Almost anyone with a product, service or idea to market wants to appeal to women. All over the world, women are the primary purchasers of goods for both themselves and their families. And increasingly, they also are the primary decision makers on issues ranging from house hunting to health care. Yet, there are indications that marketers still aren't hitting the bull's-eye with this target. For instance, in the U.S., research by Yankelovich shows that at least 59 percent of women say they feel misunderstood by marketers in product categories that include food, financial services and automobiles. . . . That's a clear opportunity.

Just over three years ago, Ketchum introduced a communication offering specifically designed to help marketers get their messages through to women. That offering, called Women 25to54, recognized that women are juggling many thoughts, priorities and responsibilities at once – and that they're often weary of marketing messages. As a result, communication needs to be immediately credible and relevant to their lives. This is perhaps even truer today than it was in 2004. Surveys around the globe report that women place greater trust in friends and family as reliable sources of information than they do in media. That means both traditional marketing and public relations must find more meaningful ways to deliver our clients' messages.

This issue of Perspectives features a collection of articles from Ketchum professionals in the U.S., Germany, China and Brazil, who share the latest trends and insights on marketing to women in those countries. The contributors include Kelley Skoloda, head of our global Brand Marketing Practice and the architect of the Women 25to54 offering, who outlines four trends that are helping to shape effective marketing programs aimed at women.

On a more micro-level, the “Viewpoints” section showcases insights about targeted groups of women. Marti Barletta, founder of The Trendsight Group and an internationally recognized expert in gender marketing, explains why marketers shouldn't overlook older women. Gur Tsabar, head of Ketchum's Interactive Strategies group, talks about a new psychographic that he calls the “Googling mom.” And Susan Molinari, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives who now runs Ketchum Public Affairs and The Washington Group, our lobbying unit, shares her thoughts on reaching women voters.

It is clear that marketers already have turned their attention to women in a major way, but in the U.S., relevant data on minority women remains relatively scarce. To address that, our roundtable discussion sheds light on some of the cultural and other considerations that should be taken into account when communicating to African-American, Asian-American and Latina women. And, finally, our “Street Smarts” section highlights statistics on women consumers in the U.S.

As always, I welcome feedback on the topics discussed in Perspectives. Please e-mail me at ray.kotcher@ketchum.com.

Best regards,

Ray Kotcher
Senior Partner and Chief Executive Officer, Ketchum