AGE AND GENDER SUBCULTURE CHAPTER 4: ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES

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Consumer Psychology (PSY - 514)

LESSON22

AGE AND GENDER SUBCULTURE

CHAPTER 4: ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES

Understanding:

· Age subculture

· Gender subculture

9. Age Subculture

Important shifts occur in individual's demand for specific types of products and services as he or she goes from

being a dependent child to a senior citizen. A major age sub grouping of the population may be thought of as a

separate subculture e.g. teens influence purchases in approx all product categories. They select the stores in which

they spend their own money. By appealing to preteens, marketers build brand loyalty at an early stage. The

medium of choice for advertising for them is television

Teens are preoccupied with their appearance. They are more open to new ideas and new products and they are

avid television viewers. One view is that teens have segmented themselves into seven groups based on

psychographics. The groups are named:

1) Jarheads (athletes)

2) Nerds or geeks (computer wizards)

3) Prepsters or bushies (conservatives)

4) Surfer dudes (casual dressers/attitude

5) Heavy metal rockers/punks

6) Study gerkins, and

7) Bohos (poetry and black dress)

Popular Age Subcultures in USA

American Teenage Groups

Generation Y

Between 1977 and 1994

13-20 years

Generation X

Between 1965 and 1979

25 40 years

The Baby Boomers

Between 1946 and 64

40-60 years

1. Generation Y Market

Defining characteristics of Generation Y market are:

They are 13-20 years old and have grown up in a media saturated environment. They are aware of the marketing

hype. They immediately understand that when a shopping centre locates popular teen stores at opposite ends of

the mall they are being encouraged to walk the mall. Generation Y-ers split their time between TV viewing and

Internet and are less likely to read newspapers. They often do not trust the stores their parent's shopping.

2. Generation X Market

Generation X market is composed of the individuals who are born between 1965 and 1977 (25-40 years). They are

distrustful of marketing and look for a balance between work and leisure. These adults are close to their parents

and may return to live at home. They are not drawn to traditional forms of advertising (see it as "hyping"). Zen X-

ers express their need to stay in control by purchasing communications equipment such as beepers, fax machines,

e-mail, and mobile phones. They prefer products based on their practicality.

Consumer Psychology (PSY - 514)

3. Baby Boomers

Baby boomers are the individuals born between 1946 and 1964 (approximately 78 million). There total income is

over $1 trillion, increasing at a rate of 10% per year (versus 5% for the rest of the population). They have a high

level of education and have more discretionary income than other groups and they buy more and save less. Baby

Boomers are health conscious. They are becoming less materialistic in outlook and their product and service

selections reflect their concern for the environment and quality of life. They use credit cards extensively and the

higher income groups buy expensive exercise equipment and other personal/luxury goods. Boomers keep up with

fashions.

Seniors Citizens

Senior Citizens are older people who have played their innings and are mostly living a retired life. Their households

are small and their need for new purchases is limited. They enjoy convenience in the marketplace and appreciate

their leisure time. They spend more on others. They tend to perceive themselves as younger than their years (e.g.

65 year olds perceive themselves as age 50). Although they have a tendency to be brand loyal, they tend to try new

products or brands if given good reasons to do so. The senior market can further be segmented on the basis of

age, activity level, health, and mobility (65-74 and 75+ groups; active/healthy vs. poor health or disabled)

10. Gender Subculture

All societies tend to assign certain roles to women and others to men. The masculine role for example is that of

aggressiveness and competitiveness, whereas the feminine role is that of neatness, tactfulness, gentleness, and

talkativeness

Gender Difference Study

A study was conducted to understand the gender differences in reactions to similar prints. It was found that

women show superior affect and purchase intent towards ads that are verbal, harmonious, complex and category

oriented.

Men show superior affect towards ads that are comparative, simple and attribute oriented. It was concluded that it

may be best to advertise differently to men and women.

Consumer products and Gender Roles

Products are either exclusively or strongly associated with the members of one sex. For example shaving

equipment, cigars, pants, ties and work clothing are for men. Bracelets, hairsprays, hair dryers, sweet smelling

perfumes are considered feminine product.s

Men are Hunters; Women are Nurturers

(Internet Surfing Trends across the Genders)

The appeal for internet seems to be different for both men and women. Women go online to seek out reference

materials, online books, medical information, cooking ideas, government information and chat sites. Men tend to

focus on exploring and discovering, identifying free software and investments opportunities. Women are less likely

to purchase on the internet (32% for men VS 19% for women). Lesser purchase rate on the internet is because of

heightened concerns about online security and privacy.

Women as Depicted in the Media

Media and advertising create an expectation of beauty for women that they can never meet which is why most

women demand the definition of beauty to change. Responding to this call from women an international brand of

soap challenged the traditional sense of beauty and "Real" women were portrayed in the company's ads with grey

hair, wrinkles and flawed skin. 65% of women 35-40 years of age felt good. 50% found ads to be old fashioned.

Segmenting the Women Work Wise

According to the work status, women may be segmented into following categories

· Stay at home housewives

· Plan to work housewives

Consumer Psychology (PSY - 514)

Just a job working women

Career oriented working women

Just a job working woman seems to be motivated to work primarily by a sense that family requires the

additional income

Career oriented working women who tend to be in professional or managerial position are driven by the

need to achieve and succeed in their chosen careers

The percentage of career oriented working women is on the rise world wide. A study conducted in USA found

that 25% of all working women bring home paycheck that is larger than their husband's.

Working women spend less time shopping than non-working women. They accomplish this time economy by

shopping less often and by being brand and store loyal. Working women are also likely to shop on early evenings

or on weekends. Magazines are delivering a larger women's audience than Television. Every year more retailers

target women.

Differences in Acquisition and Consumption Behaviors

Women more likely to engage in thorough examination of a message and make extended decisions based on

product attributes. Males are selective information processors. Males are more sensitive to personally relevant

information. Women pay more attention to personally relevant information as well as information relevant to

others. Women are more likely to engage in compensatory eating making up for deficiencies such as lack of

social contact or depression by eating.

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