Women Are Definitely Different
from Men. “Advertise Accordingly,”
Says Fran Lytle of G&M

by Suzanne Poor

Fran Lytle, Vice President of Gianettino & Meredith, told a luncheon audience of Ad Club members and guests November 12 at Mayfair Farms something most women have known since they were born. They’re not the same as men and we’re not talking biology here. According to Ms. Lytle, advertisers should market to women based on striking differences that range from listening skills to tasking.

The deep gender differences, she said, lie in how women process information, how they express themselves, how they deal with tasks and how they handle relationships.

High points include: Men like to structure their lives, one thing at a time, while women play multiple roles. Men compete; women interact. Men stack people in an order or a pyramid; women look for harmony, sympathy and emotion.

Sheet sales lead to a new bedroom
A stark example is how each would treat a sale of sheets at Macy’s. A woman will approach the sale with not just buying sheets in mind; she’ll end up redecorating the bedroom. A man will only purchase the sheets.

Men analyze (take apart); women sympathize (put together). Men report; women develop a rapport. Men exercise one-upmanship and tear down, throw insults at each other; women show affinity, use anecdotes and will respond to stories. They’re also great word-of-mouth sources for dispensing information. They are loyal, too. “Women don’t use Tide because it’s superior,” Ms. Lytle pointed out. “They use it because their moms did.”

As an example of the right kind of gender advertising, she showed several Benjamin Moore print ads. Each one
of the four was different, focusing on aspirations, need for quality, self-knowledge and dislikes (“I hate to paint but Benjamin Moore makes it easy”).

Thinking of dinner
On the other hand, a Boston Market ad was pulled because of the line (directed at a man’s wife) “Have you thought about dinner tonight?” What woman would respond to that put-down?

A man, she said, will walk into a hotel room and turn on the TV, for example, while a woman will immediately begin to redecorate the place in her head.

Advertisers should be aware, too, Lytle emphasized, that today’s woman is not as intrigued with cracking the glass ceiling as she was, say, ten years ago. For 30 women graduating from law school, only two were still working when the poll was taken.

Being creative today is different from the 1950s when one could sketch the creative on a napkin and have it approved immediately. But not now, Lytle warned. Marketers need to prove that the creative will work. And that means designing ads according to gender differences.

Gary Denburg is the Advertising Club’s Program Director and as such was responsible for the event. Sponsors were Factory Studios, New Jersey Broadcasters Association, North Jersey Media Group and Unique Photo.