Subcultures,

Microcultures,
and Consumer Iden5ty
Consumers lifestyles are aected by group
membership within the society-at-large
Subcultures of age, race/ethnicity, place of residence

Microcultures share a strong iden5ca5on with an

ac5vity or art form
Have own unique set of norms, vocabulary, and product
insignias

Ethnic and Racial Subcultures

Ethnic subculture
Homogeneous vs. heterogeneous cultural
socie5es

Marketers cannot ignore the diversity of

cultures in society today
Ethnic minori5es spend more than $600 billion a
year on products

Ethnic and Racial Subcultures

An ethnic subculture is a self-perpetua5ng
group of consumers who share common
cultural or gene5c 5es where both its
members and others recognize it as a dis5nct
category.
In countries like Japan, ethnicity is
synonymous with the dominant culture
because most ci5zens claim the same cultural
5es.

Ethnicity and Marke5ng Strategies

Subcultural memberships help shape peoples
needs/wants
Minori5es nd an adver5sing spokesperson
from their own group more trustworthy
Ethnic subculture aects level/type of media
exposure, food/apparel preferences, poli5cal
behavior, leisure ac5vi5es, willingness to try
new products

What is Accultura5on?
Accultura5on is the process of movement and
adapta5on to one countrys cultural environment
by a person from another country.
Accultura5on occurs, at least in part, with the
inuence of accultura5on agents
Family
Friends
Church organiza5ons
Media

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 iden5ty dier from those who
assimilate

A Model of
Consumer Accultura5on

Is Ethnicity a Moving Target?

Dening/targe5ng an ethnic
group is not always so easy
(mel5ng pot society)
Many iden5fy with two or
more races
Tiger Woods, Keanu Reeves,
Mariah Carey

De-ethniciza5on
Bagels

The Big Three American Subcultures

African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and
Asian Americans
Hispanic popula5on is now the largest ethnic
subculture (12.5%)
Asian Americans (3.6%) are the fastest-growing
racial group (due to immigra5on)

African Americans
Overall spending pacerns
of blacks and whites are
roughly similar
Household income and
educa5onal levels rising for
African Americans
Dierences in consump5on
behaviors subtle but
important

Hispanic Americans
Hispanic = many
dierent backgrounds
Hispanics are:
Brand loyal
Highly concentrated
geographically by country of
origin (easy to reach)

Dis5nguishing Characteris5cs of the

Hispanic Market
Looking for spirituality, stronger family 5es,
and more color in their lives
Large family size of Hispanic market
Spend more on groceries
Shopping is a family aair
Regard clothing children well as macer of pride
Convenience/saving 5me is not important to
Hispanic homemaker

Asian Americans
Fastest-growing group
Most auent, 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
dierent languages/dialects

Religious Subcultures
The rise of spirituality
Explosion of religion/spirituality in
pop culture

Churches are adop5ng aggressive

marke5ng
Megachurches

Religious themes can spill over

into everyday consump5on
Cult products

Marke5ng opportunity among

religious subcultures

Old and New Religions

There is an astonishing variety of
ourishing new religious
movements

Scientologists
Wicca
The Raelians
The Ahmadis
The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual
University
Cao Dai
Soka Gakkai Interna5onal
The Toronto Blessing
Umbanda

BELIEFNET.COM

The Impact of Religion on Consump5on

Religion is seen as a taboo subject to marketers
Dietary and dress requirements create demand for certain
products

Religious subcultures aect personality, aktudes

toward sexuality, birthrates and household
forma5on, income, and poli5cal aktudes
Church leaders can encourage and/or discourage
consump5on (e.g., boycoc of Disney)

Religious Subcultures
and Product Demand
Religious themes can spill over into everyday
consump5on
Cult products

Marke5ng opportunity among religious

subcultures due to dress and food
requirements

The Born-Again Boom

Born-Again Chris5ans are
those who follow literal
interpreta5ons of the Bible
and who acknowledge being
born again through belief in
Jesus
Fastest-growing religious
alia5ons in United States

Age and Consumer Iden5ty

A consumers age exerts a signicant inuence
on his/her iden5ty
Age cohort (my genera5on)
Marketers target specic age cohorts
Feelings of nostalgia

Our possessions let us iden5fy with others of a

certain age/life stage

Genera5onal Categories

The Interbellum Genera5on

The Silent Genera5on
The War Baby Genera5on
The Baby Boom Genera5on
Genera5on X
Genera5on Y
Genera5on Z

Table 14.1 Nostalgia Scale

Scale Items
They dont make em like they used to.
Things used to be better in the good old days.
Products are getting shoddier and shoddier.
Technological change will ensure a brighter future (reverse coded).
History involves a steady improvement in human welfare (reverse coded).
We are experiencing a decline in the quality of life.
Steady growth in GNP has brought increased human happiness (reverse coded).
Modern business constantly builds a better tomorrow (reverse coded).

The Youth Market

Teenage rst used to describe youth
genera5on in 1950s
Youth market oren represents rebellion
$100 billion in spending power

Gekng to Know Gen Y

Echo Boomers =
millennials = Gen Yers
Make up one-third of U.S.
popula5on
Spend $170 billion a year
First to grow up with
computers in their homes,
in a 500-channel TV
universe

Gen Y Learning Styles

Devalue face time in favor of virtual

Communal learning with no winners or losers
Multiprocessing and switching contexts rapidly
Early exposure to video games creates a fondness for
trial-and-error learning in an environment of suspended
reality
Expectations for instantaneous access and response
that cannot always be provided in traditional settings,
often favoring instant or text messaging over the delays
associated with emailing

Forward-thinking organiza5ons from IBM to

the U.S. Army already are experimen5ng with
new 3D immersive learning plauorms that
sync with the digital environments in which
young people immerse themselves every day.

Youth research

Expert: Chef: I can help with menu

ideas or ingredient pairings for the low
price of $2.50.

Chef

Each team gets $25 for shopping and to use in exchange for expert advice

PowerPoint slides were projected onto the front screen. The

side screens can be used to show web cams or additional media.
28

Baby Busters: Genera5on X

Consumers born between
1966 and 1976
Todays Gen Xer is both
values-oriented and value-
oriented
Desire stable families, save
por5on of income, and
view home as expression of
individuality

Baby Boomers
Consumers born between 1946 and 1965
Ac5ve and physically t
Currently in peak earning years
Food, apparel, and re5rement programs
Midlife crisis products

The Gray Market

Tradi5onally neglected by
marketers
People are now living longer/
healthier lives
Zoomers = ac5ve, interested
in life, enthusias5c consumers
with buying power
Fastest growing group of
Internet users

Perceived Age:
Youre Only as Old as You Feel
Age is more a state of mind than of body
Perceived age: how old a person feels as
opposed to his or her chronological age
Feel-age
Look-age

The older we get, the younger we feel rela5ve

to actual age

Values of Older Adults

Autonomy: want to be self-
sucient
Connectedness: value bonds
with friends and family
Altruism: want to give
something back to the world

Segmen5ng Seniors
Segmented by:
Specic ages (50s, 60s, 70s)
Marital status
Health and outlook on life

Social aging theories: try to

understand how society
assigns people to dierent
roles across life span