Gender marketing

When it comes to gender, stereotypes are drilled into us from birth, leading us to form clichéd opinions, such as all men like cars and sports, while women like shopping and reality TV. These conventions permeate our collective consciousness and are mirrored back to us by the media, advertising, and the products we consume. The truth is, however, that these adages do often reflect our reality; there is a nugget of truth in each of these stereotypes, and this has not escaped the notice of advertisers, who have exploited these conventions to capitalized on them. It’s no coincidence that more car commercials are aired during football games, or that cosmetics commercials are played on repeat during ‘America’s Next Top Model’. This form of marketing, gender marketing, was established in the United States in the 1990s, and has since gained ground around the world. But what exactly is gender marketing and how does it work?

Gender has a very specific meaning, which differs to ‘sex’; when we refer to a person’s ‘sex’ we are speaking of their biological sex (i.e. male or female). This is strictly physiological, whereas the term ‘gender’ refers to a sociocultural construct. While a person’s biological sex is defined at birth, their gender is determined by the different gender roles and behavioral differences between men and women, which are strongly influenced by society and culture. Gender marketing is based on the various properties assigned to men and women, both physical characteristics and interests. 

Behavioral and psychological differences between men and women are the central focus of gender studies. In addition to being a fascinating area of sociology or psychology, gender studies can produce interesting insights for marketing purposes. Many marketing strategies now use gender marketing techniques, tailoring advertising content and techniques to the different consumption and purchasing behavior of the genders.

From early childhood, it’s possible to observe the two sexes develop different preferences and behavioral patterns; with long-established patterns, such as girls playing with dolls and boys opting for toy cars and building blocks. The toy industry has been exploiting this trend for decades, generating enormous profits by targeting girls and boys separately. But even in adulthood, most people never fully abandon ingrained gendered behavior; for example, in personal grooming, it’s still far more common to associate floral and sweet scents with women, while products aimed at men tend to be more smoky or woody. Gender marketing uses these patterns in an attempt to establish the criteria that influence consumer behavior and determine what leads people to making a purchase.

A quick glance inside a toy store or a makeup aisle quickly provides evidence that girls and women are supposed to like the color pink. But gender marketing is more than just color coding selected products; making something appear ‘girly’ is about far more than just coloring it pink. The concept is far more complex, requiring a specific, well-thought-out strategy. Psychological factors also play a decisive role. Gender marketing uses the findings of psychology and neuroscience to draw conclusions about women and men’s varying needs, interests, and preferences when it comes to purchasing behavior.

Men tend to take a rather more linear path to their product, only going through each phase one time. They generally concentrate on their current requirements and therefore go through each individual stage successively. The consensus when it comes to men’s shopping habits is that they search for a good solution to their ‘problem’, i.e. finding the appropriate product for their needs.

A typically ‘masculine’ approach to purchasing involves creating a list of criteria that the product should meet. If he then finds a product that fulfills all these requirements while comparing alternative products on the market, he tends to choose this product, thereby ending the process.

As shown in the above graphic, women tend to go through a spiraling thought process when purchasing items, passing through individual decision phases several times. A typically ‘feminine’ approach is to find a perfect solution to their problem. A ‘feminine’ decision is usually determined by a detailed list of criteria, which can often change. A woman’s decision-making process is usually more complex and lengthier than that of men. Ultimately, the product must satisfy the woman’s requirements in as many ways as possible. Furthermore, if a woman finds a satisfactory product, they still won’t necessarily buy it straight away: 61% of women visit several stores before making a final decision about their purchase.

Gender marketing encompasses every aspect of sales, incorporating the gender-specific demands of consumers in the production process, distribution, as well as communications strategies. A successful marketing mix usually uses the following seven marketing tools: product (product policy), price (price policy), place (distribution policy), promotion (communication policy), personnel (personnel policy), process (equipment policy), and physical facilities.

Product, place, promotion, and personnel are particularly interesting factors when it comes to gender marketing, as advertisers can tailor these areas to the different demands and preferences of men and women. In the following, we explain how you can use gender marketing to advertise and sell your goods and services successfully.

Encompassing the entire process of designing a product, the product policy is the heart of any marketing campaign and influences all further stages in the marketing process. This initial stage in the development process is often crucial in deciding whether a product is successful.

From the outset, it’s integral for you as a company to consider the target group you want to address and the demands specific to individual consumers within this group. There are several factors to contemplate when selecting your target group, e.g. age group, social status, and lifestyle. It is during this stage that you should consider whether gender marketing is an appropriate method for you. Is your customer base made up of mostly men, women, or both? Do all members of your target audience require your product in the same way, or do their needs depend on their gender?

Gender marketing not only takes the physical uses of the product into account, but also the different associations that women and men have with regard to the product. Many (extremely successful) goods and service are marketed in completely different ways in order to appeal to men and women, although strictly speaking, both sexes could use them. Think of razors, for example; despite being essentially the same, they are designed and marketed differently for men and women.

Gillette is a particularly good example of a successful gender marketing campaign, with its separate products and campaign strategies for women and men. Not only do women’s razors differ to the men’s in their design; the products are even marketed with different advertising campaigns and separate websites. In doing this, the company emphasizes the different advantages their razors have for their intended target groups. Men’s razors are usually presented as sporty and dynamic, with a prominent sports star often appearing in commercials and advertising campaigns. Meanwhile, the advertisements for the feminine counterpart emphasize the razor’s skin-enhancing properties, promoting shaving as part of a luxurious and indulgent skincare routine. The company has cleverly managed to create one product with two successful product lines, in which both the product design and marketing are adapted for the two sexes.

There are several other products that can be divided into gendered categories. Advertisers often develop entire product ranges separated into female and male interest areas. It’s therefore possible for marketers to develop gender-specific sales strategies. Here are some examples:

‘Place’ refers to the sales environment in which consumers go shopping. No matter whether they’re physically entering a store or browsing online shops, the sales environment plays a decisive role in making a purchase. If you have a brick-and-mortar store, your need to consider factors such as light conditions, storage and presentation, cleanliness, etc., while website owners have to create an appealing virtual environment. For this, you have to keep in mind factors such as web design, presentation, and informative content, as well as website navigation. But if you want to offer gender-specific products, what should you look out for when creating the sales environment?

It may be a cliché, but it’s certainly true in many cases: the large proportion of women enjoy shopping. The stereotype exists for a reason; sometimes women spend hours in a department store, completely forgetting why they originally went there. Even if they only wanted pantyhose, they might see a dress in the shop window they want to try on, and then start to look for a pair of shoes to match. Perhaps then, on the way to the checkout, they notice the perfume counter and make a short detour. But to encourage this kind of splurging, business owners have to curate a pleasant sales atmosphere. This involves ensuring cleanliness, products presented in logical order, colorful displays, warm lighting conditions, and if possible, suitable mood lighting and music. This logic behind it is pretty simple: if the customer feels comfortable, they want to stay.

In contrast to the feminine approach to shopping, the typically ‘masculine’ approach is far more utilitarian. The common conception is that men derive very little pleasure from shopping; they simply go to the store to get something they need. The desired product should be easily accessible and the way to the checkout should be as short and convenient as possible. A homey sales atmosphere is not necessary. This straightforward purchasing process is influenced by the shopping behavior associated with men, which is to buy the product and to leave the department store without any detours. For this reason, many hardware stores, for example, create a structured and simple sales environment without any frills.

Creating a gender-specific sales environment can drastically increase sales, and website operators have been quick to pick up on this trend. While of course, the sales techniques are different from traditional retail, the different needs of women and men are also important in the digital world. This applies not only to web design, which can be adapted to the genders, but also to the texts and product presentations. Research has shown that women tend to prefer static images, while men are able to better process videos about services or the product.

In accordance with their aim of making purchases quickly and efficiently, men prefer product descriptions that are brief and to the point, listing the product’s most important properties and, where possible, giving specific numbers, data, and facts. Women, on the other hand, are generally willing to read longer, more descriptive texts, because they tend to want to be as informed as much as possible about the range of products on offer. These should clarify the possible applications and the benefits of the advertised product as precisely as possible.

‘Promotion’ encompasses all internal and external communications methods used to advertise a product. These include, but are not limited to, television commercials, online communications carried out on social media platforms, and e-mail marketing, all of which, when correctly implemented, can potentially reach many new customers. One unique example of commercial e-mails is that, with sufficient user data, it’s possible to personalize and tailor the e-mails to the receiver, making them an ideal resource for gender marketing.

Companies also use TV and radio commercials to address men and women in different ways. For example, car advertisements geared towards men often emphasize ideals which are considered typically masculine. The vehicle is portrayed to highlights its speed and the sporty design. Advertisements aimed at men also frequently suggest a sense of freedom. When aimed at women, however, cars are usually presented as compact and practical. In this case, the manufacturers generally choose to emphasize storage space, low energy consumption, or the automobile’s usability.

‘Personnel’ includes all individuals who provide services to (potential) customers on behalf of a company. This area covers those who are actively involved in executing the sales, as well as those providing a service, such as taking care of dispatching, giving advice, or receiving customer complaints. Having professional personnel in all areas contributes significantly to customer loyalty. And in the context of gender marketing, staff members should be trained to take into account men and women’s different interests and requirements. This can lead to completely different sales pitches and drastically different exchanges between the salesperson and the consumer.

Among other traits, to be feminine is to be highly empathetic, meaning women have the ability to form emotional bonds with products, as well as with people. For women, the decision to purchase a product is influenced by many different criteria, not just the product itself. For this reason, it’s common for women to ask sales representatives a lot of questions, expect comprehensive answers, and become interested in aspects of the product that go beyond its own physical qualities. For example, in accordance with the typically ‘feminine’ approach to shopping, when a woman goes to buy a jumper, she won’t just be looking out for the quality of the fabric, but also whether the jumper will go with her other items of clothing. It’s imperative for sales personnel to take these factors into account and provide their customers with a comprehensive knowledge of their product range.

On the other hand, the masculine approach to decision making is structural, and they can be convinced by functional arguments. Relevant facts and figures are often more important than communication on a personal level. To ascertain whether a product can meet their specific needs, men will tend to ask direct, goal-oriented questions, before weighing up the pros and cons and subsequently deciding whether the product is suitable. The salesperson should therefore be well acquainted with the products to be able to answer subject-related questions efficiently and confidently. If men feel that their assistant is not technically competent, they might well feel tempted to buy their products somewhere else.

Our notions of gender are constantly evolving, and as such, gender marketing is not an ideal solution in every sector. The most effective use of gender marketing is when the product has different applications for men and women. The fashion industry is a perfect example of this; the distinction between men and women’s clothing originally stems from the typical differences in size and height. But when it comes to aesthetic preferences, we again tend to see a striking disparity between the two sexes. A gender-specific marketing strategy is therefore extremely useful in the fashion industry. But what’s the deal in other areas – for example, in construction, and DIY, or the food industry?

The fact that gender marketing can have a damaging effect on society is especially evident in the marketing of food. Although today the number of single people living alone has grown significantly, with women and men preparing their daily meals independently, advertising often promotes very backwards ideals. All too often advertising suggests that the role of the woman is to watch her weight or prepare healthy meals for the family, while the man is lazier, munching on unhealthy snacks and microwavable ready meals, or taking control of the barbecue. The stereotype that healthy eating is of no interest to men is frequently emphasized by advertising that associates women with keeping their weight and health in check and men with junk food.

The food industry, in particular, is full of damaging, thinly-veiled stereotypes. Male celebrities are often used to promote alcoholic beverages and unhealthy soft drinks (such as the comically hyper-masculine Coors Light campaigns starring movie star Jean-Claude Van Damme). Meanwhile, diet soft drink commercials disproportionately feature female models. Men drink beer, women choose wine, men eat too much junk, women are told to watch their weight, the list could go on forever. The surprising and dangerous thing is that despite the negative impact, the gender marketing construction of the food industry is a complete success. Attractive models can also be used to glamorize products in a way that is detrimental to the consumer. A good example of this is Carl’s Jr’s 2015 advertising campaign featuring a group of scantily clad models. The over-sexualized commercial’s objectifying portrayal of the women had a multi-faceted impact: the erotic aspect of the advertisement was supposed to attract men and women alike, on the basis that the models were either to be lusted after or admired. Using sex to sell products has an astounding impact – erotic images linger in the consumer’s mind for a long time, and the product associated with them does too.

Despite its overwhelming success, this marketing strategy of course encounters criticism. Nutritionists often argue that, from a health perspective, it would be better to promote healthy living to men and women equally. This could ultimately put an end to promoting unhealthy lifestyles to men and dangerous dieting to women.

Despite the dubious social consequences that gender marketing campaigns often cause, companies that use this type of marketing often enjoy a great deal of commercial success. However, there are also many times when this approach has come across as sexist and caused more harm than good. One such example of gender marketing gone wrong is Protein World’s now infamous ‘beach body ready’ campaign from 2015. Aimed primarily towards women, this campaign featured an attractive, toned model wearing a small bikini, alongside the caption, ‘Are you beach body ready?’ With the massive size of the billboards and the camera angle, the model looms over the viewer, dark shadows over her face making the already tall woman appear intimidating large.

With this campaign, the company, Protein World, has clearly attempted to target women. As many women are already conscious of nutrition (thanks, of course, to other gender marketing campaigns), the idea of marketing a protein powder range for women is not a bad idea, in principle. However, the heavy-handed use of such a body-shaming slogan, combined with the clearly sexist representation of the woman, (the model wears very little clothing and the camera focusses on her lower body, rather than her face) caused an angry response from outraged consumers. Although of course, the choice to use gender marketing is useful for highlighting the different results for men and women, this advertising campaign failed to connect with its audience. Unsurprisingly, displaying an idealized, airbrushed, and unrealistic image of a woman’s body alongside an insensitive and admonishing slogan sparked a nationwide backlash. This resulted in a PR nightmare for the company, with Protein World defending its advertisement on Twitter by insulting critics. Ultimately, the campaign was axed and the advert was banned in London. This gender marketing campaign proved that sex does not always sell.

What used to belong to the masculine domain is now becoming relevant to women too – this is especially true of DIY and technical activities. In contrast, an increasing number of men now take on work that is traditionally associated with women, such as cooking, maintaining a household, and staying at home to raise children. This social change has also led to a shift in gender-specific interests. Successful gender marketing campaigns take note of these patterns and recognize and respond to changes in attitudes to promote sales.

Of course, using a gender-oriented marketing strategy is not always an advantage. Advertising in this way is not useful or relevant for every product – especially if the product is so simple that a distinction between men's and women's versions is unnecessary (this concerns many basic food products such as fruit and vegetables, as well as functional, everyday products such as copying paper, printer cartridges, etc.). In cases such as these, targeting the product towards a particular audience carries a risk of a decrease in sales. If a product is marketed as typically female or typically male, it can lose its appeal to the opposite sex. The use of too many gender stereotypes or a negative portrayal of these stereotypes can also lead to a backlash and potentially harm a company’s reputation. If consumers perceive the presentation of the product as too overwhelming or even offensive, they will dissociate themselves from it. Many products geared towards women have failed because the company has overdone its ‘girly’ advertising, and many products aimed at men have failed to sell because the advertising was too sexist.

Gender marketing is an incredibly complex field. As such, those who fail to grasp the different interests and needs of men and women risk missing the mark with their campaigns, thereby remaining unsuccessful. Therefore, as an advertiser, you must precisely analyze your target audience to determine which marketing strategy makes sense for your product. The use of gender marketing is most appropriate when the requirements of male and female consumers are very different from each other. If you are able to respond to these specific needs fully, you can expand your customer base considerably.