Insights for Authentically Engaging Women Consumers for Growth

Women are influential in all aspects of social, cultural, and business leadership. Plus, they dominate consumer spending, making the bulk of all household purchasing decisions. But many advertisers are missing the mark in their portrayals of this powerful consumer segment – only about half of Women say they’re satisfied with portrayals of their gender in advertising.

Representation alone is not enough to make your campaigns and messages stick. Brands today must evolve to effectively engage modern American Women around the themes and issues that matter to them most.

This powerful study, updated for 2024, explores three key areas of our consumer fundamentals research: identity, cultural context, and Group Traits to help your brand authentically connect with Women. Read below for key insights and download the sample study to learn more.

What’s New in 2024:

Women’s inner drive overshadows their desire for harmony.

Women’s tendency to ensure Harmony and comfort for others at the expense of freely expressing their own values and thoughts dramatically dropped in priority this year. Its ranking among Collage Group’s 75 Cultural Statements decreased from #30 in 2022 to #41 in 2024. Meanwhile, the rise in Self-Assured, Competitive, and Disciplined attitudes among Women is a sign of momentum-building cultural shifts.

Why It Matters

While Women remain conscientious and care about how their actions affect the world around them, they are also increasingly focused on personal goals, wellbeing, and self-fulfillment. Brands must continually evolve to meet Women’s changing needs, validate their experiences, and celebrate their wins.

The Big Picture

1. Tension is building: Women’s priorities are at odds with society’s expectations. As more Women strive to prioritize personal goals, self-care, and self-improvement, they face the unrelenting societal expectation to put others’ needs first.
2. Women are defining success, happiness, and beauty on their own terms. Discerning and autonomous, Women shape their own unique paths and expressions of fulfillment in both professional and personal contexts.

Key Insight #1: Attuned Group Trait

Women consciously align their choices and actions with the needs of other people and the world around them. But this tendency coexists in constant tension with the other traits.

Do This:

1. Position your brand as a key to relieving the tension between the needs of others and Women’s own priorities.
2. Craft messaging that shows Women how your brand helps turn limited resources into maximal results.

Key Insight #2: Self Directed Group Trait

When making decisions and paving their path to happiness and success, Women rely on their intuition and sense of self-awareness.

Do This:

1. Defy the unrealistic standards that hinder Women’s ability to reach their full potential and optimal wellbeing.
2. Audit your messaging, visuals, and positioning to ensure critical alignment with Women’s self-empowered values.

Key Insight #3: Poised Group Trait

Women are primed to pursue their goals while staying true to their beliefs, values, and aspirations.

Do This:

1. Develop and promote tools and opportunities to equip Women’s pursuit of success on their own terms.
2. Feature Women’s stories on owned and paid media to celebrate their wins — however they may be defined.

Contact us for more research on how to connect with Women consumers and learn how to connect with the new, diverse American mainstream and make your ad a winner.

America’s leading brands know that a key strategy for maintaining and growing market share is to connect with parents. The reasoning behind this is twofold. First, it allows brands to capture mind and wallet share of individuals (parents) that are often making decisions for multiple people at once (themselves and their kids). Second, it allows brands to begin building a relationship with kids through their parents–the payoff here is the kids’ loyalty in the future.

Collage Group’s newest research within the Parents & Kids program provides insights brands can use to execute on this family-focused strategy. We provide data-driven insights and action steps brands can use to deepen their connection with American parents and the children they are raising.  This current study reveals how American parents differ from their non-parent peers with respect to key cultural values such as community-seeking, optimism, and being culture-focused. The presentation uses both a gender and race/ethnicity lens to unearth in-depth insights about both moms and dads.

Below are 3 key findings and action steps from this study you can use to drive better connection with these key decision-makers. 

1. Parents are inherently optimistic about the future, including achieving success. Recognize parents’ optimism by leaning on themes that speak to bright days ahead, while being careful not to discount current worries and hardships. Appeal to parents’ desire to achieve their goals, particularly in the context of having a family and multiple obligations, by showing how your products will help them find the time to do everything they need—and want—to do.
2. Parents, especially multicultural parents, prioritize cultural heritage and stewardship. Celebrate the importance of cultural heritage and passing on traditions in families, while reminding consumers how your products can support this.
3. Dads are more likely than men without kids to open up about their emotions. Highlight dads’ emotional, less reserved, and caring side in your marketing efforts. Recognize and validate in communications that dads also go through changes once they have children, which are often not as visible.

Contact us to learn more about how you can gain access to these diverse consumer insights and much more in our Cultural Intelligence Platform.

Black Americans are an important U.S. consumer segment, and their population and economic power are growing. Brands must better understand this influential consumer group to effectively engage with them through their marketing and advertising.

Collage Group’s Essentials of Black Consumers explores three areas of our consumer fundamentals research: demographics, identity, and Group Traits to help your brand authentically connect with Black Americans.

Read on and fill out the form for an excerpt from our Essentials of Black Consumers presentation. 

Key Insight #1

Black Americans are a a large, diverse, and economically powerful segment.

Implication

Recognize and celebrate the diversity of the Black segment in America by including Multiracial, Afro-Latino, and Non-Hispanic Black Americans in your marketing.

Key Insight #2

The history of Black Americans in this country, including systemic and institutional racism and race-related violence that continues today, results in Black Americans identifying with their race stronger than any other segment.

Implication

Understand the historical context for Black Americans in this country and develop a clear strategy to holistically and authentically support the Black community over the long term.

Key Insight #3

Black Americans’ are increasingly unsatisfied with how they are portrayed in advertising.

Implication

When portraying Black Americans, showcase their daily lives authentically and in ways that are culturally relevant and relatable. Actively pursue diverse marketing teams to provide more accurate portrayals of Black consumers’ lives.

Contact us at the form below to learn more about how you can gain access to these diverse consumer insights and much more in our Cultural Intelligence Platform.

Collage Group’s Parents and Kids Category research explores dynamics of parents and kids by ethnicity within key categories: food, beverage and QSR, personal care and beauty, infant care, media, toys and games, and travel.

Read on and fill out the form for an excerpt from our 
Activate Parents & Kids Within Categories presentation.

Part of understanding parents and kids is appreciating how and who makes decisions in specific categories. It’s also crucial to understand how parenting styles vary based on key characteristics such as race, ethnicity, generation, and gender. In this presentation, we explore usage, drivers, and channels for specific categories that are top of mind for parents and kids, including:

• Food, beverage and QSR
• Personal care and beauty
• Infant care
• Media
• Toys and games
• Travel

Key Finding #1: Consider the multiple factors impacting parenting style and values

Parents today are overwhelmed with information and influence – from competing information sources, to competing  parenting styles, it can be hard to make decisions in any category.

Many Factors Impact Parenting Style and Values, but Generation and Race and Ethnicity Have an Oversized Impact

• Race and Ethnicity transmit and proxy for religious and country of origin elements that impact parenting style and values
• Generation transmits the powerful social norms the parent grew up in

Action Step:

 Understand the specific factors that drive purchases in your category, as well as how they differ by ethnic segment.

Mealtime is an important connection point for families, especially for multicultural parents who seek to introduce their culture to their children through native cuisine.

Multicultural Parents, Especially Hispanic and Asian American Parents, Want Their Children to Enjoy Cultural Foods

% of parents that think it’s very or extremely important their children eat food from their family’s cultural background

Action Step:

Message not just around the importance of mealtime, but around the cultural connection it enables. Also consider providing parents with accessible ways to introduce native foods to their children.

From mealtime and personal care to travel, parents today are involving their kids in decision making processes, big and small.

Most Parents Have Handed off Decision Making about Personal Care Products by the Time Their Kids Become Teenagers

I let my teenager(s) choose their own personal care products like shampoo, soap, lotion, etc.

Travel Decisions Are a Collaborative Process Between Kids and Parents – Older Parents Who Are More Likely to Have Older Kids Over-Index Seeking Their Children’s Input

How much influence does your child(ren) have on where you go for family vacations? 

Action Step:

Recognize that there are two key decision makers when messaging to the families of today, and make sure you are communicating benefits that appeal to both parents and kids.

Contact us at the form below to learn more about how you can gain access to these diverse consumer insights and much more in our Cultural Intelligence Platform.

Asian Americans are a rapidly growing U.S. consumer segment both in terms of population and economic power. Brands must better understand this influential consumer group to effectively engage with them through their marketing and advertising.

Read on and fill out the form for an excerpt from our Essentials of Asian American Consumers presentation. 

Collage Group’s Essentials of Asian American Consumers explores three areas of our consumer fundamentals research: demographics, identity, and Group Traits to help your brand authentically connect with Asian Americans.

Download the attached presentation for more information. In the meantime, take a look at a few key insights and action steps.

Key Takeaway #1: Demographics & Segment Context

Asian American purchasing power is growing faster than any other segment, and far outpaces their population size.

Implication

Acknowledge Asian Americans’ economic power today. As their population and purchasing power grows, they will increasingly influence the national culture.

Asian Americans are not a monolith. They are a diverse community whose race and country of origin matter to their identity.

Implication

Highlight the rich heritage and contributions of Asian Americans in this country. Include messages that speak to the segment’s different countries of origin and the challenges the segment has faced.

Key Insight #3

Asian Americans’ satisfaction with their portrayal in advertising is poor and worse than a year ago.

Implication

Support the Asian American community by portraying them accurately and authentically in your advertising. Showcase Asian Americans in all the different roles they assume – as family members, workers, love interests, etc. – and in the unique moments of their everyday lives.

Contact us at the form below to learn more about how you can gain access to these diverse consumer insights and much more in our Cultural Intelligence Platform.