5.6 Rogers Characteristics of Innovation and Consumers

Innovation

Innovation

Innovation is the creation or improvement of a product, idea, or process.
It can be:

• New (completely original)

• Improved (better than before)

🔧 Example: A smartphone with a foldable screen is an innovation

Diffusion

Diffusion is how the innovation spreads through a market or society over time.
It shows how people adopt new ideas or products.

📈 The adoption usually follows a curve:

1. Innovators – First to try it (risk-takers)

2. Early adopters – Trendsetters

3. Early majority – More cautious but open

4. Late majority – Skeptical, adopt after many others

5. Laggards – Last to adopt, prefer tradition

Social roots of consumerism

Consumerism is a way people behave in all cultures, focused mainly on buying and using goods and services.

It also helps share social values and norms through how people interact with each other.

These interactions can include:

• Passing values and habits from one generation to the next

• Sharing behaviours within social groups (like friends or communities)

Subliminal Advertising

Subliminal advertising is a type of marketing that tries to influence people without them being fully aware of it. It uses hidden messages, images, or sounds that are below the level of conscious awareness.