This year, the quest to garner deeper insights into women has taken an important step forward.

We know that women are complex and can be sub-segmented infinitely. It was no surprise, at Strategy’s recent What Do Women Want conference, that research is seen as the key to understanding women and responding to their needs. But how do we as marketers push the research envelope to gain rich, contextual insights into women?

At W Network, we are committed to research and are involved in numerous studies, including the newly commissioned HEReport due out in March 2003. Each of these studies is very distinct and fills in different pieces of this complex puzzle.

We recognize that women interact and engage in the world in a very different way from men and that communication and connecting through relationships is key to them. So when we heard about an innovative online study by Toronto’s In-Sync Research called ‘Rant Room’ that harnesses the cathartic power of ranting, we were intrigued and signed up as one of the clients. Rant Room provides a no-holds-barred environment for women to bond as they passionately discuss life and consumerism. The online survey, which took place with 20 women over four weeks, was designed with the knowledge that women need other women to share, connect and vent their feelings in a safe, anonymous environment.

The feedback from women has been astonishingly raw, personal and revealing. And the early findings provide a very real and intimate picture of women’s wants, desires, fears, concerns and attitudes.

This group of women had one thing in common – they were all moms but they came from very different situations – some worked, some stayed at home, they were single, married or divorced and they came from different regions of the country. Despite the uniqueness of each of the participants, by digging below the surface, many common themes came to light. Here are just a few of the rich insights we’re beginning to uncover:

The child paradox

When it comes to their children, women derive the greatest satisfaction from sharing simple moments with them, but in today’s competitive society, women feeling pressure tend to over-program their kids to the point that these deeply satisfying moments are few and far between. This has created havoc in their family lives and they long for simpler times.

Girlfriends are a lifesaver

As women age (35+), the role of their girlfriends becomes far more critical. They realize that the men in their lives can’t meet all their emotional needs. Their girlfriends listen differently than men, remember the ‘old’ them, and enable them to be silly. Knowing how to truly tap into the power of girlfriends is one way to resonate with women.

Overwhelmed and under-

appreciated – a licence for pampering

Many women in their mid-thirties start to feel that they lack the passion they felt in their earlier lives. Career and family responsibilities and the hectic pace of life has zapped the passion in their relationships and has left little room to pursue their personal interests. In response, women look for quick fixes to fill those passion gaps with shopping, little indulgences, harmless flirting, romance novels, spas and massage.

By creating a methodology that was designed with women in mind, Rant Room has managed to explore women’s innermost thinking and provide us with some invaluable insights. As marketers, we must continue to create products and services that resonate with women and use innovative approaches, such as Rant Room, to gain a deeper understanding of women’s true wants and desires.

Susan Schaefer is VP marketing, television (which includes W Network), at Toronto-based Corus Entertainment.