Holy Angel University

Angeles City

SOCIOCULTURAL FORCES

Cultural Values
Chapter 2: The Global Marketing
Environment

Submitted by:
Group 9:
Jeramiah B. San Antonio
Frenz Kamille N. Sigua
Princess Joy C. Dumandan
Carmela V. Bautista
Christa Urania N. Carbungco

Submitted to:
Mrs. Ma. Cristina G. Naguit

SOCIOCULTURAL FORCES
Sociocultural forces are the influences in a
society and its culture(s) that brings about changes in
peoples attitudes, beliefs, norms, customs, and lifestyles.
Profoundly affecting how people live, these forces help
determine what, where, how, and when people buy
products. With this, marketers should have an
understanding and knowledge about these changes in
order to implement an effecting marketing strategy for
the firm. Like the other environmental forces,
sociocultural forces, we examine three major issues;
demographic and diversity characteristics, cultural values
and consumerism.

CULTURAL VALUES
Culture is so pervasive, yet complex that it is difficult
to define in short simple terms. It seems there are as
many definitions of culture as there are anthropologists
and social scientists, each defining it to suit his
understanding and interpretation. Broadly speaking,
culture is a peoples way of life, defined by habit,
geography, religion, history. It is also how a particular
people think about themselves, their history, who they
are, their indelible identity as conditioned by ethnicity,
language, race. All these imperatives are expressed and
manifested in their literature which is the noblest of the
arts, their music, dance, architecture and visual arts. The

arts not only define them but above all else, they are
what bind people together. To others, culture refers to
masquerades, traditional dances, festivals, traditional
marriage etc. In this instance, fierce arguments in
defense of polygamy, violence in masquerades, violence
and extraordinary spending in the burial of the dead, etc.
are heard of in the name of our culture. Culture values
and beliefs are not static; it is always changing, often
slowly, sometimes suddenly. Although they do not shift
overnight, they change at varying speed. With this,
changes in cultural values have dramatically influenced
peoples needs and desires for products such as those
relating to health, nutrition, family and the natural
environment. Marketers try to monitor and understand
these cultural influences or values of a local, regional, or
national target audience providing them information that
can equip them to predict changes in customers needs
for products, at least in the near future.

HEALTH & NUTRITION

Starting in the late 1980s, issues of health, nutrition
and exercise grew in importance. People today are more
concerned about the foods they eat and thus are
choosing healthier products. Compared to those in the
previous decades, consumers today are more likely to
favor smoke-free environments and to consume less
alcohol. Marketers have responded with proliferation of
foods, beverages, and exercise products that fit this new

lifestyle, as well as with programs to help people quit

smoking and contraceptives that are safer and more
effective. Also it is becoming more common to prefer
gluten-free foods for health reasons even if they are not
allergic to the ingredient. Food companies are capitalizing
on this trend by releasing gluten-free versions of their
items. Consumers are also becoming increasingly open to
alternative medicines and nutritionally improved foods.
As a result, sales of organic foods, herbs and herbal
remedies, vitamins, and dietary supplements have
escalated. In addition to the proliferation of new organic
brands, many conventional marketers have introduced
organic versions of their product.

FAMILY
Another major source of cultural values is the family.
For years, when asked about the most important aspects
of their lives, adults specified family issues and a happy
marriage. Today however, only one out of two marriages
is predicted to last. Values regarding permanence of
marriage are changing. Because a happy marriage is
prized so highly, more people are willing to give up an
unhappy one and seek a different marriage partner or opt
to stay single.
Children are also important. Marketers have
responded with products targeted toward this including
safer, upscale baby gear and supplies, childrens

electronics and family entertainment products. Markets

are also aiming more marketing efforts directly at
children because children often play pivotal roles in
purchasing decisions. Examples: products positioned at
childrens eye-level.
Futhermore, children and family values are also
factors in the trend toward more eat-out and take-out
meals. Busy families, which both parents work, generally
want to spend less time in the kitchen and more time
together enjoying themselves. Beneficiaries of this trend
primarily been fast-food and casual restaurants like
McDonalds, Jollibee, KFC and Chowking, but most
supermarkets have added more ready-to-cook and readyto-serve meal components to meet the needs of busy
customers. Some also offer dine-in-cafes.

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
Green marketing helps establish long-term consumer
relationships by maintaining, supporting, and enhancing
the natural environment. One of societys environmental
hurdles is proper disposal of waste, especially of nonbiodegradable materials such as disposable diapers and
polystyrene packaging. Companies have responded by
developing more environmentally sensitive products and
packaging. Procter & Gamble for example, uses recycled
materials in some of its packaging and sells environmentfriendly refills. Tissue companies sells their products
made from recycled paper as well as eco-friendly
cleaning products. Everything the company produces is

as environmentally friendly as it can be, in hopes of

having as little impact on the next generations as
possible. A number of marketers sponsor recycling
programs and encourage their customers to take part in
them.

MUSIC
While broad cultures tend to shift values and beliefs
slowly, changes within sub-cultures can occur relatively
quickly. For instance, the music industry often
experiences rapid shifts as a sub-culture of music
enthusiasts discovers new artists. The key for marketers
targeting sub-cultures is to maintain close contact with
these groups through regular marketing research. In this
way marketers can see how different sub-cultures behave
and also spot trends, which the marketer can capitalize
on through new marketing tactics. Nowadays, the trends
are more into deep house, dubstep and dance music
rather than the big and old music genres: Ethnic Pop,
Classical, Rock and so on.