Women to control $15 trillion of global consumer spend by 2014

At the same time they will control $15 trillion - 70% - of total global consumer spend says the Boston Consulting Group.

In the Middle East alone, women will control $383bn of the region's wealth by next year.

These were just some of the insights revealed about this crucial consumer demographic during the fourth annual GMR Marketing to Women Conference held recently at the Grosvenor House, Dubai.

The sell out event, organized, by Mediaquest Events, was sponsored by Choueri Group, Bashayer Investment Co, Yahoo Maktoob and Damas.

Nearly 200 marketing professionals from across the region gathered to hear a panel of expert speakers address and analyze the key issues and trends that influence women's purchase decisions.

Keynote speaker was US based gender-marketing guru and author of Marketing to Women Marti Barletta who outlined the different, physiological approaches to purchasing between men and women.

Men she says are linear thinkers and more likely to prioritize or focus on single purchase.

"They prioritize the important things", she told the delegates.

Women, through combining the roles of motherhood, wife and often career, continually multitask therefore maximize all shopping opportunities.

"They prioritize the important things and the extras. They will go the extra mile to get it 'just right', she added.

Turning more specifically to women in Saudi Arabia, TNS consultant, Stuart Campbell Morris chartered the evolution of brands from commodity, through to badge of identity. We are now in the era of brand of as relationship he told delegates.

He also described the profound change in attitudes and aspirations among women in the Kingdom since the accession of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, His Majesty King Abdullah whose social change initiatives are slowly reshaping their role in society.

Marketers should feature women as the central subject of their advertising as they are achieving more success and are therefore more open to authoritative scenarios and accomplishment.

Robert Taylor Hughes, managing director, Nivea Group tackled the sometimes tricky topic of teen girls.

Referencing Nivea's new teen range Angel Star as a live case study he reminded the audience just how important the 'Wow;' factor is in all teen-related communications. Mass social media, including an American Idol style contest to find the face of Angel Star and striking in store displays underpinned the launch of this new range he added.

Kraft MEA's managing director Vishal Tikku reminded delegates of the importance of building trust in brands. Echoing Campbell Morris's earlier advice he said that brand communication needed to strike a balance between entrenched usage habits and the changing mindset of Saudi women.

More than 40% of private wealth in Saudi Arabia is owned by women which offers a huge opportunity for the financial services industry as long as it communicates with women in meaningful, relevant way said Al Rajhi Bank, general manager Yusuf Jehangir .

"Females that are in the bankable age represents almost 46% of the total female populations," he said adding that 96% prefer Islamic products.

Anthony Ponsford, country general manager, L'Oreal Middle East examined the break neck speed of mall development across the region and its impact on the luxury sector.

"Malls are open access academies of social distinction' he said. Brands he added should cultivate a more qualified awareness and make experiential relationship breakthroughs at the point-of-sale.

Monica Shina, group PR manager - Brand PR AP&P, Procter & Gamble Gulf talked the audience through the powerful influence of peer group word-of-mouth advocacy on mothers.

Some 5 million moms around the world blog each week she said.

In the Arabian Peninsula alone there are 900,000 moms online, out of MEA internet usage of 57 million users of which 70% use social networks so the power of social media cannot be ignored.

Unilever Gulf's marketing director, Home and Personal Care, Kenneth Lingan retraced the history of 50 year the Sunsilk brand.

The brand, he said had lost its identity throughout the years due to the volume of range extensions and innovations. Without a clear USP the range no longer connected with the target market.

A new marketing strategy of collaborating with hair experts helped the brand redefine its core message and regain the trust of consumers he said.

Concluding a day crammed with insight and research CEO of VLCC International Sandeep Ahuja emphasized the growing importance of the burgeoning wellness sector which has seen spas and salons move beyond cosmetic and indulgence into more holistic wellness centers embracing weight management and nutrition as well.

"Genuine consumer connection is the ultimate goal for any brand but the influence and impact of independent consumer advocacy via social media networks means that marketers have to work much harder to achieve that goal," said Siobhan Adams, managing editor Gulf Marketing Review.

"Marketers in the Middle East however have an even harder task due to the complexity and wide variance in ethnic and social demography across the region. We hope that GMR conferences help in this task."

Alexandre Hawari, Co-CEO Mediaquest Corp added that Mediaquest Events had committed significant resources behind the GMR conference programme which would see the addition of more specialist seminars and workshops later in the year.