Hey you! Happy Women’s History Month. Marketing to women isn't just about selling them products - it's about uplifting, inspiring, and empowering them.

That means challenging stereotypes, breaking barriers, and showing them that you're truly on their side. 

So, let's take a look at a few successful examples that have accomplished these goals in thoughtful, creative ways!

Dove Real Beauty Sketches (2013)

Kicking off our examples for marketing to women is a short film created by Dove.

Women were asked to describe themselves anonymously to FBI-trained forensic artist Gil Zamora, who then drew two sketches of each woman —one based on their own description and another based on a complete stranger’s description of them.

The results showed that women are more critical of their own beauty than others are.

But the best part was seeing the women's reactions when they realized how beautiful they truly are—they noticed how much happier they looked and how unnoticeable their “biggest flaws” actually were. 

LEGO Sets

Did you ever experience people telling you you couldn’t play with certain things when you were younger because they were made “for boys?”

Well LEGO isn't just for boys - they've got some really great sets for young girls and women too! 

Take the 2017 Women of NASA set for example. It highlighted female scientists Nancy Grace Roman, Margaret Hamilton, Sally Ride, and Mae Jemison.

Plus, it included a booklet with information about each woman and their contributions. 

And, on International Women's Day, they offer new gifts with purchase, like a diorama celebrating conservationist Jane Goodall or Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

How fun is that?

LEGO has also made it a point to smash gender barriers and empower women in design. They celebrate the incredible contributions women have made to the design industry, including those who work on LEGO products.

They got to chat with 6 awesome designers at LEGO who know what it’s like to be underestimated and treated unfairly. 

But these women haven’t let obstacles stop them from designing things that everyone enjoys.

Their message for young girls and women who want to become designers: trust your gut, respect yourselves, and don’t doubt your creativity. 

CPB London Imagine a World…

Here’s a subtle but powerful example of marketing to women. CPB London created posters for International Women's Day in the UK which focused on getting people to consider gender biases in workplace environments.

And you want to know something crazy? A study done by CPB showed that even kids as young as 5 years old have outdated beliefs about gender roles.

These posters were all over social media, billboards, malls, and on public transportation. 

There was even a coloring book that went along with it and some of the proceeds went to Young Women’s Trust and Beyond Equality.

This was a great campaign that urged people to break those stereotypes.

Mindspace (2020)

Now, here's a riddle for you: What do you get when you combine a nervous son getting ready for an interview, a supportive dad driving him, and a phone call from the CEO of a stock trading company? 

It’s a crazy scenario, right? Well, Mindspace decided to use this to shed light on an important issue - gender bias in the workplace.

They asked 22 people to solve this riddle:

“A father is about to bring his son to a job interview, applying to work at a large stock trading company. The son is incredibly nervous…

In the car during their drive over they hardly speak… Just when arriving at the parking lot of the company the son receives a phone call.

He looks up at this father, who says: ‘’Go ahead, pick it up.’’

The caller is the CEO of the stock trading company, who says: ‘’Good luck son…you’ve got this.’’

The boy hangs up the phone and again looks at his father, who is still sitting next to him in the car.

How is this possible?”

Everyone had all sorts of wild guesses, like the dad recording the call earlier on in the day or the son having two dads.

But, the real answer was that the CEO on the phone was actually the son’s mother! Mindspace used this riddle to show how we still sometimes make assumptions about gender roles and expectations.

What’s really great is Mindspace seems to understand the importance of gender equality and they’re doing their part to make it happen.

As of 2022, they employ 70% women.They even promoted their VP HR mid-pregnancy. 

Google’s First of Many (2021)

Google is aware that women have been making history for a long time, and they're not about to let that go unnoticed! In honor of Women's History Month, they released a 90-second ad celebrating “the First of Many.”

From Sha-Rock, the OG female rapper, to Marie Curie, an awesome science queen who won a Nobel prize for discovering radium and polonium (no big deal), these trailblazers inspired countless other women.

And Google didn’t stop there — they also announced that they would be hosting a month-long virtual event series for International Women’s Day and offered training sessions and leadership programs to help women keep breaking barriers.

You go Google, great way to do Marketing to women!

Ford Explorer Men’s Only Edition (2023)

And last but not least, let’s talk about the most recent example on this list. Ford came up with a clever idea for Women’s Day—a special edition Ford Explorer…only for men! 

But don’t worry, it’s not what you think. The ad hilariously points out that their Men’s Only Edition is missing out on a lot of the features developed by women. Seriously, it wasn’t a short list. 

The video got a lot of love on TikTok, proving that marketing to women and recognizing their contributions is always a win.

So, next time you find yourself as the driver or passenger princess in a car with all the best features, give a shout-out to the women who made it all possible.

These examples of marketing to women are successful because they make us feel confident and ready to take on the world. 

They remind us that women have done incredible things for society and that our achievements and contributions deserve to be celebrated. So let’s continue to lift each other up.

✍️ Written by Alicia Plaza