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February 2006 - Strategy Magazine
Where Next

Is your target a man's man? Then reach out to women
Guy brands make a move for the female consumer - and actually impress men in the process

by Lisa D'Innocenzo
page 30

It used to be that if you visited your local Canadian Tire store on a Saturday, it'd be filled with men fidgeting with the latest power tools. Maybe the odd guy had a couple of kids in tow, but not many of their wives made the trip.

Today, there are just as many female shoppers trolling the aisles of the iconic Canadian retailer, and it's not because they've all suddenly developed a thing for boys' toys. Rather, Canadian Tire, as well as other brands in traditionally male-skewing categories, from electronics and financial services to video games (see sidebar), have made a play for the fair sex. As a result, they've been able to swell their customer base, and thus, their profits, and in many cases, they are even charming men in the process. (Hear that, beer brands?)

"Definitely the thing we're seeing in 2005 is kind of a tipping point in a number of industries [traditionally targeting men], such as electronics," says Martha Barletta, CEO of Illinois-based marketing consultancy TrendSight Group and author of Marketing to Women: How to Understand, Reach, and Increase Your Share of the World's Largest Market Segment.

"Philips especially has [introduced] advertising that's much more female friendly. Then there's Home Depot, and financial services. Up to about four years ago, financial services advertising was all about facts and figures; [lately] strategies have focused on human [connections]."

"Over the last two years, the shift has gone from what I call companies throwing 'shut up' marketing at it, to looking at it strategically," adds Joanne Thomas Yaccato, president of Toronto-based The Thomas Yaccato Group and author of The 80% Minority: Reaching the Real World of Women Consumers. "Nobody is where they need to be to get it right, but some are beginning to take the notion seriously."

Part of the reason companies are still considered to be dragging their Jimmy Choos is because of the Herculean effort it takes to truly win women over. It's not just about revamping Web sites, stores or TV spots. It's all of the above and more. "Women are holistic consumers, they [notice everything] from the state of the washroom to the attitude of the salespeople and the [look of] the displays," says Thomas Yaccato. "If they walk into your store after seeing a great ad and the experience doesn't live up to the marketing, you've set yourself up for double failure."

When it comes to male-skewing companies, Thomas Yaccato's recent survey of 500 female thought and opinion leaders in Canada suggest there's a lot of progress to be made. (See gist box.) But one category stands out with the largest share of the vote - home improvement and in particular Home Depot, with 46% of participants giving the retailer the nod for meeting their needs. Canadian Tire lagged behind at 14%.

That's a number Toronto-based Canadian Tire is hoping to improve on, beginning with its new 63,000-sq.-ft. flagship in downtown Vancouver, which was designed in large part with the female consumer in mind. According to spokesperson Lisa Gibson, the chain's customer base is equally split between female and male shoppers, yet women account for only 30% of sales. The goal is to get them to reach into their purses more often, by taking the retailer's Concept 20/20 store - so named because it includes 20% more floor space than a traditional location - to the next level.

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