Presented By

Sudipa Sinha 18
Kushal Gupta 42
Tanmay Agarwal - 53

CULTURE
A ND I T S
IMPACT O
N
C O N SU M E
R BEHAVIO
R

Flow of Presentation
Culture and its Characteristics
Measurements of Culture
Indian Core Culture and Marketers
Changing Cultural Trends
Cultural Aspects of Emerging Markets
Cultural Values in Advertisements
IMC & Cultural Dimensions : Emerging
Markets

CULTURE
It is the sum total of learned beliefs; values and
customs that serve to direct the consumer
behavior of members of a particular society.

Model of Cultures Influence on Behavior

Culture Satisfies Needs

0It offers direction in all phases of human problem

solving by providing tried and true methods of

satisfying physiological, personal and social needs.
0 Ex. : Most middle-class urban Indians consider a gas

connection; a basic TV; FRIDGE and phone to be necessities,

whereas LED/Plasma TVs, air conditioner, double door fridges,
etc are considered as luxuries.
0 Replace if they no longer satisfy us.

The Invisible Hand of

Culture
Each individual perceives the
world through his own
cultural lens

Characteristics of Culture
Culture is learned
Culture is unconscious
Culture is Symbolic
Culture is a way of life
Culture is Dynamic
Culture is Relative

Culture is learned
Marketing Example : Nimbu Fresh Ad

Social Institutions that transmit the elements of culture:

Family;
Educational Institutions;
Houses Of Worships;
Mass Media And Other IMCs;
Virtual Communities.

Culture Is Learned
Issues
0 Enculturation and

acculturation
0 Language and
symbols
0 Ritual
0 Sharing of culture

0 Enculturation
0 The learning of ones
own culture
0 Acculturation
0 The learning of a new
or foreign culture
0 Ex. HSBC Bank
9

Culture Is Learned
Issues
0 Enculturation and

acculturation
0 Language and
symbols
0 Ritual
0 Sharing of culture

0 Without a common

language ,shared
meaning could not exist
0 Marketers must choose
appropriate symbols in
advertising
0 Marketers can use
known symbols for
associations

Symbol
Myth &
Advertising

Victory, Liberation, The raising of

the flag, the good guys coming
making the world safe for democracy
conquering some repressive evil. It's
America coming together and
struggling against insurmountable
odds,

freedom to buy, to choose the

clothes that free them from the
"trends" of the masses
Freedom is a style, not a struggle
This is what freedom has bought

Culture Is Learned
Issues
0 Enculturation and

acculturation
0 Language and
symbols
0 Ritual
0 Sharing of culture

0 A ritual is a type of

symbolic activity
consisting of a series of
steps
0 Rituals extend over the
human life cycle
0 Marketers realize that
rituals often involve
products (artifacts)
0 Ex TITAN Commercial
Ad.

Gift Giving Rituals

Many cultural holidays are based on myths, and often real or
imaginary characters are at the center of stories used in
advertising e.g. Santa Claus

Selected Rituals and Associated

Artifacts
SELECTED RITUALS

TYPICAL ARTIFACTS

Wedding

Red lehenga, Gold and Diamond

Ornaments

Birthday

Card, present, cake with candles

50th Wedding anniversary

Catered party, card and gift,

display of photos of the couples
life together

Graduation

Pen, card, wristwatch

Valentines Day

Candy, card, flowers

New Years Eve

Champagne, party, fancy dress

Culture Is Learned
Issues
0 Enculturation and

0 To be a cultural

acculturation
0 Language and
symbols
0 Ritual
0 Sharing of Culture

characteristic, a belief,
value, or practice must
be shared by a significant
portion of the society
0 Culture is transferred
through family, schools,
houses of worship, and
media

Culture is Dynamic
0 Evolves because it fills needs.
0 Certain factors change culture
0 Technology
0 Population shifts
0 Resource shortages
0 Wars
0 Changing values
0 Customs from other countries
Video: Amul Manthan

Levels of Subjective
Culture
Supranational level- Reflects different dimensions of
multiple cultures/ different society of nations

National level- dimensions of culture of country and

national characters.

Group level- Held with in a country with various subdivisions of the society like family, reference group, &
other closely held group.

Marketers cashing in on
Culture
0 Marketers can use such knowledge to shape

and modify their marketing strategies in

order to effectively reach and communicate
with target consumers.
0 Lifestyle
0 Subculture
0 Rituals

Lifestyle
Lifestyle Matrix for
global youth, aged 1424

The Measurement of
Culture

21
Chapter Eleven Slide

: A culture measurement
Content
Analysis

technique that takes

place within a natural
environment that focuses
on observing behavior.
(sometimes without the
subjects

22
Chapter Eleven Slide

Consumer
field work :

select a small sample of

people
a particular
selectfrom
a small
sample of
society
people and
from carefully
a particular
society and
carefully
observe
their
behavior.
observe their behavior.

Based on their
Based on their
observations,
they draw
observations,
they draw
conclusions
about
the
conclusions about the
values; beliefs and
values; beliefs and customs
customs
of the society.
of the society.

Value Measurement Survey

Instruments

Indian Core Values

Family Orientation
0 Family

for an average
Indian not only includes
ones own family, but
also the extended family
parents; siblings and
grandparents.

0 Implications for

marketers.

Saving Orientation
0 MetLife

Shopping As a Ritual

Mythology

0 Stories; Scriptures and Music have been an

integral part of Indian culture.

0 Branded toys; artefacts;

Festivities
0 Tanishq

Food Habits

Changing Cultural Trends

(Urban Market)

Other Dimensions Affecting

Consumer Behaviour
0 Individualism-Collectivism
0 Uncertainty Avoidance
0 Masculinity-Femininity
0 Power Distance

Cultural Aspects of
Emerging Markets
0 1 billion households in India are now being

categorized as deprived; aspirers; seekers;

strivers; global Indians.
0 MNCs like Coca Cola, have started advertising
in regional languages in order to have a
better connect with that particular region.
0 Cadbury introduces special packs during the
festival seasons.

Cultural values in
advertisements
0 IMCs should be designed factoring in the

value system of the people of the country.

0 Cultural interface values.
0 Ritual settings should be as per the target
segment of the respective brand.
0 In case the brand are driven by hedonic
motivation, ritual settings should be more
pronounced. For example: Coca Cola.

IMC and cultural Dimensions:

Emerging Markets
Target segment
and brand
benefits.
IMC with
synergy
towards
consistent
brand image

Cultural
interface
values.

Customizing
the content to
each channel of
communication

Ritual setting
that will match
the chosen
values.
Combining
cultural
interface values
and ritual
settings