Three approaches to gender when marketing to Hispanics: An analysis of internal industry documents

Background: Gender and race-ethnicity are two key variables used in the public health community to segment populations for social marketing programs. The presentation compares Philip Morris's Hispanic advertising research of a female brand bought almost exclusively by women, to a gender neutral brand bought by more women than men, and to a masculine brand bought by more women than any other brand.

Method: Searches were conducted of tobacco industry collections available online (http://tobaccodocuments.org). The presentation analyzes 180 Philip Morris documents covering market research studies conducted during the development of advertising campaigns for three cigarette brands, Virginia Slims, Benson & Hedges, and Marlboro.

Results: Analyses of marketing research documents reveal the importance of considering cultural and also gender issues when targeting Hispanics. In the marketing Virginia Slims, a female brand, the advertising and advertising research were directed only at women. Appealing only to women allowed Philip Morris to deal directly with women's issues, an approach that seemed to resonate with Hispanic women. In the marketing of Benson & Hedges, a gender neutral brand, the advertising research used a representative sample of Hispanic consumers, however, no mention of gender was made in the findings. In the marketing of Marlboro, a masculine brand, Philip Morris was concerned that femininity tones in the ads might undermine the brand's imagery, ultimately leading to a two year delay in the Hispanic advertising.

Implications: The public health community might want to consider these different approaches to gender when attempting to reach different segments of women.