Post on 20-Dec-2015
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Chapter 13
Ethnic, Racial, and Religious Subcultures
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR, 9eMichael R. Solomon
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Chapter Objectives
When you finish this chapter, you should understand why:
• Additional influences come from our identification with microcultures that reflect a shared interest in some organization or activity.
• Our memberships in ethnic, racial, and religious subcultures often play a big role in guiding our consumption behaviors.
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Chapter Objectives (continued)
• Many marketing messages appeal to ethnic and racial identity.
• African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans are the three most important ethnic/racial subcultures in the United States.
• Marketers increasingly use religious and spiritual themes when they talk to consumers.
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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
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Ethnic and Racial Subcultures
• An ethnic subculture is a self-perpetuating group of consumers who share common cultural or genetic ties where both its members and others recognize it as a distinct category.
• In countries like Japan, ethnicity is synonymous with the dominant culture because most citizens claim the same cultural ties.
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Ethnicity and Marketing Strategies
• Subcultural memberships help shape people’s needs/wants
• Minorities find an advertising spokesperson from their own group more trustworthy
• Ethnic subculture affects level/type of media exposure, food/apparel preferences, political behavior, leisure activities, willingness to try new products
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The Context of Culture
High-Context
Low-Context
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Is Ethnicity a Moving Target?
• Defining/targeting an ethnic group is not always so easy (“melting pot” society)
• Deethnicization occurs when a product we associate with a specific ethnic group detaches itself from its roots and appeals to other groups as well
• Example: bagels
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Figure 13.1 America’s Newest Markets
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Discussion
• Locate current examples of marketing stimuli that depend on an ethnic or religious stereotype to communicate a message.
• How effective are these appeals?
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What is Acculturation?
• Acculturation is the process of movement and adaptation to one country’s cultural environment by a person from another country.
• Acculturation occurs, at least in part, with the influence of acculturation agents
• Family
• Friends
• Church organizations
• Media
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The Progressive Learning Model
• Assumes that people gradually learn a new culture as they increasingly come into contact with it
• When people acculturate they will blend their original culture and the new one
• Consumers who retain much of their original ethnic identity differ from those who assimilate
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Figure 13.2 A Model of Consumer Acculturation
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Discussion
• Locate one or more consumers (perhaps family members) who have emigrated from another country.
• How did they adapt to their host culture?
• In particular, what changes did they make in their consumption practices over time?
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The “Big Three” American Subcultures
• African Americans
• Hispanic Americans
• 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)
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African Americans
• Overall spending patterns of blacks and whites are roughly similar
• Household income and educational levels rising for African Americans
• Differences in consumption behaviors subtle but important
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Hispanic Americans
• “Hispanic” = many different backgrounds
• Hispanics are:
• Brand loyal
• Highly concentrated geographically by country of origin (easy to reach)
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Distinguishing Characteristics of the Hispanic Market
• 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
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Asian Americans
• Fastest-growing group
• Most affluent, best educated
• Most likely to hold technology-related jobs
• Most brand-conscious but least brand loyal
• Made up of culturally diverse subgroups that speak many different languages/dialects
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Religious Subcultures and Product Demand
• Religious themes can spill over into everyday consumption
• “Cult products”
• Marketing opportunity among religious subcultures due to dress and food requirements
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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?
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The Born-Again Boom
• Born-Again Christians are 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
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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?
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Chapter Summary
• People share an identification with microcultures as well as subcultures and cultures.
• Membership in ethnic, racial, and religious subcultures plays a role in our consumption decisions.
• African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans are the three most important ethnic/racial subcultures in the U.S.