Eveolution: The Eight Truths of Marketing to Women

Faith Popcorn isn't shy about telling you who she is or what she can share with you: "I am a futurist. A trend-spotter. A cultural detective." Nor does she beat around the bush in relaying the importance of her theory: "Understanding EVEolution and implementing it ... means the difference between building healthy brands and profitable relationships with women ... or building a flimsy, fluffy foundation with no future." Her vision is large and her passion is palpable, and what she offers in EVEolution is an effective way to know and tap into the increasingly important and lucrative female market.

After establishing men and women are biologically and "shop-ologically" different, Popcorn delivers her central message--that there's a huge difference between a customer who buys your brand and one who joins it. The former is good for the moment, while the latter is good for life. Popcorn believes attracting and engaging the lifelong customer requires rethinking traditional marketing methods using her eight "truths" of marketing to women. These include making your brand a contributing and worthwhile member of the community you create; acknowledging that women lead multiple lives simultaneously--marketing to only one at a time is limiting for you and annoying for them; and remembering to be subtle--women think laterally and notice things peripherally. These and the five other "EVEolutionary" truths are followed by dozens of companies, most of which have gotten the point and are reaping the rewards of an effective brand.

Popcorn definitely has her finger on the pulse (or the popper), though this kind of slick analysis of our too-fast-paced modern age can sometimes get a little tiresome--like an extended session of navel gazing. But someone has to do it, and Popcorn's ability to spot the trends and spout the zeitgeist gives her a healthy leg up on the nonsavvy marketers out there. If you're one of them--and don't have a clue about the complexities of women and how to market to them--read this book. Popcorn will get you into shape in no time. --S. Ketchum