Inspiring Books for Marketers:
Author Mary Lou Quinlan made her debut of her new book What She's Not Telling You at a Procter & Gamble marketing training that I attended.
She inspired us all to do power listening and search for the whole truth. Mary Lou writes about the risks of relying on focus groups and 'literal listening'. I agree, you need to understand at a much deeper level.
I hope the book inspires you too. My favorite quote is "start marketing with women, and stop marketing to them."
I was the Tampax Pearl Assistant Brand Manager and the book mentions one of my commercials as an example in the section about secrets/silent pride (Thanks Mary Lou!): "While it's an easy laugh to see women trying not to be seen buying a pregnancy kit in a drugstore, more marketers in the feminine categories would be wise to help her keep a little dignity in the aisle or "pink ghetto" as Jen calls it. Perhaps the best efforts belong to TAMPAX, who've taken a cue from the youner women's comfort with "down there" and lightened up the tone of the category with commercials that brought tampons front and center, like using one to stop a leak in a rowboat on a date, so that no one needs to feel weird in the drugstore aisle." (page 138, What She's Not Telling You by Mary Lou Quinlan, Jen Drexter, and Tracy Chapman).
If you want to read more about the author, visit http://www.justaskawoman.com/
and if you click on the blog tab, you can read the first chapter for free.
If you want to read more about the commercial, visit the Effie Award website www.effie.org/winners/showcase/2005/56
