onedef92
06-06-2011, 7:19am
Survey: Women Prefer Sex to Chocolate -- but Not Money
June 06, 2011
Survey Says: Women prefer sex over chocolate
But women would rather have $1000 for “Me-covery”
Let’s face it … most men are clueless as to what women really want. So just in time for Valentine’s Day, Saatchi Wellness and Time Inc. have completed a survey on women’s preferences. The survey results make for an intriguing headline that is impossible to ignore. But believe it or not, this is also a case of some clever insights and actionable marketing.
Sex sells - or at least it is a headline that grabs attention
To all the ladies out there in our reading audience, please don’t blame me for the headline. It was just one of those headlines that grabbed my attention while reading AdAge this week. If you have not added AdAge to your reading list, I highly recommend it. I also especially recommend insightful articles by Jack Neff, who we’ve quoted before in this blog.
Saatchi Survey Says …
According to Neff, Saatchi Wellness and Time, Inc. conducted an annual survey of 1,000 U.S. women. In the survey, women were given a choice of great sex every week for five years, versus free chocolate every week for five years, versus a lump sum of $1,000 cash.
Interestingly, there were no stats given regarding the margin % preference for the $1,000 cash versus sex … and this old man is wise enough not to even hazard a guess!
Marketing data trends beyond Sex and Chocolate
According to Neff’s article, the survey was actually part of Saatchi Wellness annual tracking survey. Despite the rise of social media, some trends can’t be discovered on Twitter and Facebook. Companies that do annual tracking surveys can discover key trends from core customers and segments which enable them to adjust marketing strategies.
In the annual tracking survey Saatchi Wellness found that:
36% of women are putting greater priority on appearance
40% reported taking better care of their skin … up from only 16% who said that in the 2009 survey
Those buying anti-aging products quadrupled
“Me-Covery” – Marketing sexier than chocolate
By comparing year of year trends Saatchi believes that U.S. women are “recession weary” … they are tired of scrimping on things that affect their appearance. They are also now equating beauty with health and wellness, which is reflected by eating habits and care routines.
I don’t know who coined the term “Me-covery”, but it is brilliant! It captures the trend away from lowest cost commodities. It is also highly actionable for retail marketing. Women are ready to invest in “Me” and recover. Ned Russell from Saatchi summarizes the findings as:
“It’s like women are saying, ‘Damn it, I want to be happy again. Times may be uncertain, but I’m going to move on and enjoy myself …
But I’m starting healthy eating habits
60% are eating more fruits and vegetables
50% are eating fewer fatty foods (hence the lower score for chocolate versus sex and money?)
What can we learn from Saatchi’s tracking survey?
We have written numerous posts about the power of social media. It can be effectively used as “listening posts” for what consumers are currently talking about. But there are few, if any Twitter tools to compare year over year trends. Hence, there is value in annual tracking surveys like the one conducted by Saatchi Wellness.
As a researcher who has conducted many surveys, I was struck by a number of practical aspects and key learnings from the Saatchi survey:
They did NOT focus on products, or even brands per se
They focused on the core consumer – her preferences
They focused on lifestyle choices – not prices
They matched up potential product and marketing opportunities to significant year over year changes, not just %
They made the research actionable for brands and retailers
And you know what, Saatchi was even bold enough to have a little fun and ask age old questions about sex vs. chocolate. Kudos for having a little fun while marketing! And tip of my hat to Jack Neff for writing another article with a headline that is impossible to ignore.
June 06, 2011
Survey Says: Women prefer sex over chocolate
But women would rather have $1000 for “Me-covery”
Let’s face it … most men are clueless as to what women really want. So just in time for Valentine’s Day, Saatchi Wellness and Time Inc. have completed a survey on women’s preferences. The survey results make for an intriguing headline that is impossible to ignore. But believe it or not, this is also a case of some clever insights and actionable marketing.
Sex sells - or at least it is a headline that grabs attention
To all the ladies out there in our reading audience, please don’t blame me for the headline. It was just one of those headlines that grabbed my attention while reading AdAge this week. If you have not added AdAge to your reading list, I highly recommend it. I also especially recommend insightful articles by Jack Neff, who we’ve quoted before in this blog.
Saatchi Survey Says …
According to Neff, Saatchi Wellness and Time, Inc. conducted an annual survey of 1,000 U.S. women. In the survey, women were given a choice of great sex every week for five years, versus free chocolate every week for five years, versus a lump sum of $1,000 cash.
Interestingly, there were no stats given regarding the margin % preference for the $1,000 cash versus sex … and this old man is wise enough not to even hazard a guess!
Marketing data trends beyond Sex and Chocolate
According to Neff’s article, the survey was actually part of Saatchi Wellness annual tracking survey. Despite the rise of social media, some trends can’t be discovered on Twitter and Facebook. Companies that do annual tracking surveys can discover key trends from core customers and segments which enable them to adjust marketing strategies.
In the annual tracking survey Saatchi Wellness found that:
36% of women are putting greater priority on appearance
40% reported taking better care of their skin … up from only 16% who said that in the 2009 survey
Those buying anti-aging products quadrupled
“Me-Covery” – Marketing sexier than chocolate
By comparing year of year trends Saatchi believes that U.S. women are “recession weary” … they are tired of scrimping on things that affect their appearance. They are also now equating beauty with health and wellness, which is reflected by eating habits and care routines.
I don’t know who coined the term “Me-covery”, but it is brilliant! It captures the trend away from lowest cost commodities. It is also highly actionable for retail marketing. Women are ready to invest in “Me” and recover. Ned Russell from Saatchi summarizes the findings as:
“It’s like women are saying, ‘Damn it, I want to be happy again. Times may be uncertain, but I’m going to move on and enjoy myself …
But I’m starting healthy eating habits
60% are eating more fruits and vegetables
50% are eating fewer fatty foods (hence the lower score for chocolate versus sex and money?)
What can we learn from Saatchi’s tracking survey?
We have written numerous posts about the power of social media. It can be effectively used as “listening posts” for what consumers are currently talking about. But there are few, if any Twitter tools to compare year over year trends. Hence, there is value in annual tracking surveys like the one conducted by Saatchi Wellness.
As a researcher who has conducted many surveys, I was struck by a number of practical aspects and key learnings from the Saatchi survey:
They did NOT focus on products, or even brands per se
They focused on the core consumer – her preferences
They focused on lifestyle choices – not prices
They matched up potential product and marketing opportunities to significant year over year changes, not just %
They made the research actionable for brands and retailers
And you know what, Saatchi was even bold enough to have a little fun and ask age old questions about sex vs. chocolate. Kudos for having a little fun while marketing! And tip of my hat to Jack Neff for writing another article with a headline that is impossible to ignore.