Apple’s iPad has until now been more popular with men, but the company’s initial marketing campaign for the new iPad Mini will focus on attracting women.
Three people who sell advertising for media companies tell me that Apple is primarily buying space for iPad Mini ads in publications and on TV shows that cater to women. For instance, I’m told that Apple has reserved space in the next issues of many Condé Nast women’s magazines but not the men’s titles at the publishing giant. An advertising saleswoman at another publishing company says the situation is the same over at her shop.
Apple is likely to advertise the new device far and wide, but I know that it has purchased time during NBC’s ”Today” show, watched largely by women, where Apple is likely to run this ad emphasizing the iPad Mini’s size relative to the iPad:
It’s easy to understand why Apple would target women with the iPad Mini. Ownership of the bulky 10-inch iPad is 53% male, while Amazon’s Kindle Fire—similar in size and weight to the iPad Mini—enjoys a 57% female audience, at least in the US. And if you think of the iPad Mini as a high-end e-reader, the opportunity is even more obvious: women have long dominated the market for e-readers.
I wrote yesterday about how the iPad Mini is Apple’s first one-handed tablet. It’s also the company’s first tablet that can fit comfortably inside a handbag, which I’m reliably informed is a big deal for many women in the market for electronics. Here, for instance, is a still from one of Amazon’s ads for the Kindle:
Apple hasn’t yet released much of its advertising copy for the iPad Mini, but I expect we’ll see much of the same kind of imagery. The company’s tagline for the device—”The whole package. In a smaller package.”—seems aimed at consumers who are already convinced the iPad is a superior tablet but have hesitated to buy one because of its size.