That could be the only explanation for the appearance of young women wearing what appeared to be either underwear or swimming attire at many booths. Quite rightly they have been badged “booth babes” by observers because they have been treated as if they were not adults but small children who could amuse visitors.

From that you could make the not unreasonable assumption that those who booked these “booth babes” to appear at stands have a regressed perspective (or one that hasn‘t grown up). And what is worse, is the realisation that they are actually managing the budgets of some companies.

Compounding this is the complete ignorance that the businesswomen’s market is one of the biggest growth areas in Australian business. As women continue to start up businesses and also taking more responsibility for the chequebooks of large companies, they need to be informed about their technology decisions.
The appearance of ‘booth babes’ on stands ensured that any women wanting to do business with that company was repelled from their stand. This is not even to consider how women and men from other cultures would feel by this confrontational behaviour.

Research confirms that women and men offended by this (and who wouldn’t be?) most likely went away telling as many people as possible about how they felt. And if they used social media this would be thousands.

Here’s just a few responses in the social media that were reported this week:

“Why do IT companies still think booth babes are a clever marketing trick?” asked Rachel De Sain, vice president of the Victorian branch of AIMIA. “Trashy and so last century.”What do you think about the “booth babes” and the executives who organised their appearance?

Its a question I’ve pondered for some time (not only about Sony but the various other global CE manufacturers) and I’m inclined to believe that out of all of the technology leaders with the exception of Apple, (a brand many women adore) that Sony has the best chance of success when they put their minds to it.
 
There are two reasons why I say this although I have to admit to also feeling disappointed that their origins don’t come from Australia.
 
I came across the first instance of Sony’s ability to be ‘gender intelligent’ when I strolled past the Sony Style store in Beijing’s affluent Park Plaza shopping mall, yesterday morning.
 
What stopped me in my tracks was first, the massive display of two Bravia TV’s positioned in the enormous windows as if they were mannequins: the TVs were treated respectfully, as items to be desired, rather than bartered to the lowest bidder.
 
A few steps further and I was at the entrance: light, bright, clean and inviting. Just like any women when she is shopping, I actually thought I might go inside for a browse. Now this tells me that Sony must be on the right track, as the reaction by most women to the entrance of a CE store with its usual, screaming, discounting and irreverent messages is to get away as soon as possible.
 
I would imagine that Sony has done its homework well. Around 75% of the traffic past that storefront were women and there purses were bulging ( I could tell this by the number of designer shopping bags they were carrying). Now, when you consider that Beijing is home to 26 Fortune Global 500 companies, the third most in the world behind Tokyo and Paris, that’s a well paid consumer that you don’t want to allow to escape.
 
Second, I have also held Sony slightly ahead of the pack after discovering that its US Playstation operation offer annual scholarships to women to enable them to commercially develop their gaming skills. Again, another ‘gender intelligent’ decision as women comprise one of the strongest gaming deomographics.
 
So Sony pushes ahead for starting to think like a women and then actually doing something about it, well in China and the US: now if we could only sees some signs in Australia .

One company that stands head and shoulders above all others in the global retail landscape is BestBuy. It’s cited as the benchmark for retailing success in consumer electronics products and Australian retailers know that when it arrives here, their business will never be the same.

But what many don’t know about is how BestBuy took the radical step six years ago to turn its businesses towards the women’s markets and, as a result increased revenue by US$4.4billion.

It all started with WoLF.

WoLF stands for the Women’s Leadership Forum and it was the brainchild of Julie Gilbert, who was appointed vice President of WoLF and Entrepreneurial Initiatives at Best Buy in 2004. Her mission was to make sure women’s voices were being heard both in Best Buy stores nationwide and at the corporate offices in Minneapolis.

It has since grown into an incredible network of women and men at all levels of Best Buy’s business, engaged female consumers, vendors, and several non-profit partners who are committed to helping women in our communities and around the world.
The business outcomes WoLF achieved are unprecedented and WoLF @ Best Buy continues:

Revenue
$4.4 billion increase in revenue from female customers
(11% increase in total company revenue)

Market Share
Highest ever female market share in company history
Females became the majority of the most “valuable “customers
Brand Reputation
Largest increase in brand perception in company history

Network
Passionate, global, viral customer networks growing market share and innovating new business offerings
Over 40,000 members in 40 plus countries

Performance Outcomes
5% reduction in female turnover resulting in a minimum of $25 million in savings
18% increase in the number of female employees.
100% increase in females in the most profitable business unit
40% increase in female General Managers & General Managers In Training
60% increase in female Operations Managers
30% increase in female Customer Experience Managers

In March of 2009, Julie departed Best Buy to take WoLF to other organizations and to continue to build a global women’s movement.
Julie formed WoLF Means Business in May 2009, and if you can follow  julie @twitter.com/Julie Gilbert and to be inspired watch her video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCppGuRr0Tc