Chap 013

Chapter 13

Subculture and Social Class

Subcultures • Subcultures defined • Demographic characteristics used to identify subcultures

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Analyzing Subcultures • Can be analyzed at different levels and often done in stages – A broad subculture is identified based on some broad demographic characteristics – Can be further segmented into subcultures based on other demographic characteristics

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Analyzing Subcultures cont. • Can follow the same approach as cultural analysis – Examine the content of subculture by describing the cultural meanings shared by members of the subculture

• Marketers seek to identify the typical characteristics, meanings, and behavioral tendencies shared by people in the subculture 13-4

Analyzing Subcultures cont. • Task is to determine what level of analysis is appropriate for the problem and develop marketing strategies for that level • Geographic subcultures – The U.S. as a polycultural nation – Joel Garreau’s “nine nations” of North America – Borderland regions

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Analyzing Subcultures cont. • Age subcultures – Teen market • The American teenage population has been gaining affluence and fluctuating in size • Several studies have found that teenagers do a large portion of the grocery shopping • Brand loyalty has been found to form early among teenage shoppers

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Analyzing Subcultures cont. – Baby Boomers • People born between 1946 and 1964 • Largest and most affluent group in history • Characterized by having a blend of “me-generation” and old-fashioned family values • Strongly influence the values of other groups • The most lucrative and challenging group marketers have ever seen

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Analyzing Subcultures cont. – The mature market • Consumers over the age of 55 • One of the most rapidly growing subcultures in American society • The economic character of this market deserves careful consideration • Important to recognize how the market is changing • Because many people in this subculture are retired, they have more time to enjoy entertainment and leisure activities

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Analyzing Subcultures cont. • Ethnic subcultures – Marketers must recognize that ethnic diversity is not distributed equally across the U.S. – The black subculture • The largest minority group in the U.S. • Economic conditions vary considerably in different metropolitan areas

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Analyzing 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 good information about Hispanic needs, values, and beliefs is difficult

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Analyzing Subcultures cont. – Asian subculture • Asian-Americans are among the most rapidly increasing ethnic group in the U.S. • Requires special marketing attention for many companies • Asian-Americans are a prime market because they are more affluent than any other racial or ethnic group • Very diverse subculture

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Analyzing Subcultures cont. • Gender as a subculture – Ample evidence that men and women differ in important respects – For some marketing purposes, gender differences may be significant enough to consider the two sexes as separate subcultures – Today, women either make or greatly influence most purchasing decisions

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Analyzing Subcultures cont. • Income as a subculture – People at different income levels tend to have quite different values, behaviors, and lifestyles – Marketers often divide American households into three income categories • Downscale • Upscale • Middle income

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Analyzing Subcultures cont. • Acculturation processes – Begins when a person from one culture moves to a different culture or subculture to live and work – Refers to how people in one culture or subculture understand and adapt to the meanings of another culture or subculture

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Analyzing Subcultures cont. – How people acquire the ability and cultural knowledge to be skilled consumers in different cultures or subcultures – Important in the modern world – Important for people who move to different regions within the same country and must adapt to different subcultural meanings

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Analyzing Subcultures cont. – Degree to which immigrants, movers, and marketers became acculturated into a new culture or subculture depends on their level of cultural interpenetration • The amount and type of social interactions they have with people in the host culture

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Analyzing Subcultures cont. – Four stages of acculturation corresponding to four levels of cultural interpenetration • • • •

Honeymoon Rejection Tolerance Integration

– An important aspect is proficiency in the language of the new culture

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Social Class • A national status hierarchy by which groups and individuals are distinguished in terms of esteem and prestige • Four social class groups to use for consumer analysis in the U.S. – Upper – Middle – Working – Lower 13-18

Social Class cont. • Identification with each social class is influenced most strongly by one’s level of education and occupation • A composite of many personal and social attributes

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Social Class cont. • Families in each social class can be further classified – Overprivileged – Average – Underprivileged

• Social class and relative standing within a class are important sources of consumers’ beliefs, values, and behaviors 13-20

Social Class cont.

• At a conceptual level, social classes are useful for investigating the process by which consumers develop their characteristic beliefs, values, and behavior patterns

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Social Class cont. • Social class vs. income – Each variable has its advantages and disadvantages – The choice between using social class, income, or a combination depends on the product and the situation

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Summary • Discussed two macro social influences on consumers’ behaviors, cognitions, and affective responses • Learned how social factors influence how people think, feel, and behave relative to their physical, social, and marketing environments

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Summary cont. • Discussed subcultural influences in terms of geographic area, age, ethnic groups, and other factors • Social class influences were discussed in terms of their roles both in explaining consumer behavior and as a strategic tool

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