The Creation and Diffusion of Consumer Culture

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Chapter 17

• The Creation and Diffusion of Consumer Culture

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Culture Production Process
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Cultural Production Systems

• The set of individuals and organizations
  responsible for creating and marketing a cultural
  product is a Cultural Production System (CPS).
  It consists of
• Creative Subsystem - responsible for generating
  new symbols and/or products.
• Managerial Subsystem - responsible for selecting,
  making tangible, mass producing, and managing the
  distribution of new symbols and/or products.
• Communications Subsystem - responsible for giving
  meaning to the new product and communicating
  these symbolic attributes to the consumer.

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High Culture and PopularCulture

• Culture Production Systems create many diverse
  kinds of products, such as Arts and Crafts
• An Art Product is viewed primarily as an object
  of aesthetic contemplation without any functional
  value.
• A Craft Product is admired because of the beauty
  with which it performs some function.
• Mass culture churns out products specifically for
  a mass market and many follow a Cultural Formula
  where certain roles and props occur consistently
  such as in detective or romance novels.

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Reality Engineering
Reality Engineering is Accelerating due to the
Popularity of Product Placement.
Reality Engineering Occurs as Elements of Popular
Culture are Appropriated by Marketers and
Converted to Vehicles for Promotional Strategies.
Product Placement is the Insertion of Specific
Products/ Brand Names in Movies TV.
Media Images Appear to Significantly Influence
Consumers Perceptions of Reality.
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Diffusion of Innovations
Diffusion of Innovations Refers to the Process
Whereby a New Product, Service, or Idea Spreads
Through a Population.
Early Majority
Late Majority
Percentage of Adopters
Early Adopters
Innovators
Laggards
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34
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13.5
Time of Adoption
2.5
Early
Late
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Adopter Categories

• Innovators - 2.5 of the population, the first to
  buy, will buy novel products.
• Early Adopters - 13.5 of the population, share
  many characteristics with the Innovators, but
  they have a higher degree or concern for social
  acceptance.
• Early and Late Majority - 68 of the population,
  mainstream public, interested in new things, but
  not too new.
• Laggards - 16 of the population, the last to
  adopt a product.

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Types of Innovations
Technological Innovation Involves
Some Functional Change
Symbolic Innovation Communicates a New Social
Meaning
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Behavioral Demands of Innovations
Dynamically Continuous Innovation More Pronounced
Change in the Existing Product
Discontinuous Innovation Creates Major Changes
in the Way We Live
Continuous Innovation Modification of an Existing
Product
Degree to Which an Innovation Demands Changes in
Behavior
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Prerequisites for Successful Adoption
Relative Advantage Must Give Advantages Other
Products Dont Have
Compatibility Must Fit Consumers Lifestyle
Product Characteristics for Successful Adoption
Trialability Reduce Risk by Letting Consumer Try
it
Observability Ones That are Observable Spread
Faster
Complexity Lower The Better
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The Fashion System
Fashion is the Process of Social Diffusion by
Which a New Style is Adopted by Some Group(s) of
Consumers.
Collective Selection Process by
Which Certain Symbolic Alternatives are Chosen
Over Others Group Products by Categories
Cultural Categories Affect Many Different
Products and Styles Costumes Worn
by Celebrities Can Affect Fashion
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Behavioral Science Perspectiveon Fashion
Psychological
Economic
Models of Fashion
Sociological
Medical
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Behavioral Science Perspectiveon Fashion

• Psychological Models of Fashion
• Erogenous Zones

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Fashions Have Accentuated Different Parts of the
Female Anatomy Throughout History
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Are We at the Mercy of Fashion Designers?

• Do you believe there is a designer conspiracy
  because they are the ones who determine what is
  in and what is out in fashion?

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Economic Model of Fashion

• Parody Display
• Prestige-Exclusivity Effect
• Snob Effect

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Sociological Models of Fashion

• Trickle-Down Theory
• Mass Fashion
• Trickle-Across Theory
• Trickle-Up

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Medical Model of Fashion

• Meme Theory
• Tipping Point

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Fashion Life-Cycle
Acceleration
General Acceptance
A Normal Fashion Cycle
Decline
Rise
Obsolescence
Innovation
Introduction stages
Acceptance stages
Regression stages
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Cycles of Fashion Adoption

• Introduction Stages
• Product is used by a small number of Innovators.
• Acceptance Stages
• Product enjoys increased social visibility and
  acceptance by large segments of the population.
• A Classic is a fashion with an extremely long
  acceptance cycle.
• A Fad is a short-lived fashion.
• Regression Stages
• Product reaches a state of social saturation as
  it becomes overused, and sinks into decline and
  obsolesce as new products rise to take its place.

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Fads, Fashions and Classics
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Fad or Trend?
Questions to Ask to Determine if a Trend, Which
Lasts for Some Time, is Occurring Include
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Think Globally, Act Locally

• Two Views Exist Regarding the Necessity of
  Developing Separate Marketing Plans for Each
  Culture.

Etic Perspective Adopting a Standardized Strategy
Which Focuses on Commonalties Across Cultures.

• Emic Perspective
• Adopting a Localized Strategy Which Focuses on
  Variations Within a Culture.

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Determining Whether to Utilize the Etic or Emic
Perspective

• Cultural differences relevant to marketers.
• Tastes and styles,
• Advertising preferences and regulations,
• Cultural norms toward taboos and sexuality.
• To maximize the chances of success for
  multicultural advertising campaigns, marketers
  should target those who share a common worldview,
  who may include
• Affluent people who are global citizens, and
• Young people who are influenced by the media.

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The Diffusion of Western Consumer Culture