Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | A | Advertising Age

She-noms: They're not your mother's consumer; Wake up and straighten out the jargon of tech toys, select the beer of Fashion Week.

Article Excerpt
Byline: TIFFANY MEYERS

If she's happy, then everybody's happy.

For all that blather about alpha males, adult men are a beta demo. There are 6 million more women aged 20 or older than there are men. What makes the 21st-century woman a consumer phenomenon is her deep pockets, born of greater education and clout in the workplace. The rise of the female consumer phenom-or she-nom-merits an overhaul in strategic thinking. Marketers must keep feminine preferences in mind not just for "women's products'' but for items ranging from digital cameras to beer that traditionally have been pitched aggressively to guys.

"The concept of marketing to women as your lead user is the way of the future,'' says Bridget Brennan, founder of consultancy Female Factor Communications. In virtually every category, smart marketers will put women in the bull's-eye, not on the periphery, she says.

Many marketers fear that direct appeals to women will alienate men, but the opposite is true, Ms. Brennan says. Products with a feminine veneer are apt to turn off not just men but women who suspect these are watered-down versions of the real deal,...