IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/mktlet/v32y2021i2d10.1007_s11002-021-09556-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Text is gendered: the role of letter case

Author

Listed:
  • Aekyoung Kim

    (The University of Sydney Business School, University of Sydney)

  • Sam J. Maglio

    (University of Toronto Scarborough)

Abstract

This research investigates the association between letter case and perception of gender. We propose that referents are judged as more feminine (vs. masculine) when their names are written with lowercase (vs. uppercase) letters. This effect emerges independent of differences in the size in which the letters appear and cannot be fully explained by differences in angularity. We further identify that evaluations of feminine (vs. masculine) objects become more favorable upon presenting their names in lowercase (vs. uppercase) letters. This association between gender and letter case is more pronounced for referents with a clear gender identity (e.g., fragrances and not vacuums). By first identifying and then exploring consequences of the novel link between letter case and gender, the present investigation contributes to research on linguistics, inference, and conceptual associations while also providing insights as to how to construct communication tools most effectively.

Suggested Citation

  • Aekyoung Kim & Sam J. Maglio, 2021. "Text is gendered: the role of letter case," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 179-190, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:mktlet:v:32:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s11002-021-09556-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s11002-021-09556-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11002-021-09556-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11002-021-09556-w?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard Klink, 2009. "Gender differences in new brand name response," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 313-326, September.
    2. Ralf van der Lans & Joseph A. Cote & Catherine A. Cole & Siew Meng Leong & Ale Smidts & Pamela W. Henderson & Christian Bluemelhuber & Paul A. Bottomley & John R. Doyle & Alexander Fedorikhin & Janaki, 2009. "Cross-National Logo Evaluation Analysis: An Individual-Level Approach," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(5), pages 968-985, 09-10.
      • van der Lans, R.J.A. & Cote, J.A. & Cole, C.A. & Leong, S.M. & Smidts, A. & Henderson, P.W. & Bluemelhuber, C. & Bottomley, P.A. & Doyle, J.R. & Fedorikhin, A.S. & Janakiraman, M. & Ramaseshan, B. & S, 2008. "Cross-National Logo Evaluation Analysis: An Individual Level Approach," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2008-055-MKT, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    3. Xiaobing Xu & Rong Chen & Maggie Wenjing Liu, 2017. "The effects of uppercase and lowercase wordmarks on brand perceptions," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 449-460, September.
    4. Yao Song & Yan Luximon, 2019. "Design for Sustainability: The Effect of Lettering Case on Environmental Concern from a Green Advertising Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-15, March.
    5. Doyle, John R. & Bottomley, Paul A., 2004. "Font appropriateness and brand choice," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(8), pages 873-880, August.
    6. Eric Yorkston & Gustavo E. De Mello, 2005. "Linguistic Gender Marking and Categorization," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 32(2), pages 224-234, September.
    7. Wen, Na & Lurie, Nicholas H., 2018. "The Case for Compatibility: Product Attitudes and Purchase Intentions for Upper versus Lowercase Brand Names," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 94(4), pages 393-407.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Delgado-Ballester, Elena & Fernandez-Sabiote, Estela, 2024. "Brand Stereotypes: On the relationships with gendered brand personality and agentic and communal values in fostering Consumer–Brand identification," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jun, Yesel & Lee, Hyunju, 2022. "A sound brand identity design: The interplay between sound symbolism and typography on brand attitude and memory," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    2. Teng, Lefa & Xie, Chenxin & Liu, Tianjiao & Wang, Fan & Foti, Lianne, 2021. "The effects of uppercase vs. lowercase letters on consumers’ perceptions and brand attitudes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 164-175.
    3. Ella Ward & Song Yang & Jenni Romaniuk & Virginia Beal, 2020. "Building a unique brand identity: measuring the relative ownership potential of brand identity element types," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 27(4), pages 393-407, July.
    4. Yu, Yining & Zhou, Xinyue & Wang, Lei & Wang, Qiuzhen, 2022. "Uppercase Premium Effect: The Role of Brand Letter Case in Brand Premiumness," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 98(2), pages 335-355.
    5. V. U. Vinitha & Deepak S. Kumar & Keyoor Purani, 2021. "Biomorphic visual identity of a brand and its effects: a holistic perspective," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(3), pages 272-290, May.
    6. Daniel Kaimann & Clarissa Laura Maria Spiess Bru, 2023. "Sounds too Feminine? Brand Gender and The Impact on Professional Critics," Working Papers Dissertations 107, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
    7. Vikas Singla & Nidhi Sharma, 2022. "Understanding Role of Fonts in Linking Brand Identity to Brand Perception," Corporate Reputation Review, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 25(4), pages 272-286, November.
    8. Janoskova Katarina & Kral Pavol & Popescu Gheorghe H. & Rowland Zuzana & Kramarova Katarina, 2021. "Perception of car brands with an emphasis on expected benefits and features as prerequisites for customer satisfaction," Management & Marketing, Sciendo, vol. 16(3), pages 300-315, September.
    9. Foroudi, Pantea & Melewar, T.C. & Gupta, Suraksha, 2014. "Linking corporate logo, corporate image, and reputation: An examination of consumer perceptions in the financial setting," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(11), pages 2269-2281.
    10. Gabrielyan, Gnel & Just, David R., 2022. "The Effect of Logo Visibility on Brand Recognition and Willingness to Pay," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322354, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    11. Bojana Kalenjuk & Dragan Tešanović & Maja Banjac & Snježana Gagić & Goran Radivojević, 2016. "Offer structure and design of the menu in hospitality industry," Tourism and Hospitality Industry 11, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management.
    12. Celhay, Franck & Cheng, Peiyao & Masson, Josselin & Li, Wenhua, 2020. "Package graphic design and communication across cultures: An investigation of Chinese consumers' interpretation of imported wine labels," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 108-128.
    13. Delgado-Ballester, Elena & Fernandez-Sabiote, Estela, 2024. "Brand Stereotypes: On the relationships with gendered brand personality and agentic and communal values in fostering Consumer–Brand identification," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    14. Joana César Machado & Beatriz Fonseca & Carla Martins, 2021. "Brand logo and brand gender: examining the effects of natural logo designs and color on brand gender perceptions and affect," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(2), pages 152-170, March.
    15. Ralf van der Lans & Bram Van den Bergh & Evelien Dieleman, 2014. "Partner Selection in Brand Alliances: An Empirical Investigation of the Drivers of Brand Fit," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 33(4), pages 551-566, July.
    16. Arthur Cheng-Hsui Chen & Hsiu-Hui Wu, 2020. "How Should Green Messages Be Framed: Single or Double?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-16, May.
    17. Richard Klink & Gerard Athaide, 2012. "Creating brand personality with brand names," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 109-117, March.
    18. Orth, Ulrich R. & Malkewitz, Keven, 2012. "The Accuracy of Design-based Judgments: A Constructivist Approach," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 421-436.
    19. Mahmood, Ammara & Luffarelli, Jonathan & Mukesh, Mudra, 2019. "What's in a logo? The impact of complex visual cues in equity crowdfunding," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 41-62.
    20. Touchstone, Ellen E. & Koslow, Scott & Shamdasani, Prem N. & D'Alessandro, Steven, 2017. "The linguistic servicescape: Speaking their language may not be enough," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 147-157.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:mktlet:v:32:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s11002-021-09556-w. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.