned to the contribution their marketing activities have in repressing or uplifting women across the economic spectrum.

I noticed that women are more likely to be depicted in domestic roles than in occupational roles or leisure roles. While I respect the motherly roles that women should play in society, I also believe current conventions also have to be mirrored well. Women are no longer just “moms”, gatekeepers or some other minor role-players, but are beginning to rise up as economic decision-makers.

With some women featuring in the list of some of the richest people in the world it is high time that marketers realised that there is power in the pink purse. I believe that brands should now seriously consider tapping into this wealth and start doing business with women.

It is no longer enough to just put a coat of pink in advertisements and hope that women would be caught hook, line and sinker. I mean there are women — me included — that don’t necessarily like the colour pink. I had to make frantic efforts to get myself a pink piece of clothing for a conference that I attended last month.

It was the only shopping experience that I didn’t enjoy because I was wondering where on earth I would wear pink again. A pink advertisement may miss my eye for instance. Did I not give this article the heading marketing to the pink purse then?

Yes, I did . . . because pink is the generally accepted colour when marketing to women. What I am saying, therefore, is that depth should accompany advertisement and it is this depth that should attract the consumer more than the colour.

Another thing that I noticed as I watched the advertisements is that women seem to be considered as a homogeneous target market. Savvy marketers would know that there is no homogeneity in the tastes of even consumers who live with each other, let alone consumers who are brought together by some common social interest.

I look forward to the day when marketers reach out to the woman in the boardroom, to the woman at the farm and to the woman at home. I suppose the last category is covered for decently. I must say that I thought that the DStv advertisement that features a woman coming from the office in her fancy car about met my criteria for reaching out to the different classes in women until lo and behold she started sprinting to the television and in my own opinion looking totally undignified after literally kicking off her shoes.

It is this type of advertisement that would not necessarily capture the pink purse in my view. Luckily for DStv, they are almost the only decent choice.

Other brands may not possess such brand equity to afford to err in their marketing strategies concerning women. It is my hope that in 2014 shrewd marketers will begin to communicate better to the different groups of women and make their brands the brands of choice. I look forward to the new year and encourage you all to continue choosing the red brand for your reading pleasure.

I value the useful feedback I have received from Brand Savvy followers to date. I am certain that in the new year the articles will even be more savvy.

I take this opportunity to wish you all safe passage into the new year and I look forward to meeting you all on the other side in 2014 next week. Till then remain brand savvy!