Ketchum Conducts Survey of Women Bloggers: Can We Talk?

Contact:

Alicia Stetzer

+1-646-935-3910

 

Chicago, July 24, 2009 - A recent Ketchum survey of attendees of BlogHer ’09, the largest gathering of female bloggers in North America, confirms that women bloggers are a growing channel of influence for marketing and public relations professionals to target as key influencers – but only if communications professionals do their homework first.

 

Conducted in June 2009 among bloggers registered to attend BlogHer, the largest gathering of women bloggers in North America, the survey revealed that approximately four in 10 have provided information or feedback collected on their blogs to marketers to help them better market to women or mothers. But an even larger percentage (53%) said they would consider doing so if asked, revealing an untapped opportunity for marketing and PR professionals to enhance and expand their base of influencers when marketing to women.

 

The survey also showed that nearly half of those surveyed say they hear from public relations professionals at least once a week, with another 30% being contacted daily. However, despite this frequency of communication, women bloggers indicate that PR and marketing professionals need to do their homework if they want to work more effectively with this audience.

 

When respondents were asked what they ask marketers to know before contacting them, several common themes emerged:

• Take the time to read their blogs and understand their areas of focus. Many women bloggers said they would like to hear about news and products that better match their specific interests.
• This applies to location, too. A number of respondents said they receive communications about products and events not available in their regions or even their countries.
• Know that they are “more than their blog” – they have other roles in addition to being a mom or a blogger, say respondents, including jobs outside the home.
• Similarly, don’t assume that all women bloggers are “mommy bloggers.”

“Our research at Ketchum shows that women want marketers to understand them, and the female blogger audience is saying the same thing, loud and clear,” said Kelley Skoloda, Director of Ketchum’s Global Brand Marketing Practice and author of the new book Too Busy to Shop: Marketing to “Multi-Minding” Women. “Given that friends and family, offline and online, are the most credible sources of information when making a purchase decision and that many bloggers are now virtual friends with their readers and other bloggers, it behooves marketers to really listen to and respect the influence of female bloggers.”

 

The survey also examined bloggers’ perceptions of how consumer technology products are marketed to women. According to BlogHer attendees, the most common mistake that companies make is to use patronizing language (33%), followed closely by employing stereotypes (28%). Other missteps included not being clear on product benefits (15%), using too much jargon (11%) and making products that appeal to men (7%).

 

“The survey shows that what women want in consumer technology marketing is less about gender than it is about respecting their intelligence and communicating benefits clearly. With women as the primary decision makers for many consumer technology purchases, it is worth the effort to create relevant, targeted messaging that avoids stereotyping,” said Chris Ditner, Vice President of Marketing and Innovation for Ketchum’s Global Technology Practice.

 

Ketchum and BlogHer collaborated on the survey instrument, which was administered online by BlogHer in late June 2009 and was open to members of the BlogHer community who registered for the 2009 conference. The number of respondents totaled 177, representing 18% of the conference’s projected 1,000 women bloggers in attendance.

 

Founded in February 2005 by Elisa Camahort Page, Jory Des Jardins and Lisa Stone, BlogHer’s mission is to create opportunities for women who blog to pursue exposure, education, community and economic empowerment. BlogHer is the leading participatory news, entertainment and information network for women online and creates opportunities for its members via a community hub (http://blogher.com), annual conferences and a publishing network of more than 2,500 qualified, contextually targeted blog affiliates. BlogHer provides the highest quality content on a range of topics, with all blogs continually edited to meet strict editorial standards, including content quality, category relevance and blog frequency. BlogHer enjoys a strategic partnership with iVillage, part of Women@NBCU, which includes other NBC Universal brands including Bravo and Oxygen. BlogHer’s investors include Venrock, Peacock Equity, a joint venture between NBC Universal and GE Commercial Finance’s Media, and Azure Capital Partners.

 

A communications innovator, Ketchum ranks among the largest global public relations agencies, operating in more than 50 countries. With five global practices – Brand Marketing, Corporate, Healthcare, Food & Nutrition, and Technology – and specialty capabilities that include Access Communications (high- and consumer-tech PR), Concentric Communications (experiential marketing, events and meetings), MMG (clinical trial recruitment), Ketchum Global Research Network, Ketchum Sports and Entertainment, and Stromberg Consulting (change management and workplace communications), Ketchum leverages its marketing and corporate communication expertise to build brands and reputations for clients. In 2009, Advertising Age named Ketchum to its annual “Ones to Watch” Agency A-List, noting the agency’s long-standing client partnerships, digital and disruptive media expertise, and CSR and sustainability programming. For more information on Ketchum, a unit of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC), visit www.ketchum.com.