UNIT11 Culture

Consumer Psychology
UGB310
Culture
Aims & Learning Outcomes
Aims
To introduce culture
To engender discussion about how cultural
influences can impact on marketing decisions
To undertake an assignment workshop
Learning Outcomes
Explain what is meant by culture
Give examples of how culture impacts on decisions
we make
Relate your knowledge of culture to the seminar
tasks and your assignments
Culture & Consumer Behaviour:
Introductory task
In pairs, take 5 minutes to discuss
What is meant by culture?

Can you give examples of actions/activities that
are acceptable in todays society that were not
acceptable 30 years ago? How about the other
way round? Why are there these changes?
Culture & Consumer Behaviour:
Culture:
that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art,

morals, law, custom and other capabilities acquired by a
person as a member of the society.
abstract patterns of and for living and dying. Such abstract

patterns are cultural to the extent that they are a part of the
common orientation of two or more people
Culture is:
Learned
Social (is shared)
Ideational (includes language and symbolic behaviour)
Inculcated (transmitting habits to the young ones)
Integrative (to form a consistent whole)
Essential elements of culture:
Cognitive elements knowledge of physical and social

world
Beliefs unlike cognitive elements, do not lend themselves
to empirical validation e.g. religious beliefs
Essential elements of culture:
Values and Norms which exist in a society and differ from

one culture to another
Signs signs and symbols and their interpretation. e.g.

ringing a bell: dinner is ready; boxing match begins.
Non-normative behaviour denotes ways of acting which

involve the individuals personal reaction and response to the
culture in which they live; individuals predisposition and
personality traits determine non-normative behaviour
Some Cultural Taboos
Society Symbol Meaning
Iran Blue Funeral
Egypt Green Nationalist
Japan White Mourning
Latin Purple Death
Variation of Culture
Collectivism
Individualism
Inspired by: Greet Hofstede

Pairs Task Five Minutes
What do we mean by subculture?
Can you give examples of subculture both
inside and outside the workplace?
Subculture
Members of a specific group who have beliefs,

values and customs that set them apart from other
members of the same society.
The cultural profile in a society has two elements:

The unique beliefs, values and customs
subscribed to by members of specific subcultures
The central or core cultural themes that are shared
by most of the population, regardless of specific sub
cultural memberships
Other demographic variables have been used to
identify subcultures:
Religious grounds
Regional
Gender
Traditional traits and roles for men and women
Demographic variables have been used to identify
subcultures: Age
The baby boomers Refers to the age segment of

the population that was born between 1946-1964.
Age category extends from about mid 30s to late
50s.
They tend to be highly motivated and enjoy buying
for themselves.
As teenagers, they were responsible for
revolutionising: style and consumer attitudes.
They are more likely to engage in physical
activities.
The baby boomers
At the peak of their earning.
Money being spent on housing; cars and

entertainment.
Spending on food the highest compared

to any other group
Generation X
Born between 1965- 1979.
They do not like labels
Are in no rush to start a family or work excessive hours to

earn high salaries.
Their emphasis is on freedom and flexibility.
Responsible for the creation of life altering innovations such as

Google, YouTube and Amazon.
Generation X
They are not materialistic, pride themselves

on sophistication but like good brands (Sony)
but not designer labels.
Marketers to focus on their style in Music

and fashion.
Demographic variables have been used to identify
subcultures: Age cont
Generation Y Born between 1984- 2002. This group is more

heterogeneous in racial and economic terms than the boomers.
The youngest segment.
Spends significant amounts of money.
Grown in a media-saturated environment and do not give into

media hype.
More into internet use than watching TV.

Marketers to attract them with developing effective websites.
The Older Consumer
How to define this segment in terms of Age?

55 or 65 and over?
Chronological or Cognitive Age?
These people are more well off and have

greater leisure time. They are however more
cautious customers
Cross Cultural Perspective
Is there an imperative to be a multi-national?
There are similarities and differences among people.

Cultural Similarities
Some argue:
that world markets are becoming
similar
world brands are being created more
frequently
Therefore a standardised marketing
strategy is useful?
Cultural Differences
Some others argue that Cultural
differences are too big to ignore.
Products need to be designed

based on these differences
Marketing Strategies
Standardised/Localised Marketing strategy?
A company may standardise or localise its

communications and/or its products. This creates
four possible strategies.
They range from using the present marketing mix to

developing completely new product and
communications strategies.
They can all be profitable. Cross cultural analysis

is required to determine which is the best strategy.
International Standardised Localised
Marketing communication communication
Strategies
Standardised Use current Use same

product marketing strategy product, adapt
communication
Localised Use same Total adaptation,

product communication, new product and
adapt product new
communication
Some useful Websites
Harley Davidson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzgSsioAGHs
HSBC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK_NinOmFWw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_WAmt3cMdk
Tesco: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJVoYsBym88
Marketing Strategy
Task (15 mins):
identify organisations that provide products in more
than one company
Can you think of any companies that standardise
their products?
Can you think of any companies that standardise
their communications?
What cultural and organisational factors will they
need to take into consideration?
Additional Seminar Task
Name three products that are presently
culturally unacceptable. What marketing
strategies would you use to overcome their
cultural resistance?
Assignment Workshop
How are you getting on with your
individual assignment? Lets discuss

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Consumer Psychology

What is meant by culture?

that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art,

abstract patterns of and for living and dying. Such abstract

Essential elements of culture:

Cognitive elements knowledge of physical and social

Values and Norms which exist in a society and differ from

Signs signs and symbols and their interpretation. e.g.

Non-normative behaviour denotes ways of acting which

Inspired by: Greet Hofstede

Members of a specific group who have beliefs,

The cultural profile in a society has two elements:

The baby boomers Refers to the age segment of

Money being spent on housing; cars and

Spending on food the highest compared

Born between 1965- 1979.

They do not like labels

Are in no rush to start a family or work excessive hours to

Their emphasis is on freedom and flexibility.

Responsible for the creation of life altering innovations such as

They are not materialistic, pride themselves

Marketers to focus on their style in Music

Generation Y Born between 1984- 2002. This group is more

Spends significant amounts of money.

Grown in a media-saturated environment and do not give into

More into internet use than watching TV.

The Older Consumer

How to define this segment in terms of Age?

Chronological or Cognitive Age?

These people are more well off and have

Is there an imperative to be a multi-national?

There are similarities and differences among people.

Products need to be designed

A company may standardise or localise its

They range from using the present marketing mix to

They can all be profitable. Cross cultural analysis

Standardised Use current Use same

Localised Use same Total adaptation,

Harley Davidson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzgSsioAGHs

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