Study into the mindset of modern 20-something girls.

1. A new generation of Dutch girls

2. THE TARGET GROUP

3. 15 - 20 20 - 30 30 +
THE TARGET GROUP
Absolute number
986.586
% of Dutch populAtion
6%

4. ACCEPTED WISDOM

5. ACCEPTED WISDOM
‘WOMEN ARE NATURALLY ALTRUISTIC,
CARING AND FOCUSED ON OTHERS’
philippA roberts & JAne cunninGhAm, insiDe her prettY little heAD

6. OUR VISION

7. OUR VISION
GIRLS HAVE BECOME EGOCENTRIC

10. ‘I DON’T NEED A MAN TO RECTIFY MY ExISTENCE. THE MOST pROFOUND
RELATIONSHIp WE’LL EVER HAVE IS THE ONE WITH OURSELVES’
(SHIRlEy MAClAINE)
‘I BUY CLOTHES IN HUGE AMOUNTS. ESpECIALLY SHOES.
I THINk I HAVE ABOUT 70 pAIRS BY NOW. ’
(JEllA, 28)
‘THERE ISN’T ENOUGH WALL SpACE IN
NEW YORk CITY TO HANG ALL OF MY ExES’
(SAMANTHA, SEx AND THE CITy)

11. ‘I’M NOTICING THAT MY CAREER IS NOW LOWER ON MY pRIORITY LIST
AND THAT MY HOBBY LIFE IS GAINING VALUE AS A pRIORITY’
(EVElIEN, 26)
‘IT’S FUN TO BE A WOMAN.
IT’S FUN TO FLIRT AND WEAR MAkE Up AND HAVE BOOBS’
(EVA MENDES)
‘I WOULD LIkE TO SEE SO MUCH MORE OF THIS WORLD,
NOT ONLY A SMALL COUNTRY LIkE THE NETHERLANDS’
(KAREN, 22)

12. INDICATORS OF THE ‘ME-THINKING’

13. INDICATORS OF THE ‘ME-THINKING’
1. MORE FEMININE AMBITIONS
Girls nowADAYs hAve more feminine motives
AnD Are not hesitAte to express them

14. ‘YOU DON’T jUST WORk FOR YOURSELF,
BUT ALSO TO CONTRIBUTE SOMETHING TO THE WORLD’
(EVElIEN, 26)
‘I WOULD LOVE TO jUST BUY A HOUSE ON BALI,
START A SURFING SCHOOL THERE AND BE HAppY’
(VIVIAN, 25)
‘I COULD NEVER WORk IN THE BUSINESS WORLD. THAT IS TOO
MATERIALISTIC FOR ME. I WANT TO HAVE MEANINGFUL CONTACT WITH pEOpLE’
(AFANAISA, 24)

15. INDICATORS OF THE ‘ME-THINKING’
2. TRAVELLING AS A LIFE OBjECTIVE
for mAnY Girls, trAvellinG hAs become A sepArAte GoAl in life,
A wAY to Discover Yourself in A Different context
trAvellinG ALONE throuGh AsiA or AustrAliA hAs become verY normAl

16. ‘I WOULD HIT MYSELF IF I HADN’T SEEN MANY NICE pLACES IN THE WORLD.
THAT WOULD BE A pITY. IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL TO SEE DIFFERENT CULTURES.
I HAVE ALREADY BEEN TO THAILAND, LAOS, CAMBODIA, MALAYSIA
AND INDONESIA’
(VIVIAN, 25)
‘I REALLY WOULD LIkE TO TRAVEL. I HAVEN’T SEEN ENOUGH OF THIS WORLD YET.
I WOULD LOVE TO GO TO AUSTRALIA, SOUTH-AMERICA, NEW YORk. THERE IS SO
MUCH TO SEE OUT THERE’
(lARISSA, 27)

17. INDICATORS OF THE ‘ME-THINKING’
3. NEW FEMININITY
Girls Are not AfrAiD to show their feminine siDe AnYmore.
spenDinG A lot of time AnD moneY on Your AppeArAnce is
not somethinG to be AshAmeD of

18. ‘A FRIEND SAID TO ME: I THINk IT’S FASCINATING TO SEE HOW LONG
YOU ARE BUSY DOING YOUR MAkEUp. HOW LONG CAN IT TAkE?
I HAVE TO ADMIT I NEED MUCH TIME FOR THAT. I CAN EASILY SpEND
HALF AN HOUR ON ONLY HAIR AND MAkEUp’
(ESTHER, 24)
‘I LOVE CLOTHES. I FIND IT IMpORTANT TO ALWAYS WEAR NICE AND
NEW CLOTHES. AND I NEVER LEAVE MY HOUSE WITHOUT WEARING MAkEUp’
(VIVIAN, 25)

19. W
IF
E
A
N
D
M
1970
O
TH
ER
CA
RE
ER
W
O
M
2009
A
N
H
ER
SE
LF

20. THE pRESENT GENERATION GIRLS IN THEIR MID
TWENTIES IS THE BREAkING pOINT
THEIR MOTHERS WERE THE FIRST GENERATION
EMANCIpATED WOMEN
THE UpBRINGING OF THESE GIRLS IN COMBINATION WITH
RECENT DEVELOpMENTS IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT CHANGED
THEIR ATTITUDES

21. ‘WOMAN IS CONFRONTED WITH THE NECESSITY
OF EMANCIpATING HERSELF FROM EMANCIpATION,
IF SHE REALLY DESIRES TO BE FREE’
(EMMA GOlDMAN)

22. FACILITATORS OF THE ‘ME-THINKING’

23. FACIlITATORS OF THE ‘ME-THINKING’
1. pOST FEMINISM
the tArGet Group wAs rAiseD in times of the post feminism
A new kinD of empowerment, thAt is ADJusteD to the sociAl
context of present-DAY
cornerstones Are inDepenDence, inDiviDuAl choice,
(sexuAl) pleAsure, consumer culture AnD the reneweD
focus on the femAle boDY

24. FACIlITATORS OF THE ‘ME-THINKING’
SEx AND THE CITY
proGrAms like ‘sex AnD the citY’ plAY A mAJor role in
spreADinG the post feminism Girls mirror themselves
in the chArActers who’s lives consist of shoppinG,
lunch AnD GoinG out men Are chAnGeD like outfits

25. ‘HE WAS LIkE THE FLESH
AND BLOOD EqUIVALENT
OF A DkNY DRESS;
YOU kNOW IT’S NOT YOUR
STYLE BUT IT’S RIGHT THERE,
SO YOU TRY IT ON ANYWAY’
(CARRy, SEx AND THE CITy)

26. ‘I THINk IT IS BEST NOT TO BE
FINANCIALLY DEpENDENT UpON
YOUR pARTNER, SOMETHING THAT
MY MOTHER DID NOT MAkE SURE OF.
TO ME THAT IS VERY IMpORTANT’
(ROOS, 24)

27. FACIlITATORS OF THE ‘ME-THINKING’
2. FINANCIAL INDEpENDENCE
for increAsinGlY more women hAvinG An own
cAreer is self eviDent more AutonomY over finAnciAl
resources hAs teAcheD them to think for themselves

28. PERCENTAGE OF WORKING WOMEN bETWEEN THE AGE OF 15-64
source: wAGeinDicAtor.orG

29. FACIlITATORS OF THE ‘ME-THINKING’
‘A stuDY of euromonitor internAtionAl shows thAt women Are
DominAtinG expenses more AnD more
reseArch in 70 mArket seGments AnD 35 countries showeD thAt
eArninGs of women increAseD with 82% between 1971 AnD 2001,
while men’s eArninGs onlY increAseD with 11%
this hAs influenceD their control over expenDiture pAtterns’
source: molbloG.nl

30. FACIlITATORS OF THE ‘ME-THINKING’
3. BEING SINGLE IS Ok
the number of sinGles is still increAsinG
sinGles Are now sociAllY AccepteD

31. NUMbER OF SINGlES
source: cbs.nl

32. ‘FIFTY YEARS AGO WOMEN HAD ONLY
ONE THING TO DO: MAkE SURE TO GET
A MAN. LUCkILY THESE TIMES ARE BEHIND
US AND HE CAN BE HAppY IF HE CAN
DRAG US INTO HIS CAVE’
(COSMOPOlITAN)

33. NUMbER OF MARRIAGES
NOT ONly ARE THERE
lESS PEOPlE GETTING
MARRIED…
source: cbs.nl

34. MEAN AGE OF WOMEN AT THEIR FIRST MARRIAGE
…THIS AlSO HAPPENS
AT A HIGHER AGE
source: cbs.nl

35. FACIlITATORS OF THE ‘ME-THINKING’
4. CONTACT NOT LIMITED TO pLACE OR TIME
Girls in their miD twenties Are the first GenerAtion
to use these technoloGies heAvilY

36. FACIlITATORS OF THE ‘ME-THINKING’
severAl recent Developments like the internet AnD mobile
phones hAve AltereD the collectivistic wAY of thinkinG of Girls
thAnks to webcommunities like hYves AnD fAcebook An
eveninG Alone At home Does not implicAte loneliness
not onlY plAtonic but Also romAntic relAtionships cAn
be mAintAineD without leAvinG home

37. reseArch shows thAt there is A GAp between miD twentY AnD
miD thirtY Girls. the former Group mAkes siGnificAntlY more
use of the opportunities thAt the internet hAs to offer.
the internet is pArt of their DAilY lives. theY look for
informAtion AnD new relAtionship

38. the number of DAtinG sites in the netherlAnDs AnD other
countries is still increAsinG in A fAst pAce.
the internAtionAl web is slowlY becominG ‘A DiGitAl hiGhwAY to love’
source: DAtinGfActs.web-loG.nl

39. ‘SOMETIMES, WHEN I LEAVE MY CELL
pHONE AT HOME, I ALWAYS GO BACk
TO pICk IT Up. BECAUSE I CAN’T LIVE
WITHOUT MY CELL!’
(NATASJA, 23)

40. IMPLICATIONS FOR MARKETING
AND COMMUNICATION

42. IMPlICATIONS FOR MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION
‘WE-FEELING’ VS. ‘ME-FEELING’
• The ‘we-feeling’ has been replaced by a more individualisTic aTTiTude
• young women indenTify Themselves no longer wiTh a cerTain
Group theY miGht be pArt of, theY follow their own neeDs
• Therefore They should be approached as individuals insTead
of As Group members
• generalisaTions like ‘The wesTern woman’ are no longer relevanT

43. IMPlICATIONS FOR MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION
WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?
• iT is imporTanT To creaTe a clear and open adverTising
proposition thAt reflects exActlY whAt the ADDeD vAlue is for her
• girls wonder: ‘whaT’s in iT for me?’
• They aTTach less value To whaT oThers Think

44. IMPlICATIONS FOR MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION
WORD OF MOUTH
• wom has compleTely changed because of The inTerneT
• whereas opinions abouT producTs used To be shared only
within the own sociAl environment, consumers cAn now
use bloGs AnD review sites to GAin As much informAtion
As theY Desire
• This elemenT may Therefore noT be neglecTed in communicaTion

45. APPENDIX

46. APPENDIx
IN DEpTH INTERVIEWS
20 one hour interviews
with Girls between 22 AnD 28
About their iDeAs AnD Ambitions