Lecture 17 – Culture, Subculture and consumer behaviour PDF

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Culture, subculture, culture, and consumption, values, norms, myths...

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Lecture 17 – Culture, Subculture and consumer behaviour Lecture objectives To understand: - What culture is and what subcultures are and how they affect consumer behaviour - How culture sets standards for what satisfies consumers’ needs - How culture is learned and expressed in language, symbols and rituals - How the impact of culture on consumer behaviour is measured Culture - The accumulation of shared meanings, rituals, norms and traditions among the members of an organisation or society. Subculture and culture - “Subcultures are smaller groups of a larger culture that share some cultural values with society overall and yet demonstrate unique cultural values and patterns of behaviour within the individual subgroup.” (Kardes, Cronley and Kline, 2015, p.393) - Have own unique behaviours, and patterns. Some reference groups are not subcultures! E.g friends, work colleagues etc. Selected subcultures - Social class - Age cohorts - Gender - Geography - Ethnic subcultures - Religious subcultures NZ is a heterogeneous society

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Some places ethnicity is a huge driver of culture. NZ has a lot of subcultures, and no ethnicity is the ‘most dominant’

Culture and consumption - Consumption choices cannot be understood without cultural context. - Products which resonate with culture • Need to be appropriate and sensitive. - Culture may shape new products Culture is learned Enculturation - Learning about ones culture - From socialisations - Our family • Whet our parents teach us - Media stereotypes of cultures. - Advertising Acculturation - Adaption to a new or foreign culture by a person from another country - Travel - Different practices - Behaviour Functional areas Ecology - Environment - Physical environment • Where they live? • Big houses • Apartments - What do people earn Social structure - Families - Intergenerational - Government Idealogy - Religion

Cultural variability (Hofestede) Power distance - Do we see people I power above us. - Or is it more horizontal. Uncertainty avoidance - Some think future is predetermined - Some think they have power over it Masculinity/femininity - Competitiveness - Determine - Dominance VS. - Caring for others Individualism vs. collectivism - Goals of one vs. goals for the group Long term vs. short term orientations - Some cultures are concerned a lot about the focus on the future. - Other are not so concerned and are more short term focused. - Effects savings of money. Indulgence vs. restraint. - Pursue pleasure vs. be more restrained and help back - Instant gratification in indulgence is wanted. Culture/subculture

Values - A value is a belief that some condition is preferable to its opposite. - “every culture has a set of values it imparts to its members” - Western values • Achievement • Materialism • Freedom • Youthfulness Value-attitude-behaviour hierarchy Values  attitudes  behaviour Measurement of values - Rokeach Value Survey (instrumental and terminal values) - LOV (list of values) - Means-end chains - Syndicated surveys (VALs, Roy Morgan) - (See pp.160-164)

Norms - Norms flow from values - Rules dictating right and wrong/acceptable vs. unacceptable. - Enacted or Crescive • Enacted – formal and written down – everyone follows these, or should try to do so. • Crescive – less formal but everyone understands. • Customs around ceremonies. - Custom, more, convention • More – moral customs • Smacking children in NZ. • Conventions – Everyday things. • What happens when you do something in everyday life. Myths - “Myth: story containing symbolic elements that represent the shared emotions and ideals of a culture.” (Solomon et al, 2013, p.467) - Books, movies, advertisements

Rituals - A set of multiple, symbolic behaviours that occur in a fixed sequence and that tend to be repeated periodically. Event related - Weddings - Birthdays - Holidays Subcultural - Religious - Organisational - Social class Individual rituals - Exchange - Possession - Divestment - Grooming - (private/public and work/leisure) Associated with customs and artifacts. Can be created by marketers for specific consumption. - Mother’s day - Father’s day - Valentine’s day. Gift giving rituals - Gestation • What should you get? • Got to be suitable - Presentation • Transform it into the present - Reformation - Reciprocity norm – spend as much on them as they did on you? Selected rituals and their associated artifacts. Valentine’s day - Card, flowers, dinner Getting married - White gown, reception Going to the footy - Beer, meat pies, hot chips Christmas - Presents, parties

Rituals and marketing - What are important rituals for your culture/ subculture - Are there ritual artefacts associated with these rituals: • Items needed to perform rituals - What are the implications for marketing? Rites of passage - Mark changes in social status. - E.g. 21st Birthdays, graduation, marriage. Language and symbols - Within a cultural context - Words, colours, images, logos. - Semiotics – signs and cultural meaning

Measurement of culture -

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Content analysis – Examines the content and level of written and pictorial communications (e.g. how American and Japanese youth magazines portray teenage girls) Consumer fieldwork includes: – Field observation, shadow shopping, in-depth interviews and focus groups – Means-end chains (e.g. laddering) designed to identify the values that drive behaviour Values measurement Psychographic segmentation (e.g. Vals)

Consumer behaviour and culture - What is the culture of the target market - What are their values, norms, rituals etc - What does that mean about consumption? - What does that mean for the marketing mix Knowing your market reduces risks L&P ads - Birthday...