What The Super Bowl and ESPN: The Magazine Know About Women

Count me as one of the 40.5 million women (out of 90 million people) expected to watch the Super Bowl on February 3rd. Where usually I am not overly into professional football (I am much more a college fan - Go Blue), something changed my perspective. Marketing transparently (a concept introduced in my book, Don’t Think Pink) to a core group of passionate football fans is at work here - reaching EVERYONE who loves various aspects of the game/spectacle, no matter their gender.

The transparent rule: Be guided and inspired by the consumers you serve, and voila - you reach your best customers, and then some.

Even though Victoria’s Secret is back in the big game’s ad mix this year (after an almost ten year hiatus), that isn’t really a big point toward a “marketing to women” award (since VS is a brand that more truly markets to men - and they do a great job). However, what does earn that type of award is the overall increasing awareness of, and ability of brands to see, the bigger picture - that there is this larger market out there, which includes sports fans who happen to be female! By focusing more on the shared interests of the coed consumer group, the NFL/Super Bowl includes women by default and serves the highest customer standard in general.

Anyway - in keeping with the sports theme, I recently came across another indication that that industry is sticking to its guns by focusing on core, passionate, customers and finding success with both genders. This past Monday I picked up a copy of ESPN:The Magazine to use as a transparent marketing example for a presentation. While that publication’s approach has always been guided and inspired by the readers they serve (though the segment, fairly obviously, starts with 18 - 34 year old males and dials in from there), this month’s cover shot said it loud and clear: snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler, smiling and all ready for the X Games.

Sure, she is attractive and that makes for good “cover” in any case, but the point is - as you page through the magazine, you come across more and more profiles and tidbits about great women and women’s teams in sports. That magazine has evolved with its readers - and it’s editors didn’t go into the gender trap of focusing on women to the pendulum swinging exclusion of men.

Instead, as the editorial staff stayed in tune with its readership, it likely saw more letters and comments from women and, likely, more comments from men interested in women’s sports, as well (sport is sport, after all!). Neither ESPN: The Magazine nor the Super Bowl decided to reach women with a pink version of the brand. Instead, they focused on the tone, style, humor, “feel” of their biggest fans to continue to grow their markets, and, I’d say, they are both winning.

But, back to that Super Bowl for a minute: Both my 70-something mom and I, in separate states with no planning, found ourselves being pulled into last weekend’s Giants/Packers game. We each felt that tug to linger on the game while clicking through the channels, and then we stayed. This happened NOT because either of us has ever gotten into watching the pros before, but because we couldn’t take our eyes off the Roman coliseum-like battle of these powerful athletes in the worst, coldest conditions ever. Neither of us, by the way, were really rooting for either team. We were each interested, not as “women,” but as natural sport fans.

A few fun facts on women and the Super Bowl from an article by Sarah Mahoney in MediaPost:

Last year’s Super Bowl posted a 31.3 rating
for women in the 18-to-49 demographic group, and last year’s Academy
Award hauled in just 17.2. So marketers “would need two ads in the
Oscars to reach the same number of women as one Super Bowl ad,” the Fox
spokesperson says.

Also in that article, Todd Kirby, director of strategic research for Spark Communications, Starcom MediaVest Group’s digital agency, cited a shift among the types of women watching the game. Baby
Boomer women are a growth audience, he says, with women 55-plus up 25%
since 2003.

So, study up and make no assumptions if you are in a traditionally male-dominated or -focused industry!

Caveat: I am by no means saying that both the NFL/Super Bowl and ESPN Magazine are perfect, and there is certainly much “pink” merchandise in the mix (which women do seem to love), but those two brands are making great strides. (Unfortunately, the NFL recently lost Lisa Baird, its very savvy Senior VP of Marketing). And, this transparent approach may not work perfectly for every industry - no question. Still, I love this sports case study as an example that even the seemingly most “male” of industries can learn to serve their female fans well. And, along the way, I’m betting that they didn’t lose any significant number of male fans.

There, I gave you another excuse to sit back for 3 hours or so, eat chips, drink beer and watch TV: market research. Thank me later.

Thursday, January 24th, 2008 in Boomer Women, Brain Science, Socio, Anthro, Gender Trends, Health.Sports.Wellness, Marketing to Men, Men in Marketing to Women, PINK Thinking