9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Like a lot of people around the world, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 earlier this summer[br]my friends and I were obsessed 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 with the Women's World Cup held in France. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Here we are, watching[br]these incredible athletes, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the goals were amazing,[br]the games were clean and engaging, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and at the same time, outside the field, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 these women are talking about equal pay, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and in the case of some countries,[br]any pay at all for their sport. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So because we were mildly obsessed,[br]we wanted to watch the games live, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and we decided that one of[br]the Spanish-speaking networks in the US 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 was the best place for us to start, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and it wasn't until a few games[br]into the tournament 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that a friend of mine[br]talks to me and says, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "Why does it feel like[br]everything I'm seeing 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is commercials for makeup and[br]household cleaning products and diets?" 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It did feel a little bit too obvious, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I don't know if[br]we were sensitive about it 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 or the fact that we were watching[br]with men and boys in our lives, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but it did feel a little bit too obvious 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that we're being targeted for being women. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And to be honest there's nothing[br]necessarily wrong with that. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Someone sat down and looked[br]at the tournament and said, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "Well, this thing is likely[br]to be seen by more women, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 these women are Hispanic[br]because they're watching in Spanish, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and this is women content. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Therefore, this is a great place for me[br]to place all these commercials 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that are female-centric[br]and maybe not other things." 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If I think about it as a marketer, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I know that I absolutely[br]should not be annoyed about it, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because this is what marketers[br]are tasked with doing. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Marketers are tasked with building brands[br]with very limited budget, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so there's a little bit of an incentive 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to categorize people in buckets 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so they can reach their target faster. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So if you think about this, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it's kind of like a shortcut. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 They're using gender as a shortcut[br]to get to their target consumer. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The issue is that as logical[br]as that argument seems, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 gender as a shortcut[br]is actually not great. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 In this day and age, if you still[br]blindly use a gender view 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 for your marketing activities, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 actually it's just plain bad business. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'm not talking even about the backlash[br]on stereotypes in advertising, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 which is a very real thing[br]that has to be addressed. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'm saying it's bad business because[br]you're leaving money on the table 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 for your brands and your products. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Because gender is such an easy thing[br]to find in the market 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and to target and to talk about, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it actually distracts you[br]from the fun things 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that could be driving growth[br]from your brands, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and, at the same time, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it continues to create[br]separation around genders 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and perpetuating stereotypes. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So at the same time this activity[br]is bad for your business 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and bad for society, so double whammy. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And gender is one of those things[br]like other demographics 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that have historically been[br]good marketing shortcuts. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 At some point, however, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 we forgot that at the core[br]we were targeting needs 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 around cooking and cleaning[br]and personal care and driving and sports 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and we just made it all a bucket and[br]we said, "Men and women are different." 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We got used to it and[br]we never challenged it again, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and it's fascinating to me 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and by fascinating I mean[br]a little bit insane 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that we still talk about this as a segment 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 when it's most likely carryover bias. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 In fact, I don't come[br]to this conclusion lightly. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We have enough data to suggest[br]that gender is not the best place 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to start for you to design[br]and target your brands. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And I would even go one step further: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 unless you are working in[br]a very gender-specific product category, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 probably anything else 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you're hypothesizing about[br]your consumer right now 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is going to be more useful than gender. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We did not set up to draw[br]this conclusion specifically. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We found it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 As consultants, our job[br]is to go with our clients 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and understand their business 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and try to help them find spaces[br]for their brands to grow, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and it is our belief that if you want[br]to find disruptive growth in the market, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you have to go to the consumer 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and take a very agnostic view[br]of the consumer. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You have to go and look[br]at them from scratch, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 remove yourself from biases and segments[br]that you thought were important, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 just take a look to see[br]where the growth is. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And we built ourselves[br]an algorithm precisely for that. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So imagine that we have a person[br]and we know a person 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is making a choice[br]about a product or service, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and from this person, I can know[br]their gender, of course, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 other demographics, where they live,[br]their income, other things. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I know the context where[br]this person is making a decision, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 where they are, who they're with, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the energy, anything, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I can also put[br]other things in the mix. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I can know their attitudes, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 how they feel about the category, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 their behaviors. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So if you imagine this kind of blob[br]of big data about a person, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'm going to oversimplify the science here 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but we basically built an algorithm[br]for statistical tournaments. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So a statistical tournament[br]is like asking this big thing of data, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "So, data, from everything[br]you know about consumers at this point, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 what is the most[br]useful thing I need to know 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that tells me more[br]about what consumers need? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So the tournament is going[br]to have winners and losers. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The winners are those variables,[br]those dimensions, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that actually teach you[br]a lot about your consumer, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that if you know that,[br]you know what they need, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and there's losing variables[br]that are just not that practical, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and this matters because[br]in a world of limited resources, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you don't want to waste it on people[br]that actually have the same needs. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So why treat them differently? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So at this point, I know,[br]suspense is not killing you, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because I told you what the output is, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but what we found over time 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is, after 200 projects around the world,[br]this is covering 20 countries or more, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in essence we ran about[br]a hundred thousand of these tournaments, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and, no surprise, gender was very rarely[br]the most predictive thing 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to understand consumer needs. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 From a hundred thousand tournaments, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 gender only came out[br]as the winning variable 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in about five percent of them. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 This is true around the world, by the way. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We did this in places where[br]traditional gender roles 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 are little more pronounced, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and the conclusions were exactly the same. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It was a little bit more important,[br]gender, than five percent, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but not material. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So let's let that sink in for a second. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 No matter how you're looking[br]at a consumer, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 most likely anything else is going[br]to be more interesting to you than gender. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 There's probably something very important[br]you need to know about them, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and you're getting distracted because[br]you're doing everything based on gender. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And that's why I say you're leaving[br]money on the table. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Gender is easy. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It's easy to design advertising[br]based on gender, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it's easy to target people online[br]and on TV based on gender. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But at the end, that's not where[br]the exciting growth will come from. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If you're a food company, for example, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it's actually much more interesting to you 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to know where people are eating, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 who they are eating with, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 are they very nutritionally oriented. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 All of those things are actually[br]significantly more powerful and useful 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 than knowing if a person[br]is a man or a woman. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And that matters, of course, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because then if you're putting[br]your limited budget into action, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 then you're better off creating[br]solutions for different occasions 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 than trying to target women[br]versus young men. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Another example if alcoholic beverages. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Thirty-five percent to 40 percent[br]of consumption in alcoholic beverages 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 around the world actually[br]happens with women, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but, you know, "women don't drink beer." 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Those are the things[br]that we typically hear. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But actually, when a man and a woman are,[br]for the most part, in the same location, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the emotional and functional needs[br]they have at that moment 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 are very similar. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 There's only one exception, by the way, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and the exceptions exist, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 where if you have a man and a woman 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 on a date, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the man is trying to impress the woman 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and the woman is trying[br]to connect with the man, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so there's going to be[br]a little bit of tension, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but that's important to know. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We'll take a few dates. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Financial institutions: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that's something where we've heard 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a lot about the difference[br]between men and women, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but actually talking about[br]men and women as different 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 actually is distracting you[br]from the thing that is underneath. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We made it so simple[br]as "women don't like to invest," 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "women hate managing their money," 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "men are great and aggressive[br]and risk-takers," 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but at the end it's not[br]about men and women. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It is actually a different narrative. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It is about, there are people[br]that are excited and energized 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and educated to manage their finances 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 versus people that are not. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So if you change the conversation 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 from men and women[br]to actually what's underneath 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 then probably you'll stop being[br]so condescending to women 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and you may start serving some men 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that are actually shy[br]about managing their finances. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'll leave one more example. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If I go back to the women[br]that were playing sport at the beginning, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 one of the fascinating things we found 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 over different countries 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 exploring sportswear 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that if a person is a competitive person 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and they are in the moment of action, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the needs are not different[br]between a man and a woman. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 An athlete is an athlete. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It doesn't matter for men and women,[br]it doesn't matter for old and young, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you are an athlete, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and in the moment of action[br]and extreme competition, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you need this gear to work for you. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So these soccer-playing women have[br]a lot in common with their counterparts. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Out of the field, it doesn't matter. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Out of the field, they may be[br]into fashion, into other things, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but on the field, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the needs are not different. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So these are just a few examples[br]on categories where we found 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that gender was not the best place to go, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and actually the argument is that 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 at this point it's not even[br]a feminist push, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it's just we got used it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We got used to using gender, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and it's important for us[br]to start finding ways 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to measure other things about consumers 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so that we don't revert back to gender. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I am not naïve, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I know there's still[br]going to be appetite 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and certain ease around using gender, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but at least this warrants conversation. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 In your business, you have to inquire, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is this really the best lens[br]for me to grow. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So, if you are, like me,[br]a person that is in business 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that I am constantly worried[br]about what is my role 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in the broader societal discussions, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 if you're listening to your business 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and you hear things like, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "Oh, my target are women,[br]my target are men, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 this goes to young girls, young boys," 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 when it's that gender conversation, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 unless you are working, again, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in a very specific,[br]gender-specific product category, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 take this as a warning sign, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because if you keep[br]having these conversations, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you will keep perpetuating[br]stereotypes of people 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and making people think[br]that men and women are different. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But because this is business,[br]and we're running a business 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and we want to grow it, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 at least kind of challenge[br]your own instinct to use gender, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because statistics say that you're[br]probably not choosing the best variable 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to target your product or service. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Growth is not easy at all. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 What makes you think[br]that growth is going to come 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 from going into market[br]with such an outdated lens like gender? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So let's stop doing what's easy[br]and go for what's right. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 At this point, it's not just[br]for your business, it's for society. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Thank you. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Applause)