CHICAGO & BATTLE CREEK, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--During the Advertising Week New York conference today, representatives from IRI®, Kellogg Company (Kellogg) and the Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) #SeeHer initiative will present results of the first IRI study that links the depiction of women in advertising and sales results.
Kellogg is one of many companies involved with ANA’s #SeeHer initiative. #SeeHer aims to eliminate gender bias in media and promote more accurate portrayals of women through media and advertising. Kellogg submitted its Special K® “Own It” campaign to be evaluated with the ANA’s “Gender Equality Measure” (GEM™) score, which is used to quantify consumer reaction to the treatment of women in advertising and programming. IRI then leveraged its industry-leading measurement solution, IRI Lift™, to uncover correlations between the Kellogg advertisements’ GEM scores and its offline sales lift.
The groundbreaking study found a direct correlation between GEM scores and sales lift. Ads with the highest sales lift had the highest GEM scores, whereas ads that generated the lowest sales lift had the lowest GEM scores. Further, the Special K #SeeHer campaign generated the highest sales lift when advertisements appeared during commercial breaks of TV shows with above-average GEM scores.
By using GEM to effectively plan its Special K campaign, Kellogg outperformed IRI’s consumer packaged goods food category sales lift averages by more than 200 percent.
“This study provides solid evidence that embracing an accurate and positive portrayal of women in ad campaigns is beneficial for business objectives,” says Jennifer Pelino, senior vice president of the IRI Media Center for Excellence. “The results demonstrate the clear need for an individualized planning approach that incorporates GEM as a consideration for both the advertising content and context of where it appears.”
“The Special K brand is committed to encouraging women to embrace body confidence and leverage inner strength to succeed, which makes it an easy and critical decision to show women equitably in our marketing,” said Christie Crouch, director of Special K marketing. “While we believe it is the right thing to do in support of strong women, now we also know it is a positive business decision as seen in our partnership with #SeeHer and IRI.”
“This study once again proves that consumers care deeply about gender equality in advertising, and they reward the advertisers that get it right,” concluded Stephen Quinn, chair of ANA #SeeHer. “We are looking forward to sharing the results with marketers and the industry.”
Women are industry influencers for both the messages produced and the buying power they command. Study results amplify the pressure on marketers to join the growing #SeeHer movement by uncovering newfound financial incentives associated with higher GEM scores. This groundbreaking initiative shows the impact of marketing efforts made to more effectively speak to women through advertising, which has resulted in improvements to the bottom line and greater equality in media.
About IRI
IRI is a leading provider of big data, predictive analytics and forward-looking insights that help CPG, OTC health care organizations, retailers, financial services and media companies grow their businesses. A confluence of major external events — a change in consumer buying habits, big data coming into its own, advanced analytics and personalized consumer activation — is leading to a seismic shift in drivers of success in all industries. With the largest repository of purchase, media, social, causal and loyalty data, all integrated on an on-demand, cloud-based technology platform, IRI is empowering the personalization revolution, helping to guide its more than 5,000 clients around the world in their quests to remain relentlessly relevant, capture market share, connect with consumers, collaborate with key constituents and deliver market-leading growth. For more information, visit www.iriworldwide.com.
About Kellogg Company
At Kellogg Company (NYSE: K), we strive to enrich and delight the world through foods and brands that matter. Our beloved brands include Pringles®, Cheez-It®, Keebler®, Special K®, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes®, Pop-Tarts®, Kellogg's Corn Flakes®, Rice Krispies®, Eggo®, Mini-Wheats®, Kashi®, RXBAR® and more. Net sales in 2017 were approximately $13 billion, comprised principally of snacks and convenience foods like cereal and frozen foods. Kellogg brands are beloved in markets around the world. We are also a company with Heart & Soul, committed to creating three billion Better Days by the end of 2025 through our Breakfasts for Better Days global purpose platform. Visit www.KelloggCompany.com or www.OpenforBreakfast.com.
About #SeeHer
Despite the strides made to accurately portray women and girls in media, an unconscious bias persists against women and girls in advertising, media and programming. The Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) launched the #SeeHer initiative in June 2016 in a partnership with The Female Quotient (TFQ) at the United State of Women. #SeeHer’s mission is to increase the accurate portrayals of women and girls in media 20 percent by 2020, the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote in the U.S. The group developed a Gender Equality Measure (GEM™) to track progress and the marketing effect of removing unconscious bias from ads and programming. High GEM™ scores directly correlate to improved ROI. GEM™ became the industry standard in the U.S. which led to a global rollout in mid 2018. For more information, visit www.SeeHer.com, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
About the Association of National Advertisers (ANA)
The ANA makes a difference for individuals, brands and the industry by driving growth, advancing the interests of marketers, and promoting and protecting the well-being of the marketing community. Founded in 1910, the ANA provides leadership that advances marketing excellence and shapes the future of the industry. The ANA’s membership includes more than 1,000 companies with 15,000 brands that collectively spend or support more than $400 billion in marketing and advertising annually. The membership is comprised of more than 750 client-side marketers and 300 marketing service providers, which include leading agencies, law firms, suppliers, consultants and vendors. Further enriching the ecosystem is the work of the nonprofit ANA Advertising Educational Foundation (AEF), which has the mission of enhancing the understanding of advertising and marketing within the academic and marketing communities. For more information, visit www.ana.net, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, or join us on Facebook. For more information visit www.SeeHer.com.
