סמינר בשיווק
"Are the Brand Choice Considerations of Men and Women Really Different?"
Prof. Enav Friedmann
Bar-Ilan University
Marketers often assume that functional, hedonic and socially conspicuous utilities in choosing a brand differ for men and women, thus different marketing strategies are required for each gender. To date, most of the research studies have used self-reported measures when shopping in general or in regard to a single product.
The purpose of this research is to examine this question using two different contexts of brand choice: single choice evaluation (SCE) and brand selection context (BSC).
This assessment will clarify whether male and female utilities when choosing a brand are indeed inherent and consistent.
Data were collected using surveys in three studies regarding choosing a product (N = 923) and two studies regarding choice of a service (N = 430).
Results showed that stereotypical gender differences appeared only in SCE while the BSC, that more closely mimics real-life contexts, yielded atypical gender considerations.
Cognitive load was suggested to blur the stereotypical appearance of gender differences. The findings suggest that when trying to influence brand choice, stereotypical gender targeting may be unjustified. Furthermore, gender differences are not evolutionary or inherent, as the context of choice was found to be a condition boundary for gender differences. Thus, gender stereotypes in advertising seem to reconstruct differences that are not significant in a realistic brand selection context