Posts tagged ‘pink’
the Pink Lady has divided the tackroom
Katie Price (aka Jordan) is about to launch her own ‘KP Equestrian’ range of riding gear. It would be fair to say that this has divided the horsey world into two camps:
1) oh-for-gods-sake
and
2) pink and sparkly things!!!!
For any woman whose riding wardrobe (and that of their horse too) is based around a pink-and-girly theme (and trust me, there are quite a lot of them out there) this is great news. I tend to fall into the anti-pink camp as my colour scheme is black and white, which given my big, black horse does occasionally result in my being mistaken for a mounted policewoman, but that’s surely better that than channelling Barbie Goes Riding.
However that’s not the real reason everyone is huffing and puffing – Ms Price is apparently going to do a Dressage to Music demonstration at this year’s Horse of the Year Show. She has a very talented horse, but its widely acknowledged that she’s not that experienced a rider. Despite what the tabloids might tell you, I’m about as likely as she is to make the 2012 Olympic dressage team.
The cause of all this t’interweb grumbling seems to be that just because she has a new brand to promote its OK for a sub-standard rider to be allowed to perform at this very high profile event. Its like putting Hermione-off-Harry-Potter’s A-Level Art coursework in the D&AD annual.
So its going to be very interesting to see how this new range does in terms of shifting product. I’m sure Jordan/Katie will get lots of publicity for her new brand (and the book/underwear/perfume/reality TV juggernaut that is her career) out of it, but I’m not sure how many women want to ride around living the brand in glorious velour neon pink.
However one post on a horsey forum did suggest that perhaps she’ll solve the eternal problem of finding a really supportive bra to ride in…
Don’t just think Pink #2
A new report from Saatchi & Saatchi (perhaps following up on Trendwatching’s female fever report) reveals that women feel ‘patronised’ and ‘offended’ by the abundance of pink technology products aimed at women and that only 9% of those questioned felt it was important that gadgets look feminine.
But how does that explain why Woolworths say this phone (the Samsung S400i in Plum) 
was its best selling handset last Christmas, shifting nearly 30,000 of them. And yes, it comes with its own lip gloss.
Woolies apparently also sold 12 times as many pink Playstation 2s as black models.
I think the answer lies in not seeing the entire female population of Britain as one homogenous audience. Yes, some women do love pink sparkly gadgets, while others place sleek, stylish looks and usability higher up their priority list.
Manufacturers and retailers need to cater for both of these groups – and all the rest too, from the techno-joy gadget chicks to the had-to-ask-my-husband-how-to-switch-my-phone-on contingent.
It’s a case of horses of courses again – and you’d be amazed at the amount of pink sparkly stuff some very embarrassed horses are currently trotting round wearing…
Marketing to women? Don’t just think pink.
Trendwatching.com has a female fever report on its August trend briefing – but the thing that most struck me was that the majority of the female-friendly products were pink.
Personally, I don’t feel the need for a pink taxi, pair of trainers or pink gardening gloves as I’d much rather the key selling point was that the products were designed for my size, health and security needs than simply covering it all in a coat of pink.
