Woman in Car

When it comes to long trips, I’ve always been better at sleeping than driving. There’s something about a moving vehicle that rocks me to sleep. I’m almost certain that my parents must have used the “strap the kid into their car seat and drive them around the block until they fall asleep” method when I was a baby (despite their adamant denials).

Now whenever it’s time to head out on a road trip, my wife is usually the one behind the wheel a majority of the time. This is something that our parents had trouble understanding at first, because in their time the man was always the one behind the wheel, in control.

In the last 20 years, the role of women has been rapidly transformed. Sadly though, many misconceptions are still exist about women, and missing the mark.

Mark Penn is credited with the discovery of the “soccer moms” demographic during the 1st round of Clinton campaigning years ago. More recently in his book Microtrends, he points out that these soccer moms have evolved and are taking on more decision making roles in families, calling them “car-buying soccer moms.”

Michele Miller drove this point home yesterday, with Four Fallacies About Female Consumers, some statistics further proving the new role of women.

When it comes consumer electronics, women just don’t get it.

In 2007, the Consumer Electronics Associated reported that women outspent men on wireless gadgets and gizmos – $55 billion vs. $41 billion.

Women don’t purchase real estate unless they part of a couple or have a family.

The latest statistics from the National Board of Realtors show that in the last two years, 22 percent of all home purchases were made by single women.

Women aren’t into sports cars.

60% of BMW Z4 drivers are women.

Women can’t stand video games.

World of Warcraft, the mecca of global online gaming, reports that 30% of its ten million members are women. 

Do you know who’s driving your brand?