1. 15th International Consumer Brand Relationship Conference
Brand gender and consumer-based brand equity on Facebook: The mediating role of consumer-brand engagement and brand love
May 24-27, 2016
15th International Consumer Brand Relationship Conference
Porto, Portugal
18-20 May 2017
Machado, Joana
Católica Porto Business School and CEGE, Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Azar, Salim L.
Cergy-Pontoise University
Vacas-de Carvalho, Leonor
Escola de Ciências Sociais
Universidade de Évora
Financial support from FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (through the project UID/GES/00731/2016) is gratefully acknowledged

2. Aims of this research
(1) to understand how brand gender influences consumer-brand engagement on social media
(2) to examine the relationship between brand gender and consumer-based brand equity on Facebook
(3) to understand how consumer-brand engagement on Facebook
impacts consumer-based brand equity
(4) to study the role of brand love as a mediating factor in the relationship between brand gender and consumer-based brand equity

3. literature review
research method
Outline
Findings
and Conclusion

4. Theoretical
Background
and Hypothesis

5. Brand personality – Brand gender
Grohmann (2009) defines brand gender as « the set of human personality traits associated with masculinity and femininity applicable and relevant to brands (p. 106)
brand gender is regarded as a bi-dimensional construct: masculine and feminine traits resulting in brand profiles that might be highly masculine, highly feminine, undifferentiated or androgynous (Grohmann 2009; Lieven et al 2014; Azar, 2015).
Previous research suggested that strongly gendered brands positively influence the likelihood of recommending the brand and of WOM communication (Grohmann, 2009). Therefore, a clear brand gender positioning (i.e. high levels of brand masculinity or brand femininity) should also positively influence consumer engagement with the brand on Facebook.

6. Brand gender and consumer-brand engagement on Facebook
There a two critical types of consumer engagement with brand pages: consuming and contributing (Heinonen, 2011; Muntinga, et al 2011; Shao, 2009).
H1.a: Brand masculinity (BM) has a positive influence on consuming behavior on Facebook
H1.b: Brand femininity (BF) has a positive influence on consuming behavior on Facebook
H2.a: BM has a positive influence on contributing behavior on Facebook
H2.b: BF has a positive influence on contributing behavior on Facebook

7. Brand gender, brand love and consumer-brand engagement
Previous research suggested that a clear brand gender positioning should increase brand appeal (Freling, et al, 2001) and positively influences affective responses toward the brand (Grohmann, 2009). Thus, we expect that a clear brand gender positioning will also positively influence brand love – “the degree of passionate emotional attachment a satisfied consumer has” for a brand (Carroll and Ahuvia, 2006; p.81).
H3.a: BM has a positive influence on brand love
H3.b: BF has a positive influence on brand love
Previous research suggests that consumers who engage with their favorite brands using social media have stronger relationships with those brands compared with consumers who do not interact with their favorite brands using social media (Hudson et al. (2016); Moreover, research has highlighted that engagement with the brand on SNS contributes to the development of stronger emotional bonds with the brand and to the creation of a stronger commitment to the brand (Brodie et al. 2011; van Doorn et al. 2010). Hence, we assume that:
H4.a: Consuming brand-related content has a positive influence on brand love
H4.b: Contributing to brand-related content has a positive influence on brand love

8. Brand love and brand equity
Brand love strengthens the bonds between consumers and brands and it might also increase brand loyalty (Carroll and Ahuvia, 2006; Bergkvist and Bech-Larsen, 2010; Loureiro, et al., 2012). Since brand loyalty is one of the outcomes of brand love and one of the components of brand equity we sustain that brand love will also influence consumer-based brand equity (CBBBE):
H5: Brand love has a positive influence on CBBE

9. Brand gender and brand equity
Brands with high levels of masculinity and femininity tend to be associated with a higher consumer-based brand equity (Lieven et al 2014; Lieven et al 2015). Hence, we assume that:
H6.a: BM has a positive influence on CBBE
H6.b: BF has a positive influence on CBBE
According to Keller (2001), brand equity can be created though six building blocks of which consumer-brand resonance is the most valuable. One of the components of brand resonance is consumer active engagement. Therefore we propose that consumer-brand engagement on Facebook will positively influence consumer-based brand equity (CBBE).
H7.a: Consuming brand-related content has a positive influence on CBBE
H7.b: Contributing to brand-related content has a positive influence on CBBE

10. Research model

11. Research method, sample
& procedure

12. Data collection
After a pilot test with 20 Facebook users, data was collected through the administration of an online questionnaire to Facebook users
This survey was undertaken in France in March 2015
Sample characteristics
After deletion of respondents who did not like brand pages on Facebook and those who did not report their favorite Facebook brand page, we had a convenience sample of 614 French respondents.

13. Sample characteristics
Sample demographics
Brand Facebook pages’ categories liked by respondents
Sample characteristics

14. Measures
We measured brand gender using a 12-item scale developed by Grohmann (2009),
The scale by Tsai and Men (2013) was used to evaluate consumer engagement with the brand on Facebook.
Brand love using the scale adapted by Loureiro et al. (2012).
To measure CBEE we used the scale by Yoo and Donthu (2001).
χ2/ddf=2.642, TLI=.952, CFI=.958, GFI=.923, AGFI=.904, RMSEA=.052 and PCLOSE=.272.

15. Findings
& discussion

16. Findings
Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using maximum likelihood estimation and bootstrapping method was conducted using AMOS 20 to test for the validity of the model and the mediations hypotheses. The bootstrap estimates presented in this study are based on 200 bootstrap samples

17. Concluding remarks

18. Discussion and conclusion:
This study underpins the relevance of a clear brand gender positioning, in the particular case of social media, and more specifically on Facebook.
A central finding of the current research is that the brand gender dimensions of brand personality does not have a direct impact on CBBE on Facebook. Previous research has suggested that brand masculinity and brand femininity have a direct effect on brand equity. This study advances prior work by showing that the influence of brand gender is mediated through brand love and through the two types of CBE on Facebook.
While previous studies discussed the motivations for consumer-brand interactions on social media, or the effects of engagement for brand performance, our study focuses on the factors that enable engagement with consumers. This paper contributes to the literature by shedding light on the relationship between brand gender and two specific types of consumer-engagement with brands on Facebook: consuming and contributing.

19. Discussion and conclusion:
Ultimately, this study shows that only the most visible type of engagement has a significant and positive impact on CBBE. Hence, it is critical for brands to stimulate “lurkers” to become active users of the brand fan page on Facebook. However, this study highlights that even the more “voyeuristic” engagement is key for brands, since consuming brand-related content on Facebook also mediates the effect of brand masculinity and brand femininity on brand equity.
This research extends prior studies by suggesting that by creating a strong brand identity in terms of brand gender, either feminine or masculine, will facilitate consumers’ identification with the brand and encourage brand love. Moreover, the results show that love towards the favorite brand on Facebook has a positive and strong influence on CBBE, complementing the findings of previous research

20. Limitations and future research
We used a convenience, non-random sampling technique and therefore the sample is not representative of the population.
We did not include specific brands or product categories in our study, since we wanted to analyze the influence of brand gender on consumer brand-related responses, on Facebook, in general. Future research could thus include specific brands, , namely feminine, masculine, undifferentiated and androgynous brands in order to provide a more realistic appraisal of the influence of brand gender on consumer-brand engagement, brand love and brand equity ratings.

21. Thank you for your attention…
Joana César Machado
Salim L. Azar
Leonor Vacas de Carvalho
Financial support from FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (through the project UID/GES/00731/2016) is gratefully acknowledged