Sunday, February 26

20 Tweetable Truths about Belgian Women, Food and Media

Almost every day I fear this one question: what will I cook/eat this evening? First thing, I always ask my boyfriend. Most of the times, he struggles with the same lack of inspiration as I do. We both love food but not the preparation of the daily meal. So, I have to admit that I often turn to women's magazines to inspire me about recipes, and the French-written Belgian weekly Femmes d'Aujourd'hui in particular. And that's what inspire me to write this blog post:  What about Belgian women? How do they find inspiration? According to the research survey #Femininsight, 67% of the Belgian women mostly rely on magazines for (inspiration about) cooking recipes. The second preferred  information channel is very 'classic' too: culinary books (47%).

When it comes to food, drinks, restaurants or recipes, Belgian women turn to traditional information sources: brochures, the point of sales, magazines, TV,... I don't underestimate the power of digital media. As you will discover in the presentation below, e-newsletters and (traditional) websites are still powerful tools to inform  women. Social Media (Facebook, etc) are not very top of mind as preferred channel. Unfortunately, apps were not (yet) included in this edition.

In the presentation below, available for download on SlideShare, I've tried to compile information that can help marketeers in charge of food brands about the use of magazines in their media mix. Advertorials with recipes are great tools to integrate your brand in a non-intrusive way. Inspire women: 50% often tries a recipe after having seen it in a magazine and 48% follow tips read in culi editorials. Despite the huge amount of information available online, women cited magazines as the n°1 information sources about cooking recipes. Play that asset.