Lesson 4 – CONSUMERS IN THEIR SOCIAL AND CULTURAL SETTING
Unit 3 – Subcultures
Overview
As we saw in a previous lesson, groups exert a lot of influence on our individual consumer decisions. Still, some of our affiliations are more central to our essence than are others. In this unit we’ll look at some of the external linkages that play a big role in defining who we are and what we value: gender, race/ethnicity, religion, age, and where we live. Each of these is a subculture, which is a group whose members share significant beliefs and common preferences.
Learning Objectives
• Consumer identity derives from “we” as well as “I.”
• Our memberships in ethnic, racial, and religious subcultures often guide our consumption choices.
• Marketers increasingly use religious and spiritual themes to talk to consumers.
• Our traditional notions about families are outdated.
• We have many things in common with others because they are about the same age.
• Teens are an important age segment for marketers.
• Baby Boomers are the most economically powerful age segment.
• Seniors are a more important market segment than many marketers realize.
• Birds of a feather flock together in place-based subcultures.
Course materials
Consumer identity derives from “we” as well as “I.”
Consumers identify with many groups that share common characteristics and identities, but some of these affiliations are more central to how we define ourselves. Subcultures are large groups that exist within a society, and membership in them often gives marketers a valuable clue about individuals’ consumption decisions. Important sources of consumer identity include gender, race/ethnicity, religion, age, and place of residence.
Our memberships in ethnic, racial, and religious subcultures often guide our consumption choices.
A person’s ethnic origins, racial identity, and religious background often are major components of his or her identity. African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian
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Americans are the three most important ethnic/ racial subcultures in the United States. Key issues to reach members of racial/ethnic subcultures are consumers’ degree of acculturation into mainstream U.S. society and the recognition of important cultural differences among subgroups (e.g., Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and Mexicans).
Marketers increasingly use religious and spiritual themes to talk to consumers.
The quest for spirituality influences demand in product categories including books, music, and cinema. Although the impact of religious identification on consumer behavior is not clear, some differences among religious subcultures do emerge. Marketers need to consider the sensibilities of believers carefully when they use religious symbolism to appeal to members of different denominations.
Our traditional notions about families are outdated.
We’ve seen that subcultural identities revolve around shared experiences and perspectives. That’s why it’s so important for marketers to think about both when consumers are born and the family structure into which they’re born. Age groups and the family unit help to shape people’s experiences, needs, and preferences.
We have many things in common with others because they are about the same age.
Consumers who grew up at the same time share many cultural memories because they belong to a common age cohort, so they respond well to marketers’ nostalgia appeals that remind them of these experiences.
Teens are an important age segment for marketers.
Teenagers are in the middle of a transition from childhood to adulthood, and their self-concepts tend to be unstable. They are receptive to products that help them to be accepted and enable them to assert their independence. Because many teens earn money but have few financial obligations, they are a particularly important segment for many nonessential or expressive products, ranging from chewing gum to clothing fashions and music. Because of changes in family structure, many teens also are taking more responsibility for their families’ day-to-day shopping.
Baby Boomers are the most economically powerful age segment.
Baby Boomers are the most powerful age segment because of their size and economic clout. Boomers continue to affect demands for housing, child care, automobiles, clothing, and many other products.
Seniors are a more important market segment than many marketers realize.
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As the population ages, the needs of older consumers will become increasingly important. Many marketers ignore seniors because of the stereotype that they are too inactive and spend too little. This stereotype is no longer accurate. Many older adults are healthy, vigorous, and interested in new products and experiences—and they have the income to purchase them. Marketing appeals to this age subculture should focus on consumers’ perceived ages, which tend to be more youthful than their chronological ages.
“Birds of a feather flock together.”
Geodemography refers to analytical techniques that combine data on consumer expenditures and other socioeconomic factors with geographic information about the areas in which people live to identify consumers who share common consumption patterns. Researchers base this approach on the common assumption that “birds of a feather flock together.” Marketers can increase the efficiency of their messages when they focus on the similarities among consumers who choose to live in the same place.
Read:
Chapter 13 – Subcultures
Consumer Behavior 12e
by: Michael R. Solomon
Activities/assessment:
Answer the following Review Questions:
1. What is a subculture?
2. One important subcultural difference is how abstract or literal the group is. What are the distinctions between the two?
3. How do marketers promote products and services to ethnic subcultures?
4. What is de-ethnicization? Give an example.
5. Why are Hispanic American consumers attractive to marketers?
6. What is acculturation? How does it differ from enculturation?
7. Who are acculturation agents? Give two examples.
8. Describe the processes involved when a person assimilates into a new host culture.
9. Why might a marketer be interested in the second largest ethnic group in a market? Is this group difficult for marketers to reach?
10. Is it true that religious, cultural, or traditional events impact consumption?
11. What is a nuclear family, and how is it different from an extended family?
12. What are boomerang kids?
13. What is the FLC, and why is it important to marketers?
14. Can children be considered “consumers-in-waiting”?
15. How important is the global youth market? Suggest products and services they would want to use.
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16. What are the rules of engagement for young consumers?
17. What is geodemography? Is it straightforward to apply it to any market or country?