Murray Hill Institute
Special Edition Newsletter
June 2005
Volume 2, Number 2

Three panel presentations formed an important part of the Conference on Saturday since they addressed Advertising, the Media and Image, which are key areas in forming the public image of the contemporary woman.

The speakers on the Advertising Panel were Don Ziccardi, and Jeffrey Buchman. Both speakers emphasized that marketers are trying to listen to, and to understand the women that are their target. In a brief analysis of change in advertising for women in the last 20 years, Mr. Ziccardi concluded that the woman of today has entered “an era of unprecedented customization” and is ready to shop anywhere from Neiman Marcus to Target to make an individual statement about who she is. Mr. Buchman demonstrated with examples that advertisers have realized that they have to treat women with respect in their images in order to attract their interest as consumers.

Representing the Media were Elizabeth Weinstein, Joseph Warren, and Isabel Gonzalez. Elizabeth Weinstein was able to report that there are many women in important roles at the Wall Street Journal, including the Pulitzer Award winning publisher, Karen House, which naturally affects the way women are portrayed. She recommended that readers send letters and e-mails to reporters if we read something we don’t like, or have suggestions to make. She assured us that the consumer is listened to, and it is our responsibility to comment. Joseph Warren, from A&E Television Network, represented the visual media community and challenged the television industry to come up with still better material and programs to air. He held out some good role models from television in the past and some hope for the future, drawing our attention to the recent coverage of the death and funeral of John Paul II. Isabel Gonzalez emphasized the role of real teens in the magazine Teen People for contributing information and as models in the fashion and beauty pages (rather than professionals) so that readers can identify with the images they see.

The Image Panel consisted of Justina McCaffrey and Beverly Karnell, both designers, as well as Debra McCabe, a marketing director. Justina McCaffrey gave us a view of the industry from the inside, telling us of the difficulties of the life of a model and how they appreciate being treated with respect. She also has discovered among her consumers that women are drawn to the romantic side of the beautiful and are happy to have options in fashion that represent modesty and dignity without sacrificing the fashionable. Beverly Karnell gave us the history of her clothing line which started as a small accessory business. She was inspired by a love of fashion and art which still pervades her work. Debra McCabe talked about the creation of an Image for a company, which needs to portray “Quality, Leadership and Fashion” in order to sell a product or product group to women concerned with Fashion.

Two common threads emerged from these diverse discussions: (1) The fashion and media industries are prepared to listen to what women want, and (2) there is a lot of hope for the future as the image of “Woman” provided by these industries seems to be evolving to a more dignified, complex and intelligent being.