New technology and gender

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francesca.bray@ed.ac.uk
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Women and Advertising

Men and women’s brains are wired differently and this affects responses to marketing messages. Women make purchase decisions on a more emotive level and will generally take longer to make purchasing decisions. They also make purchasing decisions on a more complex range of purchasing criteria.

Women are becoming increasingly difficult to reach. Today's female is increasingly busy, complex and time poor. Media choices are also becoming increasingly fragmented. Combined with the fact that many industries are becoming more competitive and crowded, reaching today's female consumer requires a carefully planned, creative and often highly innovative approach.
In that case, what are the significant differences of marketing.

Women are able to process more complex language structure and will generally respond to images that are more emotive and human. For example, when marketing a car, men will be engaged with a picture of a car whereas women will be more likely to respond to a picture of a car with people in it.

- Amanda Stevens (Splash Consulting)

The Ford Website

Whether a marketer is selling linen sheets or sheet metal, the frontline in the battle for the sexes’ dollars is simply this:
If marketers can meet women’s expectations, they’ve already exceeded men’s.
So says marketing guru Marti Barletta who wrote the book on it – “Marketing to Women” (Dearborn Press). She’s also the founder and CEO of the TrendSight consulting a research firm in suburban Chicago that advises marketers on what women – and men – want.
When it comes to buying a new car, the difference between men and women consumers is that guys focus on the basics – quality, reliability, safety, design, fuel economy – while women sweat the details.
“Men quickly figure out what they want and buy it, while women have longer lists,” Barletta says. ‘“Does that SUV have a back-up beeper and grocery-bag holders?’ ‘Does that minivan come with remote-control doors?’ ‘Is there enough storage under the floor? ‘Does the rear-view mirror also let me glance into the backseat?’
“It’s not that men don’t want all that stuff too. It just isn’t at the top of their conscious minds.”
And women tend to look at car attributes in a different way than men. Take the need for speed. For him it’s all about going from zero-to-60 before he can sing, “Tramps like us, baby we were born to run.” For her it’s all about being able to punch the accelerator when going from the on-ramp to the freeway so an oncoming 18-wheeler won’t squeeze her.
Men like convertibles for their sense of speed and power. Women like droptops because they appeal to their heightened sensory experiences, from feeling the wind in their hair to seeing the stars overhead and smelling the roses along the parkway.
And savvy carmakers, acutely aware that women now buy 62 percent of new cars, are responding by rethinking their advertising messages.
They know women don’t like hard-sell and they don’t take to patronizing “special-for-women” ad messages, which they perceive to really mean under-quality and over-priced. And so-called “pink-and-frilly” advertising themes went out with the Stepford wives.
A case in point: It’s no coincidence that the fashionable and authoritative Lincoln Mercury TV spokeswoman implores her audience to “add” the Mercury Milan sedan to their list, instead of the traditionally blatant, “you should buy it.”
"Women respond best to conversational and informal ad pitches and spokespeople who are ‘just like me,’” says Barletta. “I call it ‘the girlfriend factor.’”
The fine line for advertisers, of course, is not to turn off their boyfriends in the process.
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THE Y-BUY CHROMOSONE
Men and women car shoppers look for the same basic qualities, but there’s something Y chromosome-related that makes each sex view them in different ways, says Marti Barletta, who adds that the following generally apply:
SAFETY
He Says: “It’s all about avoiding accidents,” (tight steering, anti-lock brakes).
She Says: “It’s all about surviving accidents,” (seat belts, air bags).
FUEL ECONOMY
He Says: “Saving money at the pump”
She Says: “Saving the planet”
RELIABILITY
He Says: “Keeps me out of the repair shop.”
She Says: “Keeps me from being stranded at the side of the road.”
FUN TO DRIVE
He Says: “Single sense: Power, you can’t touch me.”
She Says: “Total sensory: Feel the wind, hear the engine purr, smell the new-car aroma.”
COMFORT
He Says: “Feeling bumps in the road can be fun.”
She Says: “Life has enough bumps. Give me heated seats and cushy leather.”
DURABILITY
He Says: “Important, but old cars aren’t cool.”
She Says: “As long as it’s reliable, drive on. Throwing away a perfectly good car is wasteful.”
VALUE
He Says: “All the categories above.”
She Says: “Those categories are just the short list.”STYLING
He Says: “The exterior --What other people see.”
She Says: “The interior -- Where I live.”
POWER
He says: “The thrill of it all.”
She says: “The confidence to keep up on the freeway”
WORST CAR AD PITCH
He Says: “Special for women.”
She Says: “Special for women.”

Detailed Proposal

1. Topic Area
Advertising

2. Proposed title, question, hypothesis
How are car adverts specifically engineered to target both genders?

3. Teacher approval granted, in principal?
Yes

4. Principle texts (if text based study)
- Gillian Dyer - Advertising as Communication
- Jib Fowles - Advertising and Popular Culture
- William Leiss - Social Communication in Advertising
- Judith Williamson - Decoding Advertising (photographs with detailed analysis)
- The Morgan : The Art of Selling a Unique Sports Car


5. Reason for choice
Car adverts are often the most entertaining ones you see on television
They are available on many different media platforms
I have a personal interest in cars
I watch a lof of Top Gear
Adverts for cars are always cleverly created and are always different
They always make you think and contrast heavily with most other adverts
They usually have a replay factor where you can watch them repeatedly.

6. Academic context for this study (similar research, relevant theory, named theorists)
Gillian Dyer, Jib Fowles, William Leiss, Judith Williamson, The Morgan

7. Institutional context for this study (industry focus, other texts for comparison, named practitioners, relevant theory, issues, questions)
- Focusing on how the car industry present their latest car models in order to attract a certain gender.
- Looking at certain car producers - honda, ford, toyota, kia, skoda, bmw, mercedes, nissan and how their adverts and cars target gender.
- the works of Nick Velody - worked for 'Ford' adverts
- the works of Leighton Ballet - workds in car advertising


8. Identify the audience context for this study (audience profile, access to audience, potential sample)
A comparison between genders
Mainly targeted at adults because they are the ones tha adverts are aimed at
Easy to access to adults through family friends and teachers.
Samples taken from these various adult groups

9. How will the 4 key concepts be relevant to your study (audience, institution, forms and conventions, representation)?
audience - my primary reseach is based on audiences responses to questions relating to car adverts. therefore this is a primarty concern of mine. i will seperate my findings into gender, as well as seeing if there is a difference relating to ages of genders and what they like.
institution - as the car companies are the ones who are producing the adverts i will be studying, it is crucial that i research into the companies themselves and their intentions. my whole project is based on the cars produced by these companies.
representation - representation of genders through car advertising. are car adverts aimed at the stereotypical man and women? do stereotypes still exist? do they play a part in car advertisin? how are the cars represented?
forms and conventions -

10 Potential research sources (secondary): secondary academic books and websites, secondary industry books and websites, secondary popular criticism. Please identify specific examples you have come across.
- Gillian Dyer - Advertising as Communication
- Jib Fowles - Advertising and Popular Culture
- William Leiss - Social Communication in Advertising
- Judith Williamson - Decoding Advertising (photographs with detailed analysis)
- The Morgan : The Art of Selling a Unique Sports Car


11. Potential research sources (primary): audience reception research, your own content/textual analysis etc
- Analysis of car adverts from the television
- Analysis of car adverts from magazines and newspapers
- Focus groups - getting audiences to respond to certain adverts
- Gender analysis - getting responsess from both men and women on car adverts and comparing them.
- Questionairres

12. Modifications agreed with your lead teacher
none


13. Potential limits/obstacles/problems?
- not enough material around on my actual topic
- getting enough samples from adults on cars.
- finding a time when adults are available to talk about cars. they generally are busy with work and children so it will be hard to find a time.


14. Teacher concerns


15. Teacher approval

Focus Groups

Laminate car adverts and pictures from magazines and in focus groups, ask different audiences what they think of the advert.
Don't ask questions, let them give all the answers.

Car Advertisement

template questions:

how do men and women respond to car advertising?

how do male and female audiences respond to modern car advertising?

are car adverts specifically engineered to target men?

how are car adverts specifically engineered to target both genders?

why are car adverts so dependant on using new technologies?

are car adverts constructed to appeal to both genders?