Thursday Edition

dispatches from the new world of work

Della

One of the points Tom's been making for over a decade is that women have an enormous impact on purchasing decisions, and companies ignore this at their peril. Dell is proving that it's not as easy as it looks. Our Cool Friend Andrea Learned, coauthor of Don't Think Pink and a recent guest blogger here, was featured in a piece in the New York Times about Dell's struggles. While, as Tom quoted earlier this week, according to Kelley Murray Skoloda, 66% of personal computers are purchased by women, they're not all using them to count calories or find recipes. Marketing to women requires more than a change in color scheme.

There is a happy ending here. Dell is handling the hullabaloo quite well. They have responded quickly to the controversy and have been making changes to their Della site (less pink!) as a result of the feedback. Let's hope the lessons they're learning will be shared across industries.

Shelley Dolley posted this on 05/15/09.

Comments

Marketing and stereotyping are like religion and politics... ne'er the twain SHOULD meet.

Posted by Dan Gunter at May 15, 2009 4:14 PM

Dan, sadly they seem constant fellow travellers. There may be less pink on the Della site but all the other advertising stereotypes seem to still be there in spades. No "real" people - all the models straight from the agency shelf: young, slim, good-looking, no kids, perfect skin, and of course from a full spread of ethnic backgrounds. There's the standard heads-together-on-the-sofa shared-experience shot that seems to be trotted out for everything from fruit juice to panty-liners. The Tech Tips section - presumably as this is serious DIY stuff - needs a model with glasses! And although this is apparently a site not aimed only at women, there's not a man to be seen in DellaWorld. Lazy stuff still.

Posted by RobCH at May 18, 2009 1:18 AM

RobCH,

It is sad. As a filmmaker who does ad videos, I'd be looking to "get real." More like a mom with messed up hair, obviously a little tired from working all day, running kids around to soccer practice, sitting down to pay a couple of bills, etc. You know... somebody who is more likely to exist?!?!?!

Probably some character with a Masters' Degree in Mass Communications that missed the part about understanding the target audience :-(

I seem to recall that back during WWII someone figured this stuff out with "Rosie the Riveter." How easily we forget.

Posted by Dan Gunter at May 18, 2009 5:55 PM

The only campaign that seems to consistently hit the spot in this respect is Dove's Campaign For Real Beauty, and they also seem to get a big, appreciative thumbs-up from real women as a result.

Posted by RobCH at May 19, 2009 4:32 AM