Since When Is Seafoam Feminine? HTC Bliss To Be Marketed To Women

by Libby Kane
Published July 26, 2011 in Tech

For the past 24 hours, tech blogs have been atwitter (no pun intended) with leaked images of and speculation about the new HTC Bliss, a pale green smartphone that’s supposedly meant to lure women into the Android market.

Tech blog This Is My Next has dubbed it “HTC’s Lady Phone,” which makes us smile, but we’re not quite sure if we agree with the mocking moniker. Frankly, we’re not sure we hate it. Or love it. It’s a… phone. In a pretty color? Even its admittedly silly name can’t spark our ire. Because from what we can tell so far, it’s a phone that works like a phone, looks like a phone, and cracks like a phone when you drop it on the sidewalk.

Our only concern (because we’re empathic like that): HTC, why limit the selling potential of what might very well be a fantastic product by labeling it “girlie” before it’s even out of the gate? As much as we like to think that the general population will recognize the usefulness under the seafoam, Bliss will alienate a large contingent of both men and women who won’t use a “lady phone” on principle. If your phone does what it should do, why not trust that ladies will embrace it with their dollars—like we all know that women have the cents (that one was intended) to do?

We’ve heard rumblings of the Bliss before, remember?

Tags: For Women, marketing with women in mind, Smartphone

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Texting Keeps Babies Healthy

by Tracy Chapman
Published February 10, 2011 in Moms & Family

As the Verizon Iphone goes on sale this week, we are reminded of the power of the smartphone in our society, especially when it comes to getting information. It’s no wonder that it has become an essential tool in motherhood these days. In fact, recent research that we conducted on behalf of WhattoExpect.com found that 33% of moms and soon-to-be moms use mobile web browsing.

Equally important however is that a whopping 84% are texting. With all the excitement around apps and devices it’s easy to forget about those consumers that might not have access to them.

Text4baby, celebrating their one year anniversary last week, has not forgotten those that need the information the most.

This service, run by the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB) sends free text messages to women who are pregnant or whose babies are less than a year old, providing information and reminders to improve their health and the health of their babies.

Text4baby keeps it simple and relevant and tone appropriate, making the messages friendly and informative – it is the perfect balance of prescriptive advice and emotional support that women need, especially when they don’t have access to as many resources as others might.

Congratulations Text4baby for hitting your first birthday and thank you for your support of underserved moms.

How can marketers, whose target is low-income women, learn from the success of this campaign?

Tags: Smartphone

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Women Are Responsible For This Year’s Hottest Brands.

by Tracy Chapman
Published November 30, 2010 in Fashion

Adage’s 2010 Hottest Brands list is out and from the brand names on the list, it just goes to show the power of the female consumer.

With moms 32% more likely to use smart phones than the national average, it’s no wonder the Droid is at the top of the list followed by Glee (we’re quite the gleeks over here at Just Ask a Woman) and our personal favorite, Groupon. 

We know the power of the female consumer, which is why we’re not surprised to see Old Spice on the list.  We fell in love with the new campaign targeting the female influencers in men’s lives.

We are also glad to see Dawn dish soap made the list.  Procter & Gamble has done well combining innovation, value messaging  and saving the environment – from recession to oil spills, this brand knows how to make women feel good and clean.

U by Kotex has done a fantastic job getting young women to feel more comfortable in what we like to call, the “pink ghetto” ( That aisle in the supermarket or drugstore that we quickly walk down or avoid altogether.)  We especially loved that the campaign poked fun at typical advertising in this category.  Breaking the cycle can be difficult for many brands. Companies can learn from their brave move.

And while there are quite a number of other brands that made the list that can link their success to women, Reebok’s EasyTone also has Katrin Ley, Head of Brand Strategy, Business Development and Women’s Sport Business, to thank for the growing toning category. They have sold 5 million pairs of EasyTone in the U.S.

And while My Pillow Pets and Silly Bandz have a much younger audience, we know who is laying out the money for these as well.

Tags: Advertising Age, America's Hottest Brands, Dawn, EasyTone, Glee, Kotex, Old Spice, Online Shopping, Procter & Gamble, Smartphone

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