The She Spot
Encyclopedia
The She Spot is a 2008 non-fiction
book about how nonprofit and advocacy
organizations, politicians, and other change-makers can leverage the untapped power of women for positive change through fundraising
, advocacy and the ballot box
.
The She Spot incorporates real-life case studies of marketing
campaigns from the corporate world, as well as from non-profit and advocacy organizations, that successfully appealed to women, and offers specific steps and actions organizations can take to communicate with women more effectively.
and Lisa Chen
are executives at Fenton Communications, a public interest communications firm with offices in New York, DC, and San Francisco.
Lisa Witter is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. She head the firm's practice in women's issues and global affairs. She is a political and social commentator and blogger.
Lisa Chen, Senior Vice President, is the firm's head editor and writer. Her writing has been published in the New York Times, USA Today, the Boston Globe, the San Francisco Chronicle, and other leading dailies.
. Women vote more, volunteer more, and control more than half the wealth in the United States. They are 52% of the population
and make 83% of all purchasing decisions. Nonetheless, organizations and individuals in the business of making positive change have been slower than corporations to understand and take advantage of women's power.
The She Spot features examples from corporations such as Home Depot, T-Mobile
, and Kellog's, and from non-profits like MoveOn.org, Women for Women International
, and the American Lung Association
. These case studies, along with bulleted highlights lists at the end of each chapter, make this a practical, usable guide for individuals and organizations.
coverage, as well as reviews in several print publications. Publishers Weekly
writes that the authors "present their material efficiently and engagingly... Witter and Chen have crafted a thoughtful, helpful guide to nonprofit marketers." The Chronicle of Philanthropy
wrote a review entitled "Non-profit and Political Groups Need to Learn How to Market to Women."
Several notable progressives have commented on the book. Arianna Huffington
called the book, "Smart, engaging and eminently useful." Naomi Wolf
said, "This book may up-end some of your long-held assumptions of what makes women—and men—take action, and will help you re-assess how the personal affects the political." George Lakoff
, a cognitive linguist who has published work on political communication, called it, "A important book that aptly describes the role that communicating care plays in effective progressive politics."
In addition, the book has been featured by prominent progressive online media. Salon.com
, a progressive online magazine, wrote a review entitled "Why political candidates should be sucking up to women." AlterNet
, a progressive news and opinion site with over 1.7 million visitors per month, excerpted the book in June. Feministing
posted a positive review, which said, "I'm excited to think about the ways in which The She Spot might influence politicians and nonprofits." BlogHer
also posted a feature on their site.
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
book about how nonprofit and advocacy
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...
organizations, politicians, and other change-makers can leverage the untapped power of women for positive change through fundraising
Fundraising
Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies...
, advocacy and the ballot box
Ballot box
A ballot box is a temporarily sealed container, usually square box though sometimes a tamper resistant bag, with a narrow slot in the top sufficient to accept a ballot paper in an election but which prevents anyone from accessing the votes cast until the close of the voting period...
.
The She Spot incorporates real-life case studies of marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
campaigns from the corporate world, as well as from non-profit and advocacy organizations, that successfully appealed to women, and offers specific steps and actions organizations can take to communicate with women more effectively.
Authors
Lisa WitterLisa Witter
Lisa Witter is the co-author of The She Spot: Why Women are the Market for Changing the World and How to Reach Them and is partner and Chief Change Officer of Fenton Communications, the largest public interest communications firm in the country.-Political and Communications Work:Lisa is the...
and Lisa Chen
Lisa Chen
Lisa Chen is an American editor and writer. She is a former reporter with the San Jose Mercury News, has been doing public interest communications for the past 10 years for clients including the National Urban League, the New York Academy of Medicine, Physicians for Human Rights, Blue Shield of...
are executives at Fenton Communications, a public interest communications firm with offices in New York, DC, and San Francisco.
Lisa Witter is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. She head the firm's practice in women's issues and global affairs. She is a political and social commentator and blogger.
Lisa Chen, Senior Vice President, is the firm's head editor and writer. Her writing has been published in the New York Times, USA Today, the Boston Globe, the San Francisco Chronicle, and other leading dailies.
Message
The primary message of The She Spot is that women aren't a niche market, they are the market for social changeSocial change
Social change refers to an alteration in the social order of a society. It may refer to the notion of social progress or sociocultural evolution, the philosophical idea that society moves forward by dialectical or evolutionary means. It may refer to a paradigmatic change in the socio-economic...
. Women vote more, volunteer more, and control more than half the wealth in the United States. They are 52% of the population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
and make 83% of all purchasing decisions. Nonetheless, organizations and individuals in the business of making positive change have been slower than corporations to understand and take advantage of women's power.
The She Spot features examples from corporations such as Home Depot, T-Mobile
T-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
, and Kellog's, and from non-profits like MoveOn.org, Women for Women International
Women for Women International
Women for Women International is an international organization advocating for women's rights.-Organization and mission: is a humanitarian organization that provides financial and emotional support to women survivors of war. Their programs help women achieve self-sufficiency through direct aid,...
, and the American Lung Association
American Lung Association
The American Lung Association is a voluntary health organization whose mission is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease.-History:...
. These case studies, along with bulleted highlights lists at the end of each chapter, make this a practical, usable guide for individuals and organizations.
Contents
- Chapter 1: Why Women Matter - This chapter gives key statisticsStatisticsStatistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
about why women are the primary change makers and shows how their influence is growing.
- Chapter 2: How Women Think - This chapter explains why and how women think differently from men and how this impacts marketing strategies.
- Chapter 3: What Women Want - This chapter lays out the 4Cs - Care, Connect, Cultivate, and Control - and explains why women's priorities are in line with progressiveProgressivismProgressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
social change goals.
- Chapter 4: Care - This chapter explains how women care about the issues and how change makers can reach women by showing that they care too.
- Chapter 5: Connect - This chapter discusses marketing tools that rely on women's sense of communityCommunityThe term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
and the importance of connecting people.
- Chapter 6: Cultivate - This chapter details the kind of energy it takes to win women's support and the benefits from doing so.
- Chapter 7: Control - This chapter explores the ways in which marketing can be attuned to women's busy lives and their desire to have control.
- Chapter 8: Where to Reach Women - This chapter talks about the crucial venues for reaching women, based on research and statistics.
- Chapter 9: Segmenting - This chapter looks into three segments of the female market: single women, mothers, and women of color.
Press
The She Spot has received significant internetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
coverage, as well as reviews in several print publications. Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
writes that the authors "present their material efficiently and engagingly... Witter and Chen have crafted a thoughtful, helpful guide to nonprofit marketers." The Chronicle of Philanthropy
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
The Chronicle of Philanthropy is a biweekly newspaper that covers the nonprofit world. Based in Washington, DC, it is the top news source for charity leaders, foundation executives, fund raisers, and other people involved in philanthropy...
wrote a review entitled "Non-profit and Political Groups Need to Learn How to Market to Women."
Several notable progressives have commented on the book. Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington is a Greek American author and syndicated columnist. She is best known as co-founder of the news website The Huffington Post. A popular conservative commentator in the mid-1990s, she adopted more liberal political beliefs in the late 1990s...
called the book, "Smart, engaging and eminently useful." Naomi Wolf
Naomi Wolf
Naomi Wolf is an American author and political consultant. With the publication of The Beauty Myth, she became a leading spokesperson of what was later described as the third wave of the feminist movement.-Biography:...
said, "This book may up-end some of your long-held assumptions of what makes women—and men—take action, and will help you re-assess how the personal affects the political." George Lakoff
George Lakoff
George P. Lakoff is an American cognitive linguist and professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1972...
, a cognitive linguist who has published work on political communication, called it, "A important book that aptly describes the role that communicating care plays in effective progressive politics."
In addition, the book has been featured by prominent progressive online media. Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
, a progressive online magazine, wrote a review entitled "Why political candidates should be sucking up to women." AlterNet
AlterNet
AlterNet, a project of the non-profit Independent Media Institute, is a progressive/liberal activist news service. Launched in 1998, AlterNet now claims a readership of over 3 million visitors per month .AlterNet publishes original content as well as journalism from a wide variety of other sources...
, a progressive news and opinion site with over 1.7 million visitors per month, excerpted the book in June. Feministing
Feministing
-Purpose and audience:Valenti began Feministing in 2004 while working at the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, where she felt that young feminists were being excluded from feminist discourse. She describes Feministing's purpose as "a way to get through the mommy filter" and make feminism more...
posted a positive review, which said, "I'm excited to think about the ways in which The She Spot might influence politicians and nonprofits." BlogHer
BlogHer
BlogHer refers to a group blog and online community, and to an annual blogging conference for women. Three of the 2005 conference organizers, , , and , began a company, Blogher LLC, which in 2006 also began a blog ad network...
also posted a feature on their site.