1. Subcultures and Consumer Behavior
CHAPTER
TWELVE
Subcultures and Consumer Behavior

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Learning Objectives
To Understand What Subculture Is, and Its Relationship to Culture.
To Understand Nationality as a Subcultural Influence on Consumer Behavior.
To Understand Religious Affiliation as a Subcultural Influence on Consumer Behavior.
To Understand Geographic and Regional Residences as Subcultural Influences on Consumer Behavior.
Here is an outline of the topics for Chapter Twelve.
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Chapter Twelve Slide

3. Learning Objectives (continued)
To Understand Racial Identity as a Subcultural Influence on Consumer Behavior.
To Understand Age as a Subcultural Influence on Consumer Behavior.
To Understand Gender as a Subcultural Influence on Consumer Behavior.
To Understand How Multiple Subcultural Memberships Jointly Influence Consumer Behavior.
Here is an outline of the topics for Chapter Twelve.
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Chapter Twelve Slide

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Why Is State Farm Running Magazine Ads in Spanish? At Whom Are These Ads Directed?
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5. To Build their Market by Reaching the Hispanic American Consumer
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Subculture
A distinct cultural group that exists as an identifiable segment within a larger, more complex society.
A subculture has beliefs, values, and customers that set them apart from the other members of the same society.
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Discussion Questions
Would you categorize yourself as belonging to any subcultures?
How does it affect your consumer purchases?
Perhaps you belong to religious or ethnic subcultures. Do these affect your grocery decisions, for instance?
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Chapter Twelve Slide

8. Relationship Between Culture and Subculture - Figure 12.2
This diagram gives a good visualization of a subculture. The general U.S. culture is shared by the members of a subculture, but at the same time they have their own unique traits.
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9. Examples of Major Subcultural Categories Table 12.1
Nationality
Greek, Italian, Russian
Religion
Catholic, Hindu, Mormon
Geographic region
Eastern, Southern, Southwestern
Race
African American, Asian, Caucasian
Age
Teenagers, Xers, elderly
Gender
Female, male
Occupation
Bus driver, cook, scientist
Social class
Lower, middle, upper
Here are some of the major subcultural categories that exist in the United States. Many of these will be explored in this chapter.
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10. Nationality Subculture - Hispanic
Stronger preference for well-established brands
Prefer to shop at smaller stores
Some are shifting food shopping to non-ethnic American-style supermarkets
Youths are more fashion conscious than non-Hispanic peers
Nationality is an important variable for defining subculture in the U.S. since census data shows that more than 1 in 10 Americans is foreign born. The Hispanic subculture is growing in the United States. Some consider it a single group but there are actually several subgroups in the United States. These subgroups can be seen on the following slide. The Hispanic culture does show some differences from the American culture in general. They like brands and see them as more prestigious. They tend to be very fashion conscious. They tend not to be impulsive buyers and prefer to shop at smaller stores; this may be in part because they prefer fresh to frozen or prepared foods.
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Why Is Days Inn Running Ads in Spanish, and Who Are the Consumers Targeted by Such Ads?
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Because Hispanic Americans who Speak Spanish as a First Language Tend to Prefer Spanish-Language Advertising
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Nationality Subculture – Hispanic U.S. Hispanic Population by Place of Origin Figure 12.3
Here we can see the breakdown between the Hispanic subculture and their country of origin. The web link on this page brings you to a website that focuses on Hispanic businesses. Why would a subculture need this type of website? Does this site seem effective in communicating and helping the Hispanic business owner?
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Chapter Twelve Slide

14. Segmenting the Hispanic Market Figure 12.5
The Hispanic market has been studied intensively to look for effective segmentation variables. One study revealed that people can be defined in relation to their ethnic identity and the strength of the family unit. Combining these two variables produces 4 possible segments. This figure provides a matrix with each of these segments – symbolic, strong, weak, and A-symbolic Hispanics. In addition, this figure includes the decision variables an advertiser must choose from when reaching this market. This gives guidance in media decisions.
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15. Religious Subcultures
200+ organized religious groups in the U.S.
Primary organized faiths include:
Protestant denominations
Roman Catholicism
Islam
Judaism
Consumer behavior symbolically and ritualistically associated with the celebration of religious holidays.
Religion is an important subculture when we think about rituals that are performed by subcultures. Think of all the symbolic shopping that is done in preparation and for Christmas day.
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Regional Subcultures
Many regional differences exist in consumption behavior
Westerners have a mug of black coffee
Easterners have a cup of coffee with milk and sugar
White bread is preferred in the South and Midwest
Rye and whole wheat are preferred on the East and West coasts
Food is an example of where we see very different consumption behavior depending on the region where someone lives. There are differences in category sales, as well as brand sales, in different areas. This web link goes to a regional news site boston.com. In addition to local news and sports, what other differences might be regional?
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17. Major Racial Subcultures African American
The African American Consumer
13 percent of the U.S. population
Purchasing power estimated at $845 billion
Although representing only 13 percent of the U.S. population, the African American population is very important to marketers due to their increasing purchasing power and their interest in certain products. For instance, the African American teen spends more on many products compared to same-aged Anglo-white or Hispanic teens. These products include martial arts, basketball, iced tea drinks, body powder, and breath fresheners.
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18. What Are the Strategic Goals of This Ad?
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This Ad is Placed in “Black Media” which is Very Important to Many African Americans.
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20. Major Racial Subcultures African American
Prefer leading brands over private-label brands
Brand loyal
Higher than average trips to grocery store and higher spending
Spend more then other segments on telephone services
Some other interesting consumption patterns include a preference for brand names and more frequent trips for grocery shopping. Hair care and telephone services are two other products that tend to be bought more than other segments.
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21. Major Racial Subcultures Asian American
Fastest growing racial segment
Diverse group including 6 major ethnicities:
Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese
95% live in metropolitan areas and business ownership is high
The Asian market is a challenge for marketers because it is so diverse and there are so many languages spoken. It is hard to determine whether to run an ad to this target in their native language or in English.
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22. Region of Residence for Selected Subcultural Groups – Figure 12.7
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23. Major Racial Subcultures Asian American
Figure 12.8
Increasing buying power
Diverse so few trends
Many prefer ads in English as language is self reported as well spoken
The figure on this slide shows that English is reported as very well spoken according to Asian Americans. It is important to make the right decisions.
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Major Age Subcultures
Generation Y
Generation X
Baby Boomers
Seniors
You have probably heard these terms before. Marketers and other researchers divide the population into groups depending on the year they were born. There are many differences between these age subcultures, which will be explored in the following slides.
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Generation Y
According to sources, born OR
Three groups
Gen Y Adults – 19-28
Gen Y Teens – 13-18
Gen Y Tweens 8-12
Twixters – and live with parents
Gen Y has shifted from TV viewing to the Internet and are less likely to read newspapers. They are the largest users of text messaging and spend a lot of time with online social networks.
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Discussion Questions
Is it ethical for marketers of high-priced goods, an iPod for example, to target tweens?
How might they market responsibly?
There are many consumer groups who feel that their young tweens are too heavily marketed to by clothing, entertainment, and technology firms. Do you agree?
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Generation X
Born between 1965 and 1979
Also referred to as Xers, busters, or slackers
Do not like labels, are cynical, and do not want to be marketed to
Gen X is careful to work at jobs they like, regardless of salary. The tend to work to live rather than the baby boomers who lived to work. Although they are not designer focused, they do tend to purchase brand names such as Sony.
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Baby Boomers
Born between 1946 – 1964
More than 40 percent of the adult population
Motivated consumers
Not anxious to retire and handle it as:
Opportunity for a new start
A continuation of preretirement life
Unwelcome disruption
Transition to old age
The baby boomers have a lot of purchasing power due to their size and their propensity to purchase for themselves, others, and their homes. They are mixed on their views of retirement and will therefore purchase in different ways during these golden years.
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Older Consumers
Roughly 65 years and older
Growing segment due to better medical care, declining birthrate and the aging of the large baby boomer segment
Three segments by age
The Young-Old (65-74)
The Old (75-84)
The Old-Old (85 and older)
The older consumer is an important and growing segment. People are living longer and are healthier and more active at an older age. Many people tend to clump seniors together when, in fact, there are several segments within this group. The young-old tend to travel and purchase at a very high rate.
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Older Consumers
Segmentation can also be done on motivations and quality-of-life orientation
Cyberseniors
Some research has shown that perceived or cognitive age might be a better way to segment people. Those who feel and act younger will purchase consumer products that are generally consumed by a somewhat younger group. This web link is to AARP, the American Association of Retired People and one of the largest and most powerful associations in the country.
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31. How Seniors Use the Internet Figure 12.9
Older consumers are very active online and are more connected than you might think at first. This graph shows the most common reasons that seniors use the internet and the online activities in which they engage.
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Discussion Questions
How might the three senior segments differ in their consumption of food products?
How might a marketer of a food product market differently to the three subgroups?
To answer this question, visualize a grocery store and the variety of food categories. Where might you find the three groups of seniors? What about dining out? What are their interests?
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33. Issues in Understanding Gender as a Subculture
Sex Roles and Consumer Behavior
Masculine vs. Feminine Traits
Consumer Products and Sex Roles
Women as depicted in Media
Gender plays an important role in some marketing issues. Men and women react differently toward print ads and have very different shopping motives. As such, some consumer products are much more focused to one sex versus the other. It is only in the past few years that men have increased their purchases of consumer care products, including moisturizers and hair care products.
Many women are concerned with the way they are depicted in media and would like to see more of the “real” women that advertisers like Dove have begun to use. Follow this web link to the Campaign for Real Beauty by Dove to learn more about the campaign.
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Working Women
Segments of ALL women
Stay-at-home
Plan-to-work
Just-a-job working
Career-oriented working
Working women are important consumers and comprise about 60 percent of American women. They can be broken into many segments based on “why” they work and their occupational category. Think of women you know who work. Which ones are focused on their career versus working just to pay the bills? How might this affect their purchasing behavior?
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Chapter Twelve Slide

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Consumer Electronics Products Women Are Most Interested in Buying - Figure 12.10
You might feel that women purchase electronics with a bit less enthusiasm than men. This figure shows the results of a survey asking women which products they are most interested in purchasing. You can see that the DVD player scored very high – this is probably related to the timing of the survey and the fact that most people were moving over from VHS or tape to DVDs for viewing movies.
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Chapter Twelve Slide

36. Subcultural Interaction
Marketers should strive to understand how multiple subcultural memberships jointly influence consumers behavior
It is important for marketers to realize that an individual can belong to several of the subcultures presented in these slides and must consider how these influences will work together.
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Chapter Twelve Slide