In 2007, Stephanie Holland, President and Executive Creative Director
of Holland+Holland Advertising began to compare her campaigns with
long-overdue research on purchase patterns. Turns out, 85 percent of
purchase decisions are made by women, and 91 percent of those women
feel that advertisers don’t understand them. It’s no wonder.
Nationally, 97 percent of advertising creative directors are men, and
they sell their ideas to a male-majority of client contacts. When it
comes to understanding and marketing to women, it is often the blind
leading the blind. Finally, the numbers were there to substantiate
something Stephanie had always done intuitively—effectively connect
with the female purchaser, without the male-perceived pink, feminine
and frilly solutions. In an effort to further educate male
decision-makers who comprised almost all her clientele, Stephanie’s
blog, “She-Conomy: A Guy’s Guide to Marketing to Women” was born. The
blog contains straightforward advice for men and has gained an
international following. She-Conomy has been quoted numerous times,
including international publications like Marketing Week. As Stephanie
says, “If you want your company to shoot for the stars, you may want
to aim in the direction of Venus.”