Social Influence
How other people and groups, especially those who possess some kind of social power, influence our decisions
Social Identity - when we take on the idea of different groups
- I v. We
Some groups we get closer to, so might call groups "we" - In groups
Social Power
the capacity to alter the actions of others
types:
Referent power
Information power
Legitimate power
Expert power
Reward power
Coercive power
referent power
If a person admires the qualities of a person or a group, he tries to copy the referent's behaviors
ex: celebs
information power
A type of marketing channel power that occurs if the channel member exerting the power has information that the other channel member wants or needs and can therefore get them to do what they want
legitimate power
Social agreements or authority that wields power
ex: doctors, police, professors, lawyers
expert power
knowledge someone particular possesses about a content area
ex: stephen hawking
reward power
A person or group with the means to provide positive reinforcement
coercive power
when we influence someone because of social or physical intimidation (rarely used)
Reference Groups
Groups that influence evaluations, aspirations, and behavior
Membership groups - people we know or trust
Aspirational groups - people we look up to but do not know personally
Ex: matthew McCaughnohey, selena gomez
Avoidance Groups
groups that are motivation to distance oneself from other people
Conformity
a change in beliefs or actions as a reaction to real or imagined group pressure
Norms
informal rules that govern behavior
- Governs many aspects of consumption
- Conflicts with the need to be unique
factors of conformity
- Size and Unanimity of the group
- Prior commitment
- Personal characteristics
- Group members characteristics
- Cultural pressure
- Interpersonal influence
- Environmental cues
- Fear of deviance
Brand communities
groups of consumers who share a set of social relationships based upon usage or interest in a product and/or brand
Ex: Harley Davidson
word of mouth communication (WOM)
the most important driver of product choice
- Influences 50% of consumer goods sales
- New products and risk; uncertainty
- More likely to create new product needs/wants
- Negative WOM - more powerful
Buzz
stimulating WOM to build excitement around a product
opinion leaders
individuals who influence attitudes and behaviors over others
- People we know or people who we aspire to be
- Possess social and expert power (also knowledge, legitimate, and referent power)
- Socially active and highly connected
- Homophily - similar to
market maven
type of opinion leader and influencer that is actively involved transmitting information in the marketplace
- Not product specific
- Overall knowledge
Homophily
the degree to which a pair of individuals is similar in terms of education, social status, and beliefs
- Effective opinion leaders tend to be slightly higher in terms of status and educational attainment than those they influence
Online influencers
power users: opinion leaders who have a strong communications network that gives them the ability to affect purchase decisions for a number of other consumers, directly and indirectly
- They influence impressions = Mass connecters
- Ex: samantha and golde
viral marketing
when an organization motivates visitors to forward online content to their friends
strategies and types:
Megaphone effect - one ad that reaches masses
Haul videos - promotes fashion brands
Unboxing videos - maybe for electronics, products, etc.
Discretionary Income
money available to a household over and above what it requires to have a comfortable standard of living
- $75,000: "magic" income
attitudes to money
Tightwads vs Frugality
- frugality: driven by a pleasure of saving
- tightwaddism: driven by a pain of paying
Spendthrifts
Income inequality
unequal distribution or resources in the form of money
plutonomy
when a very small percentage make up the rich in a society
Social mobility
the "passage of individuals from one social class to another."
Horizontal mobility - switching from one position to another without a change in social status (income)
Upward mobility - movement from one social level to a higher one
Ex: resident to doctor
influencers of social mobility
Race
gender
Economic trends
Age
Pregnancy
Consumer View of Luxury Goods
Luxury is functional - high-quality; products that last and have enduring value
- High-involvement
- Cognitive purchase type
Luxury is a reward - The desire to be successful and to demonstrate their success to others
- Ideal self; impression management
-
4 A's
Awareness
Affordability
Acceptability
Availability
Two factors that contribute to an overall upward income trajectory:
1. A shift in women's roles
2. Increases in educational attainment
Six Social Classes
1. Upper Upper
2. Lower Upper
3. Upper Middle
4. Lower Middle
5. Upper Lower
6. Lower Lower
social class
the overall rank of people in a society; people who are grouped within the same social class are approximately equal in terms of their income, occupations, and lifestyles
Universal pecking order: relative standing in society
homogamy
We tend to marry and have other relationships people in a social class similar to our own
- "birds of a feather do flock together
occupational prestige
we evaluate people's "worth" by to a great extent by what they do for a living
- Ex: doctor, lawyer, finance, CEO
- Stable over time and similar across cultures
- BEST INDICATOR of social class
status hiearchy
Structure in a group where some members are better off than others because of more authority, power, or respect
Affluenza
growing up with a lot of money and it having be a detrimental effect
- ex: Affluenza teen
Cosmopolitanism
idea that people want to go out and spend their money in different parts of the world
- someone who strives for diverse experiences
What is strongly related to social class?
Income is always strongly related to social class!
trickle-down effect
lower classes copy tends of upper classes
Status float phenomenon
trends that start in the lower and middle classes and move upward
Social class around the world
China:
Low cost of living
More people can enjoy middle-class comforts
Japan:
Long been brand conscious
Working women spend the most on luxury goods
Middle East:
Opposite of japan in some ways
Similar to china in some ways
Witnessing an expansion of luxury
Conspicuous consumption
Acquisition and display of goods and services to show off one's status
- Cougars
- Trophy Wives
- Status Signalling
Status Signalling
Patrician
Proletarian
Parvenu
Poseur
status symbol
Product or service that tells others about someone's social class standing
parody display
to seek status by mocking or deliberately avoid status symbols
- starts in lower social class and move upward
fraudulent symbols
products that become so widely adopted it loses its status
subcultures
The categories that matter in establishing our consumer identity
- Gender, race/ethnicity, religion, age, and geographic location
- Share common beliefs and preferences
Ex: Proctor and Gamble
high-context culture
a culture that is closely knit and infer meanings past words
- Symbols and gestures, rather than words, carry much of the weight of the message
- Consumers are more sensitive to nuances in advertisements that go beyond the message copy
low-context culture
a culture in which people are expected to be more literal and to say what they mean
Should marketers take consumer's racial and ethnic differences into account when formulating strategies?
Yes
Is it smart to treat all members of a racial or ethnic group as being the same?
No
Acculturation
Process of movement and adaptation to one country's environment by a person from another country
acculturation agents
people and institutions that teach the ways of a culture
1. Culture of origin - Friends, Church organizations, Same language media
2. Culture of Immigration - Public schools, English-language media, government agencies
Assimilation
people adopt products, habits, and values they identify with the mainstream culture
- aligned with public self
Maintenance
maintain practices, beliefs, etc. with culture of origin
- aligned with private self
The progressive learning model
people gradually learn a new culture as they increasingly come into contact with it
- When people acculturate they will blend their original culture and the new one
The "Big Three" American Subcultures
African Americans
Hispanic Americans ? largest subculture
Asian Americans ? fastest growing
African American Consumer Characteristics
- 13% of population
- Spending patterns of blacks and whites are similar but with subtle differences
- Household income and educational levels rising for African Americans
- Recent events in society - brands reacting
Bad Ex: Dove, Kendall Jenner for Pepsi
Hispanic American Consumer Characteristics
- Second-largest consumer market
- "Hispanic" = many different backgrounds
- Brand loyal
- Highly concentrated geographically by country of origin (easy to reach)
- Ambicultural - younger hispanics identify as both hispanic and american
- Spend more on gr
Asian American Consumer Characteristics
- Most affluent, best educated
- Made up of culturally diverse subgroups that speak many different languages/dialects (20+)
- Geographically concentrated
- Family centered in terms of marriage and living arrangements
- Most brand-conscious but at least br
Culture
a society's personality ; accumulation of shared meanings, rituals, norms, and traditions
- both abstract and material
- Dynamic
Components of a Cultural system
Ecology: system adapts to habitat
Social structure: way people maintain an orderly social life
Ideology: mental characteristics of people; relation to others
culture production system (CPS)
the set of individuals and organizations that create and market a cultural product
- Trickle down effect of ideas into mass market
Ex: Devil wears prada
Three major subsystems:
Creative - generate new symbols and products
Ex: Beyonce
Ex: Apple
Managerial
Cultural formulae
familiar roles and props occur consistently
- Recycling images as they reach back through time for inspiration
Myths
stories with symbolic elements that represent shared emotions/ideals of a culture
Characteristics:
- Conflict between opposing forces
- Outcome is moral guide for people/right versus wrong
- Myth reduces anxiety by providing guidelines
Ex: little red ridi
Monomyths
a myth that is common to many cultures (e.g., Easter bunny, Santa Claus)
3 things brand storytelling does:
1. Clearly establishes what your brand is all about - its purpose, core values, and mission.
2. Offers the consumer more than just a product or service, but rather an experience that transcends mundane reality.
3. Motivates the reader or viewer to step in
Rituals
Sets of multiple, symbolic behaviors that occur in a fixed sequence and that tend to be repeated periodically
- Range from simple to very intricate
Common rituals:
Weddings: $70 Bil
Graduation
Funerals
Fortress Brands
brands we have accepted as part of our ritual
ritual artifacts
items (consumer goods) used in the performance of rituals
ritual script
sequence of events
Grooming rituals
ceremonies to help us to transition from our private self to our public self
gift-giving ritual
the way social ties, social prestige, or even social dominance is established
Gestation - may be structural (holiday) or emergent (more personal)
Presentation - The recipient responds to the gift (either appropriately or not), and the donor evaluates this
rites of passage
rituals we perform to mark a change in social status
1. Separation
2. Liminality
3. Aggregation
sacred consumption
Occurs when we set apart from normal activities that are treated with respect.
Innovation
any product that consumers perceive to be new
Diffusion of innovations - the process whereby a new product, service, or idea spreads through a population
1. new manufacturing technique
2. new product variation
3. new way to deliver product
4. new way to p
Types of Adopters
Laggards - One sixth of pop are slow to adopt new products
Late adopters - two-thirds in the middle to adopt new products
Innovators - risk-takers, socially active, the first to try something new
Early adopters - similar to innovators, have a high degree
Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)
suggests that the likelihood of change is based on two factors:
1. The perceived usefulness of the new option
2. its perceived ease of use
Three types of innovation (Product Life Cycle)
Continuous innovation - a modification of an existing product
- More evolutionary than revolutionary
Dynamically continuous motivation - more pronounced change to an existing product
Discontinuous innovation - creates really big changes in the way we live
Prerequisites for Successful Adoption
Compatibility
Trialability
Complexity
Observability
Relative Advantage
Hofstede Dimensions of National Culture
measure a country in terms of its standing on six dimensions so that users can compare and contrast values
Power distance
Individualism
Masculinity
Uncertainty avoidance
Long-term orientation
Indulgence versus restraint
Four major segments who evaluate brands in the same way:
Global citizens
Global dreamers
Antiglobals
Global agnostics
surrogate consumer
a marketing intermediary hired to provide input into purchase decisions
Problems with Social Class Segmentation
Ignores inconsistencies among different class aspects
Ignores intergenerational mobility
Ignores subjective social class - blue collar example
Ignores the social status of working wives and
non-traditional families.
Extended Family
consists of three generations who live together, and it often includes grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins
Nuclear Family
a mother, a father, and one or more children
Voluntary childless
women of childbearing age who are voluntary childless
DINKS
double income, no kids couples
- better educated on average than are two-income couples with children
Boomerang Kids
Children are more likely to live at home after graduating from college rather than taking their own places
sandwich generation
refers to middle-aged people because they must support both the generation above them and the one below them
family life cycle (FLC)
Factors that determine how couples and families spend money
Focuses on:
Age
Marital status
The presence or absence of children in the home, and
The ages of children, if present
Gen Y and Gen Z
Gen Y - "Echo Boomers" = "millennials" = Gen Yers
Make up one-third of U.S. population
First to grow up with computers in their homes, in a 500-channel TV universe
Gen Z - kids who were born in the late 1990s to early 2000s, so they will start entering co
Generation X (Gen X)
age subculture consists of Americans who were born between 1965 and 1985
- Cynical about obvious marketing techniques
- Reacts positively toward messages that align with their values, attitude, and interests
- members of this generation are responsible fo
Baby Boomers
age subculture consists of people whose parents established families following the end of World War II and during the 1950s when the peacetime economy was strong and stable
- Influential consumer segment because of size and buying power
- Labeled the sand
Perceived Age
how old a person feels as opposed to his or
her chronological age
- "Feel-age"
- "Look-age
Generational Categories
The Interbellum Generation � People born at the beginning of the 20th century.
The Silent Generation � People born between the two World Wars.
The War Baby Generation � People born during World War II.
The Baby Boom Generation � People born between 1946 a
Values of Older Adults
Autonomy: want to be self-sufficient
Connectedness: value bonds with friends and family
Altruism: want to give something back to the world
Social Media
awareness, rate at which innovations reach market, adoption
Is social class or income a better predictor of consumer behavior?
Social class is especially for symbolic objects
Consumer tribes
share emotions, moral beliefs, styles of life, and affiliated products
Ch 11 Quiz
Individuals or groups whose opinions or behaviors are particularly important to other consumers, and who can be imaginary or actual, are also known as_____________
reference groups
The way we learn about and select products has changed due to ___________________________________, providing access to a plethora of opinions supplied by others regarding products and services.
social media platforms
Opinion leaders can be valuable information sources, and are able to influence the attitudes and behaviors of others through their knowledge power, referent power, and high technical competence, also known as _______________ power.
expert
A high-performance sports equipment company, Zamst, first joined hands with the popular basketball player, Stephen Curry during the 2012-2013 season. This is an example of using ______________ to influence a consumer because they are likely to admire/iden
referent power
Those who conform to satisfy the expectations of others or to be accepted by the group are affected by _______________ influence.
normative social
John considers Ed Hardy a 'tacky' brand and scrupulously avoids buying anything from them. This is an example of a(n) ____________________________ in which a person tends to adopt attitudes and behavior that are in opposition to those of the group whose v
avoidance group
Much of what we learn about products and services we learn from ________________ rather than formal advertising
WOM
___________________ communities unite consumers who share a common passion for a product.
brand
A ________________ is a term that describes a person who enjoys transmitting many types of marketplace information. They are not necessarily interested in the goods they recommend, they simply enjoy many types of marketplace activities.
market maven
Other people and groups, especially those that possess _________________, can influence our decisions as studies have revealed that they actually have the capacity to alter the decisions of others.
social power
Ch. 12 Quiz
Anna likes to off and demonstrate her success by purchasing high-end items like custom-made shoes and homes in exclusive communities. What kind of luxury goods philosophy does Anna seem to espouse?
Luxury is reward
When consumers buy goods that will last and enduring value, marketers refer to this view of luxury as:
Luxury is functional
Social class is determined by family background, occupation and _________________
income
____________________________ is the single best indicator of social class.
Occupational prestige
The term ________________ refers to a psychological malaise supposedly affecting wealthy young people, and was re-popularized in 2013 with the arrest of Ethan Couch, a Texas teen, for driving under the influence and killing four pedestrians and injuring s
affluenza
__________________________ describes an economy that's driven by a fairly small number of rich people.
plutonomy
______________________________ is a term used to describe products that are not purchased for the enjoyment of the item itself, but rather to let others know that the owner can afford it.
Status symbols
____________________ refers to an upward flow of innovative influence or trends from lower and middle classes to the higher classes.
status float
When a person flaunts his status by deliberately using up valuable resources, marketers call this ____________________________.
conspicuous consumption
Brand consultant Jeff Buchman expressed his astonishment at Japanese consumers when he first visited Tokyo - recalling that "every woman I saw had a Burberry plaid-something", demonstrating that it's a very ____________________________ culture.
brand conscious
Ch. 13 Quiz
__________________ is the process of movement and adaptation to one country's environment by a person from another country.
Acculturation
The ____________________ assumes that as people increasingly come into contact with a new culture they learn more about it and as they acculturate, they blend their own original culture with the new one.
Progressive Learning Model
In a(n) ______________________ culture like Japan, the rules of communication are primarily transmitted through the use of contextual elements (i.e., body language, a person's status, and tone of voice) and are not explicitly stated.
high context
Their size and economic clout makes _____________ the most powerful age segment.
baby boomers
Within the big 3 American subcultures, not only do ____________ comprise the most affluent and best educated groups of people, they are also made up of the most culturally diverse sub-groups that speak many languages/dialects.
asian americans
______________ is a phrase for a household in which there are two incomes and no children (either both partners are working or one has two incomes), often the target of marketing efforts for luxury items such as expensive cars and vacations, as they are t
DINK
The ______________ emphasizes the effects of marriage, divorce, births, and deaths on families, as well as changes in income, expenses, and assets, combining trends in income and family composition with changes in demands placed on income.
family life cycle
How old a person feels as opposed to their chronological age is a state of mind also known as ______________________
perceived age
As a teenager, Sam is trying to break away from his family, but feels the need to attach himself to a support structure, like peers, to avoid being alone. What conflict can Sam be associated with?
Autonomy vs belonging
_________ refers to the value that seniors have in regard to being independent and self-sufficient.
Autonomy
Ch. 14 quiz
Short-lived fashions, that are adopted by a few people, but often spread quickly, are known as:
Fads
Rites of passage in society often reflect changes in status, and are associated with consumption activities. The stages are separation, __________ and aggregation.
Liminality
Marketers state that __________ is a society's personality, and includes both abstract ideas, material objects, and services.
Culture
Sequences of behaviors that aid in the transition from the private self to the public self or back again are known as:
Grooming rituals
Sometimes public events resemble sacred, religious ceremonies. Which of the following would be an example of this?
A. Playing horseshoes at a local Sheriff's ranch community BBQ.
B. Brushing your teeth and applying proper grooming techniques before an int
D. Fans holding their hands over their hearts and solemnly reciting the "Pledge of Allegiance" before a ballgame.
The _________________ cultural production sub-system refers to the selection, production and distribution of symbols and products.
Managerial
_______________________ refers to new products which are so fundamentally different from products that already exist that they reshape markets and competition, creating major changes in the way we live.
Discontinuous innovation
_________________ represents one of the functional areas in a cultural system, and refers to the mental characteristics of people, and their relations to others:
Ideology
Symbolic behaviors that occur in fixed sequences and are repeated periodically are known as _________________
Rituals
____________ are stories with symbolic elements that represent a culture's ideals. Advertising, movies and other media transmit these symbolic elements in modern times.
Myths