Representatives from the Clinton Foundation’s No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project, Adweek, Forbes, Huffington Post, the 3% Conference and Pinterest Among This Year’s Panel of Judges
Winners to be Revealed at #BlogHer15: Experts Among Us, July 16-18 in New York City
NEW YORK – SheKnows Media, the number-one women’s lifestyle digital media company1 with 81.5 million unique visitors per month2 and 162 million social media fans and followers, today announced that it is launching the #Femvertising Awards to honor brands that are challenging gender stereotypes by building awareness-generating, pro-female messages and images into ads that target women.
There is strong evidence that women are looking to support brands that represent them more authentically
Brands and agencies of all sizes and across all industries who are creating campaigns that champion this generation of women and the next are encouraged to submit their work. The no-cost Call for Entries will remain open until April 28, and finalists will be announced on May 18. SheKnows Media will then let the public cast their vote for their favorite pro-female ad campaigns from among the award finalists. Click here to visit the online #Femvertising Awards page.
Winners of the inaugural #Femvertising Awards will be revealed on July 17 during the hallmark Voices of the Year ceremony at #BlogHer15: Experts Among Us, the world’s largest celebration of women content creators that draws more than 3,500 social media influencers, entrepreneurs, content creators, brand executives and industry luminaries.
“There is strong evidence that women are looking to support brands that represent them more authentically,” said Samantha Skey, SheKnows Media’s Chief Revenue Officer. “That, plus the confluence of so many other breakthroughs – from Always’ poignant #LikeAGirl campaign to the 10-year anniversary of Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign to women’s increasing wallet share and the widespread influence of organizations like Lean In and the 3% Conference – are all contributing to a profound shift in the way that advertisers market to women.”
Referencing a SheKnows Media Femvertising Survey3 that found 52% of women have bought a product because they like the way the brand and its advertising portrays females, Skey added, “The #Femvertising Awards pay tribute to advertising campaigns that eschew unattainable beauty standards and gender stereotypes, and are proving that doing right by women and girls can have a significant impact on the bottom line.”
Panel of Judges Includes the Clinton Foundation’s No Ceilings initiative, Forbes, 3% Conference, Huffington Post
To help determine this year’s #Femvertising Awards finalists, SheKnows Media is tapping into the following influential and diverse panel of judges:
- Nina Bahadur, Deputy Women’s Editor at Huffington Post
- Jessica Bennett, Journalist and Contributing Editor at LeanIn.org
- Roo Ciambriello, Contributing Editor at Adweek
- Kat Gordon, Founder of the 3% Conference
- Yasmeen Hassan, Global Director of Equality Now
- Caroline Howard, Senior Editor for Forbes
- Feminista Jones, Social Worker, Activist, Writer and Founder of Feministajones.com
- Lila King, Product and Partnerships at HLN
- Malorie Lucich, Head of Product Communications at Pinterest
- Terri McCullough, Director of the Clinton Foundation’s No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project
- Blake McKinney, Principal at latitude/The Richards Group
- Natalia Oberti Noguera, Founder and CEO of Pipeline Fellowship
- Alison Pincus, Co-Founder of One Kings Lane
- JJ Ramberg, Host of MSNBC’s “Your Business” and Founder of Goodsearch
- Nancy Spears, CEO of GenConnect
Kat Gordon, Founder of the 3% Conference, a social change movement championing more female creative leadership in marketing, said, “Women are the most important consumer group marketers have ever encountered in terms of influence and social sharing. Brands that are building deeper and more meaningful connections through ads that celebrate and inspire women win with all consumers – including an increasing number of men who see the value of gender equality. As an advertising creative director, I take this responsibility very seriously and am proud to invite other media-makers to submit their work for the #Femvertising Awards.”
“Movements like #Femvertising – which not only drive much-needed change in the advertising and media space but offer a significant payoff for brands that buy into the approach – have the power to shape and shift culture for the better. It is an honor to serve on the first #Femvertising Awards panel of judges with such an established group of leaders,” said Blake McKinney, principal of latitude/The Richards Group and a #BlogHer15: Experts Among Us advisory board member.
Girls Talk About the Impact the Media has on Body Image, Self-Esteem
Underscoring the importance of the #Femvertising movement is a new workshop and video produced by Hatch, SheKnows Media’s digital literacy program for kids. The Hatch team asked a group of teenage girls to comment on ads they often encounter onscreen and in print, and then to create self-portraits that show what they love best about their bodies.
What’s clear from the video is that the often unhealthy way the media portrays women and its impact on body image and self-esteem affects kids at very young ages. As one girl stated, “In the media, you see all these images of, like, the ideal body type and how you should be really skinny and look a certain way.” Another girl added, “It’s like you’ll look at pictures and say, ‘wow, I wish I had that body’ – but it’s not really possible.”
The video and downloadable discussion guide for parents and educators can be found here.
“While ads that objectify and feed into women’s insecurities are facing more and more scrutiny, the negative impact they have on society is alive and well and pervasive,” Skey said. “It’s crucial that we, as consumers and oftentimes parents, applaud brands who are taking a pro-female approach to advertising. That’s why SheKnows Media, whose mission is women inspiring women, is bringing campaigns that empower women and girls to light through the #Femvertising Awards.”
To learn more #Femvertising Awards and Call for Entries, visit http://skmfemvertisingawards.splashthat.com. More information about SheKnows Media and Hatch be found at corporate.sheknows.com.
1 comScore, Media Metrix, Multiplatform Lifestyles Category Ranking Reports, January & February 2015, U.S.
2 comScore, Media Metrix, Multiplatform Key Measures Report, February 2014, U.S.
3 SheKnows Media Femvertising Survey, September 2014
About SheKnows Media
SheKnows Media is the number-one women’s lifestyle digital media company with 81.5 million unique visitors per month (comScore, Media Metrix, Multiplatform Lifestyles Category Ranking Report, February 2015, U.S.) and 162 million social media fans and followers. The company operates a family of leading media properties that include SheKnows.com, BlogHer.com, StyleCaster.com, DailyMakeover.com, BeautyHigh.com and DrinksMixer.com. With a mission of women inspiring women, SheKnows Media is revolutionizing the publishing industry by forging a new kind of model that seamlessly integrates users, editors and content creators onto a single platform designed to empower all women to discover, share and create. Whether it’s parenting or pop culture, fashion or food, DIY or décor, our award-winning editorial team, Experts, bloggers and social media influencers produce authentic and on-trend content every day. We dig deep to learn what makes our audience tick, revealing unexpected insights on women and digital media. Our robust, end-to-end suite of premium branded content and influencer marketing solutions generate more than 2 billion ad impressions per month (sources: DFP and OAS), allowing brands to distribute authentic content and integrated advertising at scale.
SheKnows Media is based in New York and Scottsdale, Ariz., with offices in Los Angeles, Chicago and Belmont, Calif. We also operate internationally in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.
via Business Wire
