MKTG 303 - WEEK 10 (CONT.): Subcultures of Consumption

Non-Traditional: The Gay Community

• Increased tolerance in modern day society (e.g. legally able to be married). • Increasingly targeted by marketers as the defined market has: - more discretionary income - high-end tastes - fierce brand loyalty

Marketers' Role

• Assimilating feedback and targeting offerings to meet their needs • Socialising new members • Facilitate communication • Sponsoring events • Identifying new market offerings relevant to existing sub-culture (Cross-promotion opportunities) • NOTE: NOT just about marketing brand/product well - about understanding NEEDS + MEANING to consumer. able to get more Attention and into their Memory. • Must understand Meaning to meet Needs.

Ethnic Subcultures

• Descend from ancestors with common cultural ties • Tend to live in the same locale • Tend to marry within their own group • Give certain objects meanings unique to their ethnic group over generations • Share a common sense of 'kindred spirit' • Marketers Interested in: Their Needs (e.g. ceremonies, holidays, values).

Subcultures

- A distinct cultural group that exists within a larger, more complex society. - i.e. Ethnicity; Religion; Sexual preference - Members: Shared Beliefs + Common Experiences + Commitment - Marketers: How Beliefs Drive + Motivate Consumer Behaviour - NOTE: Subcultures evolve and so marketers need to take into account trends (e.g. Game of Thrones).

Subcultures of Consumption

- Extends beyond demographic and lifestyle segmentation - Emphasis more on what products mean than what they do - Hard-core consumers - e.g. Harley Davidson (Brand Personality = Consumption + Meaning)

Brand Communities: ADVANTAGES

- Increased Brand Loyalty - Key customers actively promoting brand - Feedback into production process - Community's activities benefit main-stream users

Brand Communities: DISADVANTAGES

- Mainstream Dilution of Subculture: Loss of original appeal and value. - Toughest critics; strong backlash when dissatisfied

More Integrated Society

Religious Artefacts are being borrowed from different subcultures. (e.g. Tattoos from one sub-culture used by various people).

Brand Communities

Strongly brand loyal customers who share a set of social relationships based upon usage or interest in a product. (Online OR Offline)

Community Roles

Varying degrees on how immersed in a Subculture a person is: - Devotee - Insider - Mingler - Tourist (NOTE: A continuum: really into it, mildly into it, or in between)

Membership

Within a brand community, different subcultures co-exist with own hierarchy, rules and consumption practices