LUNA-TIC SPORTS / CAUSE MARKETING TO WOMEN NOT SO CRAZY

In my coverage of this year's Super Bowl ads I noted that marketers forgot that almost half of the 90 million plus audience watching the Super Bowl were women.  Most of the Super Bowl ads used frat, gross- out humor and sex to target young males, while alienating half the female audience, not to mention many of the fathers, brothers, and husbands to these women.  Where was this year's Dove Real Beauty? 

Yvonne at Lip-sticking talks about smart marketing to women and how few companies get it.  After watching the Super Bowl ads I agree.  However, I believe that LUNA Bar, a whole nutrition bar for women, not only gets it, but is combining smart sports marketing and cause-marketing that all brands can learn from and that deserves Olympic gold medal recognition.  Here is what I think we can learn from LUNA Bar:

LUNA Bar sponsors Team LUNA Chix, a diverse group of women dedicated to getting more women into sports and outside to play.  At the same time they rasie money and awareness for the Breast Cancer Fund.  The stated goal of Team LUNA Chix is "to get groups of women together so they can support each other through learning a new sport, developing skills, training and most importantly — have fun!"

LUNA Bar's sports marketing and cause marketing would have been an ideal message to women and men during the Super Bowl.  Do you know many husbands or fathers that would not want to see their wife or daugther getting outside and trying something new?  Would men rather have their daughters taught how to be sex objects and cliches by marketers or how to learn something new, improve their skills and have fun?  Which idea do you think is truly Super Bowl worthy?   

LUNA Bar also sponsors a professional women's mountain bike team and a professional women's triatholon team. Although no longer racing full time, former World Champion Alison Dunlap is the LUNA Pro Team’s official ambassador and attends NORBA National events on behalf of the LUNA Pro Team and its sponsors to conduct women’s rides and clinics. 

If the Super Bowl represents the best that marketers have to offer than they truly do not get women (or men). 

What are other brands that are incorporating integrated marketing communications to women that we can learn from and that deserve to be in the Super Bowl next year?

I look 4WARD to your feedback.   

Keep Digging For Worms!

Comments

[Tom Collins]

I'm glad you mentioned that the "real women" concept appeals to men, also.

I think marketers who lock in on one small (okay, powerful, but small) part of the human brain miss the opportunity to forge "real" relationships with customers. If they'd go back to Maslow, they'd see we all have a variety of other powerful needs that "Barbie" is not equipped to fill.

[Bill a.k.a. DR4WARD]

True. Sex (or vomiting) in advertising may get our attention but they do not go far in building a long-term relationship. Maslow's higher level needs of social, self-esteem and self-actualization better connect with real men.

It is like the story of the man that stands on a bar stool and drops his pants. Everyone in the bar will look but will not think very highly of the man afterwards. The product and service offerings of GoDaddy and CareerBuilder (and many other brands) are being squandered using these short-sighted types of attention getting gimmicks in their ads.

Bill a.k.a. DR4WARD

[Yvonne DiVita]

I should, of course, have watched the superbowl, so I could chime in here...but really now, I don't need to do that, do I? Those ads are now playing at a link near you...in all their glory.

As a woman, I don't consider the superbowl a place to be wooed. However, I also know I'm in the minority. More women than ever are sports fans and companies would be smart to tap into that - not by in-your-face advertising, but by learning what women think, want, and feel.

I'd venture to say, ala superbowl, the women want to shout and scream as loud as the guys, but they do NOT want anyone to forget they're women. Tricky, huh?