Communications on The Findings Report

The Gender Quotient

Sun, 29 Oct 2017 08:29:00 -0700

The late David Ogilvy is credited with one of marketing’s most famous axioms. “The customer is not a moron; she is your wife.” The quotation reminds managers that we are all customers, but it is striking because of its decisive use of pronouns. The pivot from “customer” to “she” brings the message home. It is a prime example of the role gender can play in our communications.

Gender has become a challenging landscape for marketers. On the one hand, there are brands that are creating value by aligning themselves with gender-specific themes. One example is the femvertising trend, in which brands such as Dove, Always and GoldieBlox have tailored their messaging campaigns to feature stories of female empowerment. The approach is not exactly new. Although distasteful to today’s more enlightened audience, Virginia Slims wooed women to tobacco by celebrating the strength of the female sex.

Experts, Shmexperts

Sun, 06 Aug 2017 07:10:00 -0700

Imagine that you’re at a party and that you suddenly feel very ill. A doctor at the party, whom you don’t know, tells you with absolute certainty that you have swallowed poison and must get to a hospital immediately to have your stomach pumped. Next to this doctor is one of your dearest childhood friends who swears that she encountered the same situation last week and that you’re merely having an allergic reaction to a nasty seasonal pollen. She says you’ll be fine in a few hours after you get some rest and drink a cider vinegar tonic.

The Power of Pause

Sun, 30 Jul 2017 07:43:00 -0700

For two weeks I was engaged in a social media battle with Nordstrom. It was over something that might seem innocuous: unsolicited email.

I purchased a pair of shoes online from Nordstrom Rack. The next day, I received the first of what would become a litany of daily sales offers. No big deal. Every smart digital retailer does this. Strike while the iron is hot! But I noticed that the email that came through was targeted at a woman. All of the offers were for women’s clothes and shoes. I deleted it. The next day I received two more. So, I hit the unsubscribe button. Again, no big deal.