Question: Jamie Drout is interested in perceptions of gender stereotypes within beauty product advertising, which includes soap, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, perfume, cologne, makeup, chemical hair color, razors, skin care, feminine care, and salon services; as well as the perceived benefits of empowerment advertising. Gender stereotypes specifically use cultural perceptions of what constitutes an attractive, acceptable, and desirable man or woman, frequently exploiting specific gender roles, and are commonly employed in advertisements for beauty products. Women are represented as delicately feminine, strikingly beautiful, and physically flawless, occupying small amounts of physical space that generally exploit their sexuality; men as strong and masculine with chiseled physical bodies, occupying large amounts of physical space to maintain their masculinity and power. In contrast, empowerment advertising strategies negate gender stereotypes and visually communicate the unique differences in each individual. In empowerment advertising, men and women are to represent the diversity in beauty, body type, and levels of perceived femininity and masculinity. Her project is focused on understanding consumer perceptions of these advertising strategies.
Jamie conducted a survey using the following questionnaire:
1. What is your gender?
- Male
- Female
2. What is your age?
3. What is the highest level of education you have completed?
- Some High School Classes
- High School Diploma
- Some Undergraduate Courses
- Associate Degree
- Bachelor Degree
- Master Degree
- J.D.
- M.D.
- Doctorate Degree
4. What is your annual income?
$0 to <$10,000
$10,000 to <$20,000
$20,000 to <$30,000
$30,000 to <$40,000
$40,000 to <$50,000
$50,000 to <$60,000
$60,000 to <$70,000
$70,000 to <$80,000
$80,000 to <$90,000
$90,000 to <$110,000
$110,000 to <$130,000
$130,000 to <$150,000
$150,000 or More
5. On average, how much do you pay for beauty and hygiene products or services per year? Include references to the following products: soap, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, perfume, cologne, makeup, chemical hair color, razors, skin care, feminine care, and salon services.
6. On average, how many beauty and hygiene advertisements, if at all, do you think you view or hear per day? Include references to the following advertisements: television, billboard, Internet, radio, newspaper, magazine, and direct mail.
7. On average, how many of those advertisements, if at all, specifically subscribe to gender roles and stereotypes?
8. On the following scale, what role, if any, do these advertisements have in reinforcing specific gender stereotypes?
- Drastic
- Influential
- Limited
- Trivial
- None
9. To what extent do you agree that empowerment advertising, which explicitly communicates the unique differences in each individual, would help transform cultural gender stereotypes?
- Strongly agree
- Agree
- Somewhat agree
- Neutral
- Somewhat disagree
- Disagree
- Strongly disagree
10. On average, what percentage of advertisements that you view or hear per day currently utilize empowerment advertising?
Assignment: Jamie received 105 responses, which are given in the Excel file Drout Advertising Survey. Review the questionnaire and classify the data collected from each question as categorical, ordinal, interval, or ratio. Next, explain how the data and subsequent analysis using business analytics might lead to a better understanding of stereotype versus empowerment advertising. Specifically, state some of the key insights that you would hope to answer by analyzing the data. An important aspect of business analytics is good communication. Write up your answers to this case formally in a well-written report as if you were a consultant to Ms. Drout. This case will continue in Chapters 3, 4, 6, and 7, and you will be asked to use a variety of descriptive analytics tools to analyze the data and interpret the results. As you do this, add your insights to the report, culminating in a complete project report that fully analyzes the data and draws appropriate conclusions.