The Value of Talk research was commissioned by Bauer Media and conducted independently by specialist research company, Clear. It looks at who, what, when, where and how women talk, to gain greater understanding of how advertisers can join and influence the conversation. The research shows that defining what kind of friend to be, choosing the right group of friends to join and the ability to satisfy their conversational needs will influence talk and consumer choice.
It also reinforces the role women’s media brands with big personalities and strong opinions play in providing a springboard for advertisers to join the conversation in a strong and engaging way.
The research concluded that five key roles are played in conversation:
• Queen Bee, the direct and unquestioned leader in the conversation – she is independent, strong minded and with lots of outward confidence, friends look to her to organise things, take charge and make group decisions when they are unsure of what to do.
• Northern Star, the indirect but respected leader – she has a mind of her own, is highly influential and has strong inner confidence. She is not the loudest in the crowd, never forces her opinion, friends turn to her for advice and guidance as she is deeply respected.
• Socialite, the catalyst for conversation or new ideas – she is lively and talkative and her friends often see her as the ‘funny one’. She gets her energy from interacting with others and doesn’t enjoy spending time on her own, often socialising with many different groups.
• Little Sister, seeking support and guidance – she uses her friends’ feedback as a way to process her world and anxieties, often lacking inner confidence. She prefers to make her decisions after discussing it with friends and is happy to talk about her feelings openly.
• Social Listener, supporting and listening to others – she is often the glue that bonds a group. Her friends rely on her to listen to their feelings and support them when they have problems; she prides herself on being a good friend and puts others before herself.
The Value of Talk demonstrates many opportunities for advertisers to join and influence the conversation. Three main reasons for talking have been identified – affiliation, the need for bonding and belonging; mood uplift, for entertainment and escapism; and finally, a need to be ‘in the know’, to help make decisions. Amongst the five different roles, ‘Northern Stars’ have high levels of influence on others and are admired by their peers; ‘Social listeners’ are more likely to be influenced by others; and ‘Socialites’ have influence over a wide circle of friends.
The ambition for Value of Talk was to independently verify Bauer Media’s own understanding of women’s talk, the role media, particularly magazines, play in this conversation and how brands can use media to join and influence conversation. Bauer Media says it is already using this insight to further develop the “market-leading influence” of key brands like Grazia, more!, Closer and heat.
Jane Bruton, editor-in-chief of Grazia, Bauer Media said: “Women love to talk, this is nothing new. But what is new is the changing nature of this talk, as women’s roles in society, and conversation, continue to evolve. We focus our investment on giving each of our brands a strong personality, which in turn allows us to influence our readers’ conversation through opinion. This year for example, this insight helped us introduce more recommendations within Grazia. The impact has been extraordinary – we recommended the Whistles pleated skirt and within days it was a fashion must-have and created debate, even controversy, in national consumer media.”
Value of Talk also examines the role of media in a multi-platform world. It found that women interweave their media to help them navigate subjects, taking points of view and influence from different sources. Digital and social media provide immediate information and offer a sharing platform, whilst magazines offer interpretations and can help build, shape and test opinions.
Lucie Cave, editor of heat, Bauer Media said: “It’s incredibly important to keep the dialogue going between our readers and the heat brand. It works brilliantly on the heatworld Twitter when we tweet during various TV programmes, as we get instant feedback on what our readers are watching and liking. We re-tweet comments when they’ve said something funny, which is strong social currency as it shows they are accepted as part of the heat gang. Everything we do – on all levels of the brand – is so readers feel like they are part of the conversation.”
The Value of Talk research was conducted in August 2011. The methodology saw Clear interview 1,000 female UK consumers aged 18-44 years. These interviews were combined with insight from psychoanalysts and academics in the field of gender and communications, and Bauer Media’s insight from its multi-platform women’s brands, like Grazia, more!, Closer and heat.
