#because in natural development a fetus is female before the Y chromosomes develop

[clonememesfrikyeah]

Hi, yeah, I’m going to need an Emerie spin off IMMEDIATELY because I need to know more about the female/lab purposed clones and what exactly the Kaminoans were doing with the genetics. I desperately need to know the extent of it all, just how far did they go with their experiments and why?

[drjeandoddspethealthresource]

The Numerous Scientific Applications of the Word Chimera

Chimera. The word’s unusual origin stems from Greek mythology and refers to a fire-breathing she-monster that has a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail. Nowadays, scientists and medical professionals apply the word chimera more broadly. The research around chimeric therapies is exploding, complicated, vast and controversial. 

Individuals Who Are Chimeras

By definition, a chimera is a single organism that contains at least two distinct sets of DNA. Each DNA code could create separate organisms. Oftentimes, one set of DNA is found in the blood and the other set in the tissues.

One form of chimerism, fraternal twin absorption in the womb, is considered rare. One could actually rebuke this assertion. Chimeras are usually not visibly different, unless there is a developmental anomaly in one of cell lines. Heterochromia, the condition of having two distinct eye colors, quite common in certain dog breeds, could be a result of chimerism, melanin concentration in the eye or another genetic condition called mosaicism. Essentially, you could be a chimera and not even know it until thorough genetic testing is done.

The same applies to dogs and cats. If you search the internet for “chimera dog” or “chimera cat”, you may be surprised by the headlines stating, “Mixed Breed Dog with Unusual Coat Might Be a Chimera.” This may be true, but it may lead one to assume that all mixed breed dogs and cats are chimeras. Remember, a dog or cat would have had to absorb a twin in utero in this instance. So, a mixed breed dog or cat could or could not be a chimera – the same applies with a full-bred dog or cat.

Two other known forms of chimerism can occur and are recognized at this time: bone marrow transplant recipients and fetal microchimerism.

Bone marrow transplants are commonly used to treat leukemia, one type of blood cell cancer. A recipient’s bone marrow – that is destroyed through radiation or chemotherapy – is replaced with healthier bone marrow from a species-matched donor. Red blood cells are then produced by the bone marrow’s “mother” stem cells. So, a recipient will have all blood cells that are genetically identical to those of the donor for life or a mix of his blood cells and that of the donor.

Fetal microchimerism is another condition whereby cells from a fetus travel into a woman’s bloodstream and to her other organs. It is unknown how long the cells will last in the body and the situation is likely case-specific. One research study involved analyzing the brains of women who had passed away between the ages of 32 and 101 -- 63 percent had traces of male DNA from fetal cells in their brains; the oldest of these microchimeric women was 94 years of age.  

A 2013 study banked whole blood from female Golden Retrievers who had had at least one male in their litters from three months to eight years before the whole blood collection. It turned out, that 36% of the mothers had positive Y-chromosome bands. Further, there was no correlation between the time of blood analysis after the litter and Y-chromosome band intensity.

Chimeric Vaccines

Chimeric protein are created by joining together several proteins to form a single hybrid protein. To make a chimeric protein, the DNA sequences that encode the desired segments to be included are “recombined” into a piece of DNA referred to as a “recombinant”.

One example is a Lyme Disease vaccine for dogs. It is currently marketed as a chimeric protein vaccine to protect dogs from a broader spectrum of the outer surface proteins that the bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, may produce in the body. Prior to this vaccine, many of the Lyme Disease vaccines only protected against outer surface protein A (OspA) and possibly one outer surface protein C (OspC). So, this vaccine contains not only protection against OspA, but also a chimera of OspC. The chimeric OspC component consists of seven OspC types that have been demonstrated to stimulate antibody production in mammals.  

Chimeric DNA vaccines are the next generation of DNA vaccine advances to help protect or fight infectious diseases, cancer, and autoimmune conditions. Researchers were finding that naked DNA (meaning no proteins attached) induced humoral as well as cellular immune responses with high efficiency, such that their potency in human clinical trials was shown to be insufficient for protective immunity.

So, chimeric DNA vaccines are now being actively explored. The research is exploding, the combinations are endless, and findings can be difficult to explain in simple terms. At the most basic level, one study created a chimeric gene by putting Dengue virus on a Japanese encephalitis gene backbone. The results showed high neutralizing antibody titers with less Dengue virus infection-enhancing activity. In essence, by combining the DNAs from these two diseases, the researchers were able to produce a more effective vaccine against Dengue virus.

Another study took two copies of a DNA found on a tuberculosis protein and inserted them into another tuberculosis gene of another protein. Mice were given this vaccine after either a tuberculosis infection or a clinical multi-drug resistant tuberculosis isolate. Unfortunately, both groups of mice treated with this chimeric vaccine actually had accelerated mortality. According to the researchers of this study: “These findings are in contrast with previous results, which indicated that DNA vaccines expressing the individual antigens were either beneficial or at least not harmful. The results of the present study suggested that the ESAT-6 antigen is not suitable for inclusion in therapeutic vaccines.”

Other researchers are more cautious and argue the introduction of a foreign DNA actually disrupts a cell’s natural DNA sequence. Additionally, we do know what type of adverse reactions, if any, can occur with DNA vaccines. Regardless, research continues and science should prevail on this debate.

Chimeric Treatment for Cancer

In addition to bone marrow transplants and the ongoing research into DNA cancer vaccines, Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-Cell Therapy is an exciting and recently approved type of cancer immunotherapy. CAR refers to genetically engineered molecules manufactured in a laboratory, hence the reason why the word chimeric is applicable here. The process uses the T- cells of the individual who has cancer.

White blood cells and T-cells are separated from the rest of a patient's blood via a process called leukapheresis. The blood is then returned to the patient's body.

The T-cells are sent to a laboratory.

The laboratory engineers and increases the amount of active T-cells that can then find and kill cancer cells.

After approximately one to two weeks and a round of chemotherapy, the T-cells are reintroduced to the patient's bloodstream.

Once inside the body, the CAR T-cells identify the cancer cells with the target antigens and kill them. CAR T-cells also may remain in the blood for some time to help prevent the cancer cells from returning.

Does this turn someone into a chimera like bone marrow transplants? Technically, no, because the genetic DNA of another person is not taking over that of the patient. However, researchers may use the word “chimerism” to refer to the presence of cells from a third-party source to indicate the persistence of the CAR T-cells and absence of rejection.  

Chimeric Species

On January 26, 2017, the scientific journal, Cell, published a study on human-pig embryos – reigniting the ethical debate on interspecies chimeras. The ethical concerns are a heated topic that could potentially never be resolved. Nevertheless, the study was conducted and the results were fascinating. In this study, the researchers wanted to see about growing transplantable human tissues and organs to address the worldwide shortage of organs. So, they injected human stem cells into pig embryos to create a chimera. The embryo was then implanted into a sow for up to one month. Of the 2,075 implanted embryos, only 186 continued to develop up to the 28-day stage. Interestingly, signs indicated that the human cells were functioning – albeit as a tiny fraction of the total tissue – within the human-pig chimera.

It should be noted that scientists do distinguish the biological differences between hybrids and chimeras. A cell from a chimera contains the genetic material of either one parent species or the other. While each cell from a hybrid animal, such as a mule, contains genetic material from both parent species (donkey and mare).

W. Jean Dodds, DVM Hemopet / NutriScan 11561 Salinaz Avenue Garden Grove, CA 92843

References

Axiak-Bechtel, Sandra, et al. “Y-Chromosome DNA Is Present in the Blood of Female Dogs Suggesting the Presence of Fetal Microchimerism.” PLoS ONE, vol. 8, no. 7, 8 July 2013, doi: http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0068114.

Bolhassani, Azam, and Sima Rafati Yazdi. “DNA Immunization as an Efficient Strategy for Vaccination.” Avicenna Journal of Medical Biotechnology, vol. 1., no. 2, 2009, pp.71–88. Print. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3558129/.

Boklage, Charles. “Embryogenesis of Chimeras, Twins and Anterior Midline Asymmetries.” Human Reproduction, vol. 21, no. 3, 1 Mar. 2006, pp. 579–591., doi: http://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dei370.

“Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-Cell Therapy.” Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 10 Sept. 2015, http://www.lls.org/treatment/types-of-treatment/immunotherapy/chimeric-antigen-receptor-car-t-cell-therapy.

Kenderian, Saad, et al. “Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: How Not to Put the CART Before the Horse.” Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, vol. 23, no. 2, Feb. 2017, pp. 235–246., doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbmt.2016.09.002.

Liang, Yan et al. “Ag85A/ESAT-6 Chimeric DNA Vaccine Induces an Adverse Response in Tuberculosis-Infected Mice.” Molecular Medicine Reports vol. 14, no.2, 2016, pp. 1146–1152., PMC. doi: http://10.3892/mmr.2016.5364.

Rettner, Rachael. “3 Human Chimeras That Already Exist.” Scientific American, Scientific American, 8 Aug. 2016, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/3-human-chimeras-that-already-exist/.

Sjatha, Fithriyah, et al. “Evaluation of Chimeric DNA Vaccines Consisting of Premembrane and Envelope Genes of Japanese Encephalitis and Dengue Viruses as a Strategy for Reducing Induction of Dengue Virus Infection-Enhancing Antibody Response.” Microbiology and Immunology, vol. 58, 2014, pp. 126–134., doi: http://10.1111/1348-0421.12125.

“VANGUARD CrLyme.” Zoetis US, www.zoetisus.com/products/dogs/vanguard-crlyme/index.aspx.

Wu, Jun, et al. “Interspecies Chimerism with Mammalian Pluripotent Stem Cells.” Cell, vol. 168, no. 3, 26 Jan. 2017, pp. 473–486., doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.12.036.

[joejstrickl]

Building Brands With A Female Lens

Let’s hear it for our Fathers. All of them – from our our father who art in heaven, our fathers who save lives in emergency rooms, to our fathers who program in A.I. and our fathers who market in business.

We know the fore-fathers we learned about in University and the founding fathers who developed the practice of law and the many men who captain industry and become the chiefs. Whether inventing the steam trains, stepping foot on the moon or building color televisions – our fathers have left their name and influence on history.

From an evolutionary perspective this was the natural order. It is an undeniable truth that our fathers’ began laying the tracks upon which we have arrived at this destination. They developed the transport systems, fought the wars and farmed our crops. They used their XY chromosomal gifts to construct our bridges, plant our trees and build our cities. We have recorded men working tirelessly at the coal face and in the words of Thomas Carlyle: “the history of the world is but the biography of great men”.

Why It’s Men’s Business

The business world we know today has likewise been erected by great men: we have received the tablets from their mountains, been instructed in their methodology, received lessons and scholarly counsel. Men created our learning institutions, take Cambridge, dating from 12th century and one of the oldest and most respected Universities, where females were accepted as students but only after 640 years had passed. Back then such little resonance did women have that they were denied validation for the degree they studied for. It was late 18th century that female matriculation and graduation was eventually granted.

Next consider our reading lists – books such as Rich Dad, Poor Dad (but not Rich Mom, Poor Mom). Napoleon Hill and later Warren Buffet, taught men how to think and grow rich but no female equivalent lives. We have the Tools of Titans, but not the Tools of Goddesses. In most facets of our profession, the male lens is the only model for the indoctrination of incoming generations.

The history of brand management dates back roughly seventy-five years, built in a time where men were men and women were housewives – formed through periods where the principles and doctrines of their thinking became the constructs and established practices still preeminent today. An era where women had a very different undertaking and role in society without the right to vote and deprived of much voice in shaping our future.

This cycle of male-lensing has continued in a virtuous circle for centuries but now a slew of data is changing our future. We value that which we can measure – and now we can access and illuminate a new intelligence and proof of female influence.

Different Good, Not Different Bad

In utero hormonal chemistries show the moment the developing fetus becomes male or female. There are brain studies and MRI scans that show distinctive patterns in the hemispheres of M and F brain activity when exposed to the same stimulus. Neuroscience shows us dissimilar trace lines between the genders when tested with exactly the same piece of communication.

This science and data has shown us what different quadrupeds men and women are which may explain the global divorce rate at 44%! There’s nothing wrong with being different but there is something wrong with not acknowledging the significance that these differences have.

Designed back in 1930’s, revisiting segmentation seems an essential step forward. As the Father of Segmentation, Phil Kotler advises, “in order for a segment to be viable, it must be measurable, substantial, accessible, differentiable and actionable.” Well it would seem then that gender checks all of these boxes.

So why is it that we do not use sex difference as the first point of segmenting analysis? Let me bring back the evidence in the earlier part of my discussion. Fore-Fathers ‘built this city’, not Mothers. The legacy lens in modern business practices has been bias to one lens only – and not yet privy to the inception of the female lens.

Consider if you were selling a gender-neutral product like aspirin, consumed by both men and women. Before starting the market segmentation process understanding the macro-purchasing behavior in the category makes sense. Ergo, if women are the main purchasers of OTC pharma at 90% F to 10% M; then surely gender is going to be a big factor in segmenting markets on the meaningful, actionable grid? It would also factor in the way products are developed, marcomms are advanced and media is purchased.

The Fastest Growing Economy Is Female

E&Y predict that by 2028 women will influence 75% of household discretionary spend. BCG published ‘Women Want More’, based on a global study of women with fast facts and numbers showing the growing force of female-spent dollars. Women are earning their own income as well as spending their family budget. Yet the status quo in business is the one that men developed. Long story short; we are still indoctrinated with a legacy model and lens that was developed by fore fathers.

This makes the financial upside of gender-intelligence a really difficult, often avoided, political hot-potato. It gets confused and mixed up among all the other equally important social-issues around feminism, sexual identification and equality. Under a pile of gooey-gendered political-correctness is a commercial value not being realized. We are not considering the facts around category influencer, overall spend and share of wallet when it comes to female customers.

The Blind Spots

Gender-neutralizing, gender streamlining, and gender homogenizing our world has culminated in valuable design and product requirements being overlooked. Worse still it ignores essential brand behaviors that women desire. While some categories would have thought they are market-oriented to female; many are left with a vacuum.

Look at the business disruption in Feminine Hygiene where the last product-innovation took place a century ago until recently. A disruptive new-player burst on the scene knowing that just because the category might have been “female” it was still guilty of male-lensing. THINX started soaking up the dissatisfied dissonance by clearly focusing their female-lens with market-oriented insights and subsequent solutions that leave many a leak in the old legacy lens.

The female-lens in business is disrupting categories seemingly from nowhere. From ride share to shopping for cosmetics without counters to customizing designs for women’s physiological differences to changing the landscape of the athletic-wear category. The new world order is here.

Irrespective of the gender of our workforce – growth happens when both men and women employ this female-lens to better understand their booming and influential female market. In a flat and tough market this should be the best tool of strategic advantage.

Women are a Renaissance-like opportunity but where we once saw Michelangelo’s Creation of Man, we now need to deliberately paint in the image of woman and start recognizing the world from her perspective.

Contributed to Branding Strategy Insider by: Bec Brideson, Founder, Venus Comms

The Blake Project Can Help: Accelerate Brand Growth Through Powerful Emotional Connections

Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education

FREE Publications And Resources For Marketers

[markjsousa]

Building Brands With A Female Lens

Let’s hear it for our Fathers. All of them – from our our father who art in heaven, our fathers who save lives in emergency rooms, to our fathers who program in A.I. and our fathers who market in business.

We know the fore-fathers we learned about in University and the founding fathers who developed the practice of law and the many men who captain industry and become the chiefs. Whether inventing the steam trains, stepping foot on the moon or building color televisions – our fathers have left their name and influence on history.

From an evolutionary perspective this was the natural order. It is an undeniable truth that our fathers’ began laying the tracks upon which we have arrived at this destination. They developed the transport systems, fought the wars and farmed our crops. They used their XY chromosomal gifts to construct our bridges, plant our trees and build our cities. We have recorded men working tirelessly at the coal face and in the words of Thomas Carlyle: “the history of the world is but the biography of great men”.

Why It’s Men’s Business

The business world we know today has likewise been erected by great men: we have received the tablets from their mountains, been instructed in their methodology, received lessons and scholarly counsel. Men created our learning institutions, take Cambridge, dating from 12th century and one of the oldest and most respected Universities, where females were accepted as students but only after 640 years had passed. Back then such little resonance did women have that they were denied validation for the degree they studied for. It was late 18th century that female matriculation and graduation was eventually granted.

Next consider our reading lists – books such as Rich Dad, Poor Dad (but not Rich Mom, Poor Mom). Napoleon Hill and later Warren Buffet, taught men how to think and grow rich but no female equivalent lives. We have the Tools of Titans, but not the Tools of Goddesses. In most facets of our profession, the male lens is the only model for the indoctrination of incoming generations.

The history of brand management dates back roughly seventy-five years, built in a time where men were men and women were housewives – formed through periods where the principles and doctrines of their thinking became the constructs and established practices still preeminent today. An era where women had a very different undertaking and role in society without the right to vote and deprived of much voice in shaping our future.

This cycle of male-lensing has continued in a virtuous circle for centuries but now a slew of data is changing our future. We value that which we can measure – and now we can access and illuminate a new intelligence and proof of female influence.

Different Good, Not Different Bad

In utero hormonal chemistries show the moment the developing fetus becomes male or female. There are brain studies and MRI scans that show distinctive patterns in the hemispheres of M and F brain activity when exposed to the same stimulus. Neuroscience shows us dissimilar trace lines between the genders when tested with exactly the same piece of communication.

This science and data has shown us what different quadrupeds men and women are which may explain the global divorce rate at 44%! There’s nothing wrong with being different but there is something wrong with not acknowledging the significance that these differences have.

Designed back in 1930’s, revisiting segmentation seems an essential step forward. As the Father of Segmentation, Phil Kotler advises, “in order for a segment to be viable, it must be measurable, substantial, accessible, differentiable and actionable.” Well it would seem then that gender checks all of these boxes.

So why is it that we do not use sex difference as the first point of segmenting analysis? Let me bring back the evidence in the earlier part of my discussion. Fore-Fathers ‘built this city’, not Mothers. The legacy lens in modern business practices has been bias to one lens only – and not yet privy to the inception of the female lens.

Consider if you were selling a gender-neutral product like aspirin, consumed by both men and women. Before starting the market segmentation process understanding the macro-purchasing behavior in the category makes sense. Ergo, if women are the main purchasers of OTC pharma at 90% F to 10% M; then surely gender is going to be a big factor in segmenting markets on the meaningful, actionable grid? It would also factor in the way products are developed, marcomms are advanced and media is purchased.

The Fastest Growing Economy Is Female

E&Y predict that by 2028 women will influence 75% of household discretionary spend. BCG published ‘Women Want More’, based on a global study of women with fast facts and numbers showing the growing force of female-spent dollars. Women are earning their own income as well as spending their family budget. Yet the status quo in business is the one that men developed. Long story short; we are still indoctrinated with a legacy model and lens that was developed by fore fathers.

This makes the financial upside of gender-intelligence a really difficult, often avoided, political hot-potato. It gets confused and mixed up among all the other equally important social-issues around feminism, sexual identification and equality. Under a pile of gooey-gendered political-correctness is a commercial value not being realized. We are not considering the facts around category influencer, overall spend and share of wallet when it comes to female customers.

The Blind Spots

Gender-neutralizing, gender streamlining, and gender homogenizing our world has culminated in valuable design and product requirements being overlooked. Worse still it ignores essential brand behaviors that women desire. While some categories would have thought they are market-oriented to female; many are left with a vacuum.

Look at the business disruption in Feminine Hygiene where the last product-innovation took place a century ago until recently. A disruptive new-player burst on the scene knowing that just because the category might have been “female” it was still guilty of male-lensing. THINX started soaking up the dissatisfied dissonance by clearly focusing their female-lens with market-oriented insights and subsequent solutions that leave many a leak in the old legacy lens.

The female-lens in business is disrupting categories seemingly from nowhere. From ride share to shopping for cosmetics without counters to customizing designs for women’s physiological differences to changing the landscape of the athletic-wear category. The new world order is here.

Irrespective of the gender of our workforce – growth happens when both men and women employ this female-lens to better understand their booming and influential female market. In a flat and tough market this should be the best tool of strategic advantage.

Women are a Renaissance-like opportunity but where we once saw Michelangelo’s Creation of Man, we now need to deliberately paint in the image of woman and start recognizing the world from her perspective.

Contributed to Branding Strategy Insider by: Bec Brideson, Founder, Venus Comms

The Blake Project Can Help: Accelerate Brand Growth Through Powerful Emotional Connections

Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education

FREE Publications And Resources For Marketers

[glenmenlow]

Today’s Brands Require A Female-Lens

Let’s hear it for our Fathers. All of them – from our fathers who save lives in the emergency room, to our fathers who program in A.I. and our fathers who market in business. We know the fore-fathers we learned about in University and the founding fathers who developed the practice of law and the many men who captain industry and become the chiefs. Whether inventing the steam trains, stepping foot on the moon or building color televisions – our fathers have left their name and influence on history.

From an evolutionary perspective this was the natural order. It is an undeniable truth that our fathers’ began laying the tracks upon which we have arrived at this destination. They developed the transport systems, fought the wars and farmed our crops. They used their XY chromosomal gifts to construct our bridges, plant our trees and build our cities. We have recorded men working tirelessly at the coal face and in the words of Thomas Carlyle: “the history of the world is but the biography of great men”.

Why It’s Men’s Business

The business world we know today has likewise been erected by great men: we have received the tablets from their mountains, been instructed in their methodology, received lessons and scholarly counsel. Men created our learning institutions, take Cambridge, dating from 12th century and one of the oldest and most respected Universities, where females were accepted as students but only after 640 years had passed. Back then such little resonance did women have that they were denied validation for the degree they studied for. It was late 18th century that female matriculation and graduation was eventually granted.

Next consider our reading lists – books such as Rich Dad, Poor Dad (but not Rich Mom, Poor Mom). Napoleon Hill and later Warren Buffet, taught men how to think and grow rich but no female equivalent lives. We have the Tools of Titans, but not the Tools of Goddesses. In most facets of our profession, the male lens is the only model for the indoctrination of incoming generations.

The history of brand management dates back roughly seventy-five years, built in a time where men were men and women were housewives – formed through periods where the principles and doctrines of their thinking became the constructs and established practices still preeminent today. An era where women had a very different undertaking and role in society without the right to vote and deprived of much voice in shaping our future.

This cycle of male-lensing has continued in a virtuous circle for centuries but now a slew of data is changing our future. We value that which we can measure – and now we can access and illuminate a new intelligence and proof of female influence.

Different Good, Not Different Bad

In utero hormonal chemistries show the moment the developing fetus becomes male or female. There are brain studies and MRI scans that show distinctive patterns in the hemispheres of M and F brain activity when exposed to the same stimulus. Neuroscience shows us dissimilar trace lines between the genders when tested with exactly the same piece of communication.

This science and data has shown us what different quadrupeds men and women are which may explain the global divorce rate at 44%! There’s nothing wrong with being different but there is something wrong with not acknowledging the significance that these differences have.

Designed back in 1930’s, revisiting segmentation seems an essential step forward. As the Father of Segmentation, Phil Kotler advises, “in order for a segment to be viable, it must be measurable, substantial, accessible, differentiable and actionable.” Well it would seem then that gender checks all of these boxes.

So why is it that we do not use sex difference as the first point of segmenting analysis? Let me bring back the evidence in the earlier part of my discussion. Fore-Fathers ‘built this city’, not Mothers. The legacy lens in modern business practices has been bias to one lens only – and not yet privy to the inception of the female lens.

Consider if you were selling a gender-neutral product like aspirin, consumed by both men and women. Before starting the market segmentation process understanding the macro-purchasing behavior in the category makes sense. Ergo, if women are the main purchasers of OTC pharma at 90% F to 10% M; then surely gender is going to be a big factor in segmenting markets on the meaningful, actionable grid? It would also factor in the way products are developed, marcomms are advanced and media is purchased.

The Fastest Growing Economy Is Female

E&Y predict that by 2028 women will influence 75% of household discretionary spend. BCG published ‘Women Want More’, based on a global study of women with fast facts and numbers showing the growing force of female-spent dollars. Women are earning their own income as well as spending their family budget. Yet the status quo in business is the one that men developed. Long story short; we are still indoctrinated with a legacy model and lens that was developed by fore fathers.

This makes the financial upside of gender-intelligence a really difficult, often avoided, political hot-potato. It gets confused and mixed up among all the other equally important social-issues around feminism, sexual identification and equality. Under a pile of gooey-gendered political-correctness is a commercial value not being realized. We are not considering the facts around category influencer, overall spend and share of wallet when it comes to female customers.

The Blind Spots

Gender-neutralizing, gender streamlining, and gender homogenizing our world has culminated in valuable design and product requirements being overlooked. Worse still it ignores essential brand behaviors that women desire. While some categories would have thought they are market-oriented to female; many are left with a vacuum.

Look at the business disruption in Feminine Hygiene where the last product-innovation took place a century ago until recently. A disruptive new-player burst on the scene knowing that just because the category might have been “female” it was still guilty of male-lensing. THINX started soaking up the dissatisfied dissonance by clearly focusing their female-lens with market-oriented insights and subsequent solutions that leave many a leak in the old legacy lens.

The female-lens in business is disrupting categories seemingly from nowhere. From ride share to shopping for cosmetics without counters to customizing designs for women’s physiological differences to changing the landscape of the athletic-wear category. The new world order is here.

Irrespective of the gender of our workforce – growth happens when both men and women employ this female-lens to better understand their booming and influential female market. In a flat and tough market this should be the best tool of strategic advantage.

Women are a Renaissance-like opportunity but where we once saw Michelangelo’s Creation of Man, we now need to deliberately paint in the image of woman and start recognizing the world from her perspective.

Contributed to Branding Strategy Insider by: Bec Brideson, Founder, Venus Comms

The Blake Project Can Help: Accelerate Brand Growth Through Powerful Emotional Connections

Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education

FREE Publications And Resources For Marketers

from WordPress https://glenmenlow.wordpress.com/2018/06/20/todays-brands-require-a-female-lens/ via IFTTT

[markjsousa]

Today’s Brands Require A Female-Lens

Let’s hear it for our Fathers. All of them – from our fathers who save lives in the emergency room, to our fathers who program in A.I. and our fathers who market in business. We know the fore-fathers we learned about in University and the founding fathers who developed the practice of law and the many men who captain industry and become the chiefs. Whether inventing the steam trains, stepping foot on the moon or building color televisions – our fathers have left their name and influence on history.

From an evolutionary perspective this was the natural order. It is an undeniable truth that our fathers’ began laying the tracks upon which we have arrived at this destination. They developed the transport systems, fought the wars and farmed our crops. They used their XY chromosomal gifts to construct our bridges, plant our trees and build our cities. We have recorded men working tirelessly at the coal face and in the words of Thomas Carlyle: “the history of the world is but the biography of great men”.

Why It’s Men’s Business

The business world we know today has likewise been erected by great men: we have received the tablets from their mountains, been instructed in their methodology, received lessons and scholarly counsel. Men created our learning institutions, take Cambridge, dating from 12th century and one of the oldest and most respected Universities, where females were accepted as students but only after 640 years had passed. Back then such little resonance did women have that they were denied validation for the degree they studied for. It was late 18th century that female matriculation and graduation was eventually granted.

Next consider our reading lists – books such as Rich Dad, Poor Dad (but not Rich Mom, Poor Mom). Napoleon Hill and later Warren Buffet, taught men how to think and grow rich but no female equivalent lives. We have the Tools of Titans, but not the Tools of Goddesses. In most facets of our profession, the male lens is the only model for the indoctrination of incoming generations.

The history of brand management dates back roughly seventy-five years, built in a time where men were men and women were housewives – formed through periods where the principles and doctrines of their thinking became the constructs and established practices still preeminent today. An era where women had a very different undertaking and role in society without the right to vote and deprived of much voice in shaping our future.

This cycle of male-lensing has continued in a virtuous circle for centuries but now a slew of data is changing our future. We value that which we can measure – and now we can access and illuminate a new intelligence and proof of female influence.

Different Good, Not Different Bad

In utero hormonal chemistries show the moment the developing fetus becomes male or female. There are brain studies and MRI scans that show distinctive patterns in the hemispheres of M and F brain activity when exposed to the same stimulus. Neuroscience shows us dissimilar trace lines between the genders when tested with exactly the same piece of communication.

This science and data has shown us what different quadrupeds men and women are which may explain the global divorce rate at 44%! There’s nothing wrong with being different but there is something wrong with not acknowledging the significance that these differences have.

Designed back in 1930’s, revisiting segmentation seems an essential step forward. As the Father of Segmentation, Phil Kotler advises, “in order for a segment to be viable, it must be measurable, substantial, accessible, differentiable and actionable.” Well it would seem then that gender checks all of these boxes.

So why is it that we do not use sex difference as the first point of segmenting analysis? Let me bring back the evidence in the earlier part of my discussion. Fore-Fathers ‘built this city’, not Mothers. The legacy lens in modern business practices has been bias to one lens only – and not yet privy to the inception of the female lens.

Consider if you were selling a gender-neutral product like aspirin, consumed by both men and women. Before starting the market segmentation process understanding the macro-purchasing behavior in the category makes sense. Ergo, if women are the main purchasers of OTC pharma at 90% F to 10% M; then surely gender is going to be a big factor in segmenting markets on the meaningful, actionable grid? It would also factor in the way products are developed, marcomms are advanced and media is purchased.

The Fastest Growing Economy Is Female

E&Y predict that by 2028 women will influence 75% of household discretionary spend. BCG published ‘Women Want More’, based on a global study of women with fast facts and numbers showing the growing force of female-spent dollars. Women are earning their own income as well as spending their family budget. Yet the status quo in business is the one that men developed. Long story short; we are still indoctrinated with a legacy model and lens that was developed by fore fathers.

This makes the financial upside of gender-intelligence a really difficult, often avoided, political hot-potato. It gets confused and mixed up among all the other equally important social-issues around feminism, sexual identification and equality. Under a pile of gooey-gendered political-correctness is a commercial value not being realized. We are not considering the facts around category influencer, overall spend and share of wallet when it comes to female customers.

The Blind Spots

Gender-neutralizing, gender streamlining, and gender homogenizing our world has culminated in valuable design and product requirements being overlooked. Worse still it ignores essential brand behaviors that women desire. While some categories would have thought they are market-oriented to female; many are left with a vacuum.

Look at the business disruption in Feminine Hygiene where the last product-innovation took place a century ago until recently. A disruptive new-player burst on the scene knowing that just because the category might have been “female” it was still guilty of male-lensing. THINX started soaking up the dissatisfied dissonance by clearly focusing their female-lens with market-oriented insights and subsequent solutions that leave many a leak in the old legacy lens.

The female-lens in business is disrupting categories seemingly from nowhere. From ride share to shopping for cosmetics without counters to customizing designs for women’s physiological differences to changing the landscape of the athletic-wear category. The new world order is here.

Irrespective of the gender of our workforce – growth happens when both men and women employ this female-lens to better understand their booming and influential female market. In a flat and tough market this should be the best tool of strategic advantage.

Women are a Renaissance-like opportunity but where we once saw Michelangelo’s Creation of Man, we now need to deliberately paint in the image of woman and start recognizing the world from her perspective.

Contributed to Branding Strategy Insider by: Bec Brideson, Founder, Venus Comms

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