This month, we couldn’t help but explore the representation of women across media in our Pin•Points That Matter. We’re an eclectic mix of women, yet none of us truly felt like we were authentically depicted across most brands out there – and we interact with a lot of brands! So we put on our detective hats and uncovered we weren’t the only ones.
89% of women claim responsibility for daily household shopping – Capital One, 2023
And 76% of women are more likely to buy from brands that feature people who look like them – AARP, 2023
Yet, 51% of women between 18-49 years old say they rarely or never see themselves in media at large – AARP, 2023
And only 20% of women in all age brackets feel women over the age of 50 are positively portrayed in advertising – AARP, 2022
This data shows us that the people most responsible for daily shopping are perhaps the least represented by the brands they are shopping from. And that’s a problem! Especially when we know women are more likely to purchase from companies that share their values and speak to their needs. Hence the importance of deeply understanding who your customer is and rolling up your sleeves to find out. Fun fact: there’s no one who likes to roll those sleeves up more when it comes to learning about women than the PinPoint crew!
In this month’s Pin•Points That Matter, we’re exploring women’s wealth. What we found was, well, quite the dichotomy to say the least. We were shocked by the story this data revealed, but also not surprised:
As of 2023, women are directly or indirectly responsible for 80% of all consumer purchasing decisions – Capital One, 2023
And over the next 20 years, women will inherit up to $128 trillion in what’s being called the Great Wealth Transfer – Ellevest Women and Wealth Survey, 2024
And only 48% of women are confident about their finances, even less so only 28% feel empowered to act – Bank of America, 2022
This data tells us that it’s crucial to listen to and prioritize women in consumer purchasing decisions. Companies that fail to do so will risk significant harm to their brand, no matter what industry they fall into. From real estate to sports & entertainment to pet supplies and RTD beverages – no matter what industry you fall into, the data is shows a need to listen to your female audience. Now’s the time to uncover what they need from a brand, a fan experience, a pet store, or an RTD package design. Who’s ready!?
May is Women’s Health Month, but April sure did bring a lot of health care chatter to our PinPoint world (hence the Pin•Points That Matter post below). What’s fascinated us in these conversations is how often the caregiver keeps making her way to the focus.
That being said, it shouldn’t be all that surprising. Just within the past year, 43.5 million caregivers have provided unpaid care to an adult or child. And of those 43.5 million, 75% are women and may spend as much as 50% more time providing care than men. If we dive even deeper, studies have indicated that 36% of female caregivers handle the most difficult caregiving tasks (i.e., bathing, toileting, and dressing).That’s compared with 24% for their male counterparts, who are more likely to help with finances, arrangement of care, and other less burdensome tasks.
Maybe There’s a Better Way
We know, we know… we talk a lot about gender disparities.But when it comes down to understanding the whole human – whether we’re helping a client design a new banking function or the future of their community library – unpacking these behaviors makes a big difference..
Here’s an example. We’re designing that library for a community whose primary patron is a mother. We learn in research that she takes care of her own small children and her aging parent. That means we might not design the library as a place to linger. This mother has a lot on her plate.Quite honestly, she may not even be able to think about getting out of her car because of the time and effort that one task alone might take. This library needs to function more like a drive thru or a pick-up locker at Target. Perhaps it’s even an intimate, calming escape where she can read in solitude away from her caregiving duties at home.
Experience Empathy
One of the most profound activities we’ve done within the healthcare space is what we call an Empathy Experience Workshop (Bonus, this practice can be applied to any industry.) We bring together internal leaders to experience firsthand what it’s like to live a day-in-the-life of their patient and caregiver – a way to build empathy at its deepest level. It looks and feels a bit like role playing, but with unexpected twists and turns:
The group divides into pairs
One team member takes on the role of the patient
The other their caregiver
We go out into the real world (ie. a grocery store)
Each is instructed to perform tasks and carry out specific behaviors in this public venue
The patient may unexpectedly drop a gallon of milk in the middle of the store. (Yes, this actually happened!)
The caregiver has to respond with onlookers at the fringe.
Or mid-aisle, the caregiver may suddenly abandon the patient (with eyes closed to resemble blindness) to take an unanticipated, but urgent,call.
These small, dynamic moments, when experienced firsthand, build a level of empathy that goes far beyond listening to a caregiver speak, watching a patient testimonial, or describing a ‘Betty’ persona out of a static deck.
Empathy in Action
We live for this type of work. With data like the above pointing to the need for caregiver-centric design in healthcare, there is no better time than now to build new levels of empathy – and show up for women where they need it most. Whether you are a caregiver, a patient, a healthcare leader, or know someone (in any industry!) looking to build empathy in a memorable way, please reach out. These experiences matter. They forever change the way we see the world through someone else’s eyes. We want nothing more than to share those perspectives over our go-to cup of coffee.
Women’s health has been a hot topic around our office this month, so we spent some time digging in to unpack the gender disparities between men and women in this space. Of course we knew there would be some shocking statistics out there, but what we learned was even more surprising than we anticipated.
Women spend 25% more of their lives in debilitating health than men, and are under diagnosed for certain conditions – Harvard Health Publishing, 2019 Women spend 11% of their income after tax on healthcare, compared to men who spend only 7% – Capital One, 2023 Women of all ages pay a total of $15.4 billion more than men on annual out-of-pocket medical expenses. In 2021, that meant women paid about 20% more than men and only 2% of which could be accounted for by maternity care – Deloitte, 2023 Yet, women weren’t included in clinic trials until 1993 – National Institutes of Health And a survey of medical residents found that 58% had received one lecture on menopause in their training and 20% had received no menopause training whatsoever – Mayo Clinic, 2019
This is the kind of information that makes us want nothing more than to dig in and understand not only the WHY, but what how this is affecting the 169 million women in our country. If you, too, are interested in the state of women’s health and looking for someone to share all the feels with, let’s grab a cup of coffee.
It’s a special month for us at PinPoint – International Women’s Month celebrating both International Women’s Day on March 8th and Women’s History Month. So, for this month in ‘Data That Matters’, we decided to look at some facts associated with women-owned businesses!
We always knew there were gender gaps in business ownership and subsequent finances, but the numbers were even more astounding than we anticipated.
Long story short, there are still a lot of challenges women have to face as business owners in the United States. Yet, us women owners have the potential to transform the economy and our society. The more these facts are shared, and known, the more our society can progress as a whole.
Looking for more data that matters? Check out our Instagram.
It’s HERE – we’re officially kicking off International Women’s Month on Friday, March 1st with our 5th annual Women’s Month Calendar!
What the heck is ‘International Women’s Month’ you might ask? Well, March 8th, 2024 is #internationalwomensday in which International Women’s Day celebrates women’s achievements, raises awareness about discrimination, and takes action to drive gender parity.
Our inaugural International Women’s Month came to be in 2020 and every year since, we’ve released a calendar highlighting a different task to give, support, and receive acts of kindness throughout the month of March.
Our goal is not to add any more to our already full plates, but rather take this month to be intentional and carve out small, sometimes cheesy, moments each day to reflect and celebrate meaningful women and allies in our lives.
This month in ‘Data That Matters’, we’re taking some time to unpack the perspectives of GenZ women as this generation grows to over 20% of the US Population.
What we found was some stark differences in the gender perspectives across GenZ.
44% of GenZ Women say availability of abortion is a very big problem in America, compared to only 29% of GenZ Men – Survey Center on American Life, 2022 64% of GenZ Women say affordability of healthcare is a very big problem in America, compared to only 54% of GenZ Men – Survey Center on American Life, 2022 65% of GenZ women say gun violence is a very big problem in America, compared to only 46% of GenZ Men – Survey Center on American Life, 2022 Yet, 66% of GenZ Women believe that what happens to women in the US will have a bearing on their own lives, compared to only 36% of Boomer Women – Survey Center on American Life, 2022 AND, 72% of GenZ Women believe there are too few women serving in “high political offices,” whereas less than half of GenZ Men said the same – Pew, 2023
There are stark differences in these perspectives and beliefs. If women continue feeling a lack of representation from the decision makers who determine their livelihood, we’ve lost hope in our future. It’s time to listen. It’s time to show up. It’s time to give these women a seat at the table.
Looking for more data that matters? Check out our Instagram.
We’re talking financial literacy – because so few are! And these facts matter!
Only 51% of women worldwide achieved the minimum or higher target score for financial literacy – Global Financial Literacy Excellence Centre, 2021 Yet, 66% of heterosexual households report having a woman breadwinner in the US – Swiss Re Institute, 2021 AND, to add onto that, just 20% of female breadwinners say they were ‘very well prepared’ to make wise financial decisions compared to 45% of their male peers – New York Times, 2013
At PinPoint, we believe not only in the power of data, but that we need to do something with it. We’re here for the conversation, the transparent salary talks, and initiatives that put women at the center of financial discussions. Join us by signing up for our Research Voices Database.
Looking for more data that matters? Check out our Instagram.
One of our favorite kinds of interview activities is a ‘This or That’ series of questions. Packaging Options: This or That (i.e. Bottled or Boxed Water), Product Value Descriptors: This or That (Convenience or Customization). Our ‘This or That’ replies often include ‘Reveals’, or hidden content that we pull back the digital whiteboard curtain on. Reveals spark responses. Charlei Hebron, PinPoint’s Research Voices Manager, applies a five-second rule to ‘This or That’ reveals: no overthinking allowed. (We’re looking at you, the 73% of 25 to 35 year-olds and 52% of 45 to 55 year-olds who are prone to overthink.) Ashley Mendelsohn, PinPoint’s Strategist says, “More than a surprise & delight moment, ‘reveals’ often solve the common issue of research participants overthinking responses. Time and time again, dramatic reveals prompt gut reactions that are more genuine (and enjoyable!).”
How people pick what’s top-of-mind supports how we approach strategic insights. Their responses pinpoint the essence of what drives their decision-making. That essence may not be something they can easily name. But, somewhere in the nuance of ‘This or That’, people’s five senses come to life. Their choices uncover their WHOLE lifestyles, where psychographics triumph over demographics.
In our work, we admire companies and founders who position (and sometimes reposition) the essence of their brands’ identities. When brands differentiate their essence, they give people a reason to believe. People know what’s in it for them. We need more brands to do THIS. THAT’s what people actually want.
How might we identify essence, what some call the soul of a brand? What might have been called the ‘‘It Factors” and “Secret Sauces” now show up as “vibes” and “aesthetic cores”. So whether it is about cozy vibes and cluttercore, or back to the It Factor and Secret Sauces, essence can become elusive, like access to a public secret. We believe IYKYK can feel more inviting, open, and human. Less cottage core and more core values. Like something you can truly sense.
As PinPoint enters 2024 – our sixth year in business! – we’re leaning into essence as a sense, a sixth sense. There’s the hard-wired five senses. (You know the ones, the drivers behind sensory marketing in the nostalgia economy.) And then there’s that deep-wired sixth sense of what makes you stand out in a uniquely positive way.
A sense of authenticity A sense of time A sense of direction A sense of perspective-taking (or PinPoint value) curiosity A sense of savvy A sense of justice A sense of culture A sense of magic
What’s your sixth sense? How will it show up in 2024? In essence, will this support your branding strategy? Or, in a sense, will that widen your lens across the year ahead? Let’s reveal the possibilities over an e-coffee.
This year, PinPoint decided to change things up. Instead of sending PinPoint swag out into the world, where it might likely end up in a drawer or landfill, we knew we could do better. We started PinPoint to make a positive impact in the world and it’s because of our friends, our family and the change makers who choose to work with us that we are able to do that day in and day out.
So this year, we chose to donate $2,500 towards women-owned small businesses that matter to the communities who make PinPoint… well PinPoint! On Wednesday, December 20th, we asked our community to tag a women-owned small business that mattered to them on our Instagram. This year, we are so proud to divide our pool amongst thirteen incredible women founders to kick off their 2024.
Some of the organizations are also near and dear to PinPoint, but there were many others we are learning about for the first time and beyond grateful for! Below is the list of all the women-owned businesses PinPoint contributed to for our 2023 holiday gift. We hope you take a minute to parse through each organization – we hope you, too, are amazed by the contributions these women are making in the world.
abar.x – master brow artist and educator Beatrix & Co – funky, feel-good candles for vibrant people Be A Heart – bringing the beauty of your faith into your everyday life Black House Farm – values using sustainable and inclusive practices to provide high quality products and promote personal and community health Creations of Rae – luxury hair care services for the everyday woman Commonspace Collective – bringing commonspaces to life with the coolest local pop up and workshop experiences Head Hi – a space for exploration and interaction that hosts talks, book launches, art shows, and music performances in Brooklyn, NY Lena Rose Beauty – Chicago’s first green beauty spa & shop Packed With Purpose – corporate and personal gifts with a social impact Shift Dance – an international dance platform connecting the world through movement smptr – going beyond “Press” to position your brand for more The PR Alliance – building legacies and inspiring positive change one story at a time The Silva Whisk – bringing your sweetest dreams to life through the medium of cake or other baked goods The Write Malloy – helping great women write great nonfiction
Thank you to all the people in our network for joining in on this year’s gift. We appreciate you & cannot wait to see what this year brings, together. Cheers to a successful 2023 and an even more impactful 2024!
