The next time you watch TV or streaming video, read a website, or scroll through social media, spend an extra second looking at the ads and commercials. Who would you say the majority of the creatives are speaking to? Would it seem obvious to you that women are responsible for 80% of all purchasing decisions in U.S. households, helping to account for an astounding $31.8 trillion in spending power worldwide? 

Despite the purchasing power of this audience, only 29% of women believe they are accurately represented in advertising and 90% of them feel that advertisers don’t understand them, according to research conducted by business intelligence company Morning Consult.

That’s a huge problem for marketers and not just because of valid concerns about inequity and underrepresentation both on the screen and behind the scenes. It’s about making smart choices. Simply put, the failure to recognize and engage women as key audiences and critical go-to-market investments is a failure to drive greater business growth.

In honor of Women’s History Month, Quantcast gathered an accomplished panel of female executives from traditionally male-skewing industries for an in-depth panel discussion about this that was co-sponsored by The Female Quotient and hosted by dentsu in New York City in mid-March 2023.

Here are some of the highlights, followed by the complete video of the event: 

  • “When we look at advertising, culture, and media, it’s very much a reflection of who we are and how we view ourselves as a society,” said Ronda Carnegie, Chief Innovation Officer, The Female Quotient. 
  • “Between 2011 and 2021, the number of women drinking beer has increased 12%, which is four times faster than men. So the idea that women don’t drink beer — those days are over,” said Josephine (Fien) Bertrams, Senior Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Heineken USA.
  • “In the month of January 2023, we had more women betting than in the entire year of 2021. Women are sports fans and sports betting is a form of entertainment. It feels scary at first, but there’s not that barrier that everyone assumes. Being able to do it digitally on your phone has opened it to everybody,” said Jennifer Matthews, Vice President of Brand Strategy, FanDuel Group.
  • “According to Statista, two-thirds of women are self-proclaimed sports fans. And you’re seeing them not only as fans, but as engaged participants in sport on social media. And for brands, that’s important – that’s where the audience is. I also found that 80-90% of women sports fans don’t feel like they’re being properly spoken to by brands. This is where the data and AI part comes in. This is an opportunity for us to really personalize and customize messaging. That’s what I’m excited about in this space,” said Leah Meranus, North America CEO, dentsu X.

Watch the full recording of the event here:

Coming out of this discussion, the good news is that we have the data, insights, and advanced technology like AI and machine learning to understand our audiences and engage across our connected lives. We can all learn about our customers and speak to them in an authentic and meaningful way – as long as we rely on each other to continue to push the envelope and change the conversation.


Ready to understand and engage with women audiences across the digital ecosystem? Contact us to get started.