She's Gotta Have It

Women are making or influencing most tech purchases, but most cable, satellite and phone ads don’t recognize them. That’s the finding of Oxygen’s new marketing to women survey, "She’s Gotta Have It," which was introduced to affiliates at CTAM Wed. 76% of the 1K women surveyed said satellite ads don’t recognize them as purchasers. Cable and telco ads didn’t fare much better, with 69% saying the same thing. Women want friendly brands that simplify their lives and break through the clutter, said Oxygen vp, research Karen Ramspacher. VOD ads that show the full library of movies may work well for men but aren’t really successful with women, she said. Almost a third of women said they use VOD as a babysitter, and they appreciate the content—and marketers shouldn’t be afraid to recognize that, she said. Other findings: women don’t like the term "digital phone." "For women, the term raises more questions than answers," Ramspacher said, suggesting marketers work the words "home phone" or "regular phone" into marketing. The biggest impediment for women when it comes to becoming a triple-play customer is the lack of a significant discount (about 31% are triple-play customers). Oxygen also surveyed women on cable’s new Pivot cell phone service. 40% found it appealing, and 10% found it very appealing. Pivot’s LG Fusic handset—sleek and iPod-like—is a hit (56% liked it). The bulk of women (75%) said they would be interested in Pivot because of cost savings. 62% pointed to the ability to check email, 56% pointed to the GPS feature. Not many (35%) cared that it comes from their cable company. Pivot’s TV features garnered interest from about 40%, which Ramspacher attributed to the newness of the category.