Women@NBCU plug into ‘The Power of the Purse’

Contributor Lauren Zalaznick is President of NBCU’s Women & Lifestyle Entertainment Networks

Early last summer, we put together a brand new female-targeted sales and marketing initiative called Women@NBCU. It is a committed research, sales, and marketing effort meant to galvanize the powerful assets across the entirety of the NBC Universal businesses.

I stress last summer because this is a recession-neutral imperative. Even before September’s headfirst dive into a sea of economic instability, we knew our consumers were behaving radically differently than they had been before. Not only did we need to find out more about those behaviors, but how to reach them. And not just reach “women of a certain age,” but of a certain “lifestage.”

It’s not about a 26-year-old or a 41-year-old. It’s about a first-time mom, a career woman, an “affluencer,” a trendsetter, or a single working woman with disposable income and no family obligations. We have to reach all of them better, sooner, more nimbly, and in ways that are engaging to them. And to do that, we have to drive new partnership models with our agency and advertising partners.

Why women? For one thing, women today account for an astounding 85% of all consumer purchases. We can harness that power.

Why NBC Universal? Well, NBCU reaches a heck of a lot of them … close to 95% of all women consuming media in the United States every month.

Why me? Because with Oxygen Media, iVillage, Green Is Universal, and Bravo Media under the umbrella group called the NBC Universal Women & Lifestyle Entertainment Networks, we are immersed — at the nexus of some of the most powerful on-air, online, lifestyle and female-driven communities in media — every day.

On February 10th Women@NBCU held its kick-off event, “The Power of the Purse” breakfast, in the Rainbow Room in New York City. The 160 guests included our customers from both the client and agency side; peers from the media, digital, television, and marketing industries including Judy Hu, GE’s Global Executive Director – Advertising & Branding, and Linda Boff, GE’s global director, marketing and communications; and select members of the press. They all had gathered to hear a dynamic discussion on “Marketing to Women in a Recession.” Martha Stewart was the special guest speaker and provided her own unique perspective on this topic.

Tapping In: Martha Stewart, founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, told the group there are 40 million women in their potential audience.

“While women are being very careful about spending money, they are willing to invest in products that offer good long-term value,” she said. “They are not buying thousand-dollar suits right now. They are not buying the $5,000 pocketbooks…They are buying things that they need in their homes. They are now home-centric, family-centric.”

Following Martha’s keynote address was a panel discussion on “Marketing to Women in the Recession,” moderated by CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo. Panelists included, Marti Barletta, President & Chief Executive Officer, TrendSight Group; Lisa Caputo, Executive Vice President, Global Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Citi & Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Women & Company, Citi; Peggy Green, Vice Chairman, Zenith Media; Shelly Lazarus, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Ogilvy & Mather; and Susan Lyne, Chief Executive Officer, Gilt Groupe.

During the discussion, Peggy Green made a comment that proves we are already on our way to accomplishing our goals.

“To me, this is how television’s going to be sold eventually in the future,” she said. “I really think [Women@NBCU] is on the cutting edge here.”

And we all know that the world’s economic situation is not what it once was, even as recently as a few months ago. However, that doesn’t mean that advertisers should sit on the sidelines.

As Lisa Caputo put it, “Any woman would tell you it’s a mistake to go dark. They want to hear from you.”

Research and history have proven that companies that continue to advertise during a recession maintain their market share and are well positioned for growth when the market rebounds. The key is striking the right tone. Advertisers need to be mindful of the tough times we are in. Shelly Lazarus pointed this out in our panel discussion, saying, “You want to hit a positive tone. But I think, sort of, you’ve got to recognize that there’s just a sense that the world is different right now.”

These are critical insights into targeting women in today’s economy. We look forward to sharing more in Women@NBCU’s next “Power of the Purse” breakfast slated for the Fall. In the meantime, Women@NBCU will continue to delve deep into our research coffers, reach out to the powerful community of our peers to drive a substantial pro-social initiative we are calling The Mentors’ Walk this Spring, and continue to message our wide industry contacts to keep the pulse on the market forces that drive our businesses through our quarterly Women@NBCU Newsletters.

http://www.gereports.com/womennbcu-plug-into-the-power-of-the-purse/

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