A society is classed as a consumer society when its foremost activity is purchasing and using items or services. It is the argument of some that a consumer society is a divided society. This essay will outline this view using concepts such as Bauman’s seduced and repressed theory and Wrong’s zero-sum and positive-sum game. Evidence will then be given to support these concepts. Zygmunt Bauman (1988) stated that consumers in western societies could be split into two groups; the seduced and the repressed (Bauman, cited in Hetherington, 2009, p. 25).
What is the organizations missions, objectives, and distinctive competency b. What is its offering to the market? How can its past and present performance be characterized? What is its potential? c. What is the situation in which the manager or organization finds itself?
2. [LO1] How is the Customer Value Framework useful? Answer: The CVF represents consumer behavior theory, which illustrates factors shaping consumption-related behaviors and ultimately determines the value associated with consumption. Thus, the CVF provides potential explanations for behavior. 3.
Case study: Procter & Gamble Q1: Is it important to develop Brand Equity? Brand equity is the added value endowed on products and services reflected in the way consumers think, feel, and act with respect to the brand, as well as in the prices, market share, and profitability the brand commands. Brand Equity relies on four components which are brand loyalty, brand awareness, perceived quality and brand associations. A consumer who prefers a particular brand agrees to select that brand over others based primarily on his or her perception of the brand and its value. The customers are willing to pay a higher price for the company’s goods or services because of their commitment to buy a brand.
Well-managed companies try to position their firms in a way that avoids or diminishes these forces – in an attempt to beat the average rate of return for the industry. The first force that I need to highlight is the threat of substitutes which means the price that consumers are willing to pay for a product depends in part on the availability of substitute products. Dell need to make sure that the price offered to the market is affordable based on the quality it was set, so that it can eliminate the price that offered by its competitors and maintained the demand from the customers. The second force is the threat of new competitors or entrants in the market. If the firms in an industry are highly profitable, the industry becomes a magnet to new entrants.
Summary & Response In "Masters of Desire: The Culture of American Advertising", Jack Solomon studies and analyzes advertisements in order to show that advertisers and big companies make use of what they know about the society and culture in order to manipulate us into buying a new product or using a service. According to the text, while we may believe in equality and equal chance, we also find that we desire "rising above the crowd", in which we compete for "privilege and distinction". This is where the American paradox lies. Furthermore in the article, "The contradiction is between the simultaneous desire for social superiority (elitism) and social equality (populism) that lies at the heart of the American Dream". Simply put: the American
Advertisements inform consumers about new products and at the same time try to get their attention and sell the products. Advertising makes it easier for new products to enter the market and encourages market competition. Galbraith goes against the view that the consumer is the sovereign. He argues that salesmanship and advertising are creating people’s wants and desires. Galbraith argues that there is a difference between what the individual originally wants and what wants are artificially forced on him.
Discuss the three cultural change strategies a foreign marketer can pursue. Culturally congruent strategy: marketing products similar to ones already sold in market in a way that goes along with existing cultural norms o Strategy of planned change: deliberately trying to change the aspects of a culture that would give resistance to product o Strategy of unplanned change: introducing an innovation and then waiting for cultural change that would cause acceptance of the innovation 3. What is the importance of “cultural empathy” to the foreign marketer? How does he or she acquire “cultural empathy?” CULTURAL SENSITIVITY allows him to see objectivity and appreciate another culture. Can become culturally sensitive by studying the culture and living with in it.
Assignment on Ethic Consumer Consulting (Case Study October, 14th 2013) The report on the case study of Kumar, Guruvayurappan, & Banerjee (2010) focusses on the importance of intercultural difference and their implications for marketing. Firstly, the cultural differences regarding the products will be analysedanalyzed considering social classes. Secondly, the ritual experience construction will be explained for different socio-economic classes. Thirdly, new frameworks which are essential to the launch of a new brands based on cultural values will be developed. Question 1: Product differentiation based on cultural values of socio-economic subgroups Not all customers in one country (especially in such a huge country such as India in the case study) can be classified as the same.
The accepted basic role of advertising is to provide the consumers with the right amount of information regarding a certain product or services. However, it has been often alleged that advertising is causing a negative social impact by playing with the emotions of general public and enticing then into buying products that are not necessary to them. I strongly agree with this viewpoint for a number of reasons. Firstly, advertisements play an essential role in creating an image of a product in the minds of consumers. Research findings suggest that emotions and feelings play a decisive role in purchasing, triggered by seeing the product or upon exposure to a well-crafted promotional message.