MRKT 443-final exam

Consumption

Consumption

Process by which goods, services, symbols, and ideas are used and transformed into some sort of personal value Happens in three forms of economy:

Market

Gift

Access

market economy

Consumers purchase goods, services, symbols, and ideas

Gift Economy

example

Consumers exchange goods, services, symbols, and ideas

want relationship to continue

ex: after disasters, exchange

Access economy

example

Consumers temporarily access goods, service, symbols

ex: bike sharing, libraries

Consumer Behavior

The processes by which individuals or groups select, use, or dispose of products, services, symbols, and ideas to satisfy needs and wants

Bottom Level of Maslow's Hierarchy

examples

physiological

ex: sleeping, eating, drinking

2nd to the bottom level of Maslow's hierarchy

example

safety

ex: physical safety and sense of security (alarm systems, college savings)

middle level of Maslow's hierarchy

example

belongingness

ex: needs/wants of sociability and acceptance of other people

social media, cell phones, listen to same music as others

second to the top of Maslow's hierarchy

example

prestige

ex: drinking high-end drinks, showing off your body

Top Level of Maslow's Hierarchy

example

self-actualization

ex: more about feeling like you are becoming a better person, going to college to better your future, mastering something

All organizations need to...

satisfy some kind of customer need

ex: firms-consumers

government: citizens

museums: visitors

consumer circle

product: create value

place: deliver value

promotion: communicate value

price: capture value

society

consumption plays a central place in people's lives (satisfaction of key needs and wants)

consumption has huge impact on social and environmental conditions

1890-1920s: what era and describe and example

Progressive era

formation of large markets and marketing

- industrialization and urbanization: jobs in big cities

-mass distribution: railroads

-mass advertising: radio and print

-impersonal marketplace relations: loss of customer-vendor interaction (brand characters)

ex: catalogs

1890-1920s: __________ era

was know for

economic growth and social mobility

-big fortunes

-emergence of middle class

-electricity, fridges, vacuum, sewing machine etc. (consumer credit for domestic technology)

1890-1920s _________ era

conspicuous consumption

ex.:

progressive era

public display of consumption and leisure to express one's financial standing

ex: hats

clothes that could clearly tell you are not working

1940-50s: ___________________

what happened during this era

keeping up with the joneses

Post WW2 economic boom

idle production capacity from wartime.

consumption as civic duty

-create jobs and keep up economy

-build social equality

Consumption = citizenship

during the 1940-50s what is the government do?

create propaganda effort from gov. to spend to create jobs

1940-50s: ___________________

what became popular?

keeping up with the joneses

diffusion of TV sets

-diffusion of consumption standards(radio)

-social conformity (this is what life is about)

1940-50s: ___________________

what type of living?

keeping up with the joneses

Suburbanization

-Affordable houses

-New neighbors

-Consumption as signal of one's social adequacy

-same ethnicity)

(all homes looked the same)

1960-70s: ____________________

what happened during this era:

it was the time for what?

Rupture (cultural) time of conversation

Contestation of authority

-Cold war militarism: peace movement

-Traditional gender roles: feminist movement

-Centrality of work: hippies

Reinforcement of individual freedom. Proliferation of lifestyles.

bands became associated with?

lifestyles during the 60-70s

1980s:________________ what happened during this era?

what is happiness?

Greed is good

-Aftermath of late 70s recession: oil supply and war expenses

-Deregulation; growth at all costs; greed is good (corporate taxes wen down dramatically)

-Globalization goes mainstream

Sharp increase in competition

Production goes overseas (a lot of things became cheaper)

happiness=money

what were the 80s shows about?

wealthy families

1980s:________________

consumerism and excess

work hard, play hard.

notion of personal style goes mainstream.

explosion of credit cards.

16,000 new malls

(Calvin Klein)

Contemporary Consumer Culture

Identities and aspirations defined in relation to consumption -rather than work, citizenship, equality, religiosity.

Belief that the market will solve all the problems

-Friends

-Global warming

-Public service

Contemporary Consumer Culture

primacy of:

1.Individual pleasure

2.Convenience

3.Beauty

Consumer health

Physical:

Obesity

Consumer Health

Psychological:

Compulsive buying

what is compulsive buying?

the repeated act of unplanned buying motivated by the pleasure in acquiring rather than using the object

-uncontrolled

-frustration

-domestic conflicts

what is hyper-choice?

large number of available options forces us to make repeated choices that drain energy and diminish our ability to make smart decisions

what is materialism?

the belief that materials are a sure path to happiness

what is materialism and happiness like in other countries?

income is weakly correlated with feeling of happiness

US income is correlated with feeling of happiness only up to $75k

what are work conditions?

transfer of jobs to other countries, sometimes under exploitative conditions

what is pollution and how can we reduce it?

use of fuel in globalized logistics

recycling

global warming is a huge factor too

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

business practices based on the mentality of stewardship over social and natural resources

fair trade

pay fair wages to all supply chain members

consumer activism

organized, sustainable challenge to business

activist organization: green peace

boycotts: national bank transfer day

lobby and protests

consumer resistance

and examples

the use of reflexivity to tactically challenge business practices that are detrimental to well-being

-buy from companies engaged in social cause: TOMS

-patronize companies with good work conditions

-choose sustainable practices: farmers' market, organic products

New business practices are emerging. Two of them are ____ and ____.

CSR and fair trade

consumer have two main ways to participate in these changes ____ and ____.

activism and resistance

what level of Maslow's hierarchy is facebook a part of?

prestige, belongingness

what level of Maslow's hierarchy is lonely retreat I Montana's countryside a part of?

prestige, self-accualization

what level of Maslow's hierarchy is new running shoes a part of?

prestige, physiological, self-accualization

consumption happens in 3 economies:

market, access, and gift

Levels of obesity in the U.S. clearly are an individual problem of self-control. After all, only a few Americans are facing weight problem these days.

A. true

B. false

false

Douglas just got a job at an insurance company. He actually wanted to open his own business, but he believes the high salary he will get as an employee will make him much happier in the long term. With this salary, he reasons, he'll be able to buy a new car every year, have a huge house, and constantly change his cellphone. Douglas' beliefs exemplify:

a.Consumer activism

b.Materialism

c.The paradox of choice

b.Materialism

what is culture? we use it as?

Culture as a "lens"

-Provides a patterned way of seeing and relating with the world

We use culture as gravity

-Everywhere, but we don't notice it

are culture and countries correlated?

(not perfectly!) with geography

what are key elements of culture?

ideological and performative

what goes under ideological?

values, myths, ideals

what goes under performative?

rituals, norms, roles

what are values?

Enduring beliefs that shape people's behavior across multiple contexts(family, work, consumption...)

Provide a sense of right and wrong

what are the types of values?

terminal and instrumental

what are terminal goals?

goals with pursuing

-exciting life

-happy family

-world of peace

what are instrumental goals?

how to pursue these (terminal) goals

-ambition

-honesty

-obedience

are values universal? Are they eternal?

not universal: upper-middle class males in US and France: materialism vs erudition

not eternal (although enduring)

-happy family: servants

what do values provide?

provide points of connection between firms (to be relevant) and consumers

guide the types of products and services consumers seek out or avoid

-green and/or local products

-exotic travels, restaurants, food, books

what are myths?

Symbolic stories that reinforce cultural values

-Religious parables

-Folk and fairy tales

-Embellished historical facts

Myth structure

1.Antagonism: hero and villain

2.Symbols: right and wrong

3.Clear outcome: success or failure

4.Moral: embedded lessons (aligned with particular values)

ex: cinderella

what do myths do?

Legitimize associations between consumer groups and particular conducts

-Cinderella: women and shoes

-Wild West: men and adventure/risk-taking

-Twilight: older, richer men with poor, younger women

myths provide...

resources for branding

Myths

In contemporary consumer culture, this instruction often comes embedded in _______

media in general

David is an American who likes big things: he drives a pickup in the city, lives in a spacious home, and eats large dishes when he dines out. In contrast, Toshiro is a Japanese who prefers small things: compact cars, manageable apartments, and small portions of raw fish. Even his office is small, although he runs an important law firm.Which cultural element bestexplains the differences in the consumption patterns of David and Toshiro?

a.Myths

b.Values

b.Values

What are ideals?

Standards that people use to evaluate their own and other people's conduct

-Family: self-reliance

-Gender: breadwinner

-Beauty

Consumption flourishes in the gap formed between the ideal and the _____

real

Culture is a _____ that people use to make the world intelligible

lens

-Six key elements are: Ideological: _______, _______, _____

-Performative: rituals, norms, and roles

values, myths, ideals

what are social norms?

Patterned, socially acceptable ways of behaving.

Often unnoticed -until they are broken.

Mechanism of social order.

A large part of social life consists of pre-determined social roles

Social norms are kept through______

sanctions: instruments of discipline

•Internal: feeling good/bad, appropriate/inappropriate

•External: being approved/disapproved, demoted/promoted

What are social roles?

Contextual set of rights, duties, expectations, and norms that a person has to face and fulfill

social roles can conflict (mother/father, work)

role transition

A major change in rights, duties, and responsibilities expected of an individual by a social group

-cosmetic surgery

-tattoos

-new hairstyle

-going to Hawaii and wearing flower shirt

marketing implications

Marketers provide the artifacts for people to comply with norms and perform or transition social roles

-Dressing

-Eating

-Grooming

example: when getting to college you drink more coffee, buy your own food, second-hand clothes

what is a ritual?

A dramatic attempt to bring some aspect of life firmly under control

Features

-Occur periodically

-Involve a fixed sequence

-Involve special objects, times, and places

what are the functions of a ritual? (3)

Reinforce cultural values and ideals

-Christian wedding: monogamy

-Thanksgiving: family and farming

Offer a temporary, controlled relief from social norms

Social norms are subverted

-Halloween

-Mardi Grass

Mark change in status

-rites of passage

getting a car when you are 16

What is true about norms and rituals?

a. Both are typically visible and explicit

b. Both reflect and reinforce cultural values

c. Only rituals involve specific objects that are provided through the market

B

What are some examples of cultural products?

Events, styles, brands, celebritiesMovies, Books, theater plays, musicals

What is creative subsystem?

-Generate new symbols and products

-Guiding values: beauty, originality, superiority (create, new, better than the old)

culture production system

What is managerial subsystem?

-Select, produce, manage, and distribute new symbols and products

-Guiding values: profit, sales, success

culture production system

Who are industry members?

people designated to create new cultural products

-Artists, creators, composers, writers, etc. (paid)

creative subsystem

what are subculture?

social groups that contest dominant values, often through new styles

-U.S. hippies: Youth Vs. Previous Generation

-U.K. punks: Working class Vs. Middle class

creative subsystem

who are managerial subsystem?

Designers, manufacturers, producers, sponsors, talent hunters...

-Select creations from industry members

-Appropriate and re-package creations from subcultures

Gatekeepers

Market actors who substantially influence the flow of information from the cultural production system to consumers

Formal: journalists, critics, reviewers, retail buyers...

Informal: friends, family, bloggers...

Globalization

and where is it most prevalent in?

A cultural and economic process that has reduced geographical effects on social relations

Catalytic factors in late 20th century

-Communication (e.g., internet)

-Transportation (e.g., cheaper international travels)

Much more prevalent in developed and emerging economies

what are the three cultural impacts?

Homogenization

Creolization

Localization

what is homogenization?

The process through which globally dominant cultures impose their values, myths, norms, and rituals on other cultures

-Hollywood diffusion of the American dream

—Turkey: conspicuous consumption of Western lifestyle to express high income levels

-Diffusion of rituals

example of homogenization

Black Friday

santa in southern hemisphere countries

creolization

Creole (Latin): from servant; creation

The blend of local and global meanings and practices

example of creolization

Brazilian theme park

yoga in the US

localization

The reflective evaluation of the local as a response to the threat of cultural homogenization (akin to consumer resistance)

-Locally owned restaurants

-Locally grown produce

-American made products

example of localization

Made in the USA

Glocalization

The co-existence of universalizing and particularizing tendencies in cultural systems

social structure and rules

A system of explicit and implicit rules that make a society stable

-Explicit: law and policies

-Implicit: values, myths, ideals, roles, norms, rituals

Rules also include

-Social categories

-Cultural rankings

social categories

Socially constructed entities used to classify people

-Adolescence: didn't exist until early 20th century

-Middle-class: emerged in 19-20th century

-White: Germans and Italians were different races in early 20th century

cultural ranking and the different types

Socially constructed hierarchies between social categories.

-Dominant/Aspirational: the characteristics of a particular social group are seen as normal or ideal

-Subordinate/Avoidance: the characteristics of a particular social group are seen as deviant or less valued than those of the dominant group

what is a reference group? and what are the three reference groups?

Social groups that significantly influence an individual's aspirations and behaviors

membership, subordinate/avoidance, dominant/aspirational

what is membership?

Consumers are increasingly diverse

Segmentation: organizations typically market to one or more social groups

what is aspirational/avoidance?

Branding: organizations use them to create compelling campaigns

#LikeAGirl

experience of privilege and example

An experience of moving through life without being marked or judged because of ethnicity, age, gender...

(Obama being first black president)

A sense of comfort in most important areas of social life: school, family, career, politics, marriage, etc.

Members of privileged groups don't realize their privilege

Think "playing field" is really even

-Attribute their success only to individual efforts

-Attribute lack of success of low-ranking groups to individual factors

(don't behave intentionally)

experience of oppression

Sense that sociocultural standards are misaligned with one's upbringing, values, appearance, and desires

Powerful kind: Stigma