Consumers Rule

1
Ethnic, Racial, and Religious Subcultures Chapter
14
2
Subcultures, Microcultures, and
Consumer Identity

• Consumers lifestyles are affected by group
  membership within the society-at-large
• Subcultures of age, race/ethnicity, place of
  residence
• Microcultures share a strong identification with
  an activity or art form
• Have own unique set of norms, vocabulary, and
  product insignias
• Micronations

3
Ethnic and Racial Subcultures

• Ethnic subculture
• Homogeneous vs. heterogeneous cultural societies
• Marketers cannot ignore the diversity of cultures
  in society today
• Ethnic minorities spend more than 600 billion a
  year on products

4
Ethnicity and Marketing Strategies

• Subcultural memberships are frequently paramount
  in shaping peoples needs and wants
• Research indicates that minorities find an
  advertising spokesperson from their own group
  more trustworthy
• Level/type of media exposure, food/apparel
  preferences, political behavior, leisure
  activities, willingness to try new products are
  all affected by ethnic subcultures
• High-context culture vs. low-context culture

5
Is Ethnicity a Moving Target?

• Defining/targeting an ethnic group is not always
  so easy (melting pot society)
• Many identify with two or more races
• Tiger Woods, Keanu Reeves, Mariah Carey
• De-ethnicization
• Bagels

6
The Big Three American Subcultures

• African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian
  Americans
• Hispanic population is now the largest ethnic
  subculture (12.5)
• Asian Americans (3.6) are the fastest-growing
  racial group (due to immigration)

7
New Ethnic Groups

• The dominant American culture exerts pressure on
  immigrants to become absorbed in mainstream
  society
• AmericanThere is a decline in the number of
  people identifying themselves as Irish, German,
  and other European ancestries
• New immigrants are much more likely to be Asian
  or Hispanic
• Tend to cluster together geographically
• WOM is especially important

8
Ethnic and Racial Stereotypes

• Many subcultures have powerful stereotypes
  associated with them
• Subgroups are assumed to possess certain traits
  (often erroneously) which can be cast either
  positively or negatively
• Scottish stereotype as thrifty
• Marketers in the past have made vast use of
  ethnic stereotypes to communicate product
  attributes
• Aunt Jemima and Frito Bandito

9
Discussion

• Locate current examples of marketing stimuli that
  depend on an ethnic or religious stereotype to
  communicate a message
• How effective are these appeals?

10
African Americans

• The African American market is hardly as
  homogeneous as many seem to believe
• Overall spending patterns of blacks and whites
  are roughly similar
• Household income and educational levels are
  rising for African Americans
• Differences in consumption behaviors can be
  subtle but still very important
• E.g., African American children are half as
  likely to wear seatbelts as other children

11
Hispanic Americans

• Hispanic many different backgrounds
• Hispanic population is now considered a major
  marketing segment
• Hispanics tend to be brand loyal
• Highly concentrated geographically by country of
  origin (easy to reach)
• Many are rushing to sign Hispanic
  celebrities/actors
• Spanish-language ad campaigns
• Some ad campaigns dont work well among
  Hispanics, while Anglos dont understand some
  products popular among Hispanics

12
Distinguishing Characteristics of the Hispanic
Market

• Young bicultural Hispanic consumers
• Latino youth are changing mainstream culture
• Rapid increase of Hispanic teens in United States
• Looking for spirituality, stronger family ties,
  and more color in their lives
• Large family size of Hispanic market
• Spend more on groceries
• Shopping is a family affair
• Regard clothing children well as matter of pride
• Convenience/saving time is not important to
  Hispanic homemaker

13
Levels of Acculturation Understanding Hispanic
Identity

• Acculturation process of movement and adaptation
  to one countrys cultural environment by a person
  from another country

Table 14.1 (Abridged)
14
Levels of Acculturation (Contd)

• Hispanic consumers are sympathetic to
  marketing that emphasizes Hispanic cultural
  heritage
• Many younger Hispanics are searching for their
  roots and rediscovering the value of ethnic
  identity

15
A Model of Consumer Acculturation

• Individual differences affect how rocky
  adjustment will be
• Acculturation agents
• Culture of origin and culture of immigration
• Movement, translation, and adaptation
• Assimilation, maintenance, resistance, and
  segregation
• Progressive learning model
• Consumer behavior as mix of original culture and
  host culture
• Differences between consumers who retain strong
  ethnic identification and more assimilated
  consumers

16
Discussion

• Locate one or more consumers (perhaps family
  members) who have emigrated from another country
• Interview them about how they adapted to their
  host culture
• In particular, what changes did they make in
  their consumption practices over time?

17
Asian Americans Are

• Fastest-growing population group
• Most affluent
• Best educated
• Most likely to hold technology jobs
  and buy high-tech gadgets
• Most frequent shoppers and most brand-conscious
  (but least brand loyal)
• Most concerned with keeping up appearances
• Made up of culturally diverse subgroups that
  speak many different languages/dialects

18
Religious Subcultures

• The rise of spirituality
• Explosion of religion/spirituality in pop
  culture
• Churches are adopting aggressive marketing
• Megachurches
• Religious themes can spill over into everyday
  consumption
• Cult products
• Marketing opportunity among religious subcultures

19
Discussion

• Should members of a religious group adapt
  marketing techniques that manufacturers
  customarily use to increase market share for
  their products? Why or why not?

20
Old and New Religions

• There is an astonishing variety of flourishing
  new religious movements
• Scientologists
• Wicca
• The Raelians
• The Ahmadis
• The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University
• Cao Dai
• Soka Gakkai International
• The Toronto Blessing
• Umbanda

21
The Impact of Religion on Consumption

• Religion is seen as a taboo subject to marketers
• Polygamy Porter beer billboard
• Lipton ad mocking the Catholic Church
• Pirelli tires ad with Christ the Redeemer statue
• Dietary and dress requirements create demand for
  certain products
• Religious subcultures affect personality,
  attitudes toward sexuality, birthrates and
  household formation, income, and political
  attitudes
• Church leaders can encourage and/or discourage
  consumption (e.g., boycott of Disney)

22
The Born-Again Boom

• Those who follow literal interpretations of the
  Bible and who acknowledge being born again
  through belief in Jesus
• Fastest-growing religious affiliations in United
  States
• Christian merchandising activity is
  increasing
• Christian bookstores
• C28 stores/Not of This World brand

23
Discussion

• Born-again Christian groups have been
  instrumental in organizing boycotts of products
  advertised on shows they find objectionable,
  especially those they feel undermine family
  values
• Do religious groups have a right or a
  responsibility to dictate what advertising a
  network should carry?