Men Cannot Understand Women

Just like how women cannot understand why men are so obsessed with video games or are able to differentiate between 8,000 Ultraman characters but struggle with naming lipstick colors; why they can eat the same barbecue rice every day and watch One Piece from middle school to middle age; or how their bodies, which are in their 30s, can only handle behavior, mental and spiritual maturity of a three-year-old.

How can we expect a “three-year-old man” to understand women?

For example, it may be difficult for men to understand why the TV commercial (TVC) created by the company OuLa, which airs on CCTV, resonates with so many female viewers.

The female protagonist travels down the road of life with a somewhat lost expression, and her inner voice is saying: “Is being busy for work and family all that my life is about? No, I love dancing, so I will dance. I have dreams, so I will pursue them. Rotate for self-pleasure and become a better me.”

This OuLa brand TVC aired on CCTV has had a total view of 46.68 million, 90.37 million on Douyin hot list, and the Weibo hashtag #live out your center# has reached over 550 million in reading volume. From a marketing standpoint, it has achieved a single-point explosion and platform-wide diffusion.

Girls like to share and discuss their stories when they transfer comments and likes with their friends online, and through this process, they can be encouraged by others and provide encouragement to others. Because this may be the self-questioning, pumping, and questioning process they go through in their hearts at certain times.

On the other hand, male friends across the strait are full of cross-border confusion: Is it because spinning in circles makes you happy? If so, why not do it more often?

The barrier is the lack of understanding. The window for women to rotate carefreely in their lifetime is only one, which is probably before the age of seven.Then, early on, people embrace their social roles, fulfilling the expectations of society and being educated by these roles. From being a good daughter, wife, and mother, to being a good student, employee, and cadres, bearing multiple social roles.

Every role is defined by its relation to others and is also defined by others. From seven to seventy, it is arranged clearly throughout all stages of life. Women are caught in a dilemma, with one side being a developing female consciousness, and the other having no possibility of building an independent personality.

General principles are easy to express, but women are no longer dependent on anyone. However, when faced with real choices, women are still automatically put in a secondary position, taking on more household work and responsibility, rarely being chosen as the subject and achieving greater freedom or power, or just understanding and recognition.

Few people will truly say to women that you should prioritize yourself, it’s not your task to wash the dishes, you can center yourself, rotate, and be a little selfish. You don’t have to be a good daughter, wife, or mother, ‘just be you,’ enjoy happiness, enjoy life, enjoy your own choices.

This is perhaps the inner voice of women, and it is exactly what this TVC seeks to convey. Women feel understood, not necessarily empathized, but seeking support and tolerance, relaxing in a strict world and giving respect to the individual.

Surprisingly, this TVC that sees the predicament of women and speaks up for women is planned by an automobile brand. After all, besides Karl Benz creating the world’s first car for his wife in 1886, the car industry has been almost the most masculine industry in the world for more than 130 years.

Moreover, Euler loudly proposed to become a “car brand that loves women more.”

Shouting such demands really takes courage.

Euler was not established specifically for women at first.

Otherwise, it should be called Marie Curie or Wilma Rubin, rather than a male mathematician’s name.

However, last year, Euler made a strategic adjustment, determining the positioning of “a car brand that loves women more,” opening up a new path in the industry for women’s cars and creating a new category of women’s cars, becoming a pioneer in the women’s car industry.

First, this is because they see the rapidly changing consumer trends.

Data shows that there are nearly 400 million female consumers in China currently, with annual consumption spending of up to 10 trillion yuan. More than 60% of Chinese households’ consumption is led by women. At the same time, the consumption capacity and economic foundation of independent women are getting stronger and stronger, with the proportion of first-tier and new second-tier city women independently purchasing houses reaching 20.9% and 17.9%, respectively.Under the overall market trend, women’s demand for car consumption is also on the rise. From 2016 to 2020, the proportion of female drivers increased from 27.2% to 32.4%, and the population of female drivers has reached 150 million. Moreover, more and more young women are beginning to own their first cars.

According to data from the China Automobile Dealers Association, in 2020, 22.28% of women increased their consumption in the automotive field, surpassing men’s rate of 22.00%. Although the difference is only 0.28%, it is the first time since 2010 that women have surpassed men in car purchasing and consumption.

More data is unnecessary, as the market speaks for itself. Many brands are trying to capture the trend of “she economy” and have launched an array of wild “women’s cars” with configurations and color schemes tailored for women.

However, there are few brands like ORA that focus on adding “more love for women” to their definition, because from a business perspective, this entails a significant risk, especially for cars.

On the one hand, if a car is strongly tied to a female label, it may discourage many men. Men are still the main consumption force in the automotive industry, and for brands, this may be an opportunity cost.

On the other hand, as a large-scale business, the automobile industry seeks to find the greatest common factor among consumers. The industry’s business model usually relies on providing different optional features to support various consumer demographics, to achieve wide availability.

Therefore, the industry consensus is never to label products with female traits, let alone doing so on the brand. ORA’s “pioneer spirit” is truly courageous.

Secondly, ORA’s judgment of the market and unique thinking are key reasons for their focus. ORA’s chairman, Dong Yan, pointed out that “we were not so determined at first, this was a difficult choice, and a significant decision.”

Abandoning the mass market and focusing on the female consumer group was due to observing changes in business logic. Today, brands that meet the demands of only a subset of people have been proven successful in various vertical segments and cultural fields, and can become top brands.

In a market with extremely rich and highly homogeneous products, offering differentiated strategies provides a new era for the industry. The automotive industry is no exception. “In the past, everyone was thinking about how to serve old and young, men and women, hoping that one product could dominate the market. Today, it’s not about winning big, it’s about winning small but specialized.” The more focused, the more chances of success.Adding strategic height and route determination, Euler and other casual “female cars” show the difference from the bottom up. And they are capable of putting this idea into practical action:

First, they get rid of the perspective of the “male gaze” and redefine the product.

Many “female cars,” like bad Valentine’s Day gifts, such as those LVs that frantically add “love” elements to classic old flower bags, are not female needs, but male perceived female needs.

For this reason, Euler established a special research team for female users and created a set of exclusive solutions for women. For example, based on female ergonomics and combined with big data on female back width, the seats are redesigned and molded so that the seat back can fit better with female body types and sitting postures, providing better wrapping and support. There is also the steering wheel, adjusted to better fit the size of a woman’s hand, with a diameter of only 370mm, for easier gripping.

This kind of engineering reshaping based on female physiological parameters is not only rare in the auto industry but also not common in large consumer categories.

For example, in sports brands, Lululemon, which many wealthy women love, released new shoe products designed specifically for women in March this year. The biggest innovation is a new shoe last designed from scratch for women. In the past, many women’s shoes used shoe lasts that were based on modified men’s shoe lasts. The new shoe last design is based on data from millions of women’s shoe shapes, improving the fit of the shoes and making it easier to walk.

Starting from scratch means cost, but it also means sincerity. This is always a good dimension to measure “true love.”

At the same time, the research on genuine needs is reflected in the details, giving women full respect. For example, Euler designed the “Warm Man Mode.” During a woman’s menstrual period, she may feel cold all over her body, so with a single button, the air conditioning, steering wheel heating, and seat heating automatically turn on. These warm-hearted product highlights can make girls feel good when they are uncomfortable. This is a product thinking based on the crowd.

Secondly, sufficient technical support is provided for convenient female driving operations.

For example, Euler Good Cat provides more than 14 driving assistance functions. In addition to the reuse of group system capabilities, Euler goes further in terms of experience. They conducted in-depth communication with more than 100 female car owners, repeatedly compared the automatic driving functions on the market, and designed one-click, scenario-based functions.

The latest ballet cat to be launched provides intelligent voice automatic parking. Euler found that the usage rate of automatic parking in the past was not high because the call operation was too complicated. Adding voice can greatly simplify the operation.### Translation:

One aspect is to refine the taste of female consumers. Women generally have higher taste in consumer goods than men, not only in product design but also in brand image management. For car brands, this pickiness is a new challenge.

On the one hand, it is necessary to empower products with higher value based on strong manufacturing and technology.

On the other hand, it is about grasping the delicate emotions of women. For example, the selection of Zhang Ruoyun as the spokesperson for the Ora brand and the first user of the Ora Ballet Cat “001” is a delicate operation to balance various factors. He is not just a popular celebrity, but is likable to the public, and his works can withstand careful observation. He is also a good family man.

Ora has managed to find such a treasure among the entertainment circle.

At the end of the track

Now let’s go back to that question: Will such a car brand that is more tasteful, technologically solid, and more caring, narrow its road by focusing on the female market?

Yesterday, by chance, I went to Ora’s flagship store and met a young couple who ordered the Ballet Cat.

The husband said, “Ah, this car was bought for her,” while asking her if he could choose a blue color so that he could also drive it.

He talked about the various details of the parameters while sitting in the car and rubbing it for a while, then turned back and touched the front of the car before leaving.

“It’s so cute the more you look at it.”

An excellent car for women will also be liked by men; just like so many excellent cars for men, they have never discouraged women. Today we often see the opposing side and overlook the effort to understand and empathize. Ora is making this kind of effort.

Marx once said that the progress of social history can be accurately measured by the progress of women’s social status.

Today, we may have come to the moment when the social status of women since the maternal society reached its highest point in history.

We are just beginning to have a brand that dares to claim “love women more” and pushes progress forward even a little bit, which is undoubtedly a good thing.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.