The retail calendar is divided into a series of days and events which are today pretty well established, with certain practices and initiatives instore and online. Of course living in such an ever changing world, the list is open and new things pop up every now and then and become significant in their own way.
International Women’s Day is an event that has been present for several years, but difficult to address to for many retailers. Today, in 2019, an age of equality, acceptance of diversity and fights for equal opportunities of which the movements #MeToo and Time’s Up are the strongest expressions, the IWD has became an event almost impossible to avoid.
“Broadcasters and news agencies craft large swathes of their content around it and social media is absolutely awash with it; in fact, seven of the top 10 trends on Twitter were related to IWD on the day – it’s become not so much a celebration day as an international movement now.”
And there’s no need for a magic 8 ball to be pretty sure that the event is not going to lose significance in the years to come.
But IWD and women’s demand for equality are still a delicate theme and the best way to approach them is not 100% clear to lots of retailers. From a marketing perspective it is always risky to link a brand to a social or political movement, mainly because human beings are usually distrustful of companies’ motivation and reasons.
Looking back at the branding initiatives and ad campaigns of the past few years we find several examples of initiatives that went wrong.
In 2018 McDonald’s flipped its golden M to make it a W in all its social media,“in celebration of women everywhere, and for the first time in our brand history” – to which many have responded, “try again”. The things in fact did not quite go as planned, with people on Twitter coining the term McFeminism to express “an act, like the McDonald’s arches, that appears to be in the service and liberation of woman, but s actually a public relation scam.”
This empty McFeminism has nothing to do with women’s liberation and everything to do with McDonald’s attempt to sanitise its image,” said Laura Parker, Momentum’s national coordinator. “If they actually cared about women, they’d pay their workers a living wage and stop forcing them onto zero hours contracts.
Same kind of reactions for the KFC campaign, introducing Claudia Sanders, wife of the fast food company’s founder. The campaign comes across as condescending and yet another example of invisible women supporting men’s achievements.
Last example of initiatives that did not go as expected is the debut of “Jane Walker Edition” from Johnnie Walker Black Label, the American whisky producer. The company not only released a “female” special edition of the historical scotch, but also committed to donate $1 for each bottle to non-profit campaigns like Monumental Women (a movement to erect a monument honouring America’s women suffragists in New York’s Central Park) and She Should Run, a group encouraging women to register and run for elected office.
Nevertheless, they were accused of being patronizing and co-opting women’s movement without doing anything to address gender imbalance.
It really seems to be difficult for brands to please consumers when trying to connect to a social or political event. For what IWD may concern the consensus seems to be around the most classical launching of a t-shirt with a slogan on it, especially if giving part or the entire amount of the profits to charity or non-prof organizations related with the cause.
Case worth a mention is the one of Forever 21and its International Women’s Day capsule collection. The high street brand collaborated with Girls Inc.,a non-profit organization focused on the positive development of young girls, to create an empowering line characterized by original pieces. The company donated 1$ for every piece sold, committing to a minimum donation of $ 50,000.
“We are so excited to continue our partnership with Girls Inc. and celebrate International Women’s Day. Working in the fashion industry, we are constantly surrounded by successful and empowered women, so the product in this capsule honours that.” Declared Linda Chang, VP of Merchandising for Forever 21.
Olivia Von Halle also proposed a special collection for the event, etching some of the most unforgettable slogans spotted at Women’s Marches on to its silk pyjamas. In this case 100% of the profits went to Bloody Good Period, a charity that provides menstrual supplies to women in need.
We also find interesting in-store initiatives and installations, as the case of the historical department store Liberty, in London, that celebrated by decorating its windows with a series of portraits featuring inspirational women of past and present times. During the whole month of March (month of Women History) Liberty also hosted several sessions with beauty experts and talks with women of influence and female brand founders who have links with the store.
Other instore actions is the one offered this year by the tech giant Apple. To celebrate IWD the Mac creators are launching a unique collection of “Today at Apple” sessions in selected stores around the globe. The series, titled Made by Women focuses on creative achievements for and by women in different creative subjects and sectors.
Different kind of initiative was the one settled by Diane von Furstenberg, that opened the doors of her HQ launching a four-days event to empower and celebrate women. In the offices were hosted talks and panels with inspiring women, everything meant to celebrate all the female leadership roles.Last but not least, the presence of a special collection based on the idea of being “In Charge”, available to boy and customize online.
Link with the program of the events from 2018 https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/designers/a19156404/dvf-international-womens-day-events-2018/
International Women’s Day is a day to celebrate feminism, women and all the people working toward making the world a more equal place. From a retailer point of view, it is a good occasion to take a position and make a strong statement on gender equality, but it is crucial that any action taken is perceived as a non-profit and honest message and not as another marketing tool to try and sell products and services to consumers that are already over-bombarded by commercial messages of every kind.
Contributions:
- https://www.vogue.com/article/diane-von-furstenberg-international-womens-day-panels
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/rosycordero/2019/02/21/forever-21-taps-natti-natasha-for-empowering-international-womens-day-collaboration/#147ae5456690
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/taranurin/2018/02/28/johnnie-walkers-jane-walker-edition-fights-for-womens-equality-not-against-it/#3e8b09fe353c
- https://www.imrg.org/blog/retail-international-womens-day/
- https://9to5mac.com/2019/02/27/today-at-apple-international-womens-day-sessions/
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