Bauer Media this morning launched a Female Futures trends forecast, highlighting changing global cultural trends affecting society in years to come. The study, which was conducted in partnership with British forecasting consultancy The Future Laboratory, explains the importance of women as a market, an audience and a political force.
The well-attended breakfast was held at an event centre in Alexandria.
The event explored how brands and individuals need to adapt to the Female Futures that we are heading towards. Global-level changes in gender relations over the past 12 months are just one indication of how conversations around equality between men and women are shifting, with issues such as the gender pay gap and how brands communicate with women now playing a much more prominent role in organisations’ thinking.
Giving a detailed presentation at the event was Ruth Marshall-Johnson, foresight director, The Future Laboratory.
The audience also heard briefly from Bauer Media’s new director of sales Paul Gardiner.
Bauer Media’s CEO Australia and New Zealand, Paul Dykzeul, indicated the publisher was doing more than just making the right noises about equality and opportunity as he outlined how Bauer has put the business under a microscope and is working towards a Female Future, announcing:
• 10 Million Words initiative: A corporate promise to write 10 Million Words across its portfolio of premium cross-platform brands to support the drive for a Female Future.
• Story54: The introduction of Bauer’s new division that will deliver entertainment and storytelling for women, by women. Story54 will be led by general manager Jane Waterhouse, and brings together an expanded division of content and creative teams within Bauer Media to deliver insight-led storytelling for clients. Story54 has started with an award-winning campaign for Fiat. In addition, Story54 has created a cross-channel content series for premium brands like Tiffany, Google Pixel 2 and Lion Dairy.
• Print magazine innovation with a series of pop-up magazines speaking to new female audiences over the coming year.
• Womentolove: A new digital destination elevating women in the arts and celebrating the importance of creativity to bring about the Female Future.
• New data partnerships: With Quantium and ComScore to deliver richer targeting for advertisers across our diverse female audiences.
Photo [L-R]: Ruth Marshall-Johnson, Foresight Director, The Future Laboratory, Ally Watson, CEO Code Like A Girl, Sunita Gloster CMO Advisory, PwC and Australian Gourmet Traveller editor Sarah Oakes