How brands can delight women in the Philippines

Brands aiming to design memorable customer experiences should look to easing everyday life problems of women, take advantage of technology and improve features and concerns that address particular female needs, while embracing women’s true potential and diversity.

These are among the interesting learnings and unmined opportunities from a recent gender study by Wunderman Thompson, called Filipina Forward, an update of the agency's first study, Filipina Next, in 2017.

Both studies sought to understand the country’s women as more than just a market segment defined by their roles and responsibilities, but as important figures in Philippine society, with their own achievements and aspirations.The 2021 research had two parts, a 500-respondent quantitative study followed by qualitative focus groups, across ages, varying income groups, and different areas, including the country's Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao island groups.

For brands looking to create potent and meaningful customer experiences for women including Filipina women, these are the top three learnings:

1. Help women achieve more by solving time-poor challenges

Filipinas today are highly appreciative of brands that develop products in a way that consciously considers the details inherent to the female experience. This includes solving for or easing women’s challenges and problems. These improvements and developments don’t have to be revolutionary all the time; They can simply be practical, easy ways to address any of the top everyday problems faced by women: managing people’s expectations, managing stress, having no direction or focus, finding opportunities and being time-poor.

Looking into the quantitative part of the study, the Grab app was cited by 58% of respondents as a “brand that identified with the needs of women”. In my personal life, the app was able to help facilitate a good birthday celebration for my dad, even in the midst of quarantine restrictions, by offering a pre-ordering feature of my dad’s birthday lunch. In addition, with the “what’s new” feature, I was able to zero in on his favourite foods, like Japanese treats, all while attending a meeting with my team, thus addressing my time-poor challenge.

Speaking of the daily challenge of being time-poor, learnings from the focus group yielded the following anecdote from a 37-year-old Filipina millennial from Metro Manila: “For the modern Filipina who works all day, then travels through traffic to get home, not needing to cook difficult meals or having aids to easily prepare meals for busy moms are much appreciated."

2. Use technology services and features to meet the needs and concerns of women—of all ages

Based on the 2021 study, Filipinas have seen how technology is not just for young people—it has become an invaluable tool for connection, information, and empowered participation in the world. Brands—especially technology brands—should consider how their online presence is being used even by older generations, and how services and features can be improved to address their particular needs and concerns. 

Some key quantitative data from the study on the role of technology for women in the Philippines include:

• 43% of Filipinas strongly believe they they are empowered by technology
• 31% of Filipinas strongly believe that technology has given them an edge
• 68% of Filipinas strongly believe that technology has made the world a better place (versus 36% in the 2017 study)
• 43% strongly believe that technology is as important as fashion to them.

As a 23-year-old Generation Z Filipina consumer from Luzon said in a focus group: “Now with technology, even women younger than us know how to use gadgets. It really makes everyday life easier”.

3. Create customer experiences that embrace women’s potential and diversity

The study also showed that Filipina women look for brands that support them in their pursuit of living a multifaceted life and don't subject them to traditional stereotypes. Another manifestation of this is supporting brands and local businesses that recognize the diversity of beauty among Filipinas. Half (51%) of Filipinas believe that the Filipina’s beauty is one of the many traits that make her unique. She is more than welcoming to messages that celebrate all the different ways that Filipinas can be beautiful.

“Inclusivity is important as we don’t just speak to one kind of person," said a 21-year-old Generation Z female from Cebu. "We want to be empowered in a sense that we want them to make us feel good about ourselves. We want them to show us how unique we can be. Difference [can] also be beautiful."

Modern Filipinas appreciate the diversity of Filipina beauty and are expecting brands to do the same. Brands that advocate inclusivity and cater to all kinds of Filipina beauty are the ones that will drive preference and loyalty.

At the end of the day, beauty is a strength the modern Filipina wants to benefit from. 35% of Filipinas feel that their “own insecurities” are barriers to their full potential. Brands then have an important role to play when providing more confidence that women need.

Pamela Garcia is executive strategic planning director at Wunderman Thompson Philippines.

With contributions from Sam Zetha and Rachelle Valera.