A brand new era of feminine B2B decision-makers is moving into the boardroom. However what does rising gender parity imply for the B2B advertising campaigns of the longer term? And the way can we guarantee our artistic and strategic selections proceed to resonate?
Say goodbye to the B2B boys’ membership
For a lot too lengthy, B2B advertising has operated on the belief that decision-makers are predominantly male – unsurprising, given the historic panorama the place senior roles had been overwhelmingly occupied by males wielding the ability of the company purse.
However excellent news: the occasions they’re a’altering. At present’s B2B decision-makers aren’t solely youthful (with two-thirds being millennial or Gen Z) but additionally more and more numerous, with ladies taking up extra influential roles.
This shift isn’t simply anecdotal. In 2023, ladies lastly achieved parity in senior advertising positions, representing half of all Fortune 500 CMOs. In the meantime, in 2024, practically half of recent appointments to FTSE 100 boards had been ladies. And whereas they already steer the majority of family funds, ladies are actually claiming a louder voice in enterprise spending too.
What does this imply for B2B advertising?
To construct deeper connections with this new wave of decision-makers, it’s time to revisit a few of the long-standing assumptions guiding our advertising methods.
No, this isn’t about resorting to gender stereotypes or pandering with pink-washed campaigns. As a substitute, it’s about acknowledging that ladies’s views, product preferences, and content material consumption habits differ from males’s – and these variations can’t be ignored if we need to stay related.
The best way we have interaction our viewers ought to evolve in step with their shifting expectations and behaviors. That is particularly essential for account-based advertising (ABM), the place really figuring out who you’re talking to could make all of the distinction.
So, how will you gear your campaigns to attach extra successfully with a female-centric viewers? Right here’s the place to start out:
Messaging that strikes the dial
The muse of efficient messaging is knowing your viewers’s lived experiences. The purpose? Create content material that resonates, providing that ‘aha’ second of relatability and recognition. This connection can lower by way of the noise and affect decision-making on a deeper, emotional stage.
B2C entrepreneurs have lengthy been masters of this artwork. Take Sport England’s iconic This Woman Can marketing campaign, which struck a chord by addressing ladies’s concern of judgement in sports activities. It delivered a convincing, body-positive message that empowered ladies to interrupt boundaries.
In B2B, we are able to apply the same mindset. Take into account how ladies’s office experiences can form their shopping for choices. The Class Entry Factors (CEPs) they use – these unconscious cues that drive buying choices – could differ considerably from their male counterparts.
Think about a video conferencing instrument that highlights when ladies are spoken over in conferences, or an admin platform that reduces the burden of invisible workplace work. Image an worker wellbeing app that tackles emotional labour or accounting software program designed to assist steadiness the college run with the funds sheet.
A standout instance is Sage’s Boss It marketing campaign, which cleverly subverted expectations with the road: ‘He thinks he’s the boss, however I’m undoubtedly the boss.’ Delicate but highly effective, it speaks volumes to those that’ve confronted comparable experiences within the office.
Inventive that really consists of
It ought to go with out saying, however to resonate with a various viewers, your advertising should genuinely mirror that variety – not simply pay lip service to it. This implies forsaking clichéd imagery of males in fits and gendered language that defaults to the masculine.
Genuine illustration goes past tokenistic adverts that includes a smiling girl or her equally smiley non-white colleague.
Genuine inclusivity doesn’t at all times require a large funds. Generally, a shift in perspective is sufficient. Take a look at Stabilo’s Spotlight the Outstanding marketing campaign, which celebrated missed ladies in historic photographs, successfully flipping the script on the phrase ‘behind each nice man is a superb girl.’
Content material that captures consideration
The boundaries of what’s thought of ‘B2B-appropriate’ content material are blurring. At present’s consumers are embracing codecs like podcasts, in-game adverts, and user-generated content material. Nevertheless, understanding that content material preferences can range by gender is essential.
Girls are sometimes seen as multitasking maestros – so why not give attention to bite-sized podcasts or video shorts that may be consumed on the go? Within the UK, over half of players are actually ladies, however they’re extra prone to have interaction with cellular puzzle video games than conventional console-based or aggressive esports. Tailoring content material to suit these preferences may unlock a wealth of engagement.
Content material focus issues as a lot because the format. For instance, Elf’s So Many Dicks marketing campaign used humour and pointed critique to spotlight gender disparity on company boards. By utilizing a ‘Not-so-White Paper’ and a satirical ‘Change the Board Recreation,’ they introduced consideration to a critical problem in a artistic approach.
Media that issues
As a substitute of defaulting to the same old roster of B2B channels, think about tapping into platforms the place your viewers already spends their time. Whereas LinkedIn, Reddit, and YouTube skew male, Pinterest is dominated by ladies, with 71% of its UK consumer base being feminine.
The generational divide is widening too. Gen Z ladies are gravitating in direction of visible platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest, whereas Gen Z males favour text-heavy websites like Reddit and X (previously Twitter).
Timing is one other essential issue. Girls are extra prone to work part-time or have non-traditional work hours, so the traditional 9-to-5 media technique could miss the mark. Tailor your campaigns to achieve audiences throughout their ‘scroll time’ – whether or not it’s the college pick-up line or late-night catch-up classes.
Gender as the following alternative for B2B differentiation
In the end, demographics are only one a part of the image. Persons are complicated, with a variety of preferences and tastes that may’t be boxed in by conventional advertising classes.
Nevertheless, embracing a extra gender-aware method can encourage larger open-mindedness in your campaigns, pushing your model to suppose in a different way about right this moment’s office and the people driving buying choices.
By recognizing the nuances of your viewers, you may create campaigns that not solely resonate but additionally stand out in a crowded market.
To listen to firsthand experiences from senior ladies in B2B, tune in to the most recent season of 43% and Rising – the Earnest Company podcast devoted to ladies in advertising. Or, in case you’re enthusiastic about discussing women-centric B2B methods, attain out to me by way of Earnest.
