Chapter 14 Ethnic, Racial, and Religious Subcultures CONSUMER BEHAVIOR, 8e Michael Solomon.

Chapter 14

Ethnic, Racial, and Religious Subcultures

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR, 8eMichael Solomon

Prentice-Hall, cr 2009

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Chapter Objectives

When you finish this chapter you should understand why:

• Our memberships in ethnic, racial, and religious subcultures often play a big role in guiding our consumption behaviors.

• Additional influences come from our identification with microcultures that reflect a shared interest in some organization or activity.

• Many marketing messages appeal to ethnic and racial identity.


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Chapter Objectives (cont.)

• 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

• Ethnic subculture• Homogeneous versus heterogeneous cultural

societies

• Marketers cannot ignore the diversity of cultures in society today• Ethnic minorities spend more than $600 billion a

year on products

Click for Crestkids.com


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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

• High-context culture (group members infer meanings from verbal messages) versus low-context culture (group members take words literally)


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Is Ethnicity a Moving Target?

• Defining/targeting an ethnic group is not always so easy (“melting pot” society)• Many identify with two or more

races

• De-ethnicization: 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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New Ethnic Groups

• The dominant American culture exerts pressure on immigrants to become absorbed in mainstream society

• New immigrants are much more likely to be Asian or Hispanic

• Tend to cluster together geographically

• Word-of-mouth is especially important


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America’s Newest Markets

Figure 14.1


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Ethnic and Racial Stereotypes

Many subcultures have stereotypes associations

• Subgroups are assumed to possess certain traits (often erroneously) which can be cast either positively or negatively

• Marketers in the past have made vast use of ethnic stereotypes to communicate product attributes• Aunt Jemima and Frito Bandito


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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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A Model of Consumer Acculturation

• Individual differences affect how rocky adjustment will be

• Acculturation agents include culture of origin and culture of immigration

• Assimilation, maintenance, resistance, and segregation

• Progressive learning model• Consumer behavior as mix of original culture and

host culture

• Differences between consumers who retain strong ethnic identification and more assimilated consumers


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A Model of Consumer Acculturation

Figure 14.2


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Discussion

• Locate one or more consumers (perhaps family members) who have emigrated from another country

• Interview them about how they adapted 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, and 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

• The African American market is hardly as homogeneous as many seem to believe

• Overall spending patterns of blacks and whites are roughly similar

• Household income and educational levels are rising for African Americans

• Differences in consumption behaviors can be subtle but still very 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)

• Many are rushing to sign Hispanic celebrities/actors


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Hispanic Americans (cont.)

• Some ad campaigns don’t work well among Hispanics, while Anglos don’t understand some products popular among Hispanics


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Distinguishing Characteristics of the Hispanic Market

• “Young bicultural” Hispanic consumers• Latino youth are changing mainstream culture

• 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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Levels of Acculturation: Understanding Hispanic Identity

• Acculturation: process of movement and adaptation to one country’s cultural environment by a person from another country

Segment Size Status Description Characteristics

Established Adapters

17% Upwardly mobile

Older,

U.S.-born

Assimilated into U.S. culture

Young Strivers

16% Increasingly important

Younger

U.S.-born

Adaptable to U.S. culture

Hopeful Loyalists

40% Largest but shrinking

Working class Slow to adapt to U.S. culture

Recent Seekers

27% Growing Newest Strongest identification with Hispanic background

Table 14.2 (abridged)


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Levels of Acculturation (cont.)

• Hispanic consumers are sympathetic to marketing that emphasizes Hispanic cultural heritage

• Many younger Hispanics are searching for their roots and rediscovering the value of ethnic identity


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Asian Americans Are…

• Fastest-growing population group

• Most affluent and best educated

• Most likely to hold technology job and buy high-tech gadgets

• Most brand-conscious but least brand loyal

• Most concerned with keeping up appearances

• Made up of culturally diverse subgroups that speak many different languages/dialects


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Religious Subcultures

• The rise of spirituality

• Explosion of religion/spirituality in pop culture

• Churches are adopting aggressive marketing

• Megachurches

• Religious themes can spill over into everyday consumption

• “Cult products”

• Marketing opportunity among religious subcultures


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Demographics of Religious Subcultures

Figure 14.3


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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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Old and New ReligionsLarge variety of flourishing new

religious movements

• Scientologists

• Wicca

• The Raelians

• The Ahmadis

• The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University

• Cao Dai

• Soka Gakkai International

• The Toronto Blessing

• Umbanda

Click photo for Beliefnet.com


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The Impact of Religion on Consumption

• Religion is seen as a taboo subject to marketers

• Polygamy Porter beer billboard

• Lipton ad mocking the Catholic Church

• Pirelli tires ad with Christ the Redeemer statue

• Dietary and dress requirements create demand for certain products

• Religious subcultures affect personality, attitudes toward sexuality, birthrates and household formation, income, and political attitudes

• Church leaders can encourage and/or discourage consumption (e.g., boycott of Disney)


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The Born-Again Boom

• 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

• Christian merchandising activity is increasing

• Christian bookstores

• C28 stores/Not of This World brand

Click photo for C28.com


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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?

Chapter 14 Ethnic, Racial, and Religious Subcultures CONSUMER BEHAVIOR, 8e Michael Solomon.

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