After literally weeks of cleaning, my house is spotless, at least for the moment. In reflection on the products we used in our toil, I was thinking of how most cleaning products are still marketed primarily to women. True, women are the major buyers, but the gap is getting smaller as more men do the shopping, help with household chores and even stay home with the kids.
If you are promoting a product primarily to women, should you think about
male buyers? If you are advertising mostly to men, should you reevaluate your options and your sales demographics? You will find that will create a big spike in sales.
Digressing a little from household cleaners to personal ones, I think the Dove for Men commercials are appealing because he is comfortable in his own skin. The ads appeal to women, without minimizing the maleness of the man.
As gender roles continue to blur and women become an even greater force in the work place, couples are feeling the impact. More women are employed than men for the first time since WWII. With children, parents, partners and career responsibilities, women are oftentimes overwhelmed. Men can really earn points by jumping in and helping out without being asked, aka “nagging.”
If “cleaning product” advertisers are reluctant advertise to men as well as women, I wish they’d at least do a better a better job of marketing to women.
Most women with whom I’ve spoken about the typical “cleaning product” commercials find them inane at best: the eerily perky mom who cheerily wipes of spills while the helpless husband and child look on; the mom who smiles endearingly at her child after he has deliberately smeared cookies and milk across the entire kitchen floor (how realistic is that?), etc.
In their defense, though, most women seem to recognize that it’s difficult to market cleaning products in a positive or creative way. Marketing to men as well as women, as you suggest, may well help stimulate additional creativity.
A thought-provoking post!