Women are responsible for 80% of purchasing decisions and yet 76% feel that brands do not represent them. We think it’s time to change that. So we’ve conducted a year-long piece of research into the mindset of the 21st Century Woman and how brands speak to her. With more than 3/4 of women feeling that brands don’t represent them, it’s never been more important to act. Following our research, we’ve come up with 8 principles that we think can provide a starting point for marketers looking to engage the 21st Century Woman.

1. 8 STEPS TO GETTING IT RIGHT
ENGAGING THE
#C21WOMAN

2. Women are responsible for
80% of purchasing decisions
and yet 76% feel that brands
do not represent them.
We think it’s time to change that. So we’ve conducted a year-long
piece of research into the mindset of the 21st Century Woman and how
brands speak to her.
With more than 3/4 of women feeling that brands don’t represent them,
it’s never been more important to act. Following our research, we’ve
come up with 8 principles that we think can provide a starting point for
marketers looking to engage the 21st Century Woman.
Each principle is accompanied by a case study – because it’s not all
doom and gloom. In our research, we found that businesses like Dove,
Boots and Marks & Spencer were continually cited as examples of
brands who are getting it right. So let’s celebrate the good and look
ahead positively in an effort to speak to this diverse and powerful
market in the way it deserves to be spoken to.

3. ‘This Girl Can’ was a seminal
moment in UK advertising. It was
a celebration of women “doing
their thing, no matter how well
they do it, how they look or even
how red their faces get”. Rather
than sexualising models in sports
bras, Sport England showed real
women fighting to reach their
goals. The result was heralded
as one of the most empowering
campaigns of all time.
Be positive
and empowering01There’s a fine line between sounding supportive
and sounding patronising. So make sure you
present the 21st Century Woman not just in a
positive light, but in one that’s empowering
too. Choose inspirational and representative
ambassadors and have a philosophy that your
brand can genuinely get behind.

4. With England Lionesses Lucy Bronze
and Karen Bardsley in leading roles, SSE
staged a football match like no other:
England Women vs SSE Girls United – a
team made up of over 100 schoolgirls.
The event was supported by a short
film that celebrated the camaraderie
and togetherness in women’s football
and inspired girls across the nation to
get involved.
Oh, and SSE Girls United won the match
1-0 – proving that the next generation
of English football is in very safe hands!
Be future
focused02The foundations for the future are being laid right
now. But brands need to be at the forefront of
cultural change if they expect the next generation to
pay attention. Stay ahead of the crowd and listen to
your customers to find out how.
Where will the next
generation of Lionesses
come from? SSE’s girls-
only football participation
programme gives young
girls across the country
more opportunities than
ever to play the beautiful
game.

5. Be a force
for good03Social media is virtually unprecedented in its
pervasiveness and power. We need to harness
that influence and make it work for women.
Avoid pitting women against one another,
promoting unrealistic expectations and
flaunting unachievable ideals.
Women are often
derided for their
bodies and the
things they choose
to wear. This
judgement can be
hugely detrimental
to their self-esteem
and the problem is
particularly rife on
social media.
Amazon Fashion
wanted to change
all that through the
launch of its ‘Say
Something Nice’
campaign. It was a pledge that encouraged people to post
positive comments on women’s fashion photos on social
media – to end judgement and encourage individuality.
The campaign received endorsements from celebrities like
Ashton Kutcher, but most importantly from the everyday
women that the campaign directly benefitted.

6. Be open
minded04Don’t make assumptions based on gender and
automatically assume you ‘know’ women,
even if you are one. Challenge stereotypes and
think about the way your audience wants to be
presented. Don’t just revert to predictable ways of
representing women – see if the precedent
is warranted first.
The RAF’s latest recruitment campaign
features real RAF personnel like Ellie, an
Avionics Technician who works with the
Red Arrows.
A series of films follow ‘day-in-the-life’
stories that really get to grips with what
it takes to succeed in the RAF.
By focusing in on Ellie, the RAF is able
to demonstrate what it takes to thrive in
the Air Force and to show that personnel
are selected via the very specialist and
unique skills they offer – as opposed
to anything else.

7. Be
aware05‘Girly’ will always raise some red flags, but
sometimes it’s ok to ‘think pink’. We shouldn’t
be worried about using images, words and ideas
that have been designated, wrongly or rightly, as
‘female’. But we need to know when we’re doing it
and have a good reason for doing so. Make sure it
fits the product and strategy.
Candy Crush’s ‘Meet the Real Jelly Queen’ execution is
brought to life through pink and purple branding and retro
fun. Our hero, a woman on rollerblades, comes up against
the jiggling Jelly Queen in a dance-off to ‘Bootylicious’.
She’s the ultimate expression of a girl who enjoys being
a girl – she’s not afraid to own it, wear pink or express
herself in her own individual way. The result is full of
energy and perfectly on brand.

8. Be
conscientious06Do the hard graft. Get to know your audience
in meaningful ways – their likes, dislikes, age,
location and purchase history are often more
important factors than gender to consider. But
don’t just stop there – see if there’s a bigger
thought that transcends audience. Look to your
product’s purpose and the feeling it evokes to find
out what your inspiration should be.
Although Lurpak is mostly bought by women, the strategy
is to speak to cooks – irrespective of gender. The brilliant
‘Adventure Awaits’ campaign focuses on the ingredients of
a meal.
With people taking a back seat in the ads, the brand
showcases the joy of cooking, giving centre stage to the bold
ingredients and exhilarating culinary process. After all, what
cook doesn’t want to know they’re working with the very best
quality produce? That answer doesn’t vary by gender.

9. Be
effortless07People are more vocal when customer service
goes wrong than when it goes right. This is
particularly important to remember when
designing an experience for women – who
are most active on social media, where these
complaints often manifest. Make your customer
journeys work harder to create the best
experience possible at every touchpoint.
SMA’s weekly eCRM programme supports new mums
at every stage of their journey, with carefully researched
helpful hints and tips that relate directly to their baby’s
developmental milestones. As a complement to the
emails, each mum has access to a team of midwives and
real mums, who can offer additional support if and when
required – the perfect safety net for first-time mums who
trust first-hand advice.

10. How can we create campaigns for women if we
don’t have any women in our teams? At Engine,
we aim to have a 50/50 split of men and women
at every level of our organisation. We call it
‘Better with Balance’, because we know that
we produce the very best work when different
views are bought to the table.
Be
representative08
We’re by no means perfect. While representation
of women and men tends to be fairly balanced
in junior and mid-level roles, we still have more
work to do to get the balance right further up
the organisation.
So, to support the continued advancement of
women within
Engine, especially at higher levels of leadership,
we have a five-part strategy that addresses
various challenges associated with reaching
gender parity within an organisation:
Get In
Get On
Get Seen
Get Back
Get Over It
Ensure that there are an even number of men and women
being considered for similar positions and roles
Provide development and mentorship opportunities for
women to succeed and thrive
Help increase the visibility of senior women
in the organisation, both internally and externally
Make programmes available for both maternity and paternity
leave and improve the reintegration process for returning
mothers and fathers
Provide unconscious bias training to all employees across
the organisation

11. TALK TO US.
READYTOTALKTOTHEWORLD’S
LARGESTEMERGINGMARKET?
Get in touch and we’ll help you develop a personalised
action plan to talk to the 21st Century Woman
erminia@enginegroup.com