How brand-cause fit shapes real world advertising messages: a qualitative exploration of ‘femvertising’

Champlin, Sara; Sterbenk, Yvette; Windels, Kasey; Poteet, Maddison

doi:10.1080/02650487.2019.1615294

Cited by 77 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 34 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Participants expressed the idea jewelry brands that included a diversity of models in their advertising were signaling they wanted to build an authentic relationship with consumers “like me.” This type of CSR (femvertising) was perceived to be relevant in jewelry advertising because consumers wanted to see the pieces displayed on someone similar – someone who is more realistic, relatable and engaging than supermodels or celebrities. This finding is supported by a previous study demonstrating that fit between a brand and a femvertising messages goes beyond simple congruence to the way the social issue is discussed by the brand (Champlin et al , 2019). The women in our study wanted a femvertising message of diversity because it signaled an authentic relationship between consumers and the brand to them.…”

Section: Study 2: Qualitative Interviewssupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Future survey methods could examine how many of these indifferent consumers exist for a specific luxury product segment and try to identify demographic characteristics indifferent consumers share. There is a perception that Millennials value CSR initiatives more than older consumers (Champlin et al , 2019), but with the exception of Loureiro ( 2017 ) who found Gen Y is most concerned about transparent procedures and sustainable and responsible attitudes of firms , there is little empirical evidence that this relationship exists in the luxury market. In the current study, no differences emerged in responses by other demographic characteristics, such as age.…”

Section: Discussion and Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consumers want and expect brands to “do good” in their communities and make a positive difference in the world (Diehl et al , 2016; Kim and Choi, 2019). Part of a brand’s CSR activities may include brand advocacy, where brands align with social issues to appear more socially responsible (Champlin et al , 2019). One such social issue alignment happens through femvertising: advertising that promotes female empowerment (Akestam, Rosengren and Dahlen, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Luxury brands’ use of CSR and femvertising: the case of jewelry advertising

Pankiw

Phillips

Williams

2020

QMR

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose Luxury brands seek to differentiate themselves from competitors by engaging in corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. Although many luxury brands participate in CSR activities, it is unclear if luxury brands communicate these CSR activities to consumers. Therefore, this study aims to explore two questions: are luxury jewelry brands communicating CSR (including women’s empowerment) in their advertising? And how should luxury jewelry brands communicate CSR messages in their advertising? Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a content analysis of luxury jewelry print advertisements and in-depth interviews with 20 female jewelry consumers analyzed using grounded theory to construct the luxury brand CSR advertising strategies theory. Findings Very few (3%) of print advertisements contain CSR messages, including femvertising and the theory presents four paths for brands to consider when promoting CSR practices, namely, ethical sourcing, cause-related marketing product, a signal of product care and quality and signal of an authentic relationship with the consumer. Practical implications The model provides four potential CSR advertising strategies and guidelines luxury jewelry brands can use to create successful advertising campaigns. Originality/value Luxury jewelry advertising has not been empirically examined and the study fills gaps in the understanding of luxury brands’ communication strategies. It adds to the knowledge and theorizing of the use and appropriateness of CSR appeals in a luxury brand context.

show abstract

Section: Study 2: Qualitative Interviewssupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussion and Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Luxury brands’ use of CSR and femvertising: the case of jewelry advertising

Pankiw

Phillips

Williams

2020

QMR

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Existing literature on femvertising has primarily focused on consumer response to the advertisements themselves (Feng et al 2019) or the framing of the messages (Sobande 2019;Champlin et al 2019). However, no research to date has explored whether companies that engage in femvertising have committed to the cause in their overall CSR program, a factor that can impact long-term reputation and loyalty (Pirsch et al 2007).…”

Section: Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There exists a great deal of research regarding green advertising and greenwashing claims and the impact of greenwashing on reputation (e.g., Nyilasy et al 2014;Berrone et al 2017). However, it is important to address these practices within the growing body of research and practice related to femvertising messages and reception (Abitbol and Sternadori 2019;Feng et al 2019;Sobande 2019;Champlin et al 2019). Several of the companies included in the present study target mostly women, such as award-winning Coty (the parent company of CoverGirl, OPI, Rimmel, and other cosmetics brands) and non-award-winning Revlon.…”

Section: Level Of Commitment and Goals For The Futurementioning

confidence: 99%

Is Femvertising the New Greenwashing? Examining Corporate Commitment to Gender Equality

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study examined the potential for a new area of corporate social responsibility (CSR) washing: gender equality. Companies are increasingly recognized for advertisements promoting gender equality, termed "femvertisements." However, it is unclear whether companies that win femvertising awards actually support women with an institutionalized approach to gender equality. A quantitative content analysis was performed assessing company leadership team listings, annual reports, CSR reports, and CSR websites of 61 US-based companies (31 award winners and 30 non-winning competitors) to compare the prevalence of internal and external gender-equality CSR activities of companies that have (versus have not) won femvertising awards. When controlling for number of employees and annual revenue, award-winning companies committed to more internal efforts that support women than non-award-winning companies. However, no significant differences were found in the number of external efforts or representation in female leadership between companies with and without awardwinning femvertisements. Overall, a majority of award-winning companies (81%) engaged in less than ten of the possible 23 gender-equality CSR activities, suggesting these companies' female empowerment commercials were often not in line with their broader CSR activities. While more research is needed in this area, we propose the term "fempower-washing" to describe CSR-washing in the context of gender equality. Keywords Femvertising • Corporate social responsibility • CSR advertising • Corporate hypocrisy • CSR-washingAn emerging area of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is activism, wherein companies take stances on sometimes controversial social issues such as LGBTQ+ rights,

show abstract

Femvertising or femwashing? Women's perceptions of authenticity

Hainneville

Guèvremont

Robinot

2022

J of Consumer Behaviour

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Stereotypes in advertising are recognized as contributing to the perpetuation of inequalities. In response to this, femvertising-"advertising that employs pro-female talents, messages, and imagery to empower women and girls" (SheKnows, 2014)-is increasingly observed in the marketplace. Despite femvertising's prevalence, current research has failed to identify women's core understanding of it. The objectives of this research are to conceptualize femvertising from a consumer perspective, explore the nature of authentic femvertising, and differentiate it from femwashing. In-depth interviews were conducted with 17 women. The findings help uncover femvertising's complex meaning as perceived by consumers and distinguish it from femwashing.The results suggest that the concepts of femvertising and femwashing coexist in consumers' minds. Six dimensions of authentic femvertising are identified: transparency, consistency, identification, diversity, respect, and challenging stereotypes. This research contributes to the consumer research, advertising, and branding literature; encourages a broader societal reflection about gender stereotypes; and offers several managerial implications.

show abstract

How brand-cause fit shapes real world advertising messages: a qualitative exploration of ‘femvertising’

Cited by 77 publications

References 34 publications

Luxury brands’ use of CSR and femvertising: the case of jewelry advertising

Luxury brands’ use of CSR and femvertising: the case of jewelry advertising

Is Femvertising the New Greenwashing? Examining Corporate Commitment to Gender Equality

Femvertising or femwashing? Women's perceptions of authenticity

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About