WHAT WOMEN WANT: Getting inside women's heads isn't as easy as Mel Gibson made it seem in his last movie

Unprecedented career opportunities and later marriages are just two of many factors influencing women's consumption patterns, reports Atifa Hargrave-Silk. In a Hollywood comedy, Mel Gibson accidentally develops the power to discover "what women want", but for marketers in Asia, acquiring that knowledge is no laughing matter. As consumer spending slows and women re-prioritise goals and establish themselves as decision makers, they have become critical drivers of a brand's performance. In many parts of Asia, women are exercising serious purchasing power and have made an indelible impact on society, and it's not only because of their growing numbers. Better career prospects, a longer life expectancy and the later age at which they marry, if they chose to do so at all, have provided them with a level of freedom that was unheard of a generation or two ago. But as more women exercise the freedom to make lifestyle choices, they have become more difficult to pigeon-hole. For marketers, this presents a new set of challenges. In Japan, Hakuhodo's Sei-Katsu-Sha study puts Asian women into six groups: Caring, New Feminine, High Class, Active, High Achiever and Cool. Hakuhodo senior research director of its research and development division, Shina Murokawa, says there is a strong link between preferred lifestyles, average annual incomes and the percentage of women in the workforce. "In mainland China, where incomes are a little better and the percentage of working women higher, we found High Class or Active women. In cities such as Manila, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, where women are highly independent and have gained authority through work, women are prioritising careers and spending more." But for advertisers, it's the Cool, liberated woman of Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan that is the "future of Asia", adds Murokawa. "The new favourite is the Cool type, whose lifestyle involves neither marriage nor major responsibilities." Some companies, like CSL's One2Free in Hong Kong, have been quick to recognise the opportunities. To reach the so-called Cool segment, CSL rolled out its interactive "U Date Me" game, the romance-laden equivalent of the Tamagochi pet. Subscribers have the choice of two potential partners to interact with. If all goes well, the relationship will result in a marriage proposal - cyber nuptials are apparently acceptable to marriage-wary females. "Andy is a good looking IT engineer and Tim is a handsome creative director in an ad agency," says Michelle Au, CSL's general manager of marketing communications and public relations. Au says a romantic story was used to market the interactive boyfriends, who were created along Japanese-style animation, which Hakuhodo's research says is "more in tune with Asian tastes". In Taiwan, as lifestyles change, marketers are adapting to shifting preferences. This comes as independent women with higher income levels show their distaste for advertising that patronise or underestimate their self-sufficiency. Advertising that affirms their intelligence and confidence have a better chance of success. Which may explain why Taiwan's two largest local lingerie brands, Audrey and Swear, have shifted creative directions. Both brands now present Taiwanese women as self-assured and confident people, a departure from the category's norm of using demure images. All this may be nothing new to marketers in the West, where campaigns showing strong women, confident with their sexuality, are commonplace. If anything, the West appears to have moved a step ahead, with its use of more provocative and bolder images. For instance, in Christian Dior's latest campaign, a model is slathered in oil and plays air-guitar by strumming her crotch. With the jury still out on the bolder, sometimes pornographic direction fashion brands are taking in the West, it leaves many speculating on the success rate such campaigns will have in Asia. Hachette Filipacchi Asia-Pacific regional sales and marketing director, Angeline Chow, says advertisers have sometimes had to alter images for a softer sell. "We often tone down hard images for Asian readers. The recent cover of Elle UK has a celebrity looking very wild and aggressive. We had to arrange another photo shoot as we needed a softer sell." The battle for female customers has sparked an explosion in women's magazines in key Asian markets. And the hyper competitive climate in women's titles has seen publishers throw in freebies and discount newsstand rates to keep their readers. Jessica's chief executive and publisher, Jessica Ng, says: "Women in Hong Kong are not loyal. They run from one title to another. Premiums and gimmicks work very well, but nothing works better than a drop in price. Women in Hong Kong are most sensitive to pricing." Still, most Hong Kong fashion magazines are packed with freebies, from CDs and accessories to cosmetic and makeup bags. Freebies can apparently spike issue sales by 10 per cent. Jessica recently celebrated its anniversary by lowering its cover price from HK$35 to HK$10. According to Ng, the issue, which also featured a lucky draw with the coveted prize of a HK$4,000 Loewe bag, sold out within three days. A TVC was launched in conjunction with the price reduction to "show women the real value of the magazine", says Ng. The lucky draw was such a hit that Jessica plans to organise similar marketing initiatives for future issues. "An issue of another female title, Marie Claire, also sold out within one day when a free T-shirt was given away," says Ng. Lifestyle magazines have also become marketing vehicles for banking and financial institutions to reach women. "These traditionally male-focused advertisers are taking more interest in women because they are in control of their financial futures, whether they are single or married. We work with companies on credit card promotions. There is also a column in Marie Claire that gives financial advice and talks about money, and that has been sponsored by AIG," says Ng. Automakers are also beginning to see women as consumers in their own right. Brands such as Toyota, Ford and Peugeot are now advertising in women's magazines to reach this audience as more women start buying cars. In Japan, Toyota Motor has launched a campaign to attract women to its WiLL Vi car. It is hoping that this small, funky four-door vehicle will help the carmaker shed its conservative image. The goal is for 70 per cent of Vi's buyers to be women; of this, Toyota anticipates that 40 per cent of buyers will be single, twentysomething women. A report by Euromonitor International found that even in markets such as India - the country with the lowest proportion of women in the workforce - the demand for branded products among women is growing. The country's series of beauty pageant wins is helping to power the nation's beauty business. The rise of Indian beauty queens as role models has encouraged young girls and women to spend more on skincare and cosmetics. Indian shoppers, previously limited to a couple of brands of cosmetics, now enjoy a wide selection for every product. Analysts in the country say the beauty market, now worth US$1.5 billion, could swell by 20 per cent each year - double the rate of growth in the US and European beauty markets. Companies in other sectors are also adapting to the emerging woman's world. Long known as a brand catering to male athletes and built on names like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, Nike has begun to step up product development and advertising campaigns aimed at women in Asia, especially in Hong Kong. From creating an online sisterhood, opening a women's store in Hong Kong and creating funky sneakers, Nike is trying to dominate a market where having a trendy image scores more points. Nike marketing director, Rosanna Hon, has come up with strategies she hopes will take advantage of the differences between how women and men perceive sports and how they shop for clothing and shoes. The brand wants to be seen as encouraging women's desires to lead an active lifestyle rather than having them become hardcore athletes. "Every purchase of ours tends to be high involvement. We work closely with our team in the US to create products that will appeal to women in Asia. It's a learning process," says Hon. Women's athletic footwear, which accounts for a third of total sales, only makes up 20 per cent of products at Nike. The problem, Hon says, is that women's sneaker wall displays at sports outlets tend to be just a wash of white, pink and turquoise. "Most women actually have a hard time finding athletic wear they like, and may end up buying from the men's section," Hon adds. But Nike may have more of an uphill battle in widening its image to appeal to women. Well-established brands like Reebok and Adidas, and younger ones like Skechers, have achieved fast growth in the women's athletic market because they enjoy a trendy image. Reebok in particular has taken steps to introduce trendier products that appeal to young women. In a statement, the company says it wants to "invite a younger, active, fashion-conscious woman to join" its brand. So does Nike. But the problem Nike faces is that, unlike Adidas and Reebok, it has always stressed its sports rather than fashion credentials. Nike plans to kick off a major campaign in Hong Kong next month, targeting women in their 20s and 30s. The campaign will promote Nike's lifestyle image. "It will coincide with the opening of our new outlet and will be adapted to the design of the new shop. We have built a solid relationship online through our community; now the goal is to maintain that trust offline," says Hon. As women become increasingly wired, the internet is providing a unique forum for marketers like Nike to build virtual communities. Without the limits of time and place, women are sharing ideas and experiences with others at sites like she.com, which enjoys the highest reach in Hong Kong, according to a NetValue survey. "In Hong Kong, women users have the highest affinity for fashion/beauty and astrology/horoscope sites. This is followed by club-related sites and employment sites," says Janice Lee, marketing communications executive at NetValue. Defying the stereotype that women are indifferent to technology, a multitude of surveys suggests that the internet's gender gap is fast narrowing. Women are increasingly becoming wired and connected, racing onto the web in record numbers across Asia. The good news: they're ready, willing, and able to spend their money online. NetValue claims the gender gap is fast closing in Korea, where 47.5 per cent of internet users are female, followed by Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore where almost 44 per cent of users are women. Nielsen//NetRatings has also found that the number of women using the net increased an average of 36 per cent since January. "In terms of online purchasing, while women have historically been more concerned about security and privacy than men, US data shows that women are just as willing to make purchases at major shopping sites with trusted brand names," says Hugh Bloch, managing director ACNielsen eRatings North Asia. "In Hong Kong, however, women are still outnumbered by men at the top shopping sites." However, research in the US suggests that e-tailers are still not doing enough to make potential female purchasers feel comfortable. A report by Cyber Dialogue in the US found 28 per cent of female online users said they were e-consumers as well, of which 40 per cent were concerned with credit card security. It added that nearly 70 per cent of women who seek products online still end up going offline to make purchases. They may be a diverse group, but women consumers - whether they buy on or offline - share some common characteristics. They are ready to research a product or service in detail before buying it. Their relationships are based on quality, making them loyal to brands they trust. Murokawa of Hakuhodo adds: "Asian women are increasingly participating in the global economy. Tracking and responding to their aspirations will be critical challenges for brand managers and marketers. And those that choose to ignore this segment, do so at their peril."

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