Chapter 13 Subculture and Social Class Copyright © 2010 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin

13-2 Subcultures  Distinctive groups of people in a society that share common cultural meanings for:  Affective and cognitive responses  Behaviors  Environmental factors  Marketers use a variety of demographic characteristics to identify subcultures.

13-3 Exhibit Types of Subcultures

13-4 Analyzing Subcultures  Subcultures can be analyzed at different levels and is often done in stages.  A broad subculture is identified based on some broad demographic characteristics.  The broad group is further segmented into subcultures based on other demographic characteristics.  If necessary, further segmentation is done into even smaller and more precisely defined subcultures.

13-5 Analyzing Subcultures (cont.)  Marketers identify the typical characteristics, meanings, and behavioral tendencies shared by people in the subculture.  They need to determine the appropriate level of analysis for the problem, and develop appropriate marketing strategies.

13-6 Geographic Subcultures  The U.S. is a polycultural nation: a mosaic of submarkets and subcultures.  There are many ways to analyze the United States in terms of geographic subcultures.  Dividing the continent into geographic areas is effective for developing specific marketing strategies to appeal to consumers in each area.  The borderlands are an important regional market even though the overall demographics are downscale.

13-7 Exhibit Eight “Nations” of the United States

13-8 Age Subcultures  Age groups have distinctive values and behaviors.  Marketers should analyze subjective or “cognitive age” (the age one thinks of oneself as being) rather than chronological or actual age.

13-9 Age Subcultures (cont.)  Teen market  Is gaining affluence while fluctuating in size.  Has a major influence on household purchases.  Owns discretionary purchasing power.  Forms brand loyalty.

13-10 Age Subcultures (cont.)  Baby boomers  People born between 1946 and  Largest and most affluent group in history.  A blend of “me-generation” and old-fashioned family values.  Strongly influence the values of other groups.  Characterized as being health conscious.  Emphasize quality and is less interested with bargain hunting.  Most lucrative and challenging group for marketers.

13-11 Age Subcultures (cont.)  The mature market  Consumers over the age of 55.  Among one of the most rapidly growing subcultures.  Have considerable discretionary income.  Has more time to enjoy entertainment and leisure activities.  Developing marketing strategies is difficult.

13-12 Ethnic Subcultures  The ethnic makeup in the United States has changed dramatically due to different immigration patterns and birthrates.  Ethnic diversity is not distributed equally across the U.S.

13-13 Ethnic Subcultures (cont.)  The black subculture  The largest minority group in the U.S.  Economic conditions vary considerably in different metropolitan areas.  Marketers could further subdivide this group based on income, social class, or geographic region.

13-14 Ethnic Subcultures (cont.)  The Hispanic subculture  Unequally distributed across the U.S.  Diverse  Three broad segments  Only Spanish speaking  Bilingual, but favoring Spanish  Bilingual, but favoring English  Getting information about Hispanic needs, values, and beliefs is difficult.

13-15 Ethnic Subcultures (cont.)  Asian subculture  Among the most rapidly increasing ethnic group in the U.S.  Requires special marketing attention.  According to studies, purchase decisions are based on country of origin and length of time in the country.  A prime market because they are more affluent than any other racial or ethnic group.  Very diverse subculture.

13-16 Gender as a Subculture  Gender differences may be significant enough to consider the two sexes as separate subcultures.  Marketers may find it useful to develop different marketing strategies for the male and female subcultures.  Today women either make or greatly influence most purchasing decisions.

13-17 Income as a Subculture  People at different income levels tend to have quite different values, behaviors, and lifestyles.  Three income categories  Downscale  Upscale  Middle income  The upscale subculture constitutes an excellent market for high-quality luxury goods; the mass market is downscale, which partially accounts for the huge success of discount retailers.

13-18 Acculturation Processes  Acculturation refers how people in one culture or subculture understand and adapt to the meanings of another culture or subculture.  Consumer acculturation refers to how people acquire the ability and cultural knowledge to be skilled consumers in different cultures or subcultures.

13-19 Acculturation Processes (cont.)  Are important for people who move to different regions within the same country and must adapt to different subcultural meanings.  The degree to which immigrants, movers, and marketers become acculturated into a new culture or subculture depends on their level of cultural interpenetration.  Cultural interpenetration is the amount and type of social interactions with people in the host culture.

13-20 Acculturation Processes (cont.)  Four stages of acculturation corresponding to four levels of cultural interpenetration  Honeymoon  Rejection  Tolerance  Integration  An important aspect of the acculturation process is proficiency in the language of the new culture.

13-21 Social Class  A national status hierarchy by which groups and individuals are distinguished in terms of esteem and prestige.  Four social class groups used for consumer analysis in the U.S.  Upper  Middle  Working  Lower

13-22 Social Class (cont.)  Identification with each social class is influenced most strongly by one’s level of education and occupation.  Social class is a composite of many personal and social attributes.  Families in each social class can be further classified as:  Overprivileged  Average  Underprivileged

13-23 Social Class (cont.)  Social class and relative standing within a class are important sources of consumers’ beliefs, values, and behaviors.  At a conceptual level, social classes are useful for investigating the process by which consumers develop their characteristic beliefs, values, and behavior patterns.

13-24 Social Class Versus Income  There has long been a controversy as to whether social class or income is the better variable for use in consumer analysis.  Each variable has its advantages and disadvantages.  The choice between using social class, income, or a combination depends on the product and the situation.

13-25 Summary  Social class and subcultures are useful for segmenting markets, understanding the shared cultural meanings of large groups of consumers, and developing targeted marketing strategies.  Subcultures can be analyzed at different levels (geographic area, age, gender, and ethnic groups being a few of them).

13-26 Summary (cont.)  Acculturation refers to how people in one culture or subculture understand and adapt to the meanings of another culture or subculture.  The four stages of acculturation correspond to the four levels of cultural interpenetration.  The four social class groups used for consumer analysis in the United States are upper, middle, working, and lower class.