{"id":8042,"date":"2025-03-07T12:40:17","date_gmt":"2025-03-07T17:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/2025\/03\/07\/follow-the-money-why-smart-brands-think-like-women\/"},"modified":"2025-03-07T13:19:27","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T18:19:27","slug":"follow-the-money-why-smart-brands-think-like-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/follow-the-money-why-smart-brands-think-like-women\/8042\/","title":{"rendered":"Follow the Money: Why Smart Brands Think Like Women"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Bee Pahnke, Creative Director & Head of Voice at <\/em>Grey London<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Imagine this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re working on a campaign for a premium car brand launching a new model \u2013 fast, high-tech, a symbol of success. Now, picture your target customer in your mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Is it a man? A white, non-disabled, straight man?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

In most cases, it is. And we\u2019re not just talking about cars here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Of course, there are exceptions \u2013 make-up and beauty, for example, where products are usually designed specifically with women in mind. But when it comes to brands that should be gender agnostic (like financial, tech, or automotive), we\u2019ve learned to see men as the default customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Look, I\u2019m guilty of this too. Generations of patriarchy have conditioned us all to think men-first. But that bias is a fundamental misstep, because in reality, the person making the vast majority of purchasing decisions isn\u2019t a man. It\u2019s a woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

(Important note: for the sake of this discussion, and in line with prevailing marketing practices, I\u2019m using gender binary terms. Gender is a spectrum with more than two identities, but that\u2019s a topic for another article.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Women hold the purse strings and influence entire communities<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Women drive the economy \u2013 that\u2019s not an opinion, it\u2019s a fact. They make 80% of household purchase decisions. Over 90%<\/a> control or share all household financial decisions. Nearly half of UK motorists are women, and when it comes to car buying? They call the shots 80% of the time<\/a>. By 2028<\/a>, women will control 75% of all discretionary spend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

These aren\u2019t just numbers \u2013 they\u2019re a wake-up call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Women don\u2019t just manage their own household\u2019s spending \u2013 they influence spending beyond it. Take caregiving: nearly 60%<\/a> of unpaid carers in England and Wales are women. That means they\u2019re also making financial and buying decisions for their parents, children, and extended families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

In fact, women tend to have stronger community networks in general. They\u2019re more likely to lead grassroots community groups, to join social circles like book or running clubs, and to have a strong presence on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Market to a man, and you reach a man. Market to a woman, and you could reach a whole community. If you want more bang for your buck, the choice is obvious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

So why does marketing still ignore women?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Given these numbers, you\u2019d think brands would be prioritising women in their strategies. But they\u2019re not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Sure, female representation in ads has increased, at least in terms of screen time. But if you think that\u2019s enough, you\u2019re missing the point. Brands need to actually speak <\/em>to women \u2013 and by that I mean real women, not stereotypes. According to Kantar<\/a>, two-thirds of women would skip ads if they felt negatively stereotyped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

And yet, the industry still isn\u2019t getting it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n