TMCnet News
Marketel chases the power of the purse, launches new marketing-to-women division: MarketELLE™(Canada Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The agency celebrates the launch with a new nationwide study that explores how brands are winning (and losing) with Canadian women. MONTREAL, April 14, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Canadian advertising agency Marketel is launching a new marketing-to-women division designed to help clients tap into the $20 trillion global purchasing power that women control. At the centre of MarketELLE™ are two key players who have spent their careers steeped in the world of marketing to women. Diane Ridgway-Cross, Executive Vice-President, joined Marketel last year from the U.S., where she was a managing partner at Mullen and ran the Interpublic Group's marketing-to-women practice. Ridgway-Cross is a recognized expert on the topic of marketing to women and moms, speaking at conferences across North America and Europe. She is a member of the Network of Executive Women and the National Retail Federation, and is a distinguished scholar for the In-Store Marketing Institute. In addition to her agency background, Diane has also held the post of chief marketing officer at a Fortune 500 retailer in the U.S. Alongside Ridgway-Cross is Jo-Ann Munro, Creative Director, who joined Marketel last year from Sid Lee. Prior to Sid Lee, she spent more than a decade at Cossette. As one of the leading women in the creative industry, Jo-Ann is often tapped to sit on judging panels for the Communication Arts, Marketing Awards, Créa Awards, Young Lions and more. Between their two careers, Diane and Jo-Ann have helped some of the world's leading brands win with women, including companies such as L'Oréal, Kimberly-Clark, General Motors, Jack Daniel's, Nestlé, Lowe's Home Improvement, Nespresso, The Coca-Cola Company, IGA, Maybelline, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft, Hasbro Toys, Dairy Farmers of Canada and more. Beyond their own expertise, they have been building a deep bench of female-savvy talent in the planning, creative, connectivity, digital and new media worlds to contribute to the work of MarketELLE. "There is no question that marketing to women has improved in the past few years, but there is still so much work to do, as evidenced by the fact that 4 out of 5 women say that advertisers don't get them," says Ridgway-Cross. Adds Munro, "Women control 80% of consumer spending, yet only 3% of creative directors in North America are women. How can you talk to women with no female storytellers in the room?" She continues, "Marketing must come from a place of understanding or it results in a disconnect. There is a certain girl talk that says, I get it - I'm living the same thing." "Having led the premier marketing-to-women practice in the States, I wanted to build the same horsepower in Canada," says Ridgway-Cross. "It's a fascinating area to specialize in. I've shopped alongside literally thousands of women in every store from Walmart and Target to Sephora, Best Buy and Home Depot. I've cooked with moms and ransacked their pantries to better understand meal planning. I've moderated playgroups with new moms from Mexico City to Morocco to understand global first-time mom truths. I've shopped for cars, retirement plans, face creams, tampons… and I've even lived through dozens of girls' nights out with 20-something girls (while I was 40-something) in order to delve into their cocktail culture for a beer company." She adds, "It's a pretty fun job." Importantly, MarketELLE is comprised of a spectrum of talent - a 360-degreeteam designed to deliver the full range of female-savvy communications for clients. "Connecting with women in a truly authentic way requires great insights up-front and a stellar new media team that knows how to use paid, earned and owned together to build a truly resonant connectivity plan. And, of course, smart creatives who know how to tap into those truths and bring the story to life in whichever channels make sense," says Munro. She adds, "MarketELLE has capabilities from A to Z, but we are particularly focused in four key areas: 1) digital and mobile - because of how connected women are and how important technology is for them; 2) branded content - because women are creating and consuming more content than their male counterparts; 3) social media - because women are far more active on social than men are and they are using social in ways that really impact the brands they and their communities choose; and 4) shopper science - because we know how important pre-shopping and the in-store or online experience is in closing the sale." The team is aggressively building new tools and partnerships to strengthen their offering and expertise. With a primary objective of staying on the forefront of what's trending as well as ensuring they can tap into "real women" on a regular basis, MarketELLE has built a proprietary panel of Canadian women throughout the country who will be tapped to provide female insights and opinions on products and, at some point, may even act as a word-of-mouth channel for MarketELLE clients. "The ELLEonline panel is the first of several initiatives we will be rolling out. There will be a steady stream of news and resources that our clients will be able to tap into," says Ridgway-Cross. To celebrate the launch, MarketELLE is releasing a new nationwide study, "How Brands Are Winning (and Losing) with Canadian Women," which includes brand-new data from 1,000 Canadian women on the brands they can't live without, the state of marketing to women right now and advice women would give today's advertisers. Learn more about marketing to women and MarketELLE at the new website marketelle.com, which launches today. And you can download the research white paper at womensfavouritebrands.com. About Marketel Marketel is one of Canada's leading advertising agencies, offering integrated services in strategic planning, branding and design, integrated creative solutions, digital, social, mobile, sponsorships and brand activation. Inside Marketel is MarketELLE, a newly created division dedicated to delivering marketing-to-women solutions via female-savvy insights, creative and new media solutions. Agency clients include Air Canada, L'Oréal Paris, Maybelline New York, essie, Labatt, Nespresso Canada, Chrysler, Rogers Wireless, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Solotech, Just For Laughs, Rougier Pharma, Groupe Urgence Sinistre, Simone Pérèle, De Facto, Marie-Vincent Foundation and the Dairy Farmers of Québec. Marketel is associated with the McCann Worldgroup, which provides access to world-class resources in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit marketel.com and marketelle.com. SOURCE Marketel Image with caption: "Logo (CNW Group/Marketel)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140414_C9728_PHOTO_EN_39213.jpg |
