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1. THE BIRTH OF
FEMFILLMENT
Prepared by THE SOUND
MARCH 2012

2. STRATEGIC INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH
A TEAM OF 25 STRATEGIC RESEARCHERS BASED IN ...
VANCOUVER . TORONTO . CHICAGO . NEW YORK . LONDON
A BOUTIQUE GLOBAL
Insight Inspiration AGENCY APPLYING
LEADING EDGE
Text RESEARCH
TECHNIQUES,
TECHNOLOGIES AND
PSYCHOLOGICAL
MODELS TO
Strategy UNDERSTAND THOSE
WITH SOME ‘GROWING
UP’ LEFT TO DO
2

3. RESEARCH APPROACH
OUR INNOVATIVE APPROACH CONSISTED OF 3 STAGES ...
- We met with pre-family women (18-29) in New York, London and Vancouver
EXPLORE > IMMERSE > SYNTHESIZE
6 x 2 hour focus groups
10 Video Diaries Report & Documentary
2 x 1.5 expert interviews
Text
3

4. INTRODUCTION
Text
THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING A WOMAN IS CHANGING ...
... BRANDS ARE STRUGGLING TO KEEP UP
“Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.”
- Cheris Kramarae & Paula Treichler
4

5. INTRODUCTION: CULTURAL PAST
1940s &1950s: Women = the opposite of men
LIFE FOR WOMEN IN THE 40S AND 50S WAS
DEFINED IN OPPOSITION TO BEING A MAN
“Humanity is male and man defines woman not in herself but as
relative to him.” - (Simone de Beauvoir, 1949)
Emotions - Women are care-givers and therefore emotional,
men are breadwinners and therefore strong
Behaviors - Women are demure, modest and behind the
scenes whilst men are confident, assertive and run the front
of house
Courtship - Men are the suitors, women the pursued
Text
Work- Men go out to work whilst women stay home - with the
exception of WWII when women became a major part of the
labor market, only to return to the domestic sphere once men
returned from the army
Women’s fulfillment comes from serving their husband
The good wife’s guide and the obligations this entails
“Your goal: Try to make sure your home is a place of peace, order and tranquillity
where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit ... .Don't ask him
questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember he is
the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and
truthfulness. You have no right to question him.”
Housekeeping Monthly, May 1955
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6. INTRODUCTION: CULTURAL PAST
1960s &1970s: Women Challenging Men
THE SECOND WAVE OF FEMINISM LEADS TO HUGE
CULTURAL, SOCIAL AND LEGAL ADVANCES ...
Protests and demonstrations based on gaining the same rights
and therefore strengths as men
- Equal pay, affirmative action
- Access to education
- Sexuality
Explosion of new women’s organizations, initiatives and
publications
Text
- NWLM, NOW, ERA
- Spare Rib, Off Our Backs
- Many conflicting ideas amongst organizations and feminist
thinkers
Women were attempting to deconstruct inherent masculinity
of society, culture, even language Redstockings, Radical Feminist Group (1970)
“I’m sick of pretending eternal youth. I’m sick of belying my own intelligence, my
own will, my own sex. I’m sick of peering at the world through false eyelashes ... I’m
sick of the Powder Room ... I’m sick of going to films and plays when someone else
wants to, and sick of having no opinions of my own about either..”
Germaine Greer, The Female Eunuch
8

7. INTRODUCTION: CULTURAL PAST
1980s &1990s: Women as Men
THE THIRD WAVE OF FEMINISM BROUGHT US
POWER SUITS, THE SPICE GIRLS, ELLEN RIPLEY
AND THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES ...
Through this period, female progress meant co-opting male
traits; aggression, competition, sexual empowerment
- Pop culture awash with examples of feminized machismo
- Girl power messaging more easily distributed via
technology, the internet
Shift to focus on the equality of ALL women, regardless of race,
Text
sexual orientation or religion
But femininity still being defined by, and constantly compared
to, masculinity
Women were playing men at their own game
“The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power.
You just take it.” Roseanne Barr
8

8. INTRODUCTION: CULTURAL PAST
00’s: Better than Men
THE RECENT PAST HAS SEEN WOMEN CONTINUE
TO UP THE ANTE, ACHIEVING EVERYTHING THAT
MEN HAVE, WHILST MAINTAINING THEIR
EARLIER RESPONSIBILITIES ...
Being fulfilled is about having the whole package, being a
mom, having a great job, leading a busy social life
Managing conflicting identities - women are still the care-
givers but are also required to be strong and assertive in the
work place, where being emotional is seen as a weakness Text
Being successful is about having all of this and managing the
tensions that the whole package brings
‘The present generation of working women have had opportunities that previous
generations did not dream about ... high salaries, entered into public life, long-term
relationships, shared children, an active social and cultural life, attended to our
appearance, health, home and garden. In short it has become possible to have it all.”
Paula Nicholson, Author of Having it all: Choices for Today’s Superwoman 2003
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9. CULTURAL
PRESENT....

10. CULTURAL PRESENT...
“The goals of feminism are carried
out by every day women ... You're
sexy, a wallflower, you shop at Text
Calvin Klein, you are a stay-at- "I think that feminism can only
home mom, a big Hollywood move forward now if we
producer, a beautiful bride all in acknowledge the differences
white or an ex-wife raising three between women, and that women
kids ... In reality, feminism wants want to lead their lives in all
you to be whoever you are ...” kinds of different ways."
Jennifer Baumgardner, Author (2000) Feminist writer, Natasha Walter (1999)
A CHANGING WORLD, A CHANGING MINDSET ...
Yes, she can have it all but the real question is whether she wants it all?
But that’s not all, the advent of the millennium brings with it some key shifts in society’s gender attitudes
Most importantly, this leads to women working out what they really want from life - from the relationships
they form, to the work they choose, to the brands that speak to them
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11. CULTURAL PRESENT...
Gender fluidity ‣ Sex and gender are
now ever further
separated than ever
‣ Where sex is
physically fixed,
gendered traits can
be adopted by
either sex, without it
being a threat to
their core identity
‣ Women can have
Text masculine qualities
and behaviors,
without being any
less a woman
“She didn’t
consider herself
a female
soldier, but a
pilot serving her
country, who just
happened to be
a female.”
11

12. BRAND + GENDER FLUIDITY
She could be
more ‘male’ than Text
you think...
12

13. CULTURAL PRESENT...
FEMINIZATION OF BEHAVIOR FEMININITY HAS CHANGED, AND THE WORLD
HAS CHANGED WITH IT
‣ Technology has exposed us to huge amounts of
information, choices and ways to live, and much
of this has shifted the psychographic norm in a
female direction
‣ Female skills are much more adept at navigating
this complex and fluid world
‣ Getting ahead in the world used to be about
masculine qualities:
- Competition - Fighting
Text
- Aggression
‣ Success is now much more dependent on the
ability to adopt female qualities:
- Collaboration - Empathy
- Sharing
"The 'handbag'-style iBook, was the first ‣ Soft skills are now as valuable, if not more
computer to be unapologetically feminine. It valuable than ‘hard skills’
was so irresistible it didn't alienate men. In its
packaging, Apple had also broken new
ground, using simple wording instead of
technical, masculine jargon." Ariane van de
Ven, Strategist, Brandhouse
13

14. CULTURAL PRESENT...
Authenticity IMAGE
In a world of relentless marketing spin,
Millennials seek out realness and authenticity.
They don’t want to conform. Instead they want
to ‘be themselves’. For femininity this
translates into not having to conform to any
particular model of womanhood, let alone
being like a man – what counts is being honest
about what it is that you want ...
EMOTION
Expressing your emotions and being honest
about your feelings are not things to be
Text ashamed of for Millennials, instead they are
demonstrations of your personal strength
VALUES
The reality of the recession and the effects of
rampant consumerism have altered
Millennials’ values; it’s more about happiness
and satisfaction than material success.
MEDIA
Dove’s Real Beauty campaign marked a
significant shift in attitudes towards women’s
beauty and bodies. Women’s beauty is valued
regardless of shape, size or age. The emphasis
is on how you feel not how you look.
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15. CULTURAL PRESENT...
Gender equality FOR MILLENNIALS, GENDER
EQUALITY IS A GIVEN ...
‣ Millennial men and women
find themselves facing the
same opportunities and
challenges
- i.e. Compete for the same
jobs, under the same
pressures, have the same
aspirations
- Shared financial, emotional
and domestic responsibility
Text in a relationship is a given,
not a luxury
‣ But they’re not on a journey
towards androgyny
- Want to celebrate both
genders
- Binaries that once
maintained clear
boundaries between
genders are now blurred
[Campaigns that resonate
celebrate gender, rather than
edit it i.e. Dove, Virgin Atlantic,
Diet Coke]
15

16. THE BIRTH OF
FEMFILLMENT

17. THE BIRTH OF FEMFILLMENT
Welcome to the after party!
FINALLY AFTER DECADES OF FIGHTING, THE
BATTLE OF THE SEXES FINALLY FEELS OVER...
AND THE AFTER PARTY CAN BEGIN!
‣ Gender equality is, increasingly, just a given today -
women are no longer defined by or in opposition to
men - no longer fighting to be taken seriously
‣ Women are now recognizing that they need not be
shackled by the pressure to do it all and succeed -
free to make their own choices and not be judged Text
‣ Finally, no longer at war, women are beginning to
achieve true fulfillment - FEMFILLMENT !!
‣ Femfillment is about true liberation
- Freedom to laugh at yourself
- Freedom to not have to choose
- Freedom to embrace the dualities of modern
womanhood
AS THEY RELAX, CONTEMPORARY WOMEN
“All that ‘pressure to succeed’ is bullshit,
HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE - AND, AS A RESULT, you put yourself under that pressure, and
THEIR TRUE SPIRIT IS ABLE TO SHINE you just don’t HAVE to do anything you
THROUGH...
don’t want to”
17

18. THE BIRTH OF FEMFILLMENT
Playful and poised
THE CONTEMPORARY WOMAN CAN HAVE
FUN, BUT SHE NEVER TAKES IT TOO FAR
‣ Fun is a key attribute of the modern, spirited woman
- “She’s fun, silly, I like it.”
‣ Being playful is enjoyable for her, and for people
around her. It’s unexpected, and might be out of
context, but that’s ok.
Text ‣ It’s an expression of confidence. She is bigger than
any situation she is in and can step outside it for a
moment to have fun.
‣ Playfulness also shows that there’s more to her than
meets the eye
- “There are different angles. There’s lots to unfold
in a woman.”
“Dance like no-one is watching – THE DICHOTOMY BETWEEN LOOKING
definitely. It’s rare for me and my DEMURE AND ELEGANT, AND BEHAVING IN A
CHEEKY FUN WAY SEEMS TO BE A
girlfriends to get together and not be PARTICULARLY POWERFUL AND DIRECT WAY
laughing about something. That really OF SHOWING SPIRIT
rings true...”
18

19. THE BIRTH OF FEMFILLMENT
Powerful, but not overpowering
SHE KEEPS HER POWER IN HER BACK POCKET,
RATHER THAN WEARING IT ON HER SLEEVE
‣ The contemporary woman feels empowered to
use her femininity to get ahead
- At work
- At home
- In a bar
‣ But she also knows when to turn it down, or turn it
off. Being powerful all the time can make you
Text
seem arrogant, stand-offish, unapproachable
- It can be divisive, and that’s not her
‣ She’s turned objectification into advantage
- “Using beauty to our advantage is great. It’s
playful, not too serious”
- Recent publication of book like Honey Money
& The Rules, and the emergence of concept of
‘erotic capital’
“We can look delicate when we want,
but we can control men, we can have
the babies, we’ve really got a lot of
power. All the power in fact.”
19

20. BRANDS + POWERFUL BUT NOT OVERPOWERING...
A brand that
celebrates her
Text
right assets ...
20

21. THE BIRTH FEMFILLMENT
Emotional and strong
Text
BEING EMOTIONAL IS AN ABILITY, RATHER THAN A
WEAKNESS
“Adele isn’t ashamed to bare her soul. ‣ Expressing emotions is authentic - a real part of
Her songs melt people’s hearts one womanhood
- Why should anyone tell her that she can’t be upset?
minute, but then the next time you see
- “If I hear something that upsets me, or watch a film
her she’s a fun average young girl.” that is sad I don’t feel ashamed to show that.”
‣ It’s more mature than repressing or stifling what you feel
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22. THE BIRTH OF FEMFILLMENT
Living in the now, borrowing from the past
SHE HAS THE FREEDOM TO RIP UP THE RULES
OR TO PICK AND CHOOSE THE TRADITIONS
SHE ADMIRES
‣ When it comes to dating she’s comfortable to play
to an old-fashioned stereotype, provided it’s a
choice rather than an obligation
- She can do this because she knows she has
moved beyond those stereotypes
- It’s fun to feel desired, to make men work for
your attention Text
‣ She respects women from an older generation
- They’re spirited and interesting
- She also knows that those are the women who
fought to get her where she is today
- “My mom is more of a party animal than I am.”
22

23. THE BIRTH OF FEMFILLMENT
Silly and Smart
SHE WILL WATCH CNN, FOLLOWED BY THE
X FACTOR
‣ She can have a passion for celebrity gossip and
strong opinions on who was worst dressed at
the Oscars
‣ But don’t think that means she doesn’t
understand and care about the issues that
matter
Text “Yes, I love celebrity gossip as a funny way to
switch off – but that doesn't automatically mean
I don't follow politics or can’t name an opera.”
‣ She’s a cultural omnivore, proudly enjoying
high and low culture in equal amounts
- Because she’s femfilled, she doesn’t feel
embarrassed to admit she enjoys things which
women would have been criticized for
enjoying in the past
23

24. THE BIRTH OF FEMFILLMENT - WHO’S GOT IT?
Oprah Victoria Beckham Lady Gaga
Michelle Obama
Katy Perry Text Judy Dench Michelle Harris
Beyoncé
Meryl Streep
Mindy Kaling
Angelina Jolie
Zooey Deschanel Adele Charlize Theron
24

25. WHAT DOES THIS
MEAN FOR YOUR
BRAND?

26. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOUR BRAND?
She’s used to brands telling
her how she should be ...
DARING Text
SEXY
AGGRESSIVE
FEMININE
SWEET 26

27. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOUR BRAND?
THERE ARE SOME KEY POINTS TO CONSIDER WHEN TALKING TO CONTEMPORARY WOMEN ...
IT IS IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT SHE’S IN A VERY DIFFERENT PLACE VS. PREVIOUS
GENERATIONS OF WOMEN ...
SHE WANTS TO HAVE A LAUGH
She is confident enough to laugh at herself. Female-facing communications needn’t be so
earnest.
Text
THINK BEYOND PINK
The feminization of product design is everywhere, and it isn’t about sticking diamonds on
things (or only about appealing to women) - concentrate on being sleek, stylish and simple
SHE WANTS THE REAL DEAL
Give her women to empathize with in her advertising, rather than presenting her with
unrealistic figures she doesn’t even want to aspire to
SHE KNOWS THINGS ARE DIFFERENT
She’s already showing it. Describing it as something new could feel condescending; she’s
ready to explore the idea in a fun way.