Femvertising and Strategic Responses to Reputational Threats

Abstract

Purpose – This study explores which strategic response organisations with a history of femvertising should adopt when facing allegations of gender inequality. It investigates how different strategic responses affect brand attitude while examining the mediating roles of consumers’ attitude towards the strategic response and their perceived authenticity of brand activism. Specifically, it focuses on three responses: (1) maintaining the femvertising campaign as is, (2) modifying the campaign by reinforcing the message, and (3) temporarily muting the campaign. Methodology – The study employs a deductive, 3x1 between-subjects experimental design conducted via an online survey. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions, each representing a different strategic response to gender-related allegations involving a fictitious company. The data was analysed using regression analyses to assess the influence of the strategic responses on brand attitudes and to examine whether this relationship is mediated by participants’ attitudes towards the strategic response and their perceptions of the authenticity of the brand activism. Findings – The findings highlight the importance of stakeholder-specific perceptions in shaping attitudinal outcomes. Consumer perceptions, rather than the strategy itself, appear to shape brand attitude in response to crisis communication. No single strategic response proved universally superior across all consumers. Attitude towards the strategic response and authenticity of brand activism emerged as strong predictors of overall brand attitude, regardless of the chosen strategy. Women responded more negatively to a modified than to a maintained strategy, in terms of attitude towards the strategic response and, by extension, brand attitude. Study limitations are acknowledged, and directions for future research are provided. Relevance – This study contributes to academic literature by examining femvertising as a value-based brand activism strategy in the context of crisis communication. By analysing strategic responses, it offers insights into how consumers interpret brand communication under reputational threat, informing both scholars and practitioners.