The Power of the Purse: How Smart
Businesses Are Adapting to the
Worlds Most Important Consumers-
Women by Fara Warner
Thought-Provoking Case Histories
Women now drive some 80% of all buying decisions. By 2010, theyll
account for half of Americas private wealth: $13 trillion dollars. A few
remarkable companies have learned how to refocus on women -- and, in
so doing, have achieved truly stunning results. In The Power of the Purse,
top journalist Fara Warner takes you behind the scenes at those
companies, revealing how they did it -- and how you can, too. Unlike
previous books on marketing to women, this one doesnt settle for
generalities: it offers in-depth, start-to-finish case studies. Discover how
McDonalds turned around its business by recognizing women as full-
fledged consumers, not just Moms. Learn how Kodaks digital camera
business soared from fourth to first by recognizing womens importance as

family memory makers. See how P G built Swiffer into a cultural revolution,
and how the diamond industry did the same for right-hand rings. Watch
Bratz topple Barbie, Torrid create its enormously successful plus-size
stores for teenagers, and Avon connect with a radically new generation of
women.From Nike to Home Depot, each story is unique -- but in every
case, these companies put women at the center of their strategies, and
listened intently to what real women consumers were telling them. Its not
about painting your products pink: its about transforming the way you think
about women. Do that, and youll create products that sell better to
everyone.
Personal Review: The Power of the Purse: How Smart
Businesses Are Adapting to the Worlds Most Important
Consumers-Women by Fara Warner
Somewhere in the first five minutes of any good business school's initial
marketing class, the professor will sternly admonish students to listen to
their customers and provide what's relevant. Ms. Warner in this book
suggests that many such students must have fallen asleep during that
lecture . . . or didn't understand the point.
In The Power of the Purse, Ms. Warner shows how some of the largest
companies in the world fell asleep providing offerings and marketing to
support those offerings that perhaps fit the U.S. market in 1955 . . . but
certainly don't fit the market today.
To me, the most powerful case history was for Bratz, the new doll series
that overtook Barbie in three years after 50 years of doll dominance. Few
parents in my experience failed to note that Barbie wasn't right for their
daughters. But it was hard to find alternatives that were any better. Bratz
was based on the idea that pre-teen girls grow out of wanting to play with a
doll that's Mommy and want to play with dolls that are like the girls and
their friends. To do that, the dolls needed to look like real girls and not
Donald Trump's idea of a dream date or trophy wife. They also needed to
dress like contemporary girls. Bratz provides those obvious benefits and
took the world by storm. The company's leader credits much of the
inspiration from watching his daughter play with her dolls.
If you survey women over 70, their attitudes are pretty much the traditional
ones. If you survey girls, you find that they believe that can do anything
and want to be in charge of their lives. The age groups between those
extremes express blended combinations of those views with the mixed
based on the age.
In other words, women in the U.S. have been changing and marketers
have been missing the boat. These case histories eloquently combine
statistics and stories to prove that point.
The cases include McDonald's discovering that women want to eat
something remotely healthful when they bring the kids in for a treat, Kodak

finding out that women want simple ways to develop family photo
memories, Torrid providing plus size fashion like what the fashionably
anorexic normally wear, Avon discovering that the daughters of Avon
Ladies want to make a buck too . . . but in a different way, Procter &
Gamble making it easier to be a bread winner who enjoys the satisfaction
of a clean floor, Nike learning that women's feet are different from men's,
Home Depot uncovering male-female partnering in home improvement
projects and women discovering the joy of buying diamond rings for the
right hand.
Reading these stories made me think that most companies have a long
way to go.
The main drawbacks of the book are three. First, Ms. Warner loves to give
you all the details. Her case histories are longer than they need to be, as a
result. The first one on McDonald's is a real snore. Keep reading. It gets
better. Second, Ms. Warner adds almost no management insight to her
case histories. These cases are like stories written for a glossy magazine
rather than to train marketers. Third, Ms. Warner spreads her points about
how women have changed throughout the book. She takes a long time to
get her point across. A better opening that summarized the key elements
would have made the rest of the book a lot more interesting by providing
the context before the examples.
Normally, I wouldn't rate such a bare bones book as highly as this one.
But I don't know of any better book on how marketers are overcoming
decades of bad habits in serving women. So any book that's the best in its
field deserves five stars.
Nice insights, Ms. Warner!
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