Culture’s influence on consumer behaviour

Learning objectives To understand culture’s role, dynamics, evolution, and impact on consumers’ priorities and behaviors. To understand language, symbols, and rituals as expressions of a learned culture. To understand how to measure the influence of culture on consumer behavior. To understand green marketing and ecologically responsible consumption.

Culture ? We treat culture as the mental frames and meanings shared by most people in a social group. in a broad sense, cultural meanings include common perspectives, typical cognitions (beliefs) and affective reactions, and characteristic patterns of behavior.

Culture? culture is essentially a series of norms that guide personal and group conduct and link individuals into a largely cohesive group. Beliefs/ custom languages culture To be considered a cultural value, a belief or custom must be shared by a significant portion of the society, because culture is essentially a series of norms that guide personal and group conduct and link individuals into a largely cohesive group. Generally, members of a society share their values and customs through a common language, although some cultures include more than one language.

(sub culture ; reference group) Supranational National (particular country) Group (sub culture ; reference group) At the supranational level, youth 14-24 segmented as: In-crowd Pop mavericks Networked intelligentsia Thrill renegades Some researchers conceptualized different “levels” of cultural norms: 1. The supranational level reflects the underlying dimensions of culture that affect multiple societies (i.e., subcultural cross-national or cross-cultural boundaries). 2. The national level reflects shared core values, customs, and personalities that represent the core of the “national character” of a particular country. 3. The group level reflects the subdivisions of a country or society, such as subcultures, and the influences of various reference groups. On the supranational level of culture, which crosses national boundaries, researchers have developed a lifestyle matrix for four segments of global youth aged 14 to 24: 1. In-crowd: It’s all about privilege and reinforcement; members of this group seek approval from others and prefer classic brands like Nike and Abercrombie & Fitch to uphold tradition. 2. Pop mavericks: Word-of-mouth spreads rapidly, and passion, individuality, and instant gratification are important; members prefer brands that they can personalize—brands like Diesel and Adidas. 3. Networked intelligentsia: They are the hub of online social networks, and it’s all about revolution, creativity, and deconstruction; members prefer cult brands, like Vespa (in America) and Vans, which add to their sense of obscurity. 4. Thrill renegades: It’s all about infamy, adrenaline, and anarchy (and pretending that law and order do not exist).

content of culture includes the beliefs, attitudes, goals, and values held by most people in a society, as well as the meanings of characteristic behaviors, rules, customs, and norms that most people follow

Culture and marketing Culture’s continuous evolution Cultural beliefs reflect societal needs Marketers must always monitor cultural changes to discover new opportunities and abandon markets that have “dried up” because of cultural changes. Marketers should periodically reconsider why consumers are doing what they do, who are the purchasers and the users of their offerings, when they do their shopping, how and where they can be reached by the media, and what new product and service needs are emerging. Culture expresses and satisfies the needs of societies. It offers order, direction, and guidance for problem solving by providing “tried-and-true” methods of satisfying physiological, personal, and social needs. Culture determines whether a product is a necessity or discretionary luxury. Culture also dictates which clothes are suitable for different occasions (such as what to wear around the house, and what to wear to school, to work, to church, at a fast-food restaurant, or to a movie theater). At times, society’s collective interest contradicts an emerging custom. For instance, because most young Americans are now electronically connected all the time and at almost any place, distracted driving because of texting or calling on mobile phones is directly causing more car accidents. http://www.creationstudygroup.org/2016/03/25/overuse-of-evolutionevolved-in-the-media/

Values Core values are the abstract end goals that people strive to achieve in their lives.

Learning cultural values Formal learning Informal learning Technical learning Enculturation (consumer socialization) vs. acculturation Marketing’s influence

takes place when parents, older siblings, and other family members teach “how to behave.” Formal learning children imitate the behaviors of selected others, such as family, friends, or TV and movie heroes and characters. Informal learning happens when teachers instruct children, in educational environments, about what should be done, how it should be done, and why it should be done, in social as well as personal settings. Technical learning Enculturation is learning one’s own culture. Acculturation is learning new or foreign cultures. The contents of media, advertising, and marketing reflect cultural values and convey them to all members of society very effectively.

is learning one’s own culture. Enculturation is learning new or foreign cultures. Acculturation

The repetition of marketing messages both conveys and reinforces cultural beliefs and values. In advertisements, cultural values are not only depicted in the advertising copy, but are also coded in the visual imagery, colors, movements, music, and other nonverbal elements of an advertisement. Marketers also transmit a lot of information that enables consumers to express shared cultural values. The contents of media, advertising, and marketing reflect cultural values and convey them to all members of society very effectively.

Language and Symbols Cultural values are reflected in the languages, symbols, communications, and artifacts of a society. A symbol is anything that represents something else, and symbols can be either verbal or nonverbal . A symbol is something (a word, image, or object) that stands for or signifies some- thing else (the desired cultural meaning) Verbal symbols (words) Nonverbal symbols (shapes, colour, figure  cultural cues) Product Promotion Price Stores at which product is available Cultural values are reflected in the languages, symbols, communications, and artifacts of a society. A symbol is anything that represents something else, and symbols can be either verbal or nonverbal. Words are verbal symbols, so the text of any ad is a composition of symbols. Nonverbal symbols, such as figures, colors, shapes, and even textures, are cultural cues that appear within advertisements, trademarks, packaging, and product designs. Prices and channels of distribution are symbols and reflect cultural meanings of products. For instance, the stores where clothes are sold (and also the prices of the items) symbolize their quality. In fact, all the elements of the marketing mix—the product, its promotion, price, and the stores at which it is available—are symbols that communicate the quality, value, and image of the offering.

Cultural meaning on product Products, stores, and brands express cultural or symbolic meaning

RITUAL A type of symbolic activity consisting of a series of steps (multiple behaviors) occurring in a fixed sequence and repeated periodically. Rituals are symbolic actions performed by consumers to create, affirm, evoke, or revise certain cultural meanings.

RITUAL ARTIFACT Rituals can be public, elaborate, or ceremonial (e.g., weddings), or mundane routines (e.g., daily grooming). Typically, ritualized behavior is formal and often scripted (e.g., a religious service or proper conduct in a court of law), and occurs repeatedly (e.g., singing the national anthem before the start of a sports event). Many rituals include artifacts, and some products are marketed specifically for certain rituals. For instance, turkey, stuffing, and cranberries are part of the ritual of Thanksgiving Day. Rituals such as graduations, weekly card games, or visits to beauty salons include artifacts.

Ritualistic behaviour Ritualistic behavior is an action or series of steps that have become a ritual. For example, golfers who take a few practice swings before actually hitting the ball display a ritualistic behavior . Personal-care activities are often ritualized; Table 11.2 describes the daily ritual of a woman’s facial care.

five consumption-related rituals five consumption-related rituals involved in the movement of meaning between product and consumer: acquisition, possession, exchange, grooming, divestment

Acquisition rituals Acquisition rituals some of the cultural meanings in products are transferred to consumers through the simple acquisition rituals of purchasing and consuming the product. For instance, buying and eating an ice cream cone is necessary to receive the meanings the product contains (fun, relaxation, a reward for hard work, a treat or pick-me-up). Other acquisition behaviors have ritualistic qualities that are important for meaning transfer. For example, collectors who are interested in possessing scarce or unique products (antiques, stamps or coins, beer cans, and so on) may perform special search rituals when they go out on “the hunt,” including wearing special lucky clothes.

Bergaining rituals The bargaining rituals involved in negotiating the price of an automobile, stereo system, or some object at a garage sale can help transfer important meanings to the buyer (I got a good deal).

Possession rituals Possession rituals help consumers acquire the meanings in products  have a home = wealth

Product nurturing rituals Other possession rituals involve moving personal meaning from the customer into the product. these possession rituals help create strong, involving relationships between products and consumers.

Personalizing rituals ritualistic actions to remove meanings left over from the previous owner and move new meanings of their own into the product.

Exchange rituals Certain meanings can be transferred to consumers through exchange rituals such as giving gifts.

Grooming rituals Grooming rituals Certain cultural meanings are perishable in that they tend to fade over time. For instance, personal care products such as shampoo, mouthwash, and deodorants and beauty products (cosmetics, skin care) contain a variety of cultural meanings (attractive, sexy, confident, influence over others). But when trans- ferred to consumers through use, these meanings are not permanent. Such meanings must be continually renewed by drawing them out of a product each time it is used. Perwatan diri

Divestment rituals Consumers perform divestment rituals to remove meaning from products. Certain products (items of clothing, a house, a car or motorcycle, a favorite piece of sports equipment) can contain considerable amounts of personal meaning.

discussion What are some rituals (religious, educational, social) that you have experienced? What artifacts or products were part of that ritual? How did marketers influence the choice of these artifacts?

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