Neutrogena Launches Holiday Shopping Site

Neutrogena® had launched Neutrogena Holiday (http://holiday.neutrogena.com) where consumers can shop this season’s best beauty buys for family and friends. Offering a range of the brand’s best-selling and favorite cleansing, acne, anti-aging and body care products, Neutrogena Holiday is a convenient and easy-to-use beauty gifting resource to help simplify holiday gift purchasing and giving.

Shoppers can browse the Neutrogena Holiday Collection now through January 2010 for gift ideas that fit all ages and lifestyles on their gift lists.  And to keep everyone on budget, Neutrogena Holiday has seasonal offers including:

• Free shipping on orders over $25
• 25% off when you buy 3 or more products
• Free samples with every purchase

Study Looks at How Women Are Engaging with Brands in Social Media, Apps

A new study from Q Interactive and Social Media World Forum found women are actively engaging with brands as they dabble in Facebook favorites like Farmville and Causes. Furthermore, women are passionate and competitive about (Lil) Green Patches and Happy Aquariums, stocking up on “virtual currency” perhaps more often than they hit the ATM.  The study of U.S. women, of whom 50 percent play online games according to Pew Internet, sought to offer a clearer picture into this growing group and where brands do and can fit in. “As brands seek relevant and natural ways to shake hands with women via social media, the gaming and application marketplace holds tremendous potential to integrate in a consumer-friendly, meaningful way,” said Matt Wise, President, Q Interactive. “Women seek a partner to support their entertainment, which is exceptionally important given their busy lives.”  Some key findings:

• 85 percent of those surveyed use five or less games and/or apps regularly, indicating an inclination to be loyal to a handful of favorites; approximately 15 percent regularly invest in six or more games/apps at a time
• More than half (57 percent) are earning/spending virtual currency daily
• Introduction to new games and apps rest heavily on word-of-mouth: Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) got involved in a game or app due to “a recommendation” by family or friend or because they “noticed a friend or family member’s score”
• In interacting with games and apps, 57 percent feel virtual gifting – for example, giving a bag of virtual makeup from Sephora – is as meaningful as real life gifting
• All but six percent (97 percent) of women prefer to earn virtual currency through either winning more or accepting a branded offer – versus paying for it with “real” money
• While they game and app quite regularly, only one in ten women have actually used “real” money to purchase virtual currency; of that, 85 percent have spent under $100 in their gaming and app’ing activities – ever
• Of women who have signed up for branded offers to get more virtual currency, 67 percent found the offer useful
• 37 percent of those women chose the branded offers based on “content”; 17 percent went for offers with free products or services

Discover Spending Monitor: Women are Decidedly More Pessimistic Than Men about the Economy

The Discover® U.S. Spending Monitor, a monthly index of consumer spending intentions and capacity, found that in October, 58 percent of women rated the economy as poor, a Monitor record 9-point increase from September. Men rating the economy as poor actually dropped a point to 53 percent. Forty-seven percent of women also said the economy was getting worse, a 3-point increase from September, while 44 percent of men felt the same way, a 2-point increase from the previous month.  Women weren’t able to find comfort in their financial situations either. Twenty-eight percent rated their finances as poor, a 5-point increase from September. However, women who felt their finances were getting worse remained unchanged in October at 49 percent. “The Monitor has always shown that women tend to be less optimistic than men about the economy and their finances,” said Julie Loeger, SVP of Brand and Product Management for Discover. “But the record jump in the number of women rating the economy as poor and the pessimism over the current state of their finances may indicate a weak holiday shopping season ahead.”

 

 

M2Moms® Speaker Named One Of The ‘25 Most Influential Women In Social Media’

Wow—we just saw Jessica Smith, VP of Fleishman-Hillard, on a workshop panel at M2Moms®-The Marketing To Moms Conference (the topic was how to successfully mix the online and offline to activate ‘Momfluentials’) and now we find she is one of the “25 Most Powerful & Influential Women in Social Media 2009”.  Congratulations, Jessica—and the other smart and innovative women who are leading the way in social media! 

http://immediateinfluenceblog.com/25-of-the-most-powerful-influential-women-in-social-media-2009/

Study Shows The Real Influence Of Gen Y Women

Who do Gen X women think is most influential when it comes to defining trends in pop culture?  The women of Gen Y.  According to a new report from PopSugar Media (www.popsugar.com), Gen Y women are a major force in determining cultural trends and setting the pace for style.  The “Why Y Women” survey found that 92% of Gen Y women consider themselves to be trend leaders—and Gen X women tend to agree with 67% of them identifying Gen Y as the trend leaders as well.  Gen Y women are also influential brand advocates.  When they discover a brand they love, 61% “share it with as many friends as possible”—using such platforms as email, social networks, online reviews, blog comments, SMS/MMS, phone and face-to-face.  This well-connected and influential niche of women holds great opportunity for brands, but also presents some new challenges.  “Gen Y women represent a challenge to marketers. The results of this study underscore how much marketers must think and act differently when addressing this generation of women online. It shows they want to be addressed as individuals, they can be skeptical of marketing messages, and they are inundated by media and advertising,” said Brian Sugar, founder and CEO of Sugar, Inc. “As this study and our experience proves, it’s crucial for brands to create a trusted relationship and earn their loyalty through honest dialogue about their brand. Once they have a personal connection to a brand, Gen Y women will be passionate advocates and ambassadors. Our goal has been to work closely with brands to help facilitate that relationship.”

Women’s Health Launches Branded Fitness Kit

Women’s Health has launched a new branded fitness kit designed to get women back in shape quickly.  Women’s Health “Lean Body Workout” has been specially designed by the editors and staff of Women’s Health and combines carefully selected fitness equipment with cutting-edge exercising programs that strengthen, sculpt and tone the entire body over the course of six weeks.  The kit includes select exercise products, a customized workout program and a free one-year digital subscription to Women’s Health and a three-month free trial offer to Women’s Health “Fit Coach”, a subscription-based online fitness and nutrition program.  The kit developers, EB Sport Group and Rodale, Inc., have also launched Men’s Health “Ultimate Total-Body Workout.” “Our research shows that while many people desire to get in shape, they frequently struggle with exactly what products to buy and then what to do with them. These kits eliminate that confusion and deliver a clear path to success for individuals of all fitness levels – and at a very reasonable price,” said Brian Anderson, president of EB Sport Group. “Men’s Health and Women’s Health have provided millions of people with the best fitness content available. Now, consumers will also have the tools they need in these two powerful kits.”

M2W®-HC™ Is All ‘A Twitter’

Attending this week’s M2W®-HC™…The Conference for Marketing Healthcare to Women? Be sure to “tweet” about your experience using the hash tag #M2WHC so everyone can follow the conversation. And, don’t forget to follow the PME® Events team on Twitter to get the latest M2W®-HC™ E-ssentials headlines, conference updates and inside scoop before everyone else! @maryengvall, @pattiminglin, @lizfongemie, @amyomalley, @robinzaleski

The Shriver Report: Is It All Good News For Women?

It’s truly turning into a woman’s world—at least according to The Shriver Report released a few weeks ago.  This is great news—well, maybe not.  Here is an interesting link to a recent New York Times OpEd piece that gives us all a little food for thought.  Enjoy!   http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/opinion/24lipman.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1

WomanTrend Poll Shows How Women Feel About Health Care Debate

What do women really think about the national health care debate? A new poll released Wednesday by the Independent Women’s Forum shows that only 16 percent of women believe that health care should be Congress’s top priority and that a majority (51 percent) is unsatisfied with what they have read, seen, or heard about the proposals being considered today. The poll, conducted by WomanTrend, a division of the polling company™ inc., surveyed 800 women registered to vote and was conducted between October 19-25, 2009. Key findings include:

• Government is not the solution: 61 percent of women think the private sector does a better job of providing choice in health care.
• Change for thee, but not for me: 75 percent want few to no changes to their own healthcare (40 percent — be modified, but mostly left as is; 35 percent — be left as-is).
• No egg timers: 43 percent of women say that Congress and the President should enact healthcare reform “only when quality legislation is developed, even if it means there is no deadline.” Less than three in ten think it needs to happen by the end of the year.
• Too expensive: Only 10 percent say that $1 trillion or more should be spent on health care reform. Most put the acceptable amounts in the thousands (16 percent), millions (24 percent), or billions (16 percent).
• Concerns with waste: 77 percent say government spends money in a mostly inefficient way and 55 percent believe CBO projections underestimate how much will ultimately be spent on health care reform.

The poll and executive summary can be found at www.iwf.org.

If you are interested in the role women play in the healthcare industry and what drives their decision-making, we invite you to join us for M2W®-HC™…The Conference for Marketing Healthcare to Women, November 5 & 6 in Washington, D.C. For more information or to register contact Heidi Bouthiette, 860-724-2649 x15 or visit  www.m2w-hc.com

Her Network Connects Advertisers With Online Female Consumers in Asia

Admax Network, an online ad network in Southeast Asia, recently announced the launch of Her Network, the largest online women’s network that enables premium brand advertisers to connect with millions of women in quality and content-safe environments. Asian women are a key and essential demographic for advertisers and according to a 2008 MasterCard Survey, online is a powerful medium for communicating with today’s women with 64% in Asia Pacific using the Internet for research before making purchases. Just as in the U.S., the increase in Internet usage has led to audience fragmentation, which makes this new Admax Network so timely. Her Network reaches more than 21.4 million Southeast Asian women browsing over 800 premium websites monthly with female-focused content ranging from fashion, beauty, health, parenting, entertainment and more. Her Network is comprised of a strong suite of premium female-focused websites across the region, including popular international sites such as Glam, iVillage, ET Online and also a comprehensive collection of local sites, Family Singapore, Chubby Hubby, and Style Weddings in Singapore. The launch of Her Network regionally follows incredible industry interest and results from the launch of Her Network in Vietnam. Her Network Vietnam connected advertisers with more than 3 million Vietnamese women and 65% of women 25-40 years old that are online. “Her Network is breaking new ground in Southeast Asia as companies transform marketing in search of new ways for consumers to engage with brands,” says Grant Watts, CEO of the DMS Group. “Her Network gives brands the ultimate platform to reach women within a content-safe and quality environment. Following the amazing success in Vietnam, Her Network marks a change in the way brands connect and their level of exposure to women online in Southeast Asia.”