Latest research on the female demographic.
Four out of ten gadgets are bought by women, apparently. High-end smartphones, netbooks, HDTVs. That's the fact that Belinda Parmar from Ladygeek opens with in her presentation at Heroes Of The Mobile Screen.
She has some research on women and mobile / consumer technology. 28% of women feel under-served by technology companies in terms of the way they're spoken to.
Who's doing it well? Canon, Google and Apple. Those that aren't: Xbox, Asus and LG. She says Forrester has estimated that there's a lost opportunity worth £0.6 billion in terms of companies not talking to women in the right way.
Examples? Sugababes' Windows 7 ad campaign. "Technology companies think women aren't interested in technology," she says. "They think they have to dumb it down... I have never seen one of the Sugababes with a laptop. I don't think any of them knew what Bing was before they were handed lots of money by Microsoft."
Another trap is the 'women only' version, which Parmar says was shown in Dell's recent campaign that offered computer tips alongside recipes in emails. "What women want is brands to commit to them - they want to feel that they're a core part of the strategy," she says. Nike Women is a good example.
Article continues belowAdvertisement
And the most horrendous trap? "The pinking up and dumbing down" - pink gadgets. "There is a market for pink, clearly, but that market is often young girls on pay-as-you-go contracts living at home. I would argue that is not where the opportunity is."
Ladygeek has conducted research that found only 9% of women want their gadgets to be 'feminine'. Parmar also targets companies who think technology has to be positioned as a fashion accessory for women. The problem being that by definition, fashion is a fad. "It devalues the role of technology," she says.
However, Parmar say that women don't want endless choice - they feel overwhelmed and confused by the plethora of choices in, for example, mobile tariffs. They want companies to be editors for them - reducing the choice.
Parting thoughts. "Realise that women are the biggest driver of growth," she says. "Bring a real understanding of women into the beginning of the process, not the end. Not when we get to the advertising, when it's too late."
These are general technology points, but clearly Parmar's presence on the HOTMS bill is to get the assembled mobile developers and companies thinking about these issues.
