McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cultural and Cross-Cultural Influences

Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Chapter 12

Objective• To understand how culture can influence

consumer behavior

Topics• What is culture?

• What are the issues in analyzing culture?

• What is the content of culture?

• How is content of culture measured?

Topics contd.• Cultural meanings in products

• Cross-cultural differences

• Approaches to developing international marketing strategies in a cross-cultural set-up

What is Culture?• Meanings that are shared by most people in

a social group

• A learned behavior

• It refers to the society in which a person prefers to live

• It is adaptive. It changes as society faces new problems and opportunities

What is Culture? Contd.• It satisfies needs by providing norms or

rules of behavior

• It provides values which delineate what is right, good and important to society

• Think about the condom…

What is Culture? Contd.• Enculturation is learning one’s own culture

• Acculturation is learning a new culture

Issues in Analyzing Culture• Cultural meanings can be analyzed in different

levels such as country, subculture, social class, reference group, family.

• The concept of shared or common meaning is critical to understanding culture. A meaning is cultural if most people in a social group share the same basic meaning.

Issues in Analyzing Culture contd.• Cultural meanings are created by people• Cultural meanings are constantly in motion

and can be subject to rapid changes• Social groups differ in the amount of

freedom people have to adopt and use certain cultural meanings

• Think JEJEMON: Eiouh fphow :X

Content of Culture• It includes beliefs, attitudes, goals, and values

held by most people in a society as well as the meanings of characteristic behaviors, rules, customs, and norms.

• It also includes meanings of the significant aspects of the social and physical environment including the major societal institutions in a society

Core Filipino Values

ONDOY

• Pakikipagkapwa-tao

• Family orientation

• Joy and humor

• Flexibility

• Hiya

Core Filipino Values contd.• Adaptability and creativity

• Hardwork and industry

• Faith and religiosity

• Ability to survive

Core Filipino Values contd.• What is the relevance of these values to

consumer behavior?

Core American Values

Measuring Content of Culture• Content analysis – reading material objects

produced by the social group (e.g. historical records of print ads to see how American values and women’s roles have changed over the past 90 years)

Measuring Content of Culture contd.• Ethnographic Fieldwork – involves

prolonged observation during ordinary lives of the subject

• Measures of values – procedures that directly measure the dominant cultural values in a society. Instruments used are Rokeach value survey, Kahle’s list of values among others.

A Model of Cultural Process in a Highly Developed Consumer Society

Cultural or Symbolic Meanings in Products

• Products, stores, and brands express cultural or symbolic meanings

• For example, certain brands have meanings concerning the gender and age groups for which they are appropriate – Marlboro Cigarettes are for men, The Bar Strawberry Vodka is for women, Dove for 20-40yo women.

Cultural or Symbolic Meanings in Products contd.

• The cultural meanings of products can vary across different societies

• For instance, most societies have favorite foods that represent important meanings in that culture but not in others. Americans eat bread, Filipinos eat rice, Italians eat pasta, etc.

Cultural or Symbolic Meanings in Products contd.

• Some of the cultural meanings in products are obvious to everyone who is familiar with that culture

• For example, nearly everyone recognize the basic cultural meanings in different styles of clothing (pajamas versus jeans versus business suit)

Cultural or Symbolic Meanings in Products contd.

• But other meanings are hidden

• For instance, a study revealed that while most Americans will say that they want a dark, rich roast for their coffee, what they actually prefer is a weak and milky taste.

Cultural or Symbolic Meanings in Products contd.

• Many companies do not know much about the symbolic cultural meanings of their products.

• For example, in 1985 Coca-Cola introduced New Coke. The taste and attributes of the product were changed. Consumers did not accept it and was furious about it.

Moving Meanings from Products into Consumers

• The cultural process model identifies rituals as ways of moving meanings from product to consumer.

• Rituals are symbolic actions performed by consumers to create, affirm, evoke, or revise certain cultural meanings.

Moving Meanings from Products into Consumers contd.

There are five consumption-related rituals:

1. Acquisition

2. Possession

3. Exchange

4. Grooming

5. Divestment

Moving Meanings from Products into Consumers contd.

1. Acquisition rituals – Trying on clothes or asking for stock items before buying clothes or shoes. Bargaining rituals involved in negotiating the price of a product can help transfer important meanings to the buyer (I got a good deal)

Moving Meanings from Products into Consumers contd.

2. Possession rituals – the new owners of a house might have friends and relatives to a house warming party to admire their dwelling and formally establish meanings. Product nurturing rituals put personal meanings into the product (buying cellphone protector, cleaning your laptop, taking your dog to a pet grooming shop)

Moving Meanings from Products into Consumers contd.

• Personalizing rituals serve a similar function. For instance, we personalize cellphone ringtones, computer desktop wallpaper, laptop skins etc.

Moving Meanings from Products into Consumers contd.

3. Exchange rituals can be transferred to consumers through giving gifts. For example, we feel the need to give wedding gifts and the bride/groom feel the need to give souvenirs or party favors as a sign of gratitude, graciousness, generosity.

Moving Meanings from Products into Consumers contd.

4. Grooming rituals involve using personal care and beauty products such as shampoo, mouthwash, deodorants, etc.

Moving Meanings from Products into Consumers contd.

5. Divestment rituals remove meaning from products. For instance, Yard sales are popular in the US or selling used items on Ebay. In the Philippines, we either resell or give to relatives or donate to charity. But we remove all forms of personalization first before divesting.

Marketing Implications

• The task of marketing is to manage the cultural meanings of the brand or product.

• Managing brand meanings requires that marketers identify the brand meanings shared by consumers and monitor changes in those meanings. The means-end chain analysis can be used for this purpose.

Marketing Implications contd.• The use of celebrity endorsers can help

transfer cultural meanings into products. Celebrities are cultural objects with specific cultural meanings.

Marketing Implications contd.Celebrity Endorsers

• Michael Jordan – Nike/Hanes

• Britney Spears – Pepsi

• Tiger Woods - Buick

• Sharon Cuneta – PH care, McDonald’s

• Aga Muhlach – Jollibee, Promac

• Judy Ann Santos – Lactacyd, Maggi

Marketing Implications contd.• By understanding the role of rituals in

consumer behavior marketers can devise rituals that will help transfer important cultural meanings from products to the consumers.

Marketing Implications contd.Rituals

• Nissan dealers in the US welcome customers in Japanese style as honored guests. Tea or coffee is offered, served on fine Japanese china. Each dealer is supposed to have a special shoki-screened contemplation room where consumers could sit quietly with the car meditating about their purchase.

End of Part 1

Thank God!

Cross-Cultural Differences

When developing marketing strategies for international markets, marketers must consider the following:

1. Differences in consumption culture

2. Self-concept

3. Similar cross-cultural changes

4. Materialism

Cross-Cultural Differences contd.

1. Differences in consumption culture – level of consumption orientation in different markets. For example, large part of US culture involves consumption activities as well as Canada, Japan, and most Western European countries

Cross-Cultural Differences contd.Differences in consumption culture contd.

However, in much of the world, people have less opportunity to participate. For instance, China, India, and most third world countries do not have sufficient purchasing power to consume at high levels.

Cross-Cultural Differences contd.

2. Self-concept – people in different cultures may have different concepts of themselves and how they should relate to other people. Americans are individualistic, Japanese are sensitive to the needs of others, Filipinos are family-oriented.

Cross-Cultural Differences contd.

3. Similar cross-cultural changes – similar changes occur in cultures of many societies around the world about the same time. For example, women’s role in a society

Cross-Cultural Differences contd.

4. Materialism – defined as the importance a consumer attaches to worldly possessions which they see as important for achieving happiness, self-esteem, or social recognition. US is considered as the most materialistic culture in the world.

Developing International Marketing Strategies

There are three approaches namely:1. Adaptation – advocates modifying the

product, promotion mix or any other aspect of the marketing strategy to appeal to local cultures.

2. Standardization or Global Marketing – marketing a product in essentially the same way everywhere in the world.

Developing International Marketing Strategies contd.

3. Change – suggests that marketing strategies can be developed to influence the culture directly.

Cultural Trends by Trend Hunter 2010 2011

Assignment• Watch the Trend Hunter 2011 video again on

Youtube• As a group, list down how these 20 trends can

influence how products are marketed here in the Philippines. (For Example: Bench can use the Peacocking trend to come up with new shirt designs.)

• You need to come up with at least one application for each of the 20 trends identified by Trendhunter.

• You can include pictures of sample products in your paper.

Assignment Cont’d• Submit your answers in short bondpaper

together with the names of the members.

• Deadline is on Friday, August 26, 2011.