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Did you know women influence 75% of consumer tech purchasing decisions? You could be forgiven for not knowing this as, surprisingly, the majority of tech advertising is aimed at men.
Tech comms peddle long lists of specifications that often don’t mean anything to consumers, focusing on features rather than benefits. Women are the more active gender online with more than three quarters (78%) logging on to social media in 2013, compared with 69% of men. More than two thirds of Instagram users are female according to digital think tank L2 and even the once male-dominated realm of online gaming is seeing a female invasion – 45% of players and 46% of game purchasers are now women, according to the Entertainment Software Association1.
If tech companies want to keep up, they need to take notice because women are overturning male-only stereotypes to become one of the big new markets.
Some savvy tech brands are now manufacturing products specifically targeted at women, but the answer certainly isn’t pink mobile phones and more female video game characters. Instead they are targeting a very different type of woman. So who is she?
INTRODUCING APEX WOMAN
She is highly educated, urban and affluent with an entrepreneurial spirit.
She is empowered by her career success and therefore has increased spending power.
She seeks products and services that emphasise fitness, wellbeing, mind-body strength – anything to help her achieve her goals.
She facilitates her life through mobile technology – in fact she talks and texts 28% and 14% more than the average man on her mobile.
She loves products and services that add value to her lifestyle.
WHERE WILL YOU FIND HER?
• On her mobile device sharing pictures via Instagram and sharing her thoughts and opinions on her blog – anywhere she can connect and communicate
• Apex Woman loves playing social games – she is 40% more likely to play games on Facebook than men, thanks in part to her social nature3
• Visiting vintage markets and boutiques stores – although she likes to stay connected, she values her individual style and doesn’t want to present herself as a carbon copy of her peers. She therefore seeks out unique pieces for her wardrobe and home in independent, off-High Street stores
• Chilling out at festivals and socialising with friends over a drink
• Seeking out culture
• Bargain hunting – for premium items
YOU ARE UNLIKELY TO FIND HER
• In faceless retail shopping centres
• Taking notice of a brand’s latest TV commercial or celebrity endorsement
SO HOW CAN YOU REACH HER?
We’ve got a fair bit of experience in reaching Apex Woman, she’s been a key target of some of our brands, including Gressingham Duck and ZICO Coconut Water. Here are a few of our learnings with a focus on how to reach and effectively communicate with her:
• Tap into emotional benefits rather than physical ones – how can your technology enhance her life?
• Share her interests – go where she goes and present something that is a natural fit to her lifestyle rather than a bolt-on
• Don’t patronise her – forget pseudo science, just show her how your product can make a difference to her life
• Tap into her influencers – work with the people she trusts to tell your story
• Empower her as an influencer – create a moment that she can share with her online community and invite her friends to attend
1 LS:N Global – Tech Futures Report: https://www.lsnglobal.com
2 AdAge: https://adage.com/images/bin/pdf/1114WP.pdf
3 The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/media-network/
media-network-blog/2012/mar/02/female-species-moredigital-male