Global Consumer Culture Myths and Rituals

Global Consumer Culture

Culture is... The accumulation of shared meanings, rituals, norms, and other traditions among the members of an organization or society

Iceberg Concept of Culture

Diffusion of Innovations

Diffusion of Consumer Culture Culture tends to flow from stronger nations to weaker ones Coke Cola Disney World English

Cultural differences Cultural differences influence the way we, as humans, see the world, interact in the marketplace, and relate to one another.

Functional Areas of a Cultural System Aspects of Culture EcologySocial System Ideology World ViewEthos

Cultural ECOLOGY The way in which a system is adapted to its habitat

Cultural IDEOLOGY The mental characteristics of a people and the way in which they relate to their environment and social groups Worldview: members of a society share certain ideas about principles or order Ethos: a set of moral and aesthetic principles derived from the worldview

Cultural SOCIAL SYSTEMS The way in which orderly social life is maintained. This includes the domestic and political groups that are dominant within the culture

Cultural Variability Dimensions of Variability Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance Masculinity/Femininity Individualism/ Collectivism Hofstede's Typology

Cultural Variability ( Hofstede's Typology) Power Distance Uncertainty AvoidanceMasculinity/Femininity Individualism/Collectivism Level of social inequality and how willing members of a society are to accept authority Degree to which people feel threatened by ambiguous situations and have beliefs and institutions that help them avoid uncertainty One sex’s roles are considered superior to the other sex The extent to which the welfare of the individual versus that of the group is valued

Values and Norms Values are very general ideas about good and bad goals Norms are rules dictating what is right or wrong

Enacted Norms explicitly decided upon rules

Crescive Norms embedded in a culture and are discovered through interactions with that culture Customs - norm handed down Mores - custom with strong moral overtone Conventions - norms regarding conduct of daily life

Cultural Opposition Subculture Relatively cohesive cultural system that varies in form and substance from the dominant culture

Cultural Opposition Counterculture Culturally homogenous group that develops values and norms that differ from the larger society because of their opposition to it

Culture and Consumption Consumption choices cannot be understood without cultural context “lens” through which people view products Sensitivity comes through understanding underlying issues

Consumption People buy products not for what they do, but for what they mean

Culture and Consumption A consumer’s culture determines the priorities the consumer attaches to activities and products Will determine success or failure Product benefits must be consistent with culture

Culture and Consumption A successfully designed “new” product will be a reflection of dominant cultural ideals of that period cars ipods

Sacred and Profane Consumption Sacred Consumption Involves objects and events that are “set apart” from normal activities and are treated with some degree of respect or awe Profane Consumption Involves consumer objects and events that are ordinary, everyday objects and events that do not share the “specialness” of sacred ones

Sacred and Profane Consumption Sacralization Ordinary events or products are accorded special significance by culture Desacralization Sacred events or products are stripped of special status and/or reproduced in mass quantities

Manifestations of Culture Myths & Rituals

Myths Stories containing symbolic elements that express shared emotions and cultural values URBAN LEGENDS

Myths Stories containing symbolic elements that express shared emotions and cultural values Emphasize how things are interconnected Maintain social order by authorizing a social code Provide psychological models for individual behavior and identity

Myths URBAN LEGENDS Alligators in the sewer in NYC Bermuda Triangle Anonymous student & blue books

Modern Mythology Mythology of Excess Consumerism Consumption will make everyone happy Eternal Youth The search for the ideal self Global Village We can communicate with the world

Rituals A set of symbolic behaviors that occur in a fixed sequence Many rituals are at the heart of consumers’ relationship with their favorite products

Activities that combine blueprints for action and understandings Repetitive behavioral sequences Organize people’s feelings Facilitate and simplify group communications Organize life experience and give it meaning Rituals

Useful in handling situations involving risk, whether risk is social, emotional, or physical Marketing opportunity: product positioning Rituals

Indispensable to the meaning of the ritual experience and are used to communicate symbolic messages Rituals Goods

Ritual Artifacts Many business owe their existence to customers’ need for ritual artifacts such as birthday cakes, diplomas, ceremonial wine, cigars, greeting cards, etc...

Categories of Consumer Rituals Grooming rituals binary oppositions: private/public and work/leisure Rites of passage separation/liminality/aggregation Liminality: of or reflecting to a transitional or initial stage of a process Gift-giving purchase/presentation/reformulation

Ritual Photo Essay Myths & Rituals

Your Consumption Rituals? This morning: What products did you use? Are some of these brands that you regularly use? Are some of these brands that you feel loyal to?

Global Consumer Culture