Gender-focused public relations and marketing campaigns can be effective – if executed properly. However, some companies have found that targeting specific genders can cause controversy and negative consumer feedback.
Just recently, Dell launched a new Web site targeted towards women called Della. The site, which soft launched on April 30, is being criticized for “pandering to female stereotypes” with its overwhelmingly pink color scheme and content that some argue “paints women as having little tech savoir faire.”
Nicole Zerillo with PRWeek recently wrote two articles about gender-stereotype traps and discussed the controversy surrounding Della as well as the marketing campaign for Mars Snackfood’s new candy bar Fling, which referred to the candy as “fingers” and featured ads that suggested women “pleasure yourself” with the chocolate bars.
Dell has been following online conversations and making revisions to the Della Web site based on the feedback it is receiving. On May 15, a company spokesperson published a blog post about the mixed feedback and the changes being made, which include incorporating more business-oriented products and information on the site and omitting some of the pink.
Reggie Bradford, CEO of social media company Virtue, tells PRWeek the incident with Della shows how a “small group of dissenters can be magnified through social media.” Reggie also references the Motrin Moms’ campaign and comments, “If you have consumers passionate enough to stand up and be heard . . . [marketers] should use it to develop a more proactive dialogue.” This is also true for public relations campaigns.
As companies look to implement campaigns that resonate with women or a niche audience, it’s important to engage with them and target their needs and values rather than only looking at one aspect of their interests. Some of the most successful campaigns to date, such as Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty”, are powerful because women relate to the values and the messages that are being communicated.
In order to ensure you implement a successful PR campaign, it’s important to really understand who your target audience is and what motivates them. Consider the following tips:
Research and plan. Determine what your goals are for the PR campaign and outline the target audience you want to reach. Once you’ve determined who your target audience is, find out what types of messages, themes and values will resonate with that audience. If your goal is to communicate messages that resonate with women, evaluate what values will spark their interest and avoid making generalizations or stereotyping.
Choose the right PR tools. You need to choose the right PR tools to communicate your message. Depending on the audience and message, it might make sense to develop and distribute a press release or plan an event, write a contributed article, implement a social media campaign, participate in a conference, discussion panel or trade show, etc.
Integrate with other functional areas. In order to implement a successful PR campaign the messages and tools must align with your business objectives. Integrate your PR efforts into your sales and marketing efforts and invite different groups (marketing, executives, etc) to participate in the efforts. This will help to establish cohesiveness and build consensus for your PR plan.
Whether your PR campaign is geared towards a gender specific group, or you are targeting a niche audience, make sure to evaluate your messages clearly and remember to monitor online conversations about your company and brand.