Sue Unerman is Chief Strategy Officer at Mediacom, the biggest media agency in the UK.
Recently I was talking to Sue, but not about media.
She was telling me about her daughter.
Sylvia is a seriously clever girl.
She goes to the sixth form at UCS, which has always been for only the cleverest boys.
But they’ve recently started taking on girls in the sixth form.
Sue was telling me that she went along to a parents’ evening to decide which universities the students applied to.
Sue sat and listened as the headmaster began talking.
He told the students that most of them weren’t going to get into the universities they wanted.
They weren’t working hard enough.
They’d fail to get the A level grades they thought they deserved.
Complacency would be their biggest problem.
But it would be too late to regret it after the marks came in.
It wouldn’t do any good to cry about it once they’d left it too late.
So they had two choices.
Accept the fact they’d have to apply to lesser colleges than they wanted.
Or start working like they’ve never worked before.
And just hope they could avert the disaster that was waiting for them if they carried on the way they were.
Sue sat through the talk horrified.
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
This was scaring the life out of the girls and their mothers.
And then the penny dropped.
This was a boys’ school, and this was a pep talk for boys, not girls.
This was the sort of thing boys needed to hear.
Boys need a good kick up the arse.
Whereas girls need the exact opposite.
Girls need their confidence built up.
Girls need to be told that if they believe in themselves, they can achieve anything.
But boys are lazy.
If you told boys that, they’d think they didn’t need to do anything.
Given half a chance boys would waste time and play video games.
Left to their own devices boys wouldn’t work.
Whereas girls naturally wanted to work, they were conscientious.
But they were full of doubt and insecurity.
However, this was a boys’ school, they’d never had girls in the sixth form.
So they didn’t know this.
Neither did I.
It never occurred to me that boys needed different motivation from girls.
Just like it never occurred to me we needed different advertising for women than for men.
But Camilla Harrison, the COO of M&C Saatchi, told me about a talk she’d given on the different way ads need to talk to women.
At present, most advertising is done by, and consequently for, men.
So it’s loud and didactic, brash and obvious.
She said it excludes women, and women are responsible for 80% of purchasing decisions.
So that’s not smart.
Apparently, advertising aimed at women should be much more subtle, much less obvious.
In fact much more inclusive.
The recipient needs to be an active participant, not a passive one.
Ads for women need to hint at things, instead of spelling them out.
Apparently women like to work out what’s going on.
But currently, men are doing most of the advertising.
And men want to make sure the communication can’t be misunderstood.
Just like the headmaster at Sylvia Unerman’s school.
Communication designed by, and for, males.
‘Keep whispering because everyone else is shouting.’
http://www.cstthegate.com/davetrott/2012/07/life-is-larger-than-life/
john p woods - 17 October 2012 9:19 am
Dave; 2 things.
1stly, even if creative departments were manned entirely by females, the final arbiters of the work are the clients + last time I looked, this was still largely a testicle bastion.
2ndly, Tracy Emin must be a man because ‘Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995′ is none of the things u say women go 4.
Grilla Login - 17 October 2012 10:38 am
Grilla,
I don’t think all women are good, just like men most of them aren’t.
Also, there are already loads of women at the client end, also account handling and planning.
I think where we’re short is the creative dept and related executional areas (photography, film, etc).
But we don’t just need women (that would be sexist) we need good women, just like we need good blokes.
And currently there are even fewer good women than there are good blokes in those areas, IMHO.
Dave Trott - 17 October 2012 10:55 am
I noticed that the colloquialism for men was used and yet not for women. Could that be key?
john p woods - 17 October 2012 12:31 pm
Here’s my theory on Here’s my theory on teenage boys and girls and why the girls get eating disorders: It’s because they are too clever. The girls are told by their dad that they are the most beautiful girl in the whole wide world, and the girl thinks to herself, you are simply saying that because you are my dad and therefore biologically disposed to thinking that and even if you didn’t think it you might just be saying it to build up my confidence, thus the disregard it.
The boy is told by his mother – you are the most beautiful handsome boy in the whole wide world, and the boy thinks “I am aren’t I”. Therefore has much more confidence, less worry about his appearance. So stupidity = confidence, intelligence = eating disorder. I think that’s the argument safely proved now where is the address of the Lancet for me to publish this.
Toast - 17 October 2012 12:33 pm
Dave
If we guys got in touch with our feminine sides more regularly, there’d be 0 need for females @ all – Think of all the wardrobe space + monies we’d save.
I’m off now because Rachel’s on the way…
Grilla Login - 17 October 2012 12:33 pm
The answer: http://davetrott.campaignlive.co.uk/2009/04/20/advertising-and-sex/
john p woods - 17 October 2012 12:34 pm
John
For your specialist subject you’ve chosen Dave Trott’s Blog 2009 to the present day.
You have two – John, I’ve started so I’ll finish – minutes on that subject
starting… Now
Grilla Login - 17 October 2012 2:17 pm
John in his blog of August 20, how many Olympic campaigns did Dave find interesting? What were they? No cheating now………………
The Cabbie - 17 October 2012 2:42 pm
Toast,
I think that’s a great theory, I’ve sent it to my daughter to see what she thinks.
I would have sent it to my son but he’s too lazy to read it.
Dave Trott - 17 October 2012 3:22 pm
Go on then, I’ll play. Three, I think. Something about luminous shoes and swimmers headphones and I can’t remember the other one. Sugar!
john p woods - 17 October 2012 3:29 pm
Not bad tbf, athletes headphones so you get a mark for that, Nike was right but not for their yellow shoes, and P&G for sponsoring mums. I think we should make this a daily feature
The Cabbie - 17 October 2012 4:05 pm
I can completely agree that girls like to work things out and prefer a more subtle message.
I was stood on platform with a girl the other day and she spotted that “Look for Longer” campaign poster.
Neither of us had played the game or heard anything about it, so therefore the range of pictures meant nothing to me.
I instantly rejected it, saying “That’s a perfect example of when someone thinks they’re being artistic and creative, but taking it too far resulting in the work looking daft.”
She didn’t agree. She believed it was interesting, and she stood there admiring the different images and colours.
Later on in the week we found the online game.
The poster made complete sense now.
She loved it, and couldn’t stop playing it.
She said that she felt clever every time she worked one out and had a real rewarding feeling each time.
Now I got bored easily with it.
Since I wasn’t that great at guessing them.
The only thing that kept me from giving up is the fact I wasn’t going to get beaten by a girl.
Student Robbie - 17 October 2012 4:14 pm
Toast, I think that’s quite true. I believe that almost every argument/debate between a man and a woman can be summed up in the following sentence:
“Girls think too much; boys don’t think enough.”
Jade Trott - 17 October 2012 4:37 pm
Jade,
Whereas you can swap that around if you replace the word think with drink.
john p woods - 17 October 2012 5:07 pm
Pass…The bananas, Magnus.
Grilla Login - 17 October 2012 5:27 pm
John
In his blog posted 17 October, 2012 Dave stated ‘Apparently women like to work out what’s going on’
If this is true, why are there so few TV detective characters that are female – Cagney & Lacy & Miss Marple notwithstanding?
Grilla Login - 17 October 2012 5:46 pm
Rosemary and Thyme + Murder She Wrote also notwithstanding.
Grilla Login - 17 October 2012 5:52 pm
Grilla,
Because they like to work out what’s going on even when there’s nothing going on.
Ask any dad with a teenage daughter.
Dave Trott - 17 October 2012 5:52 pm
Grilla,
Imho I think there are more than enough.
Btw I was always partial to a little bit of Hetty Wainthrop.
john p woods - 17 October 2012 5:53 pm
Red Caps doesn’t count.
Grilla Login - 17 October 2012 5:54 pm
Of course not forgetting Wetty Hainthropp too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlzMDvNl0pU
john p woods - 17 October 2012 5:58 pm
Interesting as always. Apparently this has been one of the main reasons that boys have underperformed at school when coursework had a higher impact on the final grade. Boys are better at cramming and last minute because they are lazy versus the well prepared girls who benefit. Be interesting with the current changes being proposed in education to see how this skews the results.
Geordie - 18 October 2012 8:23 am
Are men supposed to buy deodorant (scents) that they like the smell of or women like the smell of? But don’t women like the smell of their own perfume? They do don’t they. And if they do shouldn’t they be buying instead the stuff men like the smell of. And then shouldn’t men be buying stuff that women like the smell of? Which was what again?
Shouldn’t we all be buying the same stuff?
What was that Jade said?
Jim Powell - 18 October 2012 10:56 am
Jim,
IMHO women only have a bloke to impress other women.
So I let the Mrs choose what she wants me to wear (clothes, cologne, etc).
I see this as an art director – writer relationship.
Dave Trott - 18 October 2012 11:26 am
Rachel has a long way 2 come, or she’s stopped off 2 buy more stuff 2 fill the wardrobe. Let’s hope it’s worth the wait…
Grilla Login - 18 October 2012 12:44 pm
Massive, massive penny drop. Cheers.
Kim - 19 October 2012 1:29 am
Are women really responsible for 80% of all purchasing decisions?
john p woods - 20 October 2012 6:56 am
John,
The numbers I read are actually higher than that.
But don’t take my word for it, work it out for yourself.
Let’s say single women and men are roughly equal, she’ll spend more on clothes, he’ll spend more on football.
Once they’re in a partnership, who takes all the decisions?
There’s a saying in estate agents “The woman buys the house, the man just signs the cheque.”
Now introduce children.
Who buys everything for the home and family?
Food, cleaning products, decorations, personal hygeine.
Here’s a clue, it’s not the husband.
Men buy what they need a) for just themselves b) for the short term.
Women buy for everyone, and in bulk.
Increasingly, men don’t even sign the cheque anymore.
Women are working in more and more senior jobs and being forced to settle for men who earn less than them.
But, like I say, don’t take my word look it up on Google.
The numbers are all there.
Dave Trott - 20 October 2012 12:09 pm
Dave,
That last part should have told you the opposite. ‘Increasingly, men don’t even sign the cheque anymore. Women are working in more and more senior jobs and being forced to settle for men who earn less than them.’ The tables are turning. New man. Emasculation. Call it what you will. I see more and more men who will be deliberating over 4 ply or 3 ply. Jamie Oliver or Captain Birdseye. Rational logic taking over from emotional thinking. Makes perfect sense when you think about it. “Now luv can you lend me a tenner, I’m off down the pub.”
john p woods - 20 October 2012 10:43 pm
Dave,
Or are we looking down two different ends of the same telescope again?
john p woods - 21 October 2012 11:16 am
Women also reacts better to different ‘user experiences’. Platforms with many, complicated functionalities attract more men (eg. Android), platforms that are visually stimulating and enable browsing attract more women (eg. Pinterest).
Right now it’s just pure observations- but it’s time we design experiences with this in mind http://www.wwtid.com/2012/02/15/does-the-internet-have-a-gender/
Francesca - 22 October 2012 9:47 am
I buy women’s deodrant and I’m male.
Smells better, lasts longer and keeps me in touch with my feminine side.
Ed - 23 October 2012 9:56 am