<%@ Language=VBScript %> <% CheckState() CheckSub() %> Creating car advertising for women
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Sep 1995


Creating car advertising for women

Peter le Boutillier of Ogilvy & Mather describes how the Ford Fiesta magazine campaign successfully targeted three very different groups of women

Peter Le Boutillier

THE INTENTION OF THIS article is to demonstrate that by understanding and leveraging the basic inner motivations of women, it is possible to produce car advertising that appeals to women in different lifestages, with differing product needs and brand relationships.

Over the last 15 years or so, car marque and model choice have expanded dramatically. At the same time, tangible product differences have become fewer, leading automotive marketers increasingly to seek distinction via the relationships that customers have with the brands of car, as much as with the product features and characteristics. Manufacturers are seeking to involve the consumer in a dialogue about their brands, in order that the consumer forges a close and personal relationship with them - a shift in emphasis from selling to empathy.

A dominant influence in the development of the car market in recent years has been the changing role of, and growing influence exerted by, women - for example, there are:

To maintain consideration for their brands, manufacturers have to recognise and respond to these changes. This requires an understanding of the brand and product relationships that women, as distinct from men, have with their cars.

BRAND STEWARDSHIP

This need lay behind O&M's launch last year of Brand Stewardship: a process that audits all of the communications for a brand, in order fully to understand the unique qualities that make up the consumer's relationship with that brand. The resulting BrandPrint forms a template against which to judge any form of communication, including advertising.

In developing Brand Stewardship, it was clear that a surprisingly unresearched area was women's relationship with advertising; much of the published research seemed rather superficial. Despite female targeted advertising accounting for over 50 per cent of media expenditure, we suspected that the depth of strategic thinking, the style and production of ads directed to, for example young men, greatly exceeded that directed to women.

O&M undertook research in order to produce guidelines and planning disciplines, to improve the quality of advertising aimed at women. The research, entitled The release of the wild women, covered the usual demographics of sex, age, presence of children, working status and regionality, but overlaid this with a lifestage dimension (Exhibit 1), to provide a comprehensive way of understanding the pattern of female lives now. Methodology comprised traditional groups, triads and self-completion diaries of advertising that stood out for them.

In summary, the research confirmed that social change is destroying traditional segmentations; it is making domestic life and the roles women play, individual and varied.

The word 'typical', applied to a housewife, career girl or empty nester, is becoming redundant. Women have a sense of 'me' that is coloured by their previous experiences and that is always there, however suppressed it may be by current lifestage demands and constraints. The 'me' within is about basic fears, hopes, feelings and emotions, and within each individual it is multidimensional, eg sexy, successful, childish, homely, practical, independent, the lover, maternal, nostalgic, sophisticated, subversive, naughty, etc.

The key to targeting women successfully in communications is to access the 'me' within them, that best reflects their relationship with the brand and medium in question, and to present our message with an attitude that brings these factors together.

For cars, the relationship with the brand is coloured by the relationship with the product category, which in the case of private owners of small hatchbacks, is largely determined by lifestage practicalities.

On the surface, female private buyers' requirements of, and attitudes towards, cars are similar. For example price, safety, economy, size, servicing, engine size and appearance are generally seen as key. Most agree about the key desirable features, eg PAS, ABS, airbag and alarm. They also share many views about motoring and the dealership experience, eg more should be done for car safety, a car is essential for the modern independent woman, garages try to rip off women, too much car advertising is aimed at men, and car salesmen always talk down to women.

THREE TYPOLOGIES

In delving beneath the surface, our research suggests that there are three very distinct groupings of women small car owners whose relationships with their cars differ, despite the fact that they drive similar vehicles.

Independent women

They are likely to be 20-30; single, cohabiting or married; any children have to fit into their lives, not vice versa. Their career is very important; they are ambitious, confident and dress smartly. Clothes are important to them because looking good and looking professional are important. They may find it difficult to get men to recognise their need for independence and respect, but their outlook on life is quite optimistic, and they feel more in control of their environment and destiny than many women. They want to get more from life than their parents, live a little more, and in particular retain a sense of their self, who they are, and not become lost in a relationship or motherhood. Sexy, independent, confident 'me' dominates.

Their relationship with cars is tremendously important, in brand and product terms; it is not just a means of getting from A to B, but a potent symbol of their success, and independence. It is their car, having saved for it. It allows them to be independent, free to go safely wherever, whenever and with whoever they please. In short, a car puts them in control.

The car has to reflect their self-perception, ie smart, stylish, looks good and is fun. They favour cars with rounded lines; more feminine, but not explicitly 'girly', with a bit of flair and style. They look for nippy rather than top speed performance, but performance that can get them out of danger and nip in and out of town.

Busy bees

Almost certainly married with children. By necessity, they are first and foremost mothers, with exceptionally full and exhausting lives. Many work part-time, but their day is based around dropping kids off at school, shopping, driving to work, collecting the kids, ferrying the kids to and from ballet, gym, football, etc. It is mostly local driving, but much of it stressful, with a lot of stopping and starting, and getting in and out of the car.

Maternal and practical 'me' is dominant and, superficially, women in this group have little in common with the Independent Women. However, many in fact harbour a deeper need to reassert their sense of self and to escape, even if only occasionally, the conflict and exhaustion that characterise their lives and put themselves first once again.

They have a much less intense relationship with their car; they favour cars offering reassurance and reliability at the right price. They have to be more rationally-driven in their car-buying behaviour, seeing little point in having too nice or flashy a car as the kids would mess it up, and they have not the time to keep it looking nice. Their needs are essentially practical: space, reliability and safety are paramount. In short, for them a car makes life easier. It must not go wrong, but if it does, they need to be able to fit it quickly and inexpensively, otherwise the running of their households becomes a nightmare.

Rejuvenated women

They are typically in their mid-30s onwards, with children now at secondary school. They are, perhaps, separated, divorced or remarried, and have recently gone back to full-time work

These women have a strong sense of a new start; they are no longer 'just' a mother, but are rediscovering themselves as women, as independent people, with their own needs and wants, rather than the family's. Attitudinally, they have a great deal in common with the younger Independent Women - a stylish 'me' looking for self-satisfaction is coming to the fore.

For the first time in years, they feel less tired, more confident, more attractive, more alive. They feel, and are, more affluent; they want to treat themselves and think about themselves. They perhaps buy M&S food, a bottle of wine, lunch out in town, wear nicer clothes and, as part and parcel of the process, would also like a 'nicer' car.

Their relationship with their car symbolises the change in themselves. They do not want it to be just practical, but to signal they are more than a mother; a car that is smarter; 'looks a bit nicer, more upmarket'. Here, the role of the brand and the statement it makes become prominent again. In product terms, they want greater comfort, more of the extras they feel they now deserve: a nicer radio cassette, cloth seats, electric windows, a sun-roof. Performance in the form of smooth power also regains importance, and they enjoy driving again because it is no longer purely a chore; it makes them feel good, feel different. In short, a car helps them rediscover themselves.

Exhibit 1 summarises the differences between the three groups' needs and motivations, as well as identifying the cars that were seen as best meeting those needs.

EXHIBIT 1. TYPOLOGIES OF WOMEN SMALL CAR OWNERS

WHONEEDSMOTIVATIONREFERRENT CARS
Independent womenPrice, style, performanceStyle, sex appealCorsa, Clio, 205
Busy BeesPrice, Space, Economy, Safety, ReliabilityPractical, Good dealer back-upFiesta, Metro
Rejuvenated womenComfort, Smartness, PerformanceSmartness, ExtrasFiesta Ghia, Clio

DEVELOPING THE CAMPAIGN

This research helped us develop a women's magazine advertising campaign for the Fiesta Si, a model with a stylish appearance, and many of the product features considered important by all three groups of women.

In developing a press campaign for the Si, we faced the daunting objective of improving Fiesta's image in the face of very strong competition from much newer and heavily promoted models like Clio, Corsa, Micra and 106.

Our key target was Independent Women, but we sought to appeal also to Busy Bees and Rejuvenated Women by:

Research showed the target audience reads magazines in an escapist frame of mind, with a ritual of looking for attractive features and favourite stopping points. Advertising at these points has more chance of being noticed. Ideally, magazine advertising will be vivid and glitzy, have bright colours and be dynamic, puzzling and challenging. Compared with newspaper ads, they have the opportunity to be more subtle and playful, with strong images and emotional involvement.

All three groups of women respond to car ads in magazines that suggest independence and control over their lives, practical and functional aspects without techno-babble, reflecting the reality of living with the car, and which are written for them, not men.

The campaign had six executions featuring the product benefits of safety, security, 16V performance, PAS, and colour range. Each treatment was executed to reflect the editorial environment in which they appeared, ie health, beauty, fashion. Each issue carried three executions placed in the appropriate sections.

Research showed all three groups reacted positively to the advertising. It was seen as visually arresting, relevant, informative, witty and stylish. The campaign was empathetic because it talked to women in their language about product benefits that were relevant to them. By talking to the stylish, independent yet responsible 'me', we had found a way of successfully targeting three groups of women with radically different lifestage and lifestyle circumstances. Here was a car advertiser that recognised their worth as customers, and had produced dedicated advertising for them, with an attitude and tone of voice to which each could relate.

Finally, the key measurement of success - following the advertising, the Si's share of Fiesta sales reached 30 per cent against an expectation of 12 per cent.



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