Year of the Woman: In Congress, In Hollywood and In OOH

On January 3amp160the 116th Congress convened and for the first time in history a recordbreaking 121 women are set to serve Danielle Kurtzleben NPRamp160 This feels like a huge step forward not only for women but for our country as a whole but as we celebrate such a milestone many can agree that this was a long time comingamp160 This culmination of years women spent before us demanding equality and embracing the power of media to challenge gender norms and stereotypes brought us hereamp160 Just as this freshmen class of congresswomen are using their newfound positions to drive change brands are taking a similar approachamp160 They are looking to advertising now more than ever before to make way for conversations about how changing the perception of what makes a womanamp160a woman will set us up for a better tomorrowIn the past year alone powerful women across the country took part in a long list of femalefocused movementsamp160 From MeToo whichamp160brought to light the harmful intersection of gender and power in our nation to the creation of the Time39s Up Legal Defense Fund to help those affected by workplace sexual harassment with legal support to the femalefueled Congress elected during the midterm elections we39ve seen more women stand up for themselves than ever beforeEven in our own industry there was the creation of Time39s Up Advertising which isamp160meant to address workplace discrimination and to reduce the gender gapamp160 This group represents the first step for our industryamp160 Advertising has been an area where gender bias and stereotyping has perpetuated for centuriesamp160 But over time we39ve seen more brands take a stand against this inequality and tell their stories with quotfemvertisingquotquotFemvertisingquot is advertising that challenges gender inequality promotes female empowermentamp160and celebrates strong women in all aspects SheKnows 2014amp160 Eightyfiveamp160percent of women say they are offended by stereotypical depictions of their gender JWT and The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media 2018 and Millennial women are more than twice as likely to think of a brand that created an empowering ad Think with Google 2016 which is why women take note of advertising that steers clear of stereotypesMany major brands include OOH in their media mix for this very reason using our large canvasses to tell brand stories that will drive awareness and disrupt the traditional conversationamp160 OOH serves as a partner for how a billboard or subway ad can set a standard that encourages women and men that time39s up on how women are being portrayedDove Shatters the Perception of quotReal Beautyquot Let39s rewind to the year 2005amp160amp160Dove was one of the first brands to pioneer the effort towards creating ads that portray women in a positive lightamp160 They approached the creation of femvertising by going straight to their consumers and interviewing them about what they wanted to see in advertisements before finalizing their marketing strategyamp160 The brand wanted to reshape how women felt about beauty ads that didn39t reflect reality Dove39s quotCampaign for Real Beautyquot was created to celebrate real women featuring photographs of unretouched women not actors or models promoting the new Dove Firming Cream on bus shelters and billboards nationwide Michelle Jeffers AdWeek amp160quotWe wanted to democratize beauty and make more women feel more included in its definition rather than excludedquot said Olivia Johnson Strategic Planner on Dove at Ogilvyamp160 quotAt its broadest it hits all these women that actually have felt a degree of demoralizing or annoyed by the imagery around them We39re talking to all women who have had that sense of exasperationquot Johnson explained Michelle Jeffers AdWeek amp160The Dove quotReal Beautyquot campaign used large OOH canvases to make a statement that proved to hold a distinct significance to the consumer Dove39s sales rose by 6 and more than 1 million women worldwide visited the brand39s website Michelle Jeffers AdWeek By placing an unconventional message on OOH Dove earned a competitive advantage in the beauty industry that other brands started to take note ofLane Bryant Breaks the Barbie Mold amp160One place where female brands have seen much success is the New Yorkamp160City subwayamp160 As the best place to reach New Yorkers across many industries and classes the subway presents an opportunity to display a message that will gain a lot of press and social attention if done rightamp160 Lane Bryant39s ImNoAngel campaign in 2015 went viral for its presence on the NYC subway as its messaging challenged the ideal promoted by Victoria39s Secretamp160 The powerful images in the campaign featured wellknown faces of the bodypositive movement Ashley Graham Danielle Brooksamp160and Amber Riley in lingerie along with the hashtag ImNoAngelamp160 After the models shared images of the campaign on social media the campaign went viralLane Bryant39s CEO Linda Heasley noted that the brand saw 7 million in incremental sales following the launch of the ImNoAngel messaging and generated over 15 billion media impressions during the five week period of the campaign Dan Eaton Biz JournalsFollowing this great momentum Lane Bryant launched the ThisBody campaign a year later in 2016amp160 The brand utilized NYC subway ads once again to promote inclusive representation in fashionamp160 Heasley said the campaign was meant to be a quotprovocative manifesto to remind the world what we stand forquot Doug Zanger The Drumamp160 Lane Bryant39s campaigns paved the way for the lingerie brands of today that are continuing to use the platform OOH offers to reach millions with inclusive messaging and images aimed to shift the perception of society about body positivityThird Love Continues the FightFast forward to the current year and we39re seeing more brands than ever follow the protocol put in place by Dove and Lane Bryantamp160amp160ThirdLove used OOH in a way that was similar to Lane Bryant by reiterating a campaign that goes against what advertising classifies as the ideal woman bodyamp160 Their campaign features a diverse group of women in underwear covering the walls at the Spring Street Station a sight you normally don39t see on your daily commuteamp160 Women of all sizes ages shapesamp160and ethnicities make up the campaign to promote the diverse range of bras the brand offersBut there is more to this campaign than just brasamp160 In addition to promoting body inclusivity ThirdLove takes it a step further and celebrates the unique qualities of these women in the creative as wellamp160 quotI39m a CEOamp160 I39m ADDamp160 I39m a 36Aquot reads one ad nodding at the reality that a women39s shape or size cannot limit their successamp160 Pairing bra sizes with accomplishments may seem unrelated but advertising like this is promoting the idea that when a woman feels confident and empowered being successful and speaking up comes naturallyamp160Bumble Swipes Left on Workplace HarassmentWhile we39ve seen many brands challenge body image with OOH there are also brands like Bumble looking to disrupt the stereotype about how women should act in certain areas of their lives specifically in dating and businessamp160amp160Bumble is a femalefounded and femalerun dating app that gives women the power to make the first move rather than waiting for guy to sweep them off their feetamp160 It39s made superior headway in getting women excited about taking control and teaching men that women don39t have to take the backseatWhat started off as a dating app catapulted into a networking app when the brand launched quotBumble Bizzquot as a way to help women connect to other professionals in an accepting and empowering environmentamp160 Bumble has used OOH for every extension of the app to communicate their femalefirst stance in a big wayamp160 quotCareer advancements without the unwanted advancesquot reads the copy line on a billboard promoting quotBumble Bizzquot in Soho pictured at topamp160 A highprofile billboard like this one in the middle of a city that headquarters some of the world39s biggest companies including Google NBCamp160and Uber serves as a largerthanlife reminder for women and men that tolerating sexual harassment isn39t the way to ensure success When companies like this take a public stand against the treatment of women it guides the conversation away from what women cannot do and toward what they can doOlay Redefines Beauty Standards in Times Square Olay a classic beauty brand looking to gain a competitive edge in a time where DTC brands are changing the game also looked to OOH to spark a femalefocused conversationamp160 They debuted their FaceAnything campaign with a large billboard in Times Square featuring diverse women across various communitiesamp160 The campaign wasn39t created to sell a productamp160instead it aimed to immerse consumers in a conversation around labeling women quottoo muchquot of any one qualityamp160 By creating this conversation Olay is changingamp160how people perceive the beauty categoryamp160 Rather than trying to promote an unachievable beauty ideal the brand supports women as they are hoping their products can empower them to continue having these conversationsIt39s Just the Beginning To know that those 121 congresswomen didn39t get there alone and that advertising worked hard to change the conversation so that all women can set aside the notion that they have to look and act a certain way in order to succeed makes me feel proud to be a part of this industryamp160 OOH allows for the voices of feminist brands to speak up in advertising so that women feel empowered to do the same in real lifeAs this media format continues to support the brands behind these conversations it39s important to note that the industry itself is evolving to do the same on an internal basisamp160 Prominent female leaders in the OOH industry Nancy Fletcher President andamp160CEO of OAAAamp160Kym Frank President of Geopath and Jodi Senese CMO of Outfront Media are paving the way for future women to comeamp160 Their presence in leadership roles advocates for an inclusive environment where women are able to grow and prosper in this industryamp160 A total of 362 women hold executive positions in the OOH industry according to Billboard Insider and the number is only set to growIn today39s society it39s important for women to know there are companies out there that support the fight and more importantly want to be a part of it Although we39ve made a lot of progress in the past year there is still much more to be doneamp160 It39s up to us as an industry to support these brands and give them a platform to empower women as they live their livesamp160 Let39s make the year of the woman continue into 2019amp160 We39re just getting startedamp160Click the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers amp160

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Year of the Woman: In Congress, In Hollywood and In OOH

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Year of the Woman: In Congress, In Hollywood and In OOH

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