Factors Influencing Consumers’ Perceptions of Femvertising: An Exploratory Study

Femvertising, consumer perceptions, exploratory factor analysis, authenticity, brand credibility, gender equality

Femvertising has become a significant trend in modern advertising, where brands aim to make promotional communication consistent with the empowerment of women or gender-sensitive representation. The reaction of consumers to femvertising, however, depends on several evaluative factors, not only on the claims about empowerment. The paper discusses the factors affecting the perception of the consumers with regard to femvertising with an exploratory quantitative design. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain data on 250 respondents and to analyse the information with the help of exploratory factor analysis. The results verified the appropriateness of the data to factor analysis and identified Ten factorial components behind the perceptions of consumers regarding femvertising. Out of the factors extracted, authenticity was found to be the most considerable dimensions and then there was message/brand credibility and brand commitment to gender equality. The study provides a new empirical basis of consumer perceptions toward femvertising and offers practical information to brands that want to create more believable, inclusive, and relevant empowerment-based advertising campaigns.