At Facebook HQ today, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the new and improved search engine tool “Graph Search” for Facebook.  This tool allows you to search for particular information within your social graphs.

The main goal of Graph Search is to return an answer, not list a bunch of links in the form of a web search. In the initial version of Graph Search there will be four main areas of focus: People, Photo, Places and Interests.  Bing has teamed up with Facebook to make Graph Search a unique and useful tool.

The improvements to the search engine will optimize the way we search for information on Facebook.  If you are in Chicago and want to find friends who live in the area to make plans, you can ask a question such as “Which of my friends live in Chicago?”  It will then pull up your friends listed in the area. The search engine tool is also able to rank your friends based on the interaction you have had with them, so the more interaction you have with your friends, the higher they will rank.

You are also able to search for things that your friends like. For example, you can search “My friends who like Smash and The Bachelor” to pull up a list of friends who have similar interests. It works the same way for the people search (which definitely will come in handy the next time you meet a really cute guy at Stacy’s party but cannot remember his last name). All you would do is search “People named Joe who are friends with Stacy”.

If you are thinking of trying out a new restaurant, you are able to view everyone who has been to that restaurant.  However, it would even better if you could also rank the quality of your experience – like you can on Yelp.  This way if a friend on Facebook can’t decide between two places to go, they can just check out the ranking as well on Facebook. Maybe this feature is coming in the future?

This update will most likely be a more resourceful tool for marketers than everyday users because; it will make it easier to find out the likes and interests of their target audience. This can then help make advertisements appear more personal and targeted toward the fans. On the upside for everyday users, it will make “Facebook stalking” much easier.

After testing out Graph Search I’ve noticed that the update is much more direct and saves time as opposed to the old search on Facebook.  Want to try it for yourself? The Graph Search Beta is currently limited but you can join the wait list to be one of the first users to test it out.

What do you think about the new Graph Search? Is it a helpful, useful tool for Facebook users and marketers alike?

There will always be those woman-only products that you can market without giving men a second thought:  maxi-pads, push-up bras, remedies for PMS, etc.  Similarly, some products can be marketed to men and men alone—aftershave, athletic supporters, and so forth. But as men’s and women’s roles become less rigidly defined, there are fewer and fewer such products.  This presents both new opportunities and new headaches for advertisers.

Case in point:  Miller beer.  Their Miller64, the lightest of the light beers, is considered by many men to be a “chick beer” (not to be confused with Chick Beer, an actual brand of beer marketed directly to women).  To give an idea of what Miller is up against in marketing Miller64, one YouTube commenter, having seen a 2009 TV spot for the beer, scoffed,  “Real beer for real men, none of that watery nonsense.”  Yet Miller apparently believes there is a male market for this beer, men who care about watching their weight.

So what to do? Scantily clad babes and he-man hunting trips will only turn off women consumers.  But many men are loath to even admit they count calories, let alone drink a “girl” beer.  Miller’s answer: hide the low-cal, light lifestyle message in a manly drinking song that sounds like something drunken pirates would bellow on the open seas.   The lyrics are modern enough:

We run a mile before breakfast
Sure, I had a salad for lunch
But a Miller 64 at dinner
Oh yes 'cause I've worked on my paunch

But the melody and the voices are pure testosterone.

The folks at Yoplait answered their man/woman marketing dilemma in a different way: they simply made two different commercials.   Today’s new dad doesn’t just mow the lawn and work on the family car.  He’s a kinder, gentler dad, who shops for groceries and even packs the kids’ lunches.  Which is why Yoplait needs not just one but two different spots for their Gogurt squeezable yogurt tubes.  One spot claims that “Moms who get it, get Gogurt,” and the other, “Dads who get it, get Gogurt.” 

Note, however, that despite their enlightened approach, Yoplait can’t quite resist falling back on the tried and true “clueless dad” trope; unlike the perfectionist, über-efficient Mom, Dad requires a full pad of sticky notes to remind him to pack Gogurt into the kids’ lunches, including one from his wife (who still knows best, after all). 

Clearly, when it comes to marketing one product to both men and women, advertisers are still feeling their way.   Is it possible to effectively market to women and men with one spot? Or do you think Yoplait has the right idea?

Here’s a fascinating, female-driven development in the car world: features that prevent wrinkles (in skin, not clothes, though a car that magically keeps your clothes from crinkling would be a great feature, too, wouldn’t it?)

This new, cosmetically clever car is called the Honda Fit She’s (currently only available in Japan). According to this article, its windshield blocks 99 percent of ultraviolet rays, which can damage skin. The climate control system is called “Plasmacluster” and it’s mysteriously skin-enhancing as well.

I love this idea, not in small part because it acknowledges women’s auto buying power. (Women are responsible for 68 percent of new car purchases.) And as someone who has benefited from other woman-driven car design decisions—like kid-mollifying DVD screens, added storage space, driver’s side visor mirrors, and beaucoup cup holders—I’m all for a skin-enhancing drive. It even accomplishes every busy woman’s favorite time-saver: multitasking. Instead of spending an hour in a facialist’s chair, I could just drive my Fit She’s to a meeting and kill two birds with one stone!

So, here’s what I’m not crazy about when it comes to the Fit She’s—the color.

Yup, it’s pink.

The car is also offered in brown, black and white, but its flagship model—and the only one you see in its marketing material—is a frosty, coral-pink.

Yes, I know pink can be powerful and I know real men wear pink but pink is also problematic. It’s every princess-obsessed little girl’s favorite color. It’s soft and sweet and infantile. And on a car, especially one named Fit She’s, it’s a man-repeller

That makes it a missed opportunity. I know plenty of men who enjoy extra cup holders and visor mirrors. They would also love a car that helps stave off leathery skin. But I don’t know a single man who would be comfortable driving a pink “for her” car. As a professional woman who’s well beyond her tween years, I don’t think I’d feel comfortable driving it either.

I’m bewildered by this method of catering to women. It ghettoizes us and alienates men. It’s the exact opposite of what we try to do here at Brogan & Partners. We are marketing-to-women experts but we don’t believe in “divide and conquer.” In fact, we know that thinking like women—and knowing how women think—is an important part of reaching both genders. Taking both genders seriously is a must, too. We do. Maybe the 2014 version of Honda’s skin-saving car will try to also.

When you think of “Centers of Excellence”, what comes to mind? I’d guess maybe highest quality. The best of the best. Specialized. Prestigious reputation. Esteem. That’s why when I heard Walmart was offering a Centers of Excellence program, it kinda stopped me in my tracks.  I thought the ultimate incongruity. I mean mini clinics are one thing, but this is ridiculous. Then I read on, learning that this Centers of Excellence program is for Walmart’s 1.4 million employees. A first-of-its-kind that will offer no-cost heart, spine and transplant surgeries at six of the nation’s most prestigious hospitals. Including the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic and Geisinger Medical Center. Employees  will receive 100% coverage, plus travel, lodging and food for the patient and caregiver.

I thought wow, how Walmart of them to negotiate bundled, volume-based value for their  health benefits. And positively brand-consistent to provide a one-stop-shop at these Centers of Excellence. To their credit, Walmart will also work with the six healthcare organizations to collectively share best practices collaboration. Kudos to Walmart for this innovation in healthcare value and delivery, as well as brand and employee morale boosting. Not to mention the six hospital partners who are boasting highest quality specialty care and outcomes at lower costs.

While we all hope not to be in the market for these healthcare services, we never know what lies around the corner. And Walmart's providing this Center of Excellence program makes me feel a little better about having them in the neighborhood. How about you?  

Evian has tapped into a brilliant and creative campaign that is a great example of marketing to women that engages online. The brainchild: babies. Now early in my career, I learned if you really want to break through, it’s a cheap trick to put a dog or a baby in your commercial. With it’s “Live Young” campaign, Evian campaign, gives new life to the baby angle.

Please, it’s water. Talk about a parity product. It’s a challenge to find that differentiator or to at least create one. But Evian makes the message memorable and expands on it through modern media vehicles. Using traditional mediums mixed with online video, user-generated engagement, Facebook and microsite, Evian breaks through with the video below but extends it all around the web and world. While it appeals to all people (as most marketing to women creative should), I think it especially appeals to women. We are the ones changing most of the planet’s diapers. We are the ones buying most of the face cream that fights crow’s feet. We are the healthcare decision makers who are trying to find new ways to keep our families healthy. Evian message resonates with us. It’s simple, clean and good clean fun. If you want a laugh, just add Evian to your Facebook newsfeed. 59 million likes can’t be wrong!

Want to see more, check out my first post in my series 20 examples of marketing to women that connects.