For many of us, it's just another day in the month of March. For about half the population in this world, it may carry a special meaning for them.
Though not as widely celebrated as other special occasions like Father's Day, Mother's Day and Valentine's Day, it is gaining more awareness among the public.
This morning as I was flipping through the papers, there is a Women's Special section. Beauty products, aesthetics, fashion tips, diet, household tips, interviews, articles on things every modern woman should know, sales by a departmental store and a host of services for the woman.
There's even a hospital tying the International Women's Day to offer health screening programs. There's a poster and women are asked to snap a photo of them with the poster, share the photo on Facebook by tagging the hospital. They can also collect a goodie bag at the hospital by showing them the Facebook post.
As a guy, we'll probably find it a waste of time to go through all these just to get a goodie bag.
But we cannot assume the woman will feel the same way. One of the mistake most of us make is to assume what we believe to be true as what our customers will feel as well.
Just because you are unwilling to pay $200 for a piece of junk, you assume that no others will do the same. Just because you do not think you will join such club as a member, you assume that there's no market for it. If there is nobody selling the kind of product or service you intend to offer, it doesn't mean that there will be a market for it.
You have to question your assumptions. And if you are not sure, TEST.
Now, the majority of advertisements are pictures of products and its prices and types of services available. Even articles which are supposed to be helpful tips are mainly saying how good their products and services are. Of course, there are some contests as well.
What stare at me on my face is that no thoughts and care are put into them. It's as if ok, so now we got an opportunity to run a promotion that ties in with the International Women's Day. Let's run an advertisement on our products and services that cater to this group. And if those companies are already running print advertisements on the papers, they just use back the same ad layout, maybe with a little difference in the promotion. For others, they will place an article and talk about their products and services. Those with a bigger budget will run a contest.
Think about it.
Most businesses will take opportunity of special occasions to run promotions. This is very common and usually can help boost sales in sluggish months. And it makes your promotion more interesting rather than what you usually do. Furthermore, it can align your business with certain causes. It's like killing many birds with one stone.
But how many of us really understand how International Women's Day came about? When was it started? Where was it started? Who started it? Why? What is the meaning behind it? What does it advocate? How others are celebrating it?
If you are curious about it, you can read about it here.
Now, look at this advertisement.
What's starkly different from all the advertisements that I've saw on the papers today is that this advertisement did not talk about it's product at all. The most it did was to show their brand at the end. They did not promote a specific product. No talk about how good their products are, no price, no promotion.
Well, you might argue that Dove is a big, strong and famous brand.
But to think about it in this way is missing the big point.
The big idea here is how are you connecting with your customers? What are you advocating? What do you stand for? How you make your customers feel about themselves?