Week 5

External Influences: Culture & Social Class

Lecture Outline

Concept of Culture

Variations in Cultural Values

Cultural Variations in Non - Verbal Communications Cross

Cultural Marketing Strategy

Social Class & its Influence on Marketing Strategy

Learning Outcomes

To Understand what Culture is, and why and how it is influential in terms of Consumer Behavior To Understand what Cultural Values are, and how they act to influence behavior To be able to develop a Cross-Cultural approach to the design of Marketing Strategy To Understand the influence of Social Class on Marketing Strategy

Social Class Structure

Haves versus have-nots Social class is determined by income, family background, and occupation Universal pecking order: relative standing in society

Social class affects access to resources

We use the term social class to describe the overall rank of people in a society. People who belong to the same social class have approximately equal social standing in the community. They work in similar occupations and tend to have similar lifestyles. We tend to marry people in a similar social class to ours, a tendency that sociologists call homogamy.

Discussion

How do you assign people to social classes, or do you at all? What consumption cues do you use (e.g., clothing, speech, cars, etc.) to determine social standing?

Picking a Pecking Order

Social stratification
Artificial divisions in a society Scarce/valuable resources are distributed unequally to status positions Achieved versus ascribed status

Status hierarchy

 Social stratification refers to the creation of artificial divisions among people such that some members get more resources than others by virtue of their relative standing, power, or control in the group. In groups, some resources are earned through hard work and this is known as achieved status. Others may get resources because of who they are and this is

known as ascribed status.

Most groups do exhibit a status hierarchy where some members are better off than others.

Social Mobility
Social mobility refers to the passage of individuals from one social class to another.

Horizontal mobility occurs when a person moves from one position to another that is roughly equal. For instance, when a nurse becomes an elementary school teacher, horizontal mobility has occurred. Horizontal Mobility

Upward mobility means moving to a higher status. Upward Mobility

Downward movement is losing social status.

Downward Mobility

Overall though most people remain in their social class. The improvements people
make are not sufficient to shift them into a whole other class. The exception is when someone marries someone who is much richer.

Components of Social Class

Occupational Prestige
Is stable over time and similar across cultures. Single best indicator of social class.

Income
Wealth not distributed evenly across classes. How money is spent is more influential on class than income

Social class includes multiple determining factors but two highly influential factors
are occupational prestige and income. Occupation is considered the best indicator of social class because it is strongly linked to use of leisure time, allocation of

family resources, aesthetic preferences, and political orientation. The distribution of

wealth determines which groups have the greatest buying power and market potential.

Predicting Consumer Behavior

Whether social class or income is a better predictor of a consumers

behavior depends on the type of product:

Social class is better predictor of lower to moderately priced

symbolic purchases

Income is better predictor of major nonstatus/nonsymbolic

expenditures

Need both social class and income to predict expensive, symbolic

products

Consumer View of Luxury Goods Luxury is functional Luxury is a reward

Luxury is indulgence

SBI divides consumers into three groups based on their attitudes toward luxury. Consumers who use their money to buy things that will last and have enduring value view luxury as functional. Those who use luxury goods to say Ive made it view luxury as a reward. Those who seek out luxury goods in order to illustrate their individuality take an emotional approach to luxury spending and view luxury as indulgence.

Taste Cultures

Taste culture: differentiates people in terms of their aesthetic

and intellectual preferences

Upper- and upper-middle-class: more likely to visit museums and attend live theater Middle-class: more likely to go camping and fishing

Taste Cultures

Codes: the way consumers express and interpret meanings Allows marketers to communicate to markets using concepts and terms consumers are most likely to understand and appreciate Restricted codes: focus on the content of objects, not on relationships among objects Elaborated codes: depend on a more sophisticated worldview

Status Symbols
What matters is having more wealth/fame than others
Status-seeking: motivation to obtain products that will let others know that you have made it.

Although status seeking through product consumption and display is a worldwide

phenomenon, some find the best tactic is to do the opposite. In that case, status is attained by avoiding it. Social scientists call this form of conspicuous consumption parody display.

Parody Display

Parody display: deliberately

avoiding status symbols

Examples: Ripped jeans Sports utility vehicles Red Wing boots

Problems with Social Class Segmentation

Ignores status inconsistencies Ignores intergenerational mobility Ignores subjective social class Ignores consumers aspirations to change class standing Ignores the social status of working wives Social class remains an important way to categorize consumers. However, marketers fail to use social class information as effectively as they could because of the reasons above.

What is Culture?

Culture is the accumulation of shared meanings, rituals,

norms, and traditions

Culture is a societys personality

Understanding Culture

Functional Areas in a Cultural System

Ecology Social structure

Ideology
Culture is not static. It continually evolves. Old ideas are merged with new ones. A cultural system consists of three functional areas, as noted in the slide. Ecology refers to the way a system adapts to its habitat. The technology a culture uses to obtain and distribute resources shapes its ecology. Social structure refers to the way people maintain an orderly social life. This includes the domestic and political groups that dominate the culture. Ideology refers to the mental characteristics of a people and the way they relate to their environment and social groups. This relates to the idea of a common worldview. Members of a culture tend to share ideas about principles of order and fairness.

Cultural Dimensions

Power Distance

Way members perceive differences in power when they form interpersonal relationships

Uncertainty Avoidance

Degree to which people feel threatened by ambiguous situations

Masculine versus Feminine

Individualism versus Collectivism

Degree to which sex roles are clearly delineated

Extent to which culture values the welfare of the individual versus that of the group

Norms in Culture

Enacted norms are specifically chosen

Crescive norms are discovered as we interact Customs: norms handed down from the past that control basic behavior Mores: custom with a strong moral overtone

Conventions: norms regarding the conduct of everyday

life

Discussion

When you go out on a first date, identify the set of crescive

norms that are operating.

Describe specific behaviors each person performs that make it clear he or she is on a first date. What products and services are affected by these norms?

Cultural Stories

Every culture develops stories and

ceremonies that help members make

sense of the world

Lucky rabbits foot

Lucky numbers (e.g., 7) Magic remedies

Myths
Myths are stories with symbolic elements that represent the

shared emotions/ideals of a culture

Story characteristics Conflict between opposing forces Outcome is moral guide for people Myth reduces anxiety by providing guidelines

Functions of Myths

Metaphysical

Help explain origins of existence

Cosmological

Emphasize that all components of the universe are part of a single picture
Maintain social order by authorizing a social code to be followed by members of a culture Provide models for personal conduct

Sociological

Psychological

Myths Abound in Modern Popular Culture

Myths are often found in comic books, movies, holidays, and

commercials Monomyths: a myth that is common to many cultures (e.g., Spiderman and Superman) Many movies/commercials present characters and plot structures

that follow mythic patterns

Gone With the Wind E.T.: The Extraterrestrial Star Trek

Rituals

Rituals are sets of multiple, symbolic

behaviors that occur in a fixed

sequence and that tend to be repeated periodically

Many
ritualistic

consumer

activities

are

Trips to Starbucks Sunday Movie Show

Rituals and Brands Fortress brands are those that have become embedded in our
ceremonies Consider these rituals: Getting ready for bed Checking e-mail

Shaving
Putting on makeup Do you use the same brands every time you perform the ritual?

Types of Ritual Experience

Primary Behavior Source

Cosmology Cultural Values Group Learning

Ritual Type
Religious Rites of passage Cultural Civic Group

Examples
Baptism, meditation Graduation, holidays, Super Bowl Parades, elections Fraternity initiation, office luncheons

Family
Individual Aims and Emotions Personal

Mealtimes, bedtimes, Christmas

Grooming, household rituals

Ritual Artifacts

Weddings
Birthdays Graduations Ball games Awards ceremonies Holidays

Specific Ritual Types

Grooming rituals

Gift-giving rituals
Holiday rituals Rites of passage

Grooming Rituals
Transition from private to public self Transition from work self to leisure self

Natural state to social world

All of us practice private grooming rituals. These ceremonies help us transition from our private selves to our public selves. They help us inspire confidence

before we face the world. Grooming rituals tend to focus on binary opposition
between two states. We prepare to go to work or we come home and go through another ritual to

prepare for our leisure time alone or with family. We dress for work or for play.
We have a distinct set of preparations to make between what is our natural state and the self we show the world.

Gift-Giving Rituals
Consumers procure the perfect object, meticulously remove the price tag,
carefully wrap it, then deliver it to recipient Gift giving is a form of:

Economic exchange
Symbolic exchange Social expression

Every culture prescribes certain occasions and ceremonies for giving gifts.

Stages of the Gift-Giving Ritual

Gestation: giver is motivated by an event to procure a gift Structural event: prescribed by culture (e.g., Christmas)

Emergent event: more personal

Presentation: process of gift exchange when recipient responds to gift and donor evaluates response Reformulation: giver and receiver adjust the bond between them

Holiday Rituals

Holidays are based on a myth with a character at center of story Christmas Valentines Day Marketers find ways to encourage gift giving Secretaries Day, Boss Day and Grandparents Day Retailers elevate minor holidays to major ones to provide merchandising opportunities.

Rites of Passage

Rites of passage: special times marked by a change in social status

Separation Liminality Aggregation

Discussion

Describe the three stages of the rite of passage associated with

graduating from college.

Sacred and Profane Consumption

Sacred consumption: involves objects

and events that are set apart from

normal activities that are treated with

respect or awe
Profane consumption: involves

consumer objects and events that are

ordinary and not special

Domains of Sacred Consumption

Sacred places: religious/mystical and country heritage, such as

Stonehenge, Mecca, Ground Zero in New York City

Sacred people: celebrities, royalty

Sacred events: athletic events, religious ceremonies

Sacred Souvenir Icons

Local products (e.g., regional wine)

Pictorial images (e.g., postcards, photos) Piece of the rock (e.g., seashells) Literal representations (e.g., mini icons) Markers (e.g., logo-oriented t-shirts)