Article
Women Make Great Ads. Period.
By Mark Kingdon  November 8, 2005 for ClickZ.com


There's been a lot of buzz lately about women in advertising.
To which I say: Women make great ads. Period.

According to JupiterResearch, 70 percent of all U.S. women will be online in 2006. There are more women online today than men.

Additionally, 67 percent of women online make online purchases; this number is expected to grow to 74 percent by 2010, when 85 million women will purchase products and services online.

Last year, Yahoo! and Starcom MediaVest Group reported women over 40 are devoting more time per week playing online games, spending more money over the holidays, and simply surfing. These women spend more time online than running errands, eating or preparing meals, relaxing, or spending time with friends. Their Internet time outweighs watching TV, listening to the radio, and other media activities.

Fact is, women influence 83 percent of purchase decisions. The brands and agencies that understand what women want and need will ultimately win.

Who better to understand female consumers than female advertising executives and creative directors (not that men can't create great ads for women and vice versa)? Many prominent women create great advertising.

Our client Julie Roehm, of DaimlerChrysler, is raising the bar in the online automotive space. She was recently recognized by the "Detroit Free Press" for her outstanding contributions to the Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler brands, in addition to her role as a mother and wife. Last year, she was recognized as the Automotive Marketer of 2004 by Brandweek.

Roehm's other accolades include a 2004 Advertising Hall of Achievement inductee; a 2004 Automotive News All-Star; and winner of Advertising Working Mothers of the Year Award. Roehm was also featured as one of AdAge's 2000 "Women to Watch." She helped spearhead recent online campaigns, including the well-publicized Dodge Charger "Unleash Your Freak" campaign and the new "Mudds" campaign for the all-new 2006 Jeep Commander.

Our chief creative officer, Colleen DeCourcy, was her partner on these campaigns. DeCourcy is one of our five female executives. She's a constant source of creative energy, strategic insight, and inspiration for people who know her. She recently served as chair of the Internet jury at the Clio Awards, is consistently quoted in prominent publications, and regularly speaks at industry events. And she's also a single mom who manages to juggle it all -- with great energy, humor, style, and grace.

When I asked DeCourcy for her perspective on women in advertising, she said, "Women are in touch with the customers that they sell to. In the digitally integrated market we live in, women excel because they are multitaskers, empathic, and can facilitate consensus around an idea. Women have learned, through the necessity of juggling careers and caregiving and/or partnering, how to get to the heart of what is needed and what needs to be said. Period."
Spot on.

Another great female executive is Tracy Coté, our head of HR in San Francisco. Coté has pioneered many great programs for us and is been a key part of our successful growth strategy. She's a mother of one and literally days away from being a mother of two. She is a masterful multitasker, too.

She leaves work in the mid-afternoon to pick up her son at school. But she arrives at 7 a.m. so she can get all her work done. This arrangement is great for us because most of her internal clients are in the Eastern time zone and start their day at the same time she does. It's win-win for everyone.

I have many more stories, and I'm sure you do, too. Our contribution as individuals isn't limited by our gender, ethnic background, or sexual orientation. Workplace diversity strengthens companies and supports innovation.

source: www.clickz.com/experts/brand/cmo/article.php/3561881

What My Customers
are Saying

Wow! Web site looks GREAT, Barb! Lovely use of highlights, colours, shading, etc.

And did you turn that around FAST...Looks like it's going to be great event!
-- Eric Hellman

Congratulations on the new and improved website! ... the new look and feel is great; in line with the established look but certainly cleaner and more functional.
-- Cathy Beaumont

What a tremendous contribution you have made to bring the Workplace Centre to "front and centre" of the spiritual community.
-- Conrad Guelke

Thanks for the great job you have done in shifting our marketing paradigm and quietly coaxing us into a new world of email blasting. … All has been said so well by others...I love it and all it represents…

The format for these two events is buzzing with energy -- makes a person want to pole-vault off the couch and respond NOW!! …

What helpful knowledge and creativity you are bringing to us! Thanx for your contribution.
-- Gloria McCarter

Great job Barb. Kudos on noticeably improving the quality and effectiveness of the Emails that we send out. The increase in attendance that we have seen at recent events is a testament to the positive effect that you have had on our organization.
– David Waterfall

You're awesome! Where do you find this stuff? I imagine you with a computer strapped onto your back at all times... thanks for being so good at what you do, and so very professional about it. Newletter looks awesome, BTW
-- Jen Wasmund

Thank you Barb. you are wonderful… you are a star. …you have brought us into the 21st Century.
-- David Hughes

You have a great way with words ... Thank you so much, Barb!
-- Shelley Page

It is amazing how you come up with this stuff for us Barb.
-- Jim Evans

Congratulations Barb. You've given us a really proud and positive self-image to live up to!
-- Donna Martin

you are such an inspiration to me. Your sharing last night was awesome. Thanks for a moment of serenity in my day.
-- Wendy Pitt-Brooke