Chapter 13

Culture and Popular Culture

Key Concepts

Culture
Role of consumer
goods in culture
Core American
values
Belief systems,
global and domainspecific values,
evaluating product
attributes

Rituals
Popular culture
Examples of
popular culture
Fashion and
fashion trends
Formation of
popular culture

Culture Includes:

The Material Objects of a Society

Ideas and Values
Institutions
Symbols
The Ways We Dress, Think, Eat, and
Spend Our Leisure Time

Culture . . .
. . . is a learned behavior.
Enculturation is learning
ones own culture.
Acculturation is learning a
new culture.

Cultural Identification . . .
. . . refers to the society in which a
person prefers to live.

It is attitudinal in contrast to
acculturation, which is behavioral.

Culture . . .
. . . is adaptive, i.e. it changes as a
society faces new problems and
opportunities...
. . . satisfies needs by providing norms
(rules of behavior)...
. . . provides values which delineate
what is right, good, and important to a
society.

Components of Culture

Norms - more specific than values

dictate behaviors (acceptable
/unacceptable)
Types of Norms :

Enacted Norms --norms that are explicitly

expressed, sometimes as laws.
Cresive Norms--- embedded into culture and
are learned through interaction with the
people

Three Types of Cresive

Norms

Customs

Mores

Conventions

Myths . . .
. . . are stories that express key values
and ideals of a society.

Myths help to:

Explain the origins of existence
Reveal a set of values for the society
Provide models for personal conduct

The Cultural Matrix...

Cultural
Values
Material
Environment

Institutional/Social Environment

Cultural Meanings . . .
. . . refer to the
values, norms,
and shared beliefs
that are
symbolically
communicated

Transferring Cultural
Meanings
Culture

Advertising,
Fashion
Systems

Rituals

Consumer
Goods

Individuals

Cultural Values . . .
. . . represent the
shared meanings
of ideal end
states and modes
of conduct

Types of Cultural Values...

Global values consist of enduring beliefs

about desired states of existence.
Domain-specific values are beliefs
pertaining to more concrete
consumption activities.

Value-Attitude System
Evaluations of
Product Attributes
(thousands)

Domain-Specific
Values (hundreds)

Global Values
(dozens)

More Centrally Held

Less Centrally Held

Central-Peripheral Continuum

Values-Attitudes
continued. . .

Means-end Chain Models

Linkages between consumer desires for

features and abstract concepts - benefits,
values.
Laddering
Linkages between means (attributes) and
terminal values (end states).

The LOV Scale

Values:

are consistent over time.

influence attitudes, which influence
behavior.
may change more among females than
among males.
change more among the young.
the need to be well-respected may have
decreased over time.

Materialism Values

Materialistic themes are stable over time.

Types of materialism:

Instrumental desire to possess a good to

perform some activity.
Terminal desire to possess good as end in itself.

Women are more sharing, less materialistic.

Cross-cultural differences in materialism
exist.

Cultural Rituals . . .
. . . are socially
standardized
sequences of
actions that are
periodically
repeated, provide
meaning, and
involve the use of
cultural symbols.

Rituals vs. Habits...

Rituals are prescribed by society, habits

by the individual.
People are more consciously aware of
rituals.
Rituals embody more symbolic meaning
and affect.

A Typology of Ritual
Experience...

Cosmological - religious, aesthetic

Cultural - graduation, marriage
Group - Memorial Day parade, fraternity
initiation, business negotiations
Individual - Grooming, household rituals
Biological - Greeting, mating

Elements of a Ritual...

Artifacts
Scripts
Performance Roles
Audience

Four Specific Types of

Rituals:

Exchange Rituals

Possession Rituals

Grooming Rituals

Divestment
Rituals

Rituals and products...

Beauty Ritual

Attempts are being made to get men to

accept multiple cosmetic products.

The small worlds of rituals

Rituals are catalysts for construction of

social relationships.
Facilities and events facilitating
interconnections between customers have a
better chance of success.

Cultural Symbols

Symbols are
entities that
represent ideas
and concepts

It can be argued
that people
consume
symbols

Popular Culture . . .
. . . is the culture of mass appeal and
has the following characteristics:

It taps into the experiences and values of a

significant portion of the population
It does not require any special knowledge to
understand it
It is produced so that large numbers of
people have easy access to it
It most frequently influences behavior that
does not involve work or sleep

Examples of Popular
Culture

Advertising
Television
Music
Fashion

Fashion Trend
Characteristics

Type
Cyclical
Classic

Speed
Fad or longerlasting

Turning Points
Technological or
cultural barriers

Degree of
Adherence

Managerial Implications

Positioning. Link products with cultural

symbols.
Environmental Analysis. Scanning is
critical to understanding changes in
culture and popular culture, both here
and abroad.
Research. Marketing research can help
identify changes in values and resulting
needs for changes in promotion.

Implications continued

Marketing Mix. Identify core values and

anticipate which core values wont
translate well abroad.
Segmentation. Identify segments of
consumers who respond well to a
certain product and positioning strategy.
Cultural icons such as popular singers
dont appeal to all segments.