Chapter 14 Culture CONSUMER BEHAVIOR 10 e Michael

Chapter Objectives When you finish this chapter, you should understand why: 1. A culture is a society’s personality; it shapes our identities as individuals. 2. Myths are stories that express a culture’s values, and in modern times marketing messages convey these values. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -2

Chapter Objectives (continued) 3. Many of our consumption activities including holiday observances, grooming, and gift giving are rituals. 4. We describe products as either sacred or profane, and it’s not unusual for some products to move back and forth between the two categories. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -3

Chapter Objectives 5. Styles act as a mirror to reflect underlying cultural conditions. 6. We distinguish between high and low culture. 7. Many modern marketers are reality engineers. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -4

Chapter Objectives (continued) 8. New products, services, and ideas spread through a population. Different types of people are more or less likely to adopt them. 9. Many people and organizations play a role in the fashion system that creates and communicates symbolic meaning to consumers. 10. Fashions follow cycles. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -5

Learning Objective 1 • A culture is a society’s personality; it shapes our identities

What is Culture? • Culture is the accumulation of shared meanings, rituals, norms, and traditions • Culture is a society’s personality Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -7

Understanding Culture • Products can reflect underlying cultural processes of a particular period: • The TV dinner for the United States • Cosmetics made of natural materials without animal testing • Pastel carrying cases for condoms Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -8

Functional Areas in a Cultural System Ecology Social structure Ideology Copyright © 2013 Pearson

For Reflection • If your culture were a person, how would you describe its personality traits? • Now, select another culture you’re familiar with. How would those personality traits differ from your own? Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -10

Learning Objective 2 • Myths are stories that express a culture’s values, and in modern times marketing messages convey these values. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -11

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 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -12

Functions of Myths Metaphysical Help explain origins of existence Cosmological Emphasize that all components of the universe are part of a single picture Sociological Maintain social order by authorizing a social code to be followed by members of a culture Psychological Provide models for personal conduct Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -13

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 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -14

For Reflection • Identify modern day myths that corporations create. • How do they

Learning Objective 3 • Many of our consumption activities including holiday observances, grooming, and gift giving are rituals. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -16

Rituals • Rituals are sets of multiple, symbolic behaviors that occur in a fixed sequence and that tend to be repeated periodically • Many consumer activities are ritualistic • Trips to Starbucks • Sunday brunch Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -17

Common Rituals • • Grooming Gift-giving Holiday Rites of passage Copyright © 2013 Pearson

For Reflection • Explain some of your own family holiday traditions. How do they

Learning Objective 4 • We describe products as either sacred or profane, and it’s not unusual for some products to move back and forth between the two categories. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -20

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 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -21

Sacralization • Sacralization occurs when ordinary objects, events, and even people take on sacred meaning • Objectification occurs when we attribute sacred qualities to mundane items, through processes like contamination • Collecting is the systematic acquisition of a particular object or set of objects Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -22

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 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -23

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) Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -24

Desacralization • Desacralization: when a sacred item/symbol is removed from its special place or is duplicated in mass quantities (becomes profane) • Religion has somewhat become desacralized • Christmas and Ramadan as secular, materialistic occasions Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -25

For Reflection • Give examples of items that were once sacred but are now materialized and marketed. What are the implications in the shift in reverence to the items in question? Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -26

Learning Objective 5 • Styles act as a mirror to reflect underlying cultural conditions.

The Movement of Meaning Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Culture Production Process Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14

Culture Production System • A culture production system is the set of individuals and organizations that create and market a cultural product • It has three major subsystems • Creative • Managerial • Communications Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -30

For Reflection • How have cultural values influenced the items that you feel have

Learning Objective 6 • We distinguish between high and low culture. Copyright © 2013

Where Does Culture Come From? • Influence of inner-city teens • Hip-hop/black urban culture • Outsider heroes, anti-oppression messages, and alienation of blacks • “Flavor” on the streets Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -33

High Culture and Popular Culture • An art product is an object we admire for its beauty and our emotional response • A craft product is admired because of the beauty with which it forms a function • Mass culture creates products for a mass market Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -34

Learning Objective 7 • Many modern marketers are reality engineers. Copyright © 2013 Pearson

Product Placement and Branded Entertainment • Insertion of specific products and use of brand names in movie/TV scripts. • Directors incorporate branded props for realism. • Is product placement a positive or negative when it comes to consumer decisionmaking? Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -36

Advergaming • Advergaming refers to online games merged with interactive advertisements • Advertisers gain many benefits with advergames • Plinking is the act of embedding a product in a video Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -37

Learning Objective 8 • New products, services, and ideas spread through a population. Different types of people are more or less likely to adopt them. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -38

The Diffusion of Innovations • Innovation: any product that consumers • perceive to be new • New manufacturing technique • New product variation • New way to deliver product • New way to package product Diffusion of innovation • Successful innovations spread through the population at various rates Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -39

Types of Adopters Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14

Behavioral Demands of Innovations • Continuous innovation • Evolutionary rather than revolutionary • Dynamically continuous innovation • More pronounced change to existing product • Discontinuous innovation • Creates major changes in the way we live Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -41

Prerequisites for Successful Adoption Compatibility Innovation should be compatible with consumers’ lifestyles Trialability People are more likely to adopt an innovation if they can experiment with it prior to purchase Complexity A product that is easy to understand will be chosen over competitors Observability Innovations that are easily observable are more likely to spread Relative Advantage Product should offer relative advantage over other alternatives Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -42

Learning Objective 9 • Many people and organizations play a role in the fashion system that creates and communicates symbolic meaning to consumers. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -43

The Fashion System • The fashion system includes all those people and organizations involved in creating symbolic meanings and transferring these meanings to cultural goods • Fashion is code • Fashion is context-dependent • Fashion is undercoded Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -44

Behavioral Science Perspectives and Models of Fashion • • Psychological Economic Sociological Medical Copyright

Motives and Psychological Models of Fashion • Conformity • Desire for variety seeking • Need to express personal creativity • Sexual attraction Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -46

Learning Objective 10 • Fashions follow cycles. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing

Fashion Life Cycle Example • Introduction stage: small number of music innovators hear a song • Acceptance stage: song enjoys increased visibility • Regression stage: song reaches stage of social saturation as it becomes overplayed Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -48

For Reflection • What is and what should be the role of fashion in our society? How important is it for people to be in style? What are the pros and cons of keeping up with the latest fashions? Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -49

Chapter Summary • A culture is a society’s personality. • Myths are stories that express a culture’s values. • Many of our consumption activities include rituals associated with holidays, grooming, rites of passage, and other events. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -50

Chapter Summary • Products may be sacred or profane and some may shift between the two categories. • Styles are like a mirror that reflect culture. • We can distinguish between high and low forms of culture. • Marketers are also reality engineers. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -51

Chapter Summary • New products spread through the population. Certain characteristics make it more likely that they will be adopted. • The fashion system creates and communicates symbolic meaning for consumers. • Fashion follows cycles. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14 -52