Date of Completion

2015

Document Type

Honors College Thesis

Department

School of Business

Thesis Type

Honors College

First Advisor

James M. Sinkula

Keywords

snowboarding, gender, women, marketing, gender differences, brand communication

Abstract

This study explores the market of female snowboarders, identifying common habits and preferences relating to the snowboard industry. In a sport where only 1/3 of the participants are female (SIA Intelligence Report 2014), it is crucial to identify ways for brands to better communicate with women and develop marketing strategies to meet their needs and preferences. This study fills a void in current research by studying behaviors, habits, and preferences that have yet to be studied in the snowboard industry. To explore these behaviors and better describe the female snowboard participant, a survey was conducted among University of Vermont Ski and Snowboard Club members, testing a variety of measures related to consumer behavior, brand loyalty, purchase habits, and snowboard participation. The survey was conducted with both males and females in order to provide a comparison measure to help better build the female snowboard participant construct. With the results from the survey and overarching study, the female snowboard participant is described further, serving to better inform brands within the snowboard industry when making marketing and communication decisions. Findings from the study indicate that brands that are successful in connecting and resonating with the female snowboarder are those that are focused on creating women’s specific products, placing an emphasis of female-focused marketing initiatives and strategies.


Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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