A recent study of Fortune 500 companies by Catalyst, the
research firm that tracks corporate women, shows that companies
with the highest representation of senior women had a 35% higher
return on equity and a 34% higher return to shareholders than
companies with the fewest women in upper management. Arthur W. Page
Society, which represents senior (corporate) PR executives, tells
PR NEWS that 34% of its 324 members are women. The Catalyst study,
along with the information from Arthur Page, inspired us to look
into some of the trends concerning women, communications and PR. We
recently caught up with Jen Levine, managing director of Just Ask a
Woman (New York), which provide market research and strategy for
companies that want to build their businesses with women. Clients
include General Motors, Intel, Johnson & Johnson and Kellogs
Company.
PRN: What are some of the most salient trends regarding
women and communications and do marketing/ communications
departments tend to underestimate the purchasing power of
women?
Levine: We've been in business five years and I've never
had to talk somebody into understanding women and why they're
important. [Companies] know that women influence or make 85% of all
consumer decisions. We call women the 'COO' of their households,
and brands more and more understand that if she's not the
decision-maker, she's doing the research or checking it out with
the experts. Communications has always been a field with a lot of
women in it, so the marketing departments are getting more
listening time in the boardroom from senior women, which has got to
help attract attention to the right consumers.
PRN: How does a PR campaign that is strictly targeting
women differ from a campaign that is more general in nature? What
are some of the nuances?
Levine: Women make decisions about consumer purchases
based on what we call their 'Board of Directors.' They like to
check [information] --- whether it's childcare or what medicine you
give your kid when (s)he has a fever -- against all the different
experts in their field. The 'experts' could be their mothers, the
nurse down the street, her pediatrician, the Tylenol Web site or
babycenter.com. The decision is hers alone, but she does weigh all
of these factors. So when a PR campaign is structured toward women,
the right campaign can fit in as one of those members on her board
of directors...But companies have to earn that trust. If you deny
her access or are murky with the facts, you're off. She's not only
making the decisions for herself but for her entire family, and
that's a big deal.
PRN: What are some of the pitfalls that companies make
when targeting wo-men in media campaigns?
Levine: A good campaign is holistic enough that it
understands that women are not just going to read and act. They'll
check out what you're saying against other people, even if it's
women in their book club. She's also going to run it by her own lie
detectors.
PRN: More than a third of the members of the Arthur W.
Page Society are women. What do you attribute to the fact women
seem to be having more luck climbing the corporate ladder in
communications, as opposed to other disciplines?
Levine: The category among corporations has a history of
being more flexible. It's a department that may be easier to take
maternity leave and come back; it may be easier for a flexible work
schedule and encourages women to stay in that workforce longer.
Plus, it's a woman's natural skill - the communications skill.
Contact: Jen Levine, [email protected]