Heed women, corporate seer and author Popcorn says

Self-described futurist Faith Popcorn monitors society's trends using a technique she calls "Brailing the Culture"

In this story: Women consumers: Hear us roar Ahead of the curve? RELATED STORIES, SITES

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Just as movie stars and politicians consult fortune tellers and psychics, many in the corporate world have turned to Faith Popcorn's mantra of future trends and advice on how to exploit them.

A self-described futurist, marketing maven Popcorn does not rely on a crystal ball or visions but monitors cultural signals -- she calls it "Brailing the Culture" -- to conjure pithy terms that sum up society's tendencies.

The results are a forecast of trends such as her best-known, "Cocooning" -- the 1980s prediction of renewed interest in the family and home. She also foresaw a trend she calls "Pleasure Revenge," in which people eschew a scrimping-and-saving, low-fat, self-denial mentality in favor of small rewards.

Born Faith Plotkin -- she says she changed her name when a former boss had trouble pronouncing it -- she has signed on major corporations such as McDonald's Corp., International Business Machines Corp. and Bell Atlantic to her 25-member, all-female marketing consulting group, BrainReserve.

The book jacket for her latest tome, "EVEolution," calls her a Nostradamus to the advertising and marketing world. Inside the book, Popcorn talks about how revolutionary and profound, even imperative, her forecasts are. Pitches for "Faith Popcorn's Home Office Cocoon" line of furniture and BrainReserve's consulting approach are sprinkled throughout.

Released last month, "EVEolution" discusses how to embrace women in marketing and advertising and what steps firms must take to capture the growing consumer power dominated by women.

"'EVEolution' is a series of marketing axioms built around the reality that women and men are as different shop-ologically as they are biologically," Popcorn writes.

The book takes a stab at answering for corporate America -- and men of the world -- the age-old question: What do women want? It suggests that female consumers seek improved service and better anticipation of their needs and the many demands on their time.

"Women want a brand to speak to their heads and their hearts. To understand them. To recognize their needs, values, standards and dreams," Popcorn writes.

Why should companies care? Popcorn's statistics show women influence the purchase of or buy 80 percent of consumer goods and are starting new businesses at twice the rate of men.

Yet "EVEolution" is more than just a corporate approach that caters to women, she says. It is also an approach to marketing that promotes relationships and corporate responsibility. She cites Nabisco's SnackWell brand sponsoring mother-and-daughter seminars -- incidentally an idea formed by her BrainReserve -- that promotes the cookie name with a nurturing image.

Women and men alike increasingly seek convenience, Popcorn says. She scolds a local bank for a strict 15-minute parking rule for clients and other companies for old school "set-in-stone" policies and inconsiderate practices.

Internet users, for example, expect to save time and energy. "If they can't make it any easier than actually going out or ordering by catalogue, then there's not much difference (from brick-and-mortar stores)," she said in a phone interview.

She envisions dressing rooms with e-mail and makeup samplers, or a car rental service that offers bottled water, preordered CDs and a route planned with warnings of neighborhoods to avoid.

So far, many reviewers and corporate executives have applauded her insights into women's tastes.

"As an independent business woman, I strongly support Ms. Popcorn's modern views on how to build relationships with women, first as individuals and second as consumers," one Internet reviewer said.

A few readers who were drawn to her earlier "The Faith Popcorn Report" and "Clicking" find her latest work not up to par. "She's historically been ahead of, and even draws, the curve. But I was not the slightest impressed. 'EVEolution' was elementary," said Bonnie Russell, co-founder of consumer Web site 1st-pick.com.

"EVEolution" has also come under fire for its description of men. While it complains of how "older-think" companies stereotype women, the book tells jokes about how to impress men and women, saying women want to be catered to and adored, while men are satisfied if you "show up naked and bring food."

"EVEolution" does not aim to knock men, Popcorn says, but to instruct firms on the different purchasing patterns between men and women and to teach them how to better reach female buyers.

"When we were writing we tried not to be male-bashing. We have gotten some criticism on jokes about men asking for directions. It was used as an example of the differences between the way men and women function," Popcorn said.

According to "EVEolution," women's magazines focus on food, travel, children, fashion and beauty, while men's magazines concentrate on "pecs and sex." "Men do one thing at a time, while women do many things at the same time," she writes.

Worth noting is the continuous mention in EVEolution of children and daughters, catering to women juggling careers and family. Both Popcorn and co-author Lys Marigold have young daughters and make no mention of having a spouse.

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Faith Popcorn's Web site
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Faith Popcorn

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