Gender Gap

According to today’s edition of “Just an Online Minute” by MediaPost, there is a gender gap in the viewership of online videos. MediaPost reports that a new report by research firm eMarketer says around 7 out of 10 male internet users viewed online video last year while only 55% of women watched online video. The report, *Women Online: Taking a New Look*, says the gender gap will shrink considerably by 2011 when it’s estimated that 89% of online men and 85% of online women will view web videos.

The article can be read at: http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=57994

Gen Y Women

There’s a huge focus on Boomer women, and rightly so. The Boomer generation is a huge demographic with a huge amount of money to spend. But smart marketers will also have their eye on Gen Y (born between 1978 and 1998). According to a story in Florida Today, Gen Y women have very different views on life, the universe and everything (as author Douglas Adams would say).

The article covers everything from technology (Gen Y women are much more tech-savvy than previous generations, having grown up with video games and computers and are very active on MySpace), to having babies (there is no such thing as an *old maid* with Gen Y), to consumerism and the high rate of debt problems that plague Gen Y. And the general theme of the article is that this generation can’t be pigeonholed. It says emphatically, “There's no one stereotype for a Generation Y woman, because they all have different careers, dreams and outlooks on life. If there's anything they have in common, however, it's their ability to do whatever they want to do.”

View the whole article at: http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070326/LIFE/703260308/1005

Rump Roasts and Cardigans

According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, there’s a growing trend in the grocery business. Or is it the fashion industry? The article reports that buying cardigans and comfy shoes at the same place you buy your peanut butter brought in $211 million last year. In fact the trend is growing so quickly that the market research firm NPD Group shows a 76 percent increase in women’s clothing sale at food stores from January 2006 through January 2007. Since that figure was only 8 percent the previous year, it seems like this trend is not just growing, it’s exploding.

While supercenters like Walmart and Target account for the largest part of the increase, Whole Foods and Safeway have gotten in on it too, expanding their lines of women and children’s clothing as well as adding selections for men. Designer brands like Prada and Gucci aren’t available, but basics like sweaters, shoes and shirts are easy to find, with the selections offering an added measure of convenience to shoppers. Whole Foods is focusing their clothing on organic fibers and dyes in keeping with their overall message and commitment.

To read more about this new market strategy, read the Trib article at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/living/chi-0703190327mar21,1,364479.story?coll=chi-living-hed

How Long?

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) conducted a study that provides general guidelines of how many years of service you can reasonably expect from home components. Of course, one needs to keep in mind that various factors like use, maintenance, and climate can have a major effect on the longevity of a product.

Polling experts in a wide range of fields, NAHB learned that many components are expected to last the lifetime of the house. Toilets, wood floors, all types of insulation, and doors are among those with a long life expectancy. But others are expected to last a much shorter duration. Wood decks, for instance, should last about 20 years, but only under ideal conditions. For kitchen faucets, the length of time is only 15 years. And furnaces should last 15 to 20 years.

Of the major appliances in a home, gas ranges have the longest life expectancy at 15 years. Dryers and refrigerators last about 13 years. Compactors have one of the shortest lifespans at only 6 years. Countertops vary in their lifespan. Natural stone countertops should last a lifetime, but cultured marble countertops will only last about 20 years.

To see the complete list of home components included in the study, with everything from closet doors to paints to home technology, visit http://www.nahb.org/fileUpload_details.aspx?contentID=72475

Shopping Habis and New Colors

According to a report from Home Textiles Today, old media like magazines, newspapers, and television work side-by-side with the internet when it comes to shopping. The report, highlighting a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation, says that women were more likely than men to be motivated by coupons and in-store promotions when shopping online, while men were more likely to start researching online after a face-to-face conversation. Additionally, men were twice as likely as women to shop for a car online (20.2 percent compared to 10.2 percent).

Home Textiles Today also says that 92.5 percent of adults surveyed said they regularly or occasionally research online before purchasing an item in a store. The products most often researched online include electronics (50.8 percent), apparel (31.9 percent), and appliances (27.0 percent).

In other news, Home Textiles Today reports that Pantone, known worldwide as the standard language for color communication from designer to manufacturer to retailer to customer, released today eight directional color palettes for home furnishings and interiors. Presented for the first time at the International Home and Housewares Show, the palettes for 2008 *blend classic elegance with modern spice*. They are ReCollections, Chinoiserie, High Profile, Ethnic Chic, Agrestic , Wellspring, Savories, and Nuances.

Check us out at: www.womancentricmatters.com

Refined and Dignified

AdWeek Magazine online has a column today that features a variety of fun and interesting facts. For instance:

Why do women wear shoes? Not just to save wear and tear on their feet. In a survey conducted for ShoeMall, women age 18-54 were asked whether they use shoes for any of several purposes. Forty-four percent said they use them to be *more refined and dignified*. (Men, of course, are refined and dignified in any case.) Thirty-seven percent use shoes to feel *more powerful and confident,* 32 percent to be *more playful* and 31 percent to be *more feminine and girlish*. Just 20 percent use shoes to be *more sexy*.

Other topics covered include what percentage of women would prefer to reveal their age instead of their weight, stats on the sales of dresses and hosiery, how many kids have TVs in their rooms, and more. Check it out at http://www.adweek.com/aw/magazine/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003556642

http://www.womancentricmatters.com

Is It Nap Time Yet?

National Sleep Foundation has found that 60 percent of American women are sleepy. They didn’t need to do a study to learn that. They could have just asked me. But their study did come up with some interesting facts. For instance, according to their findings, working mothers (at 72 percent) and single working women (at 68 percent) are the two highest groups of women to feel sleepy during the day and to experience insomnia at night. To fight the desire to head back to bed for a well-earned nap, 65 percent of the sleepy gals consume caffeinated beverages, with 37 percent of all women drinking three or more cups of coffee or equivalent caffeinated drinks such as colas. Also, the study shows that women are more likely to experience sleep problems than men.

This lack of sleep is adversely affecting a woman’s quality of life. When pressed for time, one-half of the women in the NSF study responded that sleep (52 percent) and exercise (48 percent) are the first things they sacrifice. A mere 20 percent of women responded that they would choose to put work on the back burner when they’re sleepy or running short on time.

As for me, a nap sounds pretty good right now.

You can read the press release from the National Sleep Foundation at:
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=huIXKjM0IxF&b=2434067&ct=3618771

Women Love To Play

According to Telephia, the largest provider of consumer research to the communications and mobile media markets, women purchase 66 percent of all mobile games. And that's women of ALL ages, not just the 18-24 group typically thought of as the most avid gamers. Nearly 17.4 million mobile consumers downloaded a mobile game last quarter, up 45 percent from a total of 12 million downloaders a year ago, according to Telephia. Their report can be viewed at http://www.telephia.com/html/GDC07_press_release_template.html

I'm part of the 66 percent. I have Diner Dash on my mobile phone, and it's a great time-killer while I'm waiting for someone to finish shopping. What kind of entertainment do you have on your phone?

http://www.womancentricmatters.com

Single with Children?

Mediapost recently ran an article about single moms. Actually, according to the article, the correct term is *single women with children*. The gist of the article is that single women with children are not defined solely by their motherhood, and they don't fit current marketing assumptions. They are adventuresome, daring and, importantly, brand loyal. But most advertisers still address this group by portraying them in ads with incorrect stereotypes. The article shows the following statistics from a nationwide survey done by DraftFCB:

Age bracket:

What marketers believe: 35% of single moms are 18-24 years old

The truth is: 12% of single moms are 18-24 years old

Education:

What marketers believe: 31% of single moms did not finish high school

The truth is: 19% of single moms did not finish high school

Ethnicity:

What marketers believe: 24% of single moms are Caucasian

The truth is: 58% of single moms are Caucasian

The article contains several stereotype-busting facts that are well worth reading: http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=54800&Nid=27108&p=416462

Bigger Bucks Buy Bigger Homes

According to a new report by The Media Audit, there are 23.2 million adults with annual household incomes of $100,000 or more in the 87 metropolitan markets surveyed regularly by The Media Audit. Out of those 23.2 million, 6.2 million are between the ages of 18 and 34.

Interestingly, though the big focus right now is to market to the affluent Baby Boom generation, the study shows that there are more, by both percent and actual number, adults with six figure incomes under the age of 35 than there are over the age of 54.

These are some of the results of their findings about that group of people:

Out of those 6.2 million between the ages of 18 and 34, 60.9 percent are men and 39.1 percent are women.

But in spite of the fact that only 39.1 percent of this group are women, 80.7 percent of the women in this group own their own home, compared with only 74.3 percent of men.

They’re not necessarily small *starter* homes, either. Over 46 percent of women in the group have homes valued at $300,000 or more, versus only 42.2 percent of men in the group having homes valued that high.

To read more of the results from this study, go to: http://www.centerformediaresearch.com/cfmr_brief.cfm?fnl=070301

Special Woman-Centric ICF Plans

Woman-centric home plans continue to make an impressive impact on the bulding industry. Fox Blocks produces Insulated Concrete Forms, pre-assembled forms used in construction that offer superior insulation qualities and substantial savings over traditional materials. Fox Blocks has sought the expertise of Design Basics in developing new plans that utilize ICFs. Concrete Monthly, the leading periodical for the concrete and cement industries, reported this in their February 2007 issue:

Fox Blocks offers free 'woman-centric' ICF house plans

Fox Blocks, a division of Airlite Plastics Co. in Omaha, has introduced 10 new house plans designed specifically for Fox Blocks by Design Basics Inc., also of Omaha.

These 10 new plans feature five two story plans and five ranch style plans with a range of total square footages. Spokesman Dave Jackson said these designs also take into account the types of features that women typically like to see in home plan layouts.

"This 'woman centric' philosophy satisfies the appetite of the decision making spouse, who make more than 80 percent of the selection and buying decisions," he said.

The plans can be viewed, specified and printed at the Fox Blocks website, www.FoxBlocks.com by clicking on ICF House Plans.

Concrete Monthly can be found at www.concretemonthly.com
The article about Fox Blocks and their woman-centric plans can be found at: http://www.concretemonthly.com/monthly/art.php?2665