Tech Just for Her: Does Gendered Advertising Work in Tech?
Inclusivity. A big trend hitting retail within the last year. Gender neutrality and gender fluidity are permeating product offerings and retail displays. But at the same exact time, another contradictory tendency is impacting the retail area -- especially in the consumer electronics industry. And that trend is gendered advertising.
New brands are cropping up left and right that marketplace women-focused products. Tech-enabled purses and a slew of feminine tech accessories-- only feminine tech offerings are saturating the market now.
So how can we reconcile these apparently, contradicting tendencies? In a world where women are fighting for equality, are such gendered electronics appropriate, or uncomfortably retro in mindset?
Pink is not the response
Think back to the times of gendered advertising. Televisions for guys, vacuums and crockpots only for girls and a pink phone marketed as"a princess telephone to the homemaker with an eye on the niceties of interior décor." It was a period of provincial promotions. But gone are the days where advertising can be sexist and effective (and if you would like to laugh and groan, have a look at those unnecessary gendered advertising fails).
More than any other class, the technology and consumer electronics industry skews particularly masculine -- an issue that has been a hot-button topic for the last couple of decades. But solving this problem will require more than just pink tagging.
TAs Bloomberg points out,"Pink isn't a strategy. When a product is given in just one color, and that color is pink, it sends the message, we have not put any thought into this at all."
Because of this, this sort of gendered marketing -- especially in technology -- needs to be more tactical, and it begins with recognizing women's unique needs and purchasing habits.
Talk directly to girls and they will listen
1 means to do this is intelligent, creative partnerships.
Consider Neiman Marcus. The department store recently partnered with UK-based technology accessories merchant Soda Says to make in-store screens of technology products for women. Creator Grace Gould"got the concept of Soda Says after working in the tech business and discovering that most products were created by men for men, with a lack of innovative items that girls could relate to."
These screen areas, that feel and look like in-store pop-ups, do not scream"girls" at all. They are colorful and fun, but not too pink. Tech-driven, but not too. Developing a section at the department store near the women's clothes is a strategic approach to say to customers,"here are far more products that you research."
It is chicken and egg. Do women not actively search for technology products because they are not interested or because they aren't marketed to? (We could go on about how for years super hero movies refused to feature a female lead but Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel blew that theory out of the water -- as well as the box office!) If tech products may be accessible and talk to the customer, they become more appealing.
It's not as straightforward as installing a section that screams"Tech for Her" It's far more thoughtful and requires intelligent, solutions-focused strategies.
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Solution-driven displays
In many ways, this new kingdom of women-focused technology products are not tech products in any respect. They are tech-based lifestyle solutions created for women-specific challenges. Thus, when it comes to marketing these products in-store, the screens have to answer one crucial question first and foremost: What difficulties or pain-points do these products solve?
Generally speaking, the industry is changing in such a manner that tech is improving every category. Tech products -- especially women's lifestyle ones -- shouldn't be defined solely by their own invention. The world is littered (literally) with feminine gender particular products which were marketed as trendy but neglected to deal with a true need. Gendered advertising can just bring more clutter. Solutions are more important -- and that is how these products should be coordinated and promoted in-store.
Rather than a typical female section, break up things strategically. Among the standouts of CES 2018 was state-of-the-art breast pumps that provide moms flexibility and freedom. Discuss solving a problem for the contemporary woman. According to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, there are 74 million women in the nation's labor force, representing nearly 47 percent of total civilian employees. Can a shop consider showing this pump in their career clothes department? What about with undergarments? Athletic wear? Today's adult girl is multi-faceted and desires tools which enable her to become both maternal and strong -- it isn't an either-or option.
This year's CES introduced a line of jewelry, called InvisaWear. These accessories have buttons which contact 911 in the event of a crisis or threat (something women experience more often than men). A slew of additional safety-enabling goods also exist. At first glance, these goods are great near check-out as an impulse or gift purchase. But also consider them with athletic wear for the early morning runner or with makeup where sweat resistant make-up is having a significant run? How about with day bags? And what about inside a travel display in which you feature clothes that pack well. For women traveling alone, security is a significant concern.
At the end of the day, while the tendency of gendered technology products initially cast a warning flag, in fact it represents a movement toward greater equality and removing obstacles. As brands research, strategize and implement products that truly enhance and empower women's lives, the sex difference starts to close. With smart in-store screens, retailers are able to make an actual effects.
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