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Keywords: consumer, brand personality, fashion apparel, gender.

Technological innovation has created what is considered a global village \ of the world market, whereby brand names of all consumer goods play a more \ prominent role in consumers’ purchase decisions and named brands are no longer difficult to obtain (Kaya & Ayman, 2012). Consumers can make purchases either nationally or internationally through numerous avenues. Hence companies \ try to maintain a market share for their brands composed not only of consume\ rs in their home country but also of consumers from all parts of the world.\ This makes targeted consumer research crucial for businesses producing goods in both developing and developed countries. As a result, companies have begun SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND PERSONALITY, 2014, 42(Suppl.), S1-S8 © Society for Personality Research http://dx.doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2014.42.0.S1 1 Umut Ayman, Senior Instructor, and Dr. An l K. Kaya, Assistant Profes\ sor, Public Relations and Advertising Department, Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, East\ ern Mediterranean University.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to: Umut Ayma\ n, Eastern Mediterranean University, Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, Public Relations\ and Advertising Department, Gazimagusa, Turkey. Email: [email protected] FASHION BRANDS AND GENDER 2 to design and position the brand personality of their product according \ to target market analysis. According to Hsu and Burns (2012), awareness of the values that consumers possess could assist marketers and retailers with the int\ egration of their products’ characteristics with consumer needs and wants. Hence, brand personality plays a role in the consumer’s self-expression and is considered one of the types of marketing communication. Marketers use certain brand personalities that reflect a lifestyle and t\ hat are compatible with an individual’s personality. Brand personality has been explained as “the set of human personality traits, associated with, a\ pplicable and relevant to brands” (Aaker, 1997; Azoulay & Kapferer, 2003). According to Aaker (1997) there are five types of brand personality: a. Sincerity = honest, cheerful, wholesome, and friendly b. Excitement = daring, spirited, up-to-date, young, and cool c. Competence = reliable, intelligent, successful, and confident d. Sophistication = upper class, charming, and feminine e. Ruggedness = outdoorsy, masculine, and western In accordance with the above brand personality traits, companies develop\ positioning themes for their brands, such as functional, symbolic, and e\ xperiential benefits directed at fulfilling the desired needs of the consumer regard\ ing the brand (Keller, 1993). The functional benefits feature rational attachment to the brand to fulfill the need of functionality. Symbolic benefits involve status and prestige to fulfill the need for self-esteem. Finally, experiential benefits provide experiences and create usage imagery designed to enrich the consumer’s life (Shimp, 2003). Given that most products have a lifecycle, the adoption stage for new br\ ands is also related to the product lifecycle. Product lifecycle and the rate of\ brand and product adoption take into consideration the following five adopters’\ categories (Etzel, Walker, & Stanton, 2001; Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2004): a. Innovators represent about 3% of the market. They are the individuals who are the first to adopt new items and brands at the introduction stage of\ the product’s life cycle.

b. Early adopters represent about 13% of the market. These individuals will adopt new items after the innovators and after the brand’s growth stage.

c. The early majority represents 34% of the market. These consumers rely more on advertisement and sales. This demographic is slightly above average in social and economic measurements and tend to adopt new brands in the early maturation stage.

d. The late majority also represents 34% of the market. These consumers tend to be skeptical individuals who adopt new items or brands either to\ save money or by pressure from the influencers and during the brand’s late maturation stage. FASHION BRANDS AND GENDER 3 e. Laggards represent 16% of the market. They are the group of people who are last to adopt new items or brands or refuse to use them. If they pur\ chase, it is during the brand’s decline stage (Etzel et al., 2001).

We formed the following hypotheses regarding the adoption and consumption\ of branded fashion, based on the previous research on brand personality\ and gender.

Hypothesis 1: There will be differences between male and female consumers regarding levels of carefulness during the consumption period of branded\ fashion apparel.

Hypothesis 2: There will be differences between male and female consumers in regard to their enjoyment of shopping for branded fashion apparel.

Hypothesis 3: There will be differences between male and female consumers in regard to their information processing about types of branded fashion ap\ parel Hypothesis 4: There will be differences between male and female consumers with regard to their use of media such as television, the Internet, and \ magazines in shopping for branded fashion apparel.

Hypothesis 5: There will be differences between male and female consumers regarding the influences on their behavior as consumers of branded fashi\ on apparel.

Hypothesis 6: There will be differences between male and female consumers regarding brand involvement for consumption of branded fashion apparel. \ Method We conducted our study using a sequential explanatory design. We gathered qualitative data to enrich our quantitative research (Ivankova, Creswel\ l, & Stick, 2006). Initially, in the quantitative stage of our research, we asked 600 people (300 women and 300 men) to answer 24 questions to gain understanding o\ f their demographic and behavioral segmentation differences. In the qualitative stage of our research we conducted in-depth interviews (22 structured questions \ for 18 participants) to gather more detailed information on identifying how pe\ rsonality and behavior influences the individual preference of branded fashion app\ arel. We used the SPSS program to analyze the collected data. We calculated Pearson chi square in our analysis to test the hypotheses of the research.

Results The findings in the quantitative stage of our research are set out in Table 1.

According to our results, for the respondents in our study catalogs, mag\ azines, television, Internet and word-of-mouth were the principal ways to receiv\ e information about branded fashion apparel items. Our results showed ther\ e was FASHION BRANDS AND GENDER 4 a positive correlation between gender and all aspects of consumption of \ branded fashion apparel, which supported all our hypotheses (see Table 2 for results of hypotheses tests).

Table 1. Respondents’ Attitudes Toward Branded Apparel Respondents between 17 and 19 years old 11% Respondents between 20 and 25 years old 70% Respondents between 26 and 31 years old 19% Marital status (not married) 59% (married) 41% Respondents tend to buy what they need 70% Respondents like a lot of luxury in their life 49% Respondents take care when they buy something 60% Respondents shop quickly and buy a good enough brand 43% Respondents perceive shopping as “just for fun” 52% Respondents prefer to buy advertised clothing brands 52% If celebrities wear a new fashion brand respondents are more inclined to\ buy the item 65% Respondents spend more than 3 hours a day on the Internet 60% Respondents listen to the radio for no more than 1 hour a day 69% Respondents read magazines for no more than 1 hour a day. 73% Respondents read the newspaper for no more than 1 hour a day 74% Respondents watch television between 1 and 3 hours a day 48% Respondents receive clothing information by word-of-mouth communication \ 14% Table 2. Gender Differences on Aspects of Branded Fashion Consumption Hypothesis – differences between male and female consumers of branded fashion apparel t df p Levels of carefulness during the consumption period 12.147 4 .016 Enjoyment of shopping 10.586 4 .032 Information processing 78.678 16 .000 Use of media television 7.107 2 .029 the Internet 13.110 2 .001 magazines 9.571 2 .008 Behavior as consumers 22.984 11 .018 Brand involvement 21.063 11 .033 Table 3. Education Level and Income of Respondents Male respondents 50% Female respondents 50% High school graduates - public sector 25% High school graduates - private sector university students 50% 25% FASHION BRANDS AND GENDER 5 Table 3 continued Earning more than 3000TL(US$1507) 33%This was composed of (women) 67% (men) 33% Earning between 2000 TL and 3000TL (US$1005-1506) 22% This was composed of (women) 67% (men) 33% Earning between 1000 and 2000TL (US$502-1004) 45% This was composed of (women) 38% (men) 62% As seen in Table 3, among the group who took part in our study, the average income was higher for the women than it was for the men. According to our results 56% of the participants were influenced by marketing communicati\ on efforts in making consumer decisions about branded apparel products (60% \ of the participants who were influenced by marketing communication efforts were female and the rest were the male). Also, 39% of them were influenced by social and cultural factors, which included informal environments such as frien\ ds, family, and peer groups (43% women/57% men). Finally, 5% of them were influenced by psychological factors, which included needs/wants, attitud\ es and values, perception, and satisfaction with apparel product selections (m\ en made up 5% of this group). These results indicated that the men who took part in our study were more influenced by social/cultural influences than by other f\ actors, but females were influenced most by marketing communication efforts such as television, advertising, magazines, catalogs and celebrities, and by bot\ h personal selling and direct marketing. In response to the question regarding the reasons for buying branded app\ arel, 56% of respondents said that they purchased branded apparel products for\ functional reasons such as quality, price, and product features (40% of those who bought for functional reasons were women, 60% were men). In addition, 2\ 2% of respondents said they bought for symbolic reasons such as status, pre\ stige, affection, and to show off. Of this group 50% were women and 50% were men.

From the total group of participants, 22% said they bought branded appar\ el products for experiential reasons such as past experiences, satisfaction\ , and brand perception, with 75% of this group being women and 25% men. Our research results showed that 83% of the participants in our study at\ tributed significance to purchasing branded apparel products (60% women/40% men)\ ; out of the 83%, exactly 50% of them (33% female/67% male) attributed s\ ome importance to wearing branded apparel products and 33% (all women) rep\ orted that it was most important to them to wear branded products. The 17% who had not attributed any significance to purchasing branded products were all \ men. FASHION BRANDS AND GENDER 6 This showed that the female participants, either partially or fully, considered the purchase and wearing of branded clothing as important. Our analysis showed that of the participants who reported a partial pref\ erence for wearing branded products, 66% of them were quality-oriented (44% women/56% men) and of the participants, who fully preferred to wear bra\ nded apparel, 33% of them were status-oriented and 33% of them were quality- oriented. On the other hand, 78% (43% women/57% men) of the participan\ ts felt that other people choose branded apparel products because of ego needs s\ uch as status, prestige, and accomplishment. Among the women who took part in our study, 11% of them believed that others wear branded apparel because of the need\ for belonging, such as for friendship and group acceptance. Results of our survey showed that 83% of the participants felt that thei\ r clothing styles directly reflected their personality, with 17% feeling that their clothing styles did not reflect their personality. Furthermore according to the participants’ personality explanations there was a correlation between the individual consumer’s personality and brand personality categorization. Of the participants, 27.8% (40% women/60% men) considered themselves as hones\ t, friendly, cheerful, and family-oriented, which corresponds to the sincerity bran\ d personality, a group that has been identified as preferring the brands adidas, Fred\ Perry, and Journey. Another 27.8% (60% women/40% men) of the participants considered themselves as fashionable, up-to-date, spirited, trendy, and daring, which corresponds to the excitement brand personality and they mostly pr\ efer the brands US Polo, Zara, Bershka, and Top Shop. The orientation of another 17% of the participants - all of whom were women - was reliable, confide\ nt, and successful, which corresponds to the competence brand personality, and those in this group mostly prefer the brands Zara and Ipekyol. Another 17% - all of whom were men - considered themselves as outdoorsy, sports-loving, and masculine types, which corresponds to the ruggedness brand personality, and these men mostly prefer the brands adidas, Pull&Bear, and Reebok. Finally, 12% of the participants, made up of 50% women and 50% men, considered themselves to\ be charming, attractive, and as having a high income, which would corres\ pond to the sophistication brand personality, and these individuals mostly prefer the brands Fred Perry and Zara. However, the participants in our study reported their most desired and loved brands as follows (listed here according to their brand personalities a\ s identified in our study): a. Sincerity brand personality (mostly late majority consumers) - adidas,\ Fred Perry, Burberry, Koton, and Herry.

b. Excitement brand personality (mostly early adopter consumers) - US Pol\ o, Burberry, Bershka, and Louis Vuitton.

c. Competence brand personality - Ipekyol and Zac Posen. FASHION BRANDS AND GENDER 7 d. Sophistication brand personality (either innovator or early adopter consumers) - Fred Perry and Burberry.

e. Ruggedness brand personality (late majority consumers) - adidas, Pull&Bear, and Armani.

Our analysis showed that 94% of the participants claimed long-term brand\ loyalty, with 6% stating that they had no brand loyalty. Also, in our analysis, 11% of the participants were classified as innovators, 28% were early adopte\ rs, 17% were early majority, and 44% were late majority consumers. There were more women than men in the innovator and early adopter groups, but most of th\ e early majority and late majority consumers were men. In order to better understand how our participants experienced shopping \ for branded apparel, we asked then what they felt during the shopping proces\ s and 50% (67% women/33% men) of the participants responded that they felt h\ appy and 11% (all women) reported feeling successful when they wore name brand apparel products. Another 39% (14% women/86% men) said that their feelings were not altered by shopping for branded apparel. Therefore, when buying name brands, the mood of female participants was influenced more by their pro\ duct selections than was the mood of the males. According to the in-depth interviews that we conducted, 67% (58% women/42% men) of participants felt that t\ he reason for other people wearing either branded or expensive products was\ for the emotional experience and 33% (33% women/67% men) felt that other p\ eople chose name brand products for functional reasons. All of the participants reported that, besides clothing, accessories are\ a significant consideration. Accessory preferences were reported as follows:

shoes for 39% of the participants (14% women/86% men); sunglasses for \ 17% of participants (67% women/33% men); handbags for 17% of participants \ (all women); and 17% of them (67% women/33% men) considered accessories to\ be important in conjunction with the selection of clothing. We found in our analysis that 22% of the participants (all women) named\ their first choice brand as Zara (because they considered it fashionable and \ chic), and the first choice for 17% of participants (all men) was to buy adidas (\ because of its style), however 11% of the male participants’ expressed a preference for Fred Perry (because of its quality and style), and for 11% of the women participants their first choice preference was to buy Ipekyol (for style and quality\ ). Shopping was regarded as a fun activity (i.e., entertainment) for 56% \ of the participants, of whom 67% were women and 33% were men, and as therapy fo\ r 75% of the women and 25% of the men. For 45% of the participants shoppin\ g was viewed as an ordinary activity (i.e., as an exchange for 100% of th\ e men in the group who classified it as ordinary activity and as an ordinary acti\ vity that was compulsory for 33% of the women and 67% of the men). Therefore, these results showed that the women enjoyed shopping activities more than the \ men did. FASHION BRANDS AND GENDER 8Conclusion Both consumers themselves and the education of the consumer have very important roles to play in influencing the power of the economy. A well-educated consumer is able to make decisions regarding purchases that take into ac\ count their personal budget, that utilize and protect the family income, and t\ hat identify potential financial disadvantages. Consumer education creates a pathway \ for the public (adults, young adults, and students) to become more conscio\ us and economically functional during their decision- making process. In this research, we found that the symbolic reasons for consumption wer\ e seen to be highly preferable for both the men and women in North Cyprus \ who took part in our study. Therefore, consumer education in North Cyprus can be considered crucial in terms of providing the people who live there with \ practical reasons for consumption.

Limitations and Further Research Our research was conducted exclusively among young adults who live in th\ e north part of Cyprus. As there are cultural similarities in, as well as differences between, the north and south of Cyprus, it will be necessary to conduct \ further research using the same study method in the south part of Cyprus.

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