A new study has revealed marketers and consumers have contrasting views when it comes to gender representation in advertising and, by failing to portray and target women well, the global industry is missing out on an average of $9 billion in brand valuation.
According to Kantar's newest analysis of advertising creativity and media effectiveness, the vast majority (83%) of marketers in Asia Pacific think they are doing a good job creating advertising that avoids gender stereotypes. However, audiences disagree, with almost two-thirds (63%) of people in the region saying that advertising conforms to gender stereotypes.
The AdReaction: Getting Gender Right study, conducted during 2018, encompassed reviews of 30,000 ad tests in the 2018 Link(TM) global ad database, survey responses from 450 global marketers, analysis of the advertising attitudes among almost 40,000 consumers around the world, and brand equity analysis of over 9,000 global brands. The objective was to create an in-depth understanding of the role of gender in advertising.
Brands are leaving money on the table
Globally, the study found that average brand value is highest among gender-balanced brands (US$20.6bn vs $16.1bn among female-skewed brands and US$11.5bn among male-skewed brands), yet just 33% of brands achieve this balance.
The survey learned that women featured prominently in 28% of all ads with people; however, 76% of female consumers and 71% of male consumers believe the way they are portrayed in advertising is completely out of touch, and negatively impacts the effectiveness of individual adverts and campaigns.
Ultimately, the data suggests that men, and particularly women, are unhappy with the status quo and that brands can do better to connect in meaningfully different ways around gender.
'Speak to Customers; Not the Past'
According to the report, many people see 'traditional' expressions of men and women in advertising as holding back progress, with 60% of APAC consumers agreeing that most ads in their countries, including Thailand, reinforce rather than help eradicate harmful gender-based stereotypes. The study shows that females may be over targeted in categories like laundry and household products and under-targeted in other areas, like automotive. This is despite Thai females being the decision makers in most categories.
"We currently think we're doing a good job good of speaking to consumers in a progressive way, however audiences are telling us that most of the ads they see are still stuck in the past," said Irene Joshy, head of creative for North Asia, South East Asia and Pacific at Kantar's Insight Division.
The survey's results indicate that women are still often portrayed in most ads as "likeable" or "caring", and only 6% include an "authoritative" female character. This is despite adverts led by authentic and confident female characters outperforming other ads and making consumers feel more excitement, pride or surprise. Strong female characters also make ads much more believable and persuasive – attributes which are known to lead to short-term sales boosts.
The AdReaction: Getting Gender Right study suggests the industry is struggling to create genuinely engaging, impactful and great ads starring and connecting with women.
Rosie Hawkins, Chief Offer and Innovation Officer, Kantar Insights Division, says the failure to meaningfully connect with female audiences is selling brands short and limiting their brand value. "It is clear from our findings that some introspection is required on the part of creative and media agencies and their clients."
What Works?
Tone of voice plays a strong role in effectiveness: humor works well across both genders yet ads featuring only women use comedy less than half the time as ads featuring only men (22% vs 51%).
The Kantar study also found that there is no identifiable overall difference to ads across gender lines. While women show a slight preference with a 'slice of life' angle or featuring children or well-known music, there are few other elements which are preferred by men or women.
Participants also claimed they were no longer as engaged with traditional gender-based creative and suggest they would respond better to progressive ads that challenged outdated and simple beliefs.
Disregarding gender targeting, good adverts received universally positive responses and bad ads were bad for everyone
Five Ways the Industry Can Do Better
AdReaction recommends some key steps for creatives, media agencies and their clients to achieve more effective engagement across different gender groups:
1. Brands need to tread with care, and have good self-awareness of how they are perceived. Some more progressive brands have greater permission to challenge gender stereotypes, and brands also need to account for local socio-cultural attitudes
2. Most brands should design to better serve the needs of all users by catering to feminine and masculine needs within the same campaign idea and creative executions
3. Consistent ad testing which includes gender equality metrics will help you avoid the worst mistakes, and learn how to optimize portrayals
4. Gender balanced creative and media planning teams and processes will likely result in more meaningful campaigns
5. Walk the talk beyond the campaign; comprehensive forward-thinking programs don't stop at gender and get embedded far beyond the marketing department.
"We know that advertising has the potential to change the conversation. Progressive ads with authentic stories do well with audiences of both genders. Brands that want to journey through this with consumers need to start with ads that are carefully tested, handled sensibly, based on cultural and consumer understanding," stated Ian Kwan, Chief Commercial Officer, Kantar Insights Division.
The 'AdReaction: Getting Gender Right' study can be found at www.kantar.com/adreaction along with details of supporting webinars which will explore the study findings.
Notes for the editor:
AdReaction studies have been conducted since 2001, delivering insights on consumers' perceptions of advertising, particularly digital formats. Other recent studies include:
AdReaction: The Art Of Integration: A comprehensive exploration of how to maximise the brand impact of multichannel marketing campaigns
AdReaction: Engaging Gen X, Y & Z: A global study revealing Gen Z's behaviours, attitudes and responses to advertising to help marketers effectively engage them.
AdReaction: Getting Gender Right is the latest in a series of gender-based studies by Kantar. Other insights include:
What Women Want?: An evaluation of gender-based marketing in the UK, in celebration of the centenary of female emancipation.
Hold Her Gaze: An exploration of female personality archetypes to help brands successfully engage in 2019.
Winning over Women (US / UK): Studies evaluating the financial services industry's effectiveness at engaging female clients.
Winning over Wealth: A follow up UK study evaluating the Asset Management industry's effectiveness at engaging female clients.
The Reykjavik Index: An study of G7 nation attitudes toward equality of women in political and business leadership positions from Kantar Public and WPL.
About Kantar Millward Brown
Kantar Millward Brown is a leading global research agency specialising in advertising effectiveness, strategic communication, media and digital, and brand equity research. The company helps clients grow great brands through comprehensive research-based qualitative and quantitative solutions. Kantar Millward Brown operates in more than 55 countries and is part of WPP's Kantar group, one of the world's leading data, insight and consultancy companies. Learn more at www.millwardbrown.com.
For more information please contact
Kantar Thailand:
Carlos Dominguez, 0-2640-7229
Hill+Knowlton Strategies Thailand:
Julian Buckeridge, 0-2627-3501, ext. 221