Summer 2023: Women, Marketing & The Global Economy
November 30, 2023
Written By:
McCall Moore
When I told my parents I was going to major in digital art, my decision was met with echoing questions:
“What even is that?”
“How are you going to make a living?”
Now 10 years out of college and as the Senior Digital Art Director at Karsh Hagan, I understand that these questions aren’t far from what we hear from prospects and clients on a daily basis.
“What is digital art, and how can it help our brand’s advertising strategy?” Let’s start from the top.
What is Digital Art?
Digital art is an artistic work or practice that uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentation process.
Digital art is all around us. It’s everywhere we look. From movies like Pixar’s ‘Toy Story’ to apps like Instagram, digital art has introduced modes of storytelling that were once impossible, making it a valuable and limitless tool for advertising.
Why is Digital Art a Successful Marketing Tactic?
Now, more than ever, we’re a visually driven society. It’s no coincidence that we’re naturally drawn to images, when you consider that 90% of the information processed by the brain is visual, and that our brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text. The brain’s preference for images even impacts how memory is formed as 80% of people remember what they see, compared to 20 percent of what they read. That makes digital art an especially important tactic for brands looking to create a campaign that’s as efficient as it is impactful.
What is the Difference Between Digital Art and Traditional Art?
When it comes to advertising, the difference between digital art and traditional art is simple. There are no gatekeepers. Anyone with a phone in their pocket and a little bit of creativity can create and share their art. Unlike the billboards or magazines of the past, online apps allow artists to instantly publish their work for free for all to see.
The success of digital art within that context comes down to ROI. Delivering the highest return on your investment requires the ability to measure, analyze, and adapt your strategy – it requires the ability to learn. Digital art is iterative and efficient – allowing us to easily track engagement rates that let us fail fast, tweak, and refine. We can then use that information to employ data-proven digital art across all marketing channels, ultimately delivering a product that best serves your brand and your audience.
How You Can Use Digital Art In Brand Advertising
At Karsh Hagan, we have used our understanding to create beautiful and effective marketing campaigns for our clients. For VISIT DENVER we created an immersive world that targeted convention planners all over the country. We created three unique videos, using 2.5D animation. These videos were seen by over 462,610 people and counting! Check out the work here:
At Karsh Hagan, we have used our understanding to create beautiful and effective marketing campaigns for our clients. For VISIT DENVER we created an immersive world that targeted convention planners all over the country. We created three unique videos, using 2.5D animation. These videos were seen by over 462,610 people and counting! Check out the work here:
It’s been quite a summer in the media and advertising world — from the release of the highly anticipated Barbie movie to the resounding success of Beyonce’s Renaissance World Tour and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, all the way to the Southern Hemisphere for the Women’s World Cup — the entertainment landscape saw a surge in both excitement and spending. What’s even more significant is the role that women played in driving these economic changes, underscoring the importance of marketing to this influential demographic.
There’s been a ton of noise between all the events of the summer, but as marketers, our question is always the same: what’s the through line? While there are multiple variables involved in all the success here, there’s two worth noting: women and fun.
Since 2020, marketing and advertising, across the board, have felt so serious — and rightfully so.
After the reckoning of 2020, it wasn’t enough for companies to just talk the talk. Gone are the days where consumers are happy with just a great product; they want to know that their money is supporting a company that stands for the same values they do. The summer of 2023 felt like the first time in a long time that marketing campaigns were fun again — and life was fun again.
Although, this time around, fun wasn’t synonymous with frivolous.
What was so powerful about the ‘Barbie’ movie, or the Eras Tour and Renaissance World Tour, is they express the full multidimensional experience of being a woman today. Take, for example, my favorite ad of the entire year: France’s ad for the Women’s World Cup, blatantly and overtly calling out the gender bias in sports viewership, while simultaneously showcasing how powerful the women of the team are. That’s something we haven’t seen much of when we look at traditional advertising — for too long, so many brands have talked to women in a one dimensional way; in other words, shrink it and pink it.
Yet, women control or influence over 80% of consumer spending. We saw a complete renaissance (no pun intended) in women’s marketing this summer, particularly in how women are talked to and represented. Why is that so important? Well, for a myriad of reasons, but the top of that list is the monetary influence of this audience.
And to cap all of that, the success of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour is projected to generate nearly $5B for the US economy, with Swift’s three night stint in Houston boosting hotel occupancy rates more than the NCAA men’s Final Four per a local tourism agency.
All in all, the events of the past summer crystallize the pivotal role women play in shaping consumer trends and ultimately driving economic growth. Women’s consumer spending isn’t just sizable — it’s influential.
As more and more industries tap into the importance of marketing to women, they tap into a demographic that not only drives economic growth, but also exerts substantial influence over cultural narratives and consumer preferences. The events of this past summer vividly underscore the role of women as both pivotal consumers and trendsetters within the global economy.
Case in point: the unmissable (even if you really wish you could miss it) Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce phenomenon.
After Swift’s first appearance at a Chief’s game, ESPN,The NFL, Chiefs, and Sportscenter all doubled down and pumped out Swift related content — a bit of a godsend for a league that’s been trying to reach women for years — for the 48 hours after; If you went on the internet between 9/24 and 9/30, you probably saw content about it. What you likely didn’t see? The impact from the 48 hours after (per Front Office Sports):
Even more absurd? After a photo surfaced of Swift eating ketchup and ‘seemingly ranch’, Heinz rolled out its newest concoction of, you guessed it, ‘ketchup and seemingly ranch’.
Marketing to women *checks notes* works. Extremely well.
