Marketing to Women Grows Up

A recent New York Times story by Brooks Barnes on developments with NBC Universal/ iVillage caught my eye. The tale of the women-focused web site founded in 1995, and its path since then serves as a good representation of the path the entire field of marketing to women (referred to as M2W from here on out) has taken in that same time frame.

Having been monitoring, working in and writing about how women buy for six of those years, I can safely say that though M2W, in general, and iVillage, more specifically, have both struggled, each seems to be finding its way in maturity -- even if that is just with baby steps...

Here's a quick look at the then/now:

Birth of iVillage: This web site, designed by women/for women, offered rich content on a wide variety of topics and its launch was well-received. iVillage had no competition to speak of, and certainly stood out among the otherwise dry and information-thick, mainly academic style - or just plain boring - content sites otherwise available. There were definitely a lot of pink or pastel flourishes, and stereotypically female topics like diet, sex and beauty got a lot of coverage.

Birth of M2W: This field was established and developed mainly by women to educate brands about how to better serve the then quite neglected market segment of female consumers. Ten years ago, there was lots of opportunity and there were plenty of industries that really needed help digging out from under the usual gender stereotyping. M2W was a whole new concept, so it seemed to provide a fresh perspective and insights that everyone needed to learn. Still, just as with iVillage, pink and flowers symbolized many a brand's initial foray into the women's realm.

The current state of iVillage: Having been acquired by NBC Universal in May 2006, with hopes of much cross-media buzz-building and innovative web/television integration, the site instead seemed to lose a little steam. iVillage content, and its integration into the occasional segment on the Today show, has grown beyond the stereotypical hair, fashion, sex and fitness story, and is aiming to be a lot more substantive. In his New York Times piece, Barnes quotes Phil Griffin, vice president of NBC News -- and makes an additional comment of his own:

"The segments themselves have also become meatier, Mr. Griffin said. 'We're trying not to do just female stories that are sweet and nice,' he said. Translation: fewer beauty makeovers and more coverage of personal finance."

The current state of M2W: Efforts to raise the business world's general awareness of the huge economic influence of women and how to serve them well have seemed to plod along. Still, by mid-2007, there have been a few well-recognized and inspiring examples (Dove Campaign for Real Beauty and Nike to name two) to point to. One thing that the early and successful M2W adopters have long-since discovered is that: there is a lot more to connecting with women than pastel colors, flowers and information about hair care, beauty or fashion. Women appreciate substance, just like everyone else.

Is that enough ground gained in ten or so years? No. But, as with iVillage, marketing to women has hit puberty, and the future looks bright.