Elements of Culture .

Culture influences consumer behaviour. You need to understand ‘the culture’ to

effectively communicate your advertising message.

An understanding of the social, political, economic, legal, religious and ethical rules
that apply within each culture is also of critical importance. There are 192 countries in
the world.

In Australia tobacco advertising is banned. Explicit exposure of the naked body is

totally prohibited in many Middle East cultures. Italy has regulations that limit the
frequency of advertisements to 10 showings per year, none closer together than 10
days.

The use of language and body movement must be researched when designing an
advertising message so the target consumer is receptive to the delivery.

A society’s culture consists of many elements. The social structure reflects the
culture’s beliefs about the individual’s role in society and the importance of mobility
within that society.

In Australia and New Zealand, family ties and responsibilities focus on the nuclear
family. In some cultures there is a broader definition of the family as it extends into
uncles, brothers, cousins and in-laws. Cultures also differ to the importance placed
on the individual or on the group. In China and Japan children are taught that their
role is to serve the group. Virtues such as unity, loyalty and harmony-Confucian
values, are highly valued in Asian society’s.

Advertising that is too individualistic and self centred may be in bad taste in some
Asian cultures.

Social mobility tends to be higher in less stratified societies such as in Australia or in

America as compared to rigid class systems that have evolved in the United Kingdom
or in India. Individuals in a less stratified society will be more open and accepting of
lower cultural icons or alternative messages in promotional strategies.

Language is the most important cultural element in understanding people of another

country because it allows members of a society to communicate with each other.
Experts have identified some 3,000 different languages many as 10,000 distinct
dialects.

Communication also takes non-verbal forms such as facial expressions and hand
gestures, voice intonation and use of space which are equally important as a
communication tool.

Religion is another critical factor in understanding culture. Religion influences a

person’s attitudes to everything from work, consumption, life styles and acceptance of
behaviour and media messages. Religion may influence the formulation of a country’s
laws.
Approximately 80% of the world’s 6 billion population claim some religious
affiliation.

A society’s culture reflects and shapes its values and attitudes including those towards
time, authority, age, status and education.

When designing marketing and advertising campaigns across cultures you need to
really understand the cultural differences that exist if a successful outcome is to be
achieved.

A Tool for Understanding Culture-Hofstedes model.

To help understand differing cultures a very influential Dutch researcher Geert

Hofstede studied people working in dozens of different countries. (1967-1973).

Five important dimensions along which people seem to differ across cultures:

1. Social orientation.
2. Power orientation.
3. Uncertainty orientation.
4. Goal orientation.
5. Time orientation.

Social Orientation is a person’s beliefs about the relative importance of the

individual and the groups to which that person belongs. Two extremes of social
orientation are Individualism and Collectivism.

Individualism is the cultural belief that the individual comes first. People in
Australia, Canada, America, UK, NZ and the Netherlands comes first. Collectivism
involves the group coming first as reinforced in Asian cultures such as Japan, China
and in other cultures such as Greece, Pakistan, Columbia, Singapore and HK.

Power Orientation refer to the belief that people in a culture hold about the
appropriateness of power and authority. Some cultures are characterised by power
respect which means that people in a culture tend to accept the power and authority of
their superiors. Countries include France, Brazil and Asian cultures. Power tolerance
attach less significance to a person’s position in hierarchy. Western cultures do
question people in power due to their democratic rights.

Uncertainty orientation is the feeling people have regarding uncertain and

ambiguous situations. Uncertainty acceptance cultures are stimulated by change and
thrive on new opportunities. In contrast uncertainty avoidance is the dislike to
change and ambiguity.

Goal orientation is the manner in which people are motivated to work towards
different kinds of goals. Aggressive goal behaviour compared to passive goal
behaviour.

Time orientation is the extent to which members of a culture adopt a long term
versus short term outlook on work, life and other aspects in society.