Chapter 12

1. Chapter 12 The Family and Generational Cohorts The Family and Generational Cohorts

2. Snapshot from the Marketplace • A notable trend in contemporary society is rise of the “unmarriage revolution.” • Many professional women have chosen either not to marry or to delay marriage. • Sperm banks make it possible to have children in a dad-free family. • This trend will initiate changes in laws as well as in workplace policies.

3. The Family • The Census Bureau defines family as:“two or more persons, related either through birth, marriage, or adoption, living under one roof.” • Today, this definition is inadequate. • Contemporary families come in different forms and sizes.

4. Family and Socialization • Socialization: the process by which we develop relevant behavioral patterns gained within the confines of technological advances as well as through interaction with others • Factors affecting the degree of parents’ influence on children: • Age of child • Family’s social class • Child’s sex • Family characteristics (e.g., strict vs. permissive parents) • Whether or not the family is online

5. Family Consumption Roles • Role specialization in the family affects the decision making process and types of purchases. • The term enacted role infers the actual overt behavior displayed by an individual in a particular capacity. • The term perceived role is an individual’s assumed obligation in the execution of a particular chore. • The term prescribed role reflects the expectations of others regarding appropriate modes of behavior for a person in a particular capacity.

6. Family Consumption Roles (cont’d) • Eight family consumption roles can be identified: • Influencers: members whose opinions affect product purchase • Gatekeepers: members who regulate the flow of information into the household • Deciders: members with the authority to make decisions • Buyers: members who act as purchasing agents

7. Family Consumption Roles (cont’d) • Preparers: members who ready a product for consumption • Users: members who use or consume a product • Maintainers: members who attend to the upkeep of a product • Disposers: members who determine when and how to discard a product

8. The Family Decision Process • Factors influencing the roles of husband and wife in family decisions: • Egalitarianism: a value stressing equality in marital relations • Involvement: relevance assigned by a spouse to an activity • Empathy: emotional participation in the feelings of the other spouse • Recognized authority: a right to decide assigned to one spouse

9. Children’s Influence on Family Expenditure • Kids now spend over $160 billion of their own money, and influence $600 billion of their parents’ spending. • Four key categories of kid’s expenditures in the order of their importance: • Food and beverage • Electronic items and toys • Apparel • Personal care products • Age compression trend: pushing adult products and attitudes on young children

10. Advertising to Children • In today’s ads directed to children, television has given way to the arena of the electronic media. • Government regulates advertising directed to kids via a number of laws that address the source, content, and privacy issues of such ads. • CARU reviews and evaluates ads directed to kids for misleading and deceptive content.

11. The Family Life Cycle (FLC) • The sequence of stages that families typically pass through • The traditional FLC: • Bachelorhood stage • Honeymooner stage • Parenthood stage • Postparenthood stage • Dissolution stage • Importance: product and service needs of the family vary by stage of FLC

12. Modernized FLC • Cultural and socio-demographic trends in the U.S. necessitated an expanded view of family. • Family now includes: • Nontraditional family households consist of childless couples, same-sex unions, career-oriented couples, couples entering marriage with a child, single parents, and extended families. • Nonfamily households consist of single persons, unmarried couples, divorced persons without children, and widowed persons.

13. Nontraditional Living-Arrangement Patterns (cont’d) • Around 85 percent of all U.S. households fit the nontraditional family mold. • Patterns of nontraditional living-arrangements: • Latchkey kids • Boomerang children • Single parenthood • The live alones

14. Nontraditional Living-Arrangement Patterns (cont’d) • Latchkey kids: children who return from school to a locked and empty home while their parents are away at work • Around one-third of all school age children (around 5 to 7 million) are latchkey kids. • Boomerang children: grown adults who continue to live or return to their parents’ home • In 2005, 39 percent of single women and 46 percent of single men ages 20 to 29 years old lived with their parents.

15. Nontraditional Living-Arrangement Patterns (cont’d) • Single parenthood: households that are headed by a single parent continue to rise in number, reaching over 13.6 million in 2007. • Divorces have been as responsible for this trend as births without marriage. • The live-alones: the number of men and women who live alone continues to rise. In 2005, there were 17.4 million single-female households and 13 million single-male households. • This segment constitutes a lucrative market for items such as travel, convenience food, clothing, sporty automobiles, as well as dating services.

16. Generational Marketing • Capitalizing on the life experiences that define each generation of consumers • Consumers can be categorized by life experiences as: • The postwar cohort • The boomers I cohort • The boomers II cohort • The generation X cohort • The generation Y cohort • The generation Z cohort

17. Generational Marketing (cont’d) • Postwar cohort: born between 1928 and 1945 • Lived through the period of economic growth and social tranquility that followed WWII causing members to seek material possessions to alleviate life’s uncertainties. • Boomers I cohort: born between 1946 and 1954 • Known as Woodstock generation, tends to live beyond its means and enjoys conspicuous consumption.

18. Generational Marketing (cont’d) • Boomers II cohort: born between 1955 and 1965 • Has ingrained sense of entitlement and tends to pursue goals of self-interest and instant personal gratification. • Generation X cohort: born between 1965 and 1976 • Tends to be unhappy about economic problems and displays somewhat contradictory behavior. • Many Xers are the dotcom world changers and engaged leaders of various causes.

19. Generational Marketing (cont’d) • Generation Y Cohort: born between 1977 and 1994 • Often described as idealistic, socially conscious, and individualistic • Tends to be anti-corporate, to speak its mind, and to dress at is pleases • Generation Z Cohort: born between 1995 and 2008 • The children or early teens of older and wealthier parents who have fewer siblings • Intensively exposed to and experienced with the digital world

20. An Additional Generational Cohort • Techno-savvies: electronically sophisticated consumers • While 85 percent of Americans own computers, only 8 percent are considered techno-savvies • Consist of men and women who are exposed to extensive information in the Net • Hold well-paid jobs, and have the highest ownership and usage rate of technology-based products

21. Marketing Applications of the Generational Cohorts Concept • Serves as basis for market segmentation • Identifies differences in behaviors and response patterns of each cohort • Helps marketers select appropriate promotional appeals for each targeted cohort