Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2013
  • Chapter
  • Consumer Behavior: Human Pursuit of Happiness in a World of Goods

Gender Bender Brand Hijacks and Consumer Revolt: The Porsche Cayenne Story

By: Jill Avery
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

Throughout history, marketers have created gendered brands, creating their brands and the stories they crafted about them in their advertising to appeal either to men or to women. Gendered brands deliver value to consumers, and therefore, deliver value to marketers. "Gender-bending," taking a brand that has historically been targeted to one gender and targeting it to the other gender, is becoming a more common occurrence. This can be a risky strategy. Consumers who rely on the brand's gender meanings feel threatened when the brand becomes associated with the opposite gender. This chapter traces what happens when brands traditionally used by one gender are targeted toward the other and shows the detrimental long term branding effects of gender-bending.

Keywords

Consumer Behavior; Brands; Brand Positioning; Brand Equity; Brand Management; Advertising Campaigns; Customer Focus and Relationships; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Auto Industry; Consumer Products Industry

Citation

Avery, Jill. "Gender Bender Brand Hijacks and Consumer Revolt: The Porsche Cayenne Story." In Consumer Behavior: Human Pursuit of Happiness in a World of Goods. 3rd ed. by Jill Avery, Robert Kozinets, Arch Woodside, Banwari Mittal, and Priya Raghubir, 645–649. Cincinnati: Open Mentis, 2013.
  • Purchase

About The Author

Jill J. Avery

Marketing
→More Publications

More from the Author

    • March–April 2023
    • Harvard Business Review

    Case Study: Should a Dollar Store Raise Prices to Keep Up with Inflation?

    By: Jill Avery and Marco Bertini
    • June 2022 (Revised August 2022)
    • Faculty Research

    Dollar Tree: Breaking the Buck

    By: Jill Avery and Marco Bertini
    • April 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Christie's and Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi: The Value of a Brand

    By: Jill Avery
More from the Author
  • Case Study: Should a Dollar Store Raise Prices to Keep Up with Inflation? By: Jill Avery and Marco Bertini
  • Dollar Tree: Breaking the Buck By: Jill Avery and Marco Bertini
  • Christie's and Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi: The Value of a Brand By: Jill Avery
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College