Ethnic, Racial, and Religious Subcultures

1. Ethnic, Racial, and Religious Subcultures

2. Subcultures and Consumer Identity Subcultures Group memberships within society at large Ethnic and Racial Subcultures Ethnic Subculture: A self-perpetuating group of consumers who are held together by common cultural or genetic ties, and is identified both by its members and by others as being a distinguishable category. Ethnicity and Marketing Strategies High-context Culture: Group members tend to be tightly knit, and they are likely to infer meanings that go beyond the spoken word.

3. Is Ethnicity a Moving Target? De-ethnicization Refers to the process whereby a product formerly associated with a specific ethnic group is detached from its roots and marketed to other subcultures. The �Big Three� American Subcultures African Americans Hispanic Americans Asian Americans

4. Acculturation Acculturation: Refers to the process of movement and adaptation to one country�s cultural environment by a person from another country. Acculturation Agents: People and institutions that teach the ways of a culture. Culture of Origin Culture of Immigration

5. Segmenting Hispanics by Acculturation

6. A Model of Consumer Acculturation

7. Processes of Immigrant Adaptation Movement: Refers to the factors motivating people to physically uproot themselves from one location to another. Translation: Attempting to master a set of rules for operating in the new environment. Adaptation: Cultural learning that leads to new consumption patterns Assimilation: When immigrants adopt products, habits, and values that are identified with the mainstream culture. Maintenance Resistance Segregation

8. Perspectives on Ethnic Adaptation Ethnic Pluralism: Argues that ethnic groups differ from the mainstream in varying degrees, and that adaptation to the larger society occurs selectively. Progressive Learning Model: Assumes that people gradually learn a new culture as they increasingly come in contact with it. Host Culture

9. Asian Americans Chi: An invisible energy current that is believed to bring good or bad luck Feng Shui: Translated literally as �the wind and the water� Fastest growing minority group in the U.S. The most affluent, best educated, and most likely to hold technology jobs of any ethnic subculture Prosperous Asians tend to be very status conscious Advertising featuring celebrities can be very effective in reaching this group

10. Religious Subcultures The Rise of Spirituality: Explosion of religion in popular culture Old and New Religions The Impact of Religion on Consumption: Not studied extensively in marketing (too �taboo�) Religious affiliation has the potential to be a valuable predictor of consumer behavior