Choose Your Channels Strategically: How Gender Plays a Role in the Receiving of Online Brand Activism Ad Campaigns

The successful launch of a new online brand activism ad campaign focused on gender-sensitive issues can be distorted if the content is delivered through poorly thought-out channels. Companies with access to their customer data should learn more about their existing customer base to strategically select the campaign communication channels. When engaging in activism, brands should consider framing their campaign messaging positively and appear authentic. Otherwise, they risk loss in brand equity and corporate reputation. The following analyses present results from a secondary consumer demographic and behavioral characteristics database anchored in source credibility theory. Its goal is to explore differences in potential target audiences for a new online ad campaign focused on gender-sensitive issues. It was expected that web consumer behavior scores would be higher in females and predicted mainly by gender and household income. Two tests, including an independent sample t-test and a logistic regression, were conducted to examine the conditions under which the existing customer base differed or was related. The results pointed to the importance of targeting females through offline channels and focusing the online messaging on males with higher income, demonstrating donor behavior, home, and family behavior, and gardening and crafts behavior.