Consumer
Psychology (PSY -
514)
VU
LESSON
19
CULTURE
AND ITS MEASUREMENT ENVIRONMENTAL
INFLUENCES
UNDERSTANDING
·
Dynamic
Culture
·
Measurement
of Culture
Content
Analysis
Consumer
Fieldwork
·
Focus
Group Discussions, Depth
interviews
5.
Dynamic Culture
Culture
is dynamic as it plays the need
gratifying role for the
society. To fulfill its need
gratifying role culture
evolves
continually to function in the best
interest of society. Marketers must
carefully monitor the sociocultural
environment
in order to market an existing product
more effectively and to develop
new products. Not an
easy
task
because many factors a
likely to produce cultural changes within
a society
Factors
Responsible for Culture
Change
These
may include:
New
technologies
Population
shift
Resource
Shortages
Wars,
Accidents, Natural
Disasters
Changing
Values
Customs
borrowed from other
cultures
Implications
for Marketers
The
changing nature of culture means
that marketers have to constantly
consider:
Why
consumers are doing now what
they do? (What things do they purchase,
what colors do they like,
etc...)
Who
the purchasers and the users of
their products are (males,
females)?
When
they do their shopping?
Where
can they be reached through
media?
What
product and service needs
are emerging?
6.
Measurement of Culture
A
wide range of measurement techniques
are used in the study of culture.
The three important
techniques that are
most
popular include:
Content
Analysis
Consumer
Fieldwork
Focus
Group Discussions
1.
Content Analysis
Focuses
upon the content of verbal written
and pictorial communications (the
copy and art composition of
an
advertisement)
A.
When
to Do Content Analysis
·
Conclusions
about a society
·
Specific
aspects of a society
·
Comparison
of two or more societies or
aspects of a society
B.
Usage of Content
Analysis
Content
Analysis may be used as a relatively
objective means of determining:
What
social and cultural changes
have occurred in a specific
society or
65
Consumer
Psychology (PSY -
514)
VU
A
way of contrasting two different
societies
C.
Example - 1
Content
Analysis of 250 ads
Appearing
in 8 issues of 17 magazines
4
American magazines
4
Japanese magazines
Teenage
girls are portrayed
differently
Researchers
concluded that these
differences correspond to each country's
central concepts of self and
society
American
teen girls are often
associated with images of
determination and
independence
Japanese
girls are most often
portrayed with happy, playful, childlike,
girlish image
Example
- 2
Another
compared American and Chinese
ads aimed at children
56%
ads directed to children in America
were of toys
82%
of ads targeted to children
were of food products
D.
Benefits of Content
Analysis
Content
Analysis is useful for both
marketers and public policy
makers who are interested in
comparing the
advertising
claims of competitors within a specific
industry or for evaluating the nature of advertising
claims
targeted
to specific audiences (e.g. the
women, elderly or children).
66