Decoding Gen Z talent attraction: How employer branding shapes media sector employment intentions Kavitha Venkatasubramany Iyer, Aryan K., Raghid Al Hajj, Nasreddine Saadouli Frontiers in Communication, 2026 The influx of Gen Zs into the contemporary workforce and their differing perceptions and attitudes towards organizational values led this study to examine which employer values attract the best talent among younger individuals nearing the completion of their courses and actively seeking employment. Although Gen Z’s employer preference attributes and factors influencing their intent to join diverse industries have received considerable focus, the media sector has been curiously left out. Additionally, the media industry is experiencing a decline in employment opportunities, with a shortage of secure, well-paying jobs and fewer college placements. Hence, investigating which PBVs in media organizations attract Gen Zs became the study’s premise, carried out using the Employer Attractiveness (EmpAt) scale. Nineteen items relevant to the study’s aim were included in the survey instrument to collect responses from 312 media students from undergraduate colleges across India who had completed at least one industry internship and a project experience lasting 6 months. The multiple regression analysis revealed that, except for social value, the other four values significantly affect Gen Z’s PBV and employment intention within Indian media organisations. The results emphasize the importance of developing an employer branding strategy that focuses on attractiveness to attract culturally compatible Gen Z candidates to media organizations. The decoding outlines variation in employer attractiveness dimensions across cultural contexts (particularly in Asian and emerging economies) and generational backgrounds. The decoding also aims to show the effectiveness of the EmpAt scale, providing valuable insights for practitioners in the media sector and researchers.
Femvertising empowering or commodifying women? Exploring the changing feminist discourse in internationally award-winning advertisements Kavitha Venkatasubramany Iyer, Khushi Dani Corporate Communications, 2025 PurposeAlthough women have been represented in advertising since WWII, the themes were laden with stereotypes – from working roles in the 1940s to superwomen in the 1970 and 1980s, second-wave feminism. Contemporary women-centric advertising (or femvertising) strives towards women empowerment and gender equality by stripping down stereotypes. However, through closer inspection, this study examines if this femvertising by brands nowadays is a gimmick to sell their products and further the neoliberal, postfeminist perspective.Design/methodology/approachSemiotic content analysis (SCA) explored the post-feminist discourses, as categorised by Windels et al. (2020) – in the internationally awarded 80 advertisements produced from 2013 to 2023 in the global West and South. Codes generated from SCA were then quantitatively analysed using chi-square and p-values, comparing the three themes: post-feminist elements and discourses, the form of self-surveillance and product ads and measuring the changes in post-feminist discourses in recent years.FindingsAfter 2018, advertisements used more post-feminist discourse, especially commodity feminism, self-surveillance and love-your-body parameters. Brands reacted in their campaigns, conforming to gender stereotypes under empowerment and modifying feminist values.Research limitations/implicationsThe study lacked a phenomenological understanding of the perspective of the consumers, the advertisers and the panel judges of these awards through a qualitative study on the post-feminist aspects of the femvertisements, the importance of depoliticising the women’s struggle or the feminist movement in communicating with the audience and how such a strategy has helped in empowering (or disempowering) real women.Practical implicationsThe study highlights the need for inclusive marketing communication and also outlines implications for the brand owners, advertisers and the creative team. The research emphasises determining the fit between brands and the social issue, eventually leading to positive brand attitude and purchase intention among consumers.Social implicationsThe research helps inform the young consumers about gender equity, the role played by the social, cultural, political, environmental and structural elements in shaping women’s empowerment and how their identity and experiences affect their empowerment. An inclusive communication approach would enable projects with real people with whom consumers, irrespective of gender, can resonate.Originality/valueThe study highlighted the femvertising issue from an inclusive marketing communication spectrum, implying its importance for brands’ attempts to connect with feminist and women consumers authentically.
Empowering Through Femvertising? Exploring the Post-feminist Discourses in Indian Internationally Award-winning Advertisements Vis-à-Vis the World Kavitha Venkatasubramany Iyer Journal of Creative Communications, 2025 This study examined the presence and implications of post-feminist discourses in internationally award-winning femvertisements featuring Indian women and sociocultural themes. Using Windels et al.’s (2020, Journal of Advertising , 49 (1), 18–33; 2023, Feminist Media Studies , 23 (1), 1–18) six-element post-feminist framework, 102 advertisements (73 global and 29 Indian) were analysed for evidence of commodity feminism, individualisation, self-surveillance and related discourses. The findings revealed a dominant presence of commodity feminism and confidence culture in Indian femvertising, while global ads exhibited higher occurrences of self-surveillance and individualisation. Statistical comparisons showed significant differences between Indian and international campaigns, particularly in the portrayal of empowerment through brand consumption, objectification under the guise of agency and the invisibilisation of caste, class and intersectional struggles. Viewers in India favoured ads saturated with post-feminist tropes, reinforcing internalised neoliberal ideals. The study concludes that Indian femvertising largely reflects faux feminism, commodifying empowerment while neglecting the political and structural roots of inequality. It calls for more inclusive, intersectional representations aligned with the fourth wave of feminism. It introduces the Self-esteemed–Empowered–Allied framework as a tool for more authentic feminist advertising practices.
Fantasy Sports Participation in Young Adults: Exploring Motivations and Constraints Kavitha Venkatasubramany Iyer, Shashwat Chaturvedi, Anupam Siddhartha International Journal of Gaming and Computer Mediated Simulations, 2024 This study aimed to understand comprehensively the motivations and constraints underlying fantasy sports participation among young adults (18-25) in India. The study applied a motivation and constraint model in the Indian landscape, wherein youth groups who played and did not play fantasy sports were surveyed. Given the issue of the legality of fantasy games in India and its linkage with gambling, two additional factors of addiction and morality were added. The findings of the multiple regression show that participation in fantasy sports among the youth is influenced by intrinsic motivation instead of monetary benefits, pride, or social interaction. Constraints affecting the potential participation of non-players include addiction, consuming valuable time, causing loss of money, and perceived capitalistic exploitation for stakeholders' profit. Producers of fantasy games need to enhance engagement levels to foster intrinsic motivation instead of external among the youth and safeguard them from addiction and gambling.
A generational study on self-referential advertising: How it affects attitude toward brands Kavitha Venkatasubramany Iyer, Mansuri Mallika Innovative Marketing, 2023 Self-referential, meta or self-aware advertising uses irony and cynicism to overtly critique and challenge conventional advertising strategies. While increasingly multiple brands are using self-referential advertising campaigns to implement innovative advertising strategies, a limited amount of research has been conducted on the effects of self-referential advertising on consumers’ evaluative responses. This study aimed to identify a link between self-referential ads and the consumers’ sense of self-presentation, mainly the conflict between the ideal self and the real self, and how this, in turn, affects their attitude toward the brand in the subject, further affecting purchase intention and brand perception. A quantitative structured study was conducted in a group of 326 18–35-year-old people, comprising Millennial and Generation Z consumers, using voluntary sampling through links to Google Forms distributed online on various platforms. Findings showed a significant positive correlation between self-referential ads, brand perception, and consumers’ brand attitude (r = 0.777, 0.712). Besides, in the mediation analysis, each of the four regression models establishes a correlation among the three variables. However, significance is not found in the mediating role of consumers’ real selves between self-referential advertising and brand attitude, though consumption patterns mediate consumer acceptance of self-referential advertising. The findings gave product/brand managers and marketing professionals a strategic direction on the importance of using self-referential forms of advertising in congruence with the product life cycle and brand positioning. It also helps to understand the importance of consumption patterns in creating advertising appeals.
Influence of Disability-Inclusive Advertising on Behavioral Intention - An Intergenerational Analysis Yukta Kulkarni, Kavitha Iyer Studies in Media and Communication, 2023 In recent years, although inclusive advertising has emerged as a vital focus for global brands, the representation of individuals with disabilities has predominantly been viewed through an ableist lens. The main purpose of this study is to examine the influence of disability-inclusive advertising on the behavioural intentions of Generations X and Z in relation to social inclusion. Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), we investigated intergenerational attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, self-schemas, anticipated regret felt (moderators), and behavioral intention towards a disability-inclusive advertisement as the stimulus using a sample of 270 respondents recruited using stratified convenience sampling. While the study revealed impartiality of attitudes and subjective norms regarding disability inclusion, perceived behavioral control was affirmative and notably more robust in Generation X as compared to Generation Z. The analysis reveals positive behavioural intentions to promote social inclusion for individuals with disabilities. This study provides important contributions to marketing and sociology by highlighting the crucial role of inclusive advertising in fostering favorable behavioral intentions among targeted audiences. This unique study, represents initial investigation into inclusive advertising within the Indian context, with a specific emphasis on its capacity to foster a favourable socio-psychological change within two prominent societal groups.
