acs-advertising & culture

7/31/2019 Acs-Advertising & Culture

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Advertising and Culture

In developing countries, advertising displays theorientation of a society,that the culture is

progressing towards;that is advertising acts as acultural indicator of progress.

Culture is defined as the sum total of learned

beliefs, values and custom that serve to directthe behavior of consumers of members of aparticular society.


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The belief and value components of the definition refer

to the accumulated feelings and priorities thatindividuals have about things and possessions.

Beliefs consist of the very large number of mental or

verbal statements that reflects a persons particularknowledge and assessment of something (another

person, a store, a product, a brand etc.).

Values also are beliefs. Values differ from other beliefs,however, because they meet the following criteria:

They are relatively few in number

They serve as a guide for culturally appropriate behavior


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They are enduring or difficult to change.

They are not tied to specific objects or situations. They are widely accepted by the members of a society.

Both values and beliefs are in a broad sense, mental

images that affect a wide range of specific attitudesand this, influences the way a person is likely to

respond in a specific situation. E.g. the criteria a

person uses to evaluate alternative brands in a productcategory, or his or her eventual preference for one of

these brands over the other, are influenced by both a

persons general values and specific beliefs.


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Customs are overt modes of behavior that constitute

culturally approved or acceptable ways of behaving inspecific situations.

Customs consist of everyday or routine behavior.For

example, a consumers routine behavior, such asadding sugar and milk to coffee, having a salad after a

meal rather than before the meal etc., are customs.

When we are exposed to people with different culturalvalues or customs, we become aware of how culture

has molded our own behavior.


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Thus, a true appreciation of the influence that culture has on our daily life

requires some knowledge of at least one other society with different

cultural characteristics. For e.g., to understand that brushing our teeth

twice a day with toothpaste is a cultural phenomenon requires some

awareness that members of another society do not brush their teeth twice

daily.

Culture exists to satisfy the needs of the people within a society. It offers

order, direction and guidance in all phases of human problem solving by

providing, tried and true methods of satisfying physiological, personal

and social needs. For example, culture provides standards and rules

about when to eat(not between meals), where to eat(in a popularrestaurant where the quality of food is good), what is appropriate to eat

for breakfast etc.


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Culture is also associated with what a societys

members consider to be a necessity and what theyview as a luxury.

Culture also provides insights as to suitable dress forspecific occasions. Dress codes have shifted

dramatically. Cultural beliefs, values and customs continue to be

followed as long as they yield satisfaction.

When a specific standard no longer satisfies themembers of the society, however it is modified orreplaced, so that the resulting standard with currentneeds and desires.


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Culture is gradually but continually evolving to meet theneeds of the society.

There are three distinct forms of cultural learning:

Formal learning, in which adults and older siblingsteach a young family member how to behave

Informal learning, in which a child learns primarily byimitating the behavior of selected others, such asfamily, friends etc.

Technical learning, in which teachers instruct the childin a educational environment about what should bedone, how it should be done, and why it should bedone.


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Although a firms advertising can influence all three types of

cultural learning, it is likely that many product advertisements

enhance informal cultural learning by providing the audience

with a model of behavior to imitate. This is especially true for

visible or conspicuous products, where peer influence is likely

to play an important role. The repetition of advertising messages creates and reinforces

cultural beliefs and values. For example, many advertisers

continually stress the same selected benefits of their products

or services.Ads for cellular services often stress on the clarity oftheir connection, or the nationwide coverage of their service as

well as the flexibility of their pricing plans.


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It becomes difficult to say if the cellular service subscribers

inherentlydesire these benefits from their service providers or

after years of exposure to advertising appeals stressing these

benefits, they have been taught by marketers to desire them.

Culture is frequently viewed as group customs that link together

the members of the society. Common language becomes a critical component that enables

people to share values, experiences and customs.

The f amily serves as the primary agent to pass along basic

cultural beliefs, values and customs to the newest members.

The two other places for transfer of selected aspects of culture

are educational institutions and places of worship.


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A fourth place that plays a major role in transferringculture throughout society is the mass media.

Consumers receive important cultural informationthrough advertising.

In a cultural context, advertising has the expanded

mission of reinforcing established cultural values andaiding in the dissemination of new tastes, habits andcustoms.E.g. new FMCG products, new tastes in food,

celebration of mothers day, fathers day etc, eating out. In planning their advertising, marketers should

recognize advertising to be an important agent forsocial change in our society.


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Culture is continually evolving and requires to evolve to functionin the best interests of a society.

The marketer must carefully monitor the socio-culturalenvironment in order to market an existing product moreeffectively or to develop promising new products.

Many factors are likely to produce cultural changes within agiven society such as new technology, population shifts,resource shortages, wars, changing values and customsborrowed from other cultures.

For example, today with more nuclear families and moreworking women lot of changes have occurred. Many workingwomen are in careers that were once considered to beexclusively male oriented. Late marriages of women who areself sufficient is a trait that visibly exists today.


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The changing nature of culture means that marketershave to consistently reconsider why consumers aredoing what they do, who the purchasers and the usersof their products are ( male, female,or both), when dothey shop, how and where they can be reached by the

media and what new product and service needs areemerging.

Marketers who monitor cultural changes often find newopportunities to increase corporate profitability. Forexample, marketers of products & services as lifeinsurance, financial, clothing who have attempted totake advantage of their target segments.

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