Financial Times

Ad industry on changing role of advertising for women
The International Advertising Association – Sri Lankan Chapter – (IAA–SLC) recently held a presentation entitled ‘Miss Understood’ conducted by advertising veteran and global industry veteran Michelle Kristula-Green, President of Leo Burnett Asia Pacific.

According to a statement issued by IAA Sri Lanka, “Miss Understood” examined why advertising cannot quite seem to engage women consumers with the same level of breakthrough work that is more frequently directed at men. It was an internationally relevant presentation which had been delivered at the International Advertising Festival in Cannes in 2004 to a standing room only audience, and since then has also been presented at the famed Museum of Television and Radio as part of New York City’s prestigious Advertising Week.

Having presented this newly updated Asian version of the original presentation in Singapore this became only the second public presentation of this enlightening document. This research has challenged the industry to raise the creative bar across female-targeted categories largely associated with cliché-ridden, uninspiring and even offensive work.

At the IAA-SLC presentation of “Miss Understood”, Ms. Kristula-Green noted how women’s increased financial gains around the world have generated a new class of female consumers that advertisers are struggling to engage.
In addition, their newfound willingness to express their sexuality—as evidenced by the global popularity of television programs, books and films such as “Sex and the City” and “Bridget Jones’ Diary” have given marketers cause to reexamine the tone and look of their advertising.

She also underscored the importance of using the right mix of emotion and humour in advertising directed at women, and of achieving a sense of authenticity, in order to better connect with increasingly skeptical female consumers.

It concluded with a series of calls to action designed to give advertisers and agencies an advantage when marketing to women. Ms. Kristula-Green spoke on the subject of pressing issues facing advertisers’ inability to connect with one of the largest and most influential groups of consumers – women.

From personal and industry learning, she stated that the role of women should not be undervalued, especially as women control at least 80 percent of all household buying decisions and therefore are a key demographic to target.

She urged the audience to:
*Follow the Money: Acknowledge how women’s new financial strength is affecting their buying habits in many key categories.

*Try a New Position: Sex sells, but it has to be approached with a distinctly female point of view.

*Use Emotion Carefully: Women will turn off advertising that tries to portray emotion without truly evoking emotion.

*Make it Funny: Women would welcome more humour in commercials directed at them.

*Make it Real: Present women with authentic characters and situations that they can relate to in real ways.

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