Hartford, CT – May 8, 2009—“Women are playing an extraordinary role in driving today’s economy—they are the ones calling the shots and continuing to perform the bulk of purchasing for themselves, their homes and their families.  This is not a time to pull back on your marketing efforts, it is a time to step up and create the right message to the right consumer at the right time,” says Lauren Zalaznick, president of NBCU Women and Lifestyle Entertainment Networks.  As Exclusive Presenting Sponsor of the 5th Annual M2W®-The Marketing To Women Conference, held April 29 & 30, 2009 at the Chicago Cultural Center, Women@NBCU led a lineup of top brand leaders and marketing-to-women thought leaders in a series of discussions, workshops and presentations on how to successfully connect with today’s female consumer. 

Despite tough economic times, the size and quality of this year’s M2W® audience proved that corporate America recognizes the significance of what women consumers bring to their bottom lines, quarter after quarter, year after year, decade after decade.   "It's in times like these that companies which have done the hard work to win women customers will really reap the benefits,” says popular M2W® presenter Marti Barletta, founder of The TrendSight Group.  “Women are a tough sell, but because their decision process is more comprehensive they are more confident they've found ‘the perfect answer.’ That makes them more committed to their choice, and more likely to stay with the companies and brands that have earned their business."

Making news on stage were Mike Swenson of Barkley Public Relations announcing Christina Applegate will be the spokesperson for this year’s Lee National Denim Day campaign; Mary Lou Quinlan sharing details of her forthcoming book, What She’s Not Telling You;  executives from top brands such as OfficeMax, Unilever and Frito-Lay giving insight into new ways to reach women; and Ghirardelli being named recipient of the 2009 M2W® Full Circle Award, which honors a brand that has successfully incorporated what they learned at M2W(R) into a creative campaign with excellent results.  “Ghirardelli is honored to receive the M2W® Full Circle Award this year.  The insights and information we gathered during M2W® inspired us to connect with our female consumers in new and exciting ways,” says Mona Maher, director of marketing-confections for Ghirardelli.

Celebrating five years of marketing-to-women success, M2W® proved to once again be the destination for companies that want to drive sales and build share in the lucrative women’s market.  “M2W® is an amazing event and truly illustrates the power of women and what happens when companies reshape themselves to be THE place for women to work and shop,” says M2W® panel participant Julie Gilbert, former SVP for Best Buy and CEO/founder of WOLF Means Business.  Adds Ketchum’s partner/director for global brand marketing Kelley Skoloda, who was honored during the preconference reception for her new sold out bestseller, Too Busy to Shop, “M2W® has become a 'must-attend' event for me. I make incredible connections and love the rich content. Put this conference on your learning agenda for 2010."

Women@NBCU was the Exclusive Presenting Sponsor of M2W® with Associate Sponsors Ketchum, Draftfcb, Engauge, SheSpeaks, Lifetime, Paramount Market Publishing, JSH&A, General Growth Properties, Barkley, Booz & Co. and MS&L.   imc2 was the Pre Conference Workshop Sponsor and Affina, BlogHer, Shutterfly and ecojot were Hospitality Sponsors. Min-makeovers were provided by Sephora.  SNiPPiES was the Video Journalism Resource and Getty Images was the Imagery Resource.

M2W® is produced by PME® Enterprises, Hartford, CT. Please visit www.m2w.biz or call 860.724.2649 x 11 for more details or to register for M2W®.

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