Monday July 29, 2013
BY KARINA FOO
Empowered: NBC’s research found that women generally fall into five distinct categories: Trailblazer, Passionista, Heart-warmer, Social-sider and Peacekeeper.
Behind every successful man, there is a great woman.
Behind every great woman are beauty, brains and her powerful femininity.
Although this is not a remaking of the Western feminist movement in the 1960s, women are steadfastly moving ahead and it seems like it is no longer just a man’s world.
Even in history, there were the famous women like Joan of Arc of France and Hua Mulan of China. And now there are the High-Heeled Warriors of Asia.
These modern women are empowered, independent and driven to achieve their goals amidst great expectation, pressures and other duties.
According to entertainment network NBC Universal’s latest research into understanding the female pay-television audience, Asian women (aged between 22 to 44 years old, from Singapore, Malaysia Philippines, Indonesia and Hong Kong), can be categorised in five distinct segments according to their motivation, aspirations and attitudes.
These categories are the “Trailblazer”, “Passionista”, “Heart-warmer”, “Social-sider” and “Peacekeeper.”
Trailblazers are women who are generally big spenders, career focused and individualistic who consume a variety of media including entertainment on multiple platforms.
Passionistas are spontaneous and live for the moment while the Social-siders, who have the most number of friends on Facebook among the five segments, treat TV as a social activity. The Peacekeepers are loyal consumers that stick to their favourite brands and TV shows as they seek stability in their lives and the Heart-warmers are family oriented who take pride in what they do.
NBC’s psychographic research surveyed urban women across South-East Asia to give advertisers knowledge to tap into the most important commercial opportunities.
Women worldwide have increasing spending power and are driving the global economy, contributing an estimated US$20tril (RM63.8tril) to consumer spending.
“The Asean region has the highest proportion of women in senior management roles in the world, at 32% versus the global average of 21%.
“In Asia, 31% of women are chief income earners and purchase 60% of traditionally male products.
“So, it is fundamental that advertisers listen to the needs of this critical demographic and yet we hear from women that they do not feel engaged or included in today’s ad campaigns,” explains Universal Networks International Asia-Pacific managing director Christine Fellowes.
NBC’s findings show that women are making or influencing 64% of all purchasing decisions; pay TV is the top source of information for new products and services for women in Asia; and over 30% of Ferrari owners in China are women as compared to 10% in the US.
Closer to home, 55% of Malaysian women own at least one luxury product while 80% have purchased and are using a smartphone.
Meanwhile, becoming financially independent is one of the top priorities for local ladies.
“The distinction of women and her influences uncovered by High-Heeled Warriors research allows us and advertisers to engage with women across Asia.
“Since Asia’s pay TV females are big media consumers and list pay TV as their number one source of information on new products, TV can be a valuable vehicle to connect with women,” said Fellowes who indeed is a high-heeled warrior herself.
The Australian who stands six feet tall (without heels) is a confident and driven mother of three, and has worked in Australia and Hong Kong. She is now based in Singapore.
“I like to watch the cooking shows because both my husband and I love to cook. He also loves it that I am almost two inches taller than he is!” she mused.
She revealed more about the research findings which stated that Malaysian women view themselves as intelligent with a good sense of humour and are family oriented.
Filipino women strive for physical beauty while women from Hong Kong and Singapore are more focused on their personal and individual pursuits.
Article extracted from The Star