Why brands must market differently to women

On International Women’s Day, the subject of inequality must understandably be raised, albeit with a twist. In the rapidly emerging India story, women promise to surpass men as key decision makers for brand purchases. Exactly why traditional approaches in marketing must be duly busted.

Brands have historically approached women from two clear perspectives. The first being Gender Identity, building on the effortless ability to nurture. A parent seeking the welfare of a child, the homemaker obsessive about prudence, a lady at large wishing to look her finest or an ambitious professional seeking a work life equilibrium. As a continuum ranging elegantly from the conventional story of Dove, Lux and Pond’s Dreamflower Talc, to the wisdom baton of Lalitaji and Parachute Hair Oil, to the Hero Honda Pleasure of Priyanka Chopra and more recently, the liberating autonomy of Tanishq. Stretching the depth of conversations, but well within the core domain.

The second dimension could well be called Universal Identity, wherein gender-agnostic categories approached men and women with generalised appeals, rooted in user and imagery. Automobiles, mobile phones, laptops, F&B, Insurance, investments and many others. Operating on the largely irrefutable thinking that hard core rational or generalised experiential purchases were driven by a scalable code of acquisition, rooted in the familiar cocktail of value and emotion. Truthfully, women were considered a secondary audience with limited scope for personalisation.

On the odd occasion when the two identities recklessly collided, the outcomes were less than spectacular. A recent global case being Jane Walker, the ‘feminine’ version of Johnny Walker and the many aborted attempts to launch gender-skewed cigarettes. In the case of Diageo, the launch was timed around March 8, which made it appear as fake pandering as opposed to a genuine acknowledgement. There are many examples of such boundaries being unwisely violated, leading to avoidable disaster.

In modern times, a brand new persona is emerging, transcending both rural and urban audiences. The Leadership Identity defines the successfully empowered Indian lady and while drawing parts from the gender and universal identities, the whole is vastly different. Most importantly, this is not anecdotal thinking, instead powered by sufficient data and recorded evidence.

The BCG study on India purchase behaviour, from 2019, clearly stated that women and men have equal contribution to brand choice. The active information search online is driven largely by women and mobile phones have been the game changer in so many ways. An active internet penetration in excess of 52% and a 72% penetration of smartphones have actively fuelled this aspect. Social media, including chats, have empowered women in many ways and this habit of active exploration is just one remarkable dimension.

It is wise to pause and define leadership in the context of identity and women. Which extends far beyond the increase in CXO roles driven hugely by greater conformance to ESG standards. Top recruiters also opine that when factors are equal, the lady gets preference for the top job.

According to recent data, women empower 50% of India's startup ecosystem. Currently, the country has nearly 14% of women entrepreneurs, equating to 8.05 million, and over 20% of the MSME sector comprises women-led businesses. This is Leadership Identity 1.0 as more women assume positions of power. It has a positive cascading effect on the economy at large.

But the real shift is happening at a scalable mental level, as women are gradually assuming thought leadership in both key and routine family decisions. This is driven by the proven blend of EQ and IQ, as demonstrated by scientific evidence. As mentioned, this pattern has been escalated by the digital evolution and reiterated by the ever-increasing credibility of ladies in the mainstream economy. It may not be premature to suggest that this new-age Leadership Identity is more influential than the age-old gender and universal silos, as it dictates the patterns of empathy and choice.

In this new regime, customer engagement must increasingly be peer-to-peer and free from condescending or thoughtless filters. Beauty will still be driven by emotional levers but the outcomes may well be beyond the mirror glass jury, extending to meaningful societal outcomes. The journeys of the Bournvita Mom and the Tanishq Bride represent this shift quite smartly, while the momentum needs to be fast forwarded. Families and peers will be ably accommodated in the new scheme of operations, thus making it a limitless agenda.Women today are active enablers of sustainable change and wonderfully, this is happening even more strongly in rural and lower tier India.

On International Women’s Day, it is indeed time for every citizen to salute the Leadership Identity of women in India. Most preciously, this sentiment must be earnestly adopted by every brand marketer, from lipstick to laptop. The old world order was invariably about striving to belong, making unfair adjustments en route. The new global regime is clearly about playing on self-professed terms, with the universe making necessary alignments.

It can be easily predicted that International Women’s Day will cease to be a bespoke event in the near future. The rapidly evolving Leadership Identity will ensure that the new mainstream is defined by women, with men in active partnership. Brands must answer this wake-up call earnestly, else prepare for an unequal marketplace.

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