When it comes to crafting a powerful and memorable Brand Persona, there’s a wide array of factors to consider. Of course, you need to understand the psychology of your audience and know what they are looking for. You have to study your competition to see what’s already being done and how you can stand out. Ultimately, you need to create a personality with positive attributes that make a clear and favorable impression. But one of the most basic features of this character is often overlooked: his or her gender.

Is your brand masculine or feminine? And what difference does it make?

NOTE: For the purpose of this article and in the interest of not making brand strategy any more complicated than it already is, we are restricting ourselves to the old-fashioned notion of genders, male and female. The omission of non-binary genders and pronouns is in no way meant to exclude or disenfranchise any segments of the human population.

The importance of a Brand Persona

When you start a business, it’s essential to understand the role your business plays in the minds of your clients and potential customers. The most successful companies understand the value of Brand Strategy. With effective branding, a business portrays itself not merely as a purveyor of goods and services, but as a character who may act as a friend, a role model, a mentor or an inspiration in the lives of its customers.

Most entrepreneurs will focus on the financial fundamentals of business strategy — analyzing market demand, balancing profits and losses, and managing staff — all of which are crucial to the survival of the enterprise. But in order to thrive, they must also consider the company’s personality, i.e. the brand.

Bringing a brand to life is a lot like creating a character in a novel or a screenplay. How do you write a character that will resonate with audiences and make them feel invested in your story?

For a thorough examination of this topic, take a look at our articles on Brand Persona and Brand Archetypes.

Male vs Female

Not to be sexist or over-simplistic, but humans have a natural tendency to categorize things (including people) and make certain basic assumptions about them. When people cling too tightly to these assumptions, it can result in things like stereotyping and racism.

But generally speaking, it’s normal and healthy to make split-second assessments based on a first impression. We notice subtleties in how a person dresses, how they carry themselves, and how they speak. Of course, we can almost always tell whether they are a man or a woman, and furthermore, in either case, whether they are especially masculine or feminine.

Again, it’s stereotypical and unscientific, but we naturally associate masculinity with traits like strength, stability, and authority. Conversely, we associate femininity with characteristics like warmth, sensitivity, and compassion. Surely, you can come up with more traits and connotations. And more importantly, you should be able to ask yourself which of those traits are more appropriate or desirable for your brand.

The superior gender?

The point is not that one sex or gender is better than another. And we’re not going to tell you to only hire men (or women) from now on. Even if you are a male business owner, that doesn’t mean you need a masculine brand, or vice versa. (Remember: Branding is not about you! It’s about satisfying the needs, desires and expectations of your customers.)

Also, keep in mind that most of branding happens on a subconscious level. That’s important, because most purchasing decisions are made, not in the logical neo-cortex, but in the emotional amygdala. You don’t need to beat the audience over the head with masculinity. Subtle cues can lead to deep and lasting impressions.

Gender selection and Brand DNA

In many cases, your industry will be the most important factor in determining your brand’s gender. Naturally, if you manufacture lawn mowers, a masculine brand will offer a more natural fit. And if you’re selling perfume, then a feminine brand will make more sense.

At the same time, you can flip the genders and leverage the advantage of differentiation. Why not rose-colored lawnmowers for ladies? You might think I’m kidding. But check out Pink Power, Powerful Tools for Women, an exemplary case of distinctive branding.

Other industries are less obvious. That’s why it’s more important to examine the traits you want to exude, and then deduce which gender is more appropriate. And then look at what your competition is doing. If they are mostly showing up as feminine, do you want to try and beat them at their own game? Or would you rather try and set yourself apart with a masculine persona?

The name game: Your first gender clue

The first place to start when establishing the gender of your brand is with the name. An illuminating study published in the Journal of the American Marketing Association in 2021 explored how subtle differences in brand name can create masculine and feminine associations. These gender categories prompted audiences to make further assumptions and associations about real and fictional brands.

Based on the types of vowels, the number of syllables and the placement of emphasis, some names are more masculine than others. Male names tend to be shorter, with vowels formed in the front of the mouth, and with emphasis on the first syllable. Consider their example: Rob, Robert, and Roberta.

Now think of brand names that you wouldn’t consciously connect with a gender. The Gap has a masculine ring to it, and Nestlé a more feminine sound.

They also find a strong and interesting correlation between feminine brand names and a sense of warmth. Warmth can be connected to trust and friendliness, among other very favorable characteristics. Feminine brands, therefore, have a strong appeal and a distinct advantage, at least in many cases.

As we mentioned above, certain industries are simply better suited for the masculine brand. Pleasure products, like candy, fashion, and entertainment, seem to do better with more feminine names. Practical products like tools feel more masculine.

Think about purchasing a new song you heard in a movie soundtrack. All else being equal, would you feel better buying it from a music company called Virgin or RCA? Which is more masculine? Now, more abstractly, think about choosing between two brands of power drills called Virgin and RCA.

The evolution of brand genders

The links between branding, psychology and other social trends and forces are everywhere. And yet they remain hidden in plain sight. But the more you become aware of it, the more you can use it to your advantage, building trust and loyalty with your customers.

Half a century ago, social values and priorities looked a lot different than they do today. Back then, companies like Sears Robuck dominated the marketplace. How’s that for a masculine name? Indeed, it was a man’s world. Status and authority came first, and products were likely to have middle-aged white men as the spokespeople.

In more recent decades, we’ve been rocking the boat of patriarchy. New values of tolerance, inclusion, and compassion have risen to the fore. Clearly, these are feminine values, and so we’ve also seen a rise in feminine brands and female spokespeople. The general trends provide a valuable indicator, but it’s even more important to study the specific values and priorities of your target audience.

Genders and Archetypes

We’ve outlined how genders can be used to embody and express certain values and qualities. Keep in mind, though, that the Brand Strategist has a variety of tools at his or her disposal.

At Balanced Brands, we love to use archetypes, building brands with the same psychological patterns and templates used by storytellers since the dawn of time. These character types each correspond to a specific set of hopes and fears, strengths and weaknesses.

Last week we talked about the Ruler, a paragon of status, structure and authority. These are classic masculine features, and so most Ruler brands will exude masculinity, like Rolls Royce and Rolex. But that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. You can soften a Ruler brand with feminine elements. Mercedes, for example, is a quintessential Ruler brand, but the name is distinctly feminine, and many of their cars’ design features have a feminine allure.

On the other side of the spectrum, the Caregiver symbolizes empathy, compassion and nurturing. So the natural gender of the Caregiver is feminine, but men like Patch Adams can be Caregivers as well.

Following stereotypical traits and characteristics can help give your brand a familiar and recognizable quality. You want to use those patterns to help manage customer expectations. But you also want to differentiate your brand. So look for ways to combine archetypes and gender in less predictable ways.

Your goal is to craft a persona that’s easy to recognize and relate to. But to make your brand memorable, you also have to avoid being too predictable. Every Magician has certain archetypal qualities, but when they come to life in a great novel, film, or brand strategy, they also have personalities that make them unique.

Stay strong and grow

Ready to get started? Or curious to learn more? The Brand Strategy Workbook will give you a good starting point to answer some questions regarding your brand. And if you have any questions, feel free to reach out for a Discovery call or join our online community. It looks a bit confusing and overwhelming, but if you take it one step at a time, it all makes sense in the end. You got this! 

• Schedule a Discovery Call with Pacha
• Join our brand strategy Facebook Community: Balanced Brands
• Get professionally designed and curated content for your social media channels: Sign up for Social Stream

Dive deeper and take a look at these related articles.

• An Introduction to Brand Archetypes
• Adopting Brand Personas
• Speaking with Brand Voice
• Building Company Culture
• Issues with Ethical Marketing