Natalia Cazcarra, the founder of the only strategy consultancy for women in Spain: “We want to move the needle of the Ibex”.
8M is the annual event to remember the importance of ensuring equality between women and men at different levels of society. When analysing the progress made by women in recent years, it is common to do so from a business, political or social perspective. However, there are other particularly relevant areas, such as the field of consumption, where the road to real and effective equality still has obstacles to overcome.
According to Nielsen, by 2028, women will influence 75% of the world’s discretionary spending, and Boston Consulting Group points out that they influence 80% of the purchasing decisions made in the world. This growing trend motivated Natalia Cazcarra to found Her in 2021, the only strategic consultancy specialising in female consumption.
On the eve of 8M, the company’s CEO explains that brands must put more effort into connecting with women. “They cannot be a blind spot in the markets, the adaptation of women has been silent,” she explains.
Cazcarra -who worked for ten years at the SCPF agency, creator of BMW’s ¿Te gusta conducir or IKEA’s Bienvenido a la República Independiente de tu casa- considers that in Spain “this progress is going much faster than in other countries because the acceleration of education has been brutal. Eighty-two per cent of women are now better educated than our mothers. In other countries, this change has not been so rapid”.
Cazcarra points out that brands today have an opportunity to target female audiences.
The consultancy, made up of five professionals, has the permanent objective of “convincing traditionally male markets of the importance of moving the needle in the Ibex” and of transferring this fight to other countries.
Cazcarra points out that brands today have an opportunity to focus on the female audience, at a time when there are large consumption peaks, especially by young millennials. “If I treat everyone the same, I don’t get specific opportunities,” he says.
Eradicating pinkwashing
There are many brands that believe that if you target women you will lose credibility with men. This is not the case. You have to avoid labels. She thinks it is a mistake to apply aesthetic actions – known as pinkwashing – or to link the female public with the colour pink. In fact, according to research by the consultancy, 80% of women do not identify with this colour. “Many say they would rather be ignored than labelled,” says Cazcarra.
Her is responsible for recommending to well-known companies in-depth strategies to understand and connect with female audiences, applying the so-called Her filter, an acronym that stands for honesty, empathy and results.