55% of Females feel brands misconstrue the notion of femininity

Glittery accessories, shiny long hair, washing up, perfect makeup, tiny waist, are the traditional features of ads targeted at women.

Advertising has tried to move past these stereotypes, but female-targeted marketing still struggles to be empowering and often has a message about femininity that completely misses the mark.

In a survey conducted by TAKUMI, we found that 55% of female consumers feel that brands tend to misconstrue the notion of what it is to be feminine.

One participant commented, “Pretty much all period brands get this wrong. I don’t need some sort of faux feminist, empowering message. Just tell me about the product!”

Women drive 70–80% of all consumer purchasing decisions and are the sole source of income in 40% of US households, but despite this huge purchasing power, many brands still struggle to engage and strike relevancy with their female audience.

All too often, it’s evident that a female-focused advert was made by a man, with a lack of understanding from a woman’s perspective displayed in the ad.

One of our creators who has produced content for a range of brands feels, “There is a widespread glamorization of femininity in advertising.”

Another challenge marketers face is that gone are the days where brands speak at consumers through one-way advertising; influencer marketing has helped usher in an era where brands have an open dialogue with their audience.

To address the challenges brands face today when speaking to females, TAKUMI is proud to offer the Female Collective, an Insight Collective sub-group of TAKUMI X.

TAKUMI X, is a new creative division within TAKUMI with a creator-led approach to influencer marketing, enabling brands to work closer than ever before with creators to produce innovative and culturally relevant content.

Even the most experienced marketers struggle when looking to create powerful, effective influencer campaigns, and TAKUMI X lets brands fully tap into and use the insights and expertise of creators.

The Female Collective will help shape brand narratives that represent a highly credible female creator’s own experiences in culture by connecting brands with purpose-driven influencers.

Brands can ask our Female Collective what they believe in and what their community believes in. The Collective will act as an extension of the brand’s team, brainstorming where brands should and can focus their energy.

Through the Female Collective, creators will consult brands on how to make their product more relevant among female audiences, and how to build meaningful connections with female consumers.

Recent research by TAKUMI found that 66% of female consumers agree that it’s important to defy convention and live by their own rules.

One of the creators, in the collective, explains that in her purchasing, “I will choose a brand that shows an understanding of female identity across all cultures.”

The Female Collective will tackle challenges that marketers face while highlighting what is most important to women today.

TAKUMI works to empower influencers, creators and brands alike — we are using our platform to open the dialogue between inspiring young women and everyday brands, to champion feminism and help shape the future of advertising and brand innovation.

The Female Collective aims to bring brands and creators closer together to create content that fully captures all the different elements of femininity and allows brands to make their messaging relevant to their female audience.

If you would like to find out more about how you can work with the Female Collective, please visit www.takumi.com/takumi-x and get in touch!

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