Usa - Cultural Diversity

USA:
Contemporary U.S. markets are becoming more ethnically diverse with more distinctive cultural values and customs among various ethnic groups. According to 2002 Census Briefs, ethnic consumers comprise nearly 30 percent of the U.S. population. This surge of ethnic population is creating enormous marketing opportunities with greater purchasing power among the ethnic markets. Accordingly, U.S. marketers are making every effort to entice these lucrative ethnic markets by developing effective marketing strategies. People tend to live within their cultural boundaries, and cultural diversity in the U.S. significantly affects how ethnic consumers perceive and process advertising messages. According to key cultural theories (distinctiveness theory and accommodation theory), ethnic audiences feel more affinity for culturally accommodating messages and respond more favorably to culturally targeted ads. In this vein, U.S. marketers are trying to develop the most effective marketing strategies to appeal to these emerging ethnic consumers. To prepare for the complex multicultural marketplace, U.S. marketers should build cultural adaptability and understanding and establish insights about the cultural factors they use in comparative marketing analysis for these ethnic groups.
Statistics
The following information is estimation as actual statistics constantly vary. According to the CIA, the following is the percentage of followers of different religions in the United States: * Christian: (80.2%) * Protestant (51.3%) * Roman Catholic (23.9%) * Mormon (1.7%) * Other Christian (1.6%) * Remainder of Christians (1.7%) * Unaffiliated (12.1%) * Atheist (4%) * Other/Unspecified (2.5%) * Jewish (1.7%) * Buddhist (0.7%) * Muslim (0.6%)
Diversity

America is ultimately a nation of immigrants and as a result is a cultural mish-mash in every sense of the word. Not only is the country populated by people from foreign countries but all Americans in one way or another trace their ancestry back to another culture, whether Irish, German, Italian or Scottish. Looking around any major city one will notice the ‘melting-pot’ that it is.
Ethnic Make-up: white 81.7%, black 12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.2% (2003 est.)

Religions: Protestant 52%, Roman Catholic 24%, Mormon 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 1%, other 10%, none 10% (2002 est.)
The United States is a diverse country, racially and ethnically.[1] Six races are officially recognized: White, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, The United States Census Bureau also classifies Americans as "Hispanic or Latino" and "Not Hispanic or Latino", which identifies Hispanic and Latino Americans as a racially diverse ethnicity that composes the largest minority group in the nation
Popular culture
The United States is known around the world for the films, shows, and musical performances that it produces. The biggest centers of popular American culture are New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Florida, and Las Vegas. Smaller venues such as Branson, Missouri and Nashville have become popular, but most cities host travelling productions of popular Broadway shows.
Due to continuous immigration and growth of minority population, the U.S. bears a resemblance to a microcosm of the world, characterized by diverse ethnic subcultures (Doka 1996). Therefore, many people believe America is no longer a “melting pot,” but is a “salad bowl” with distinctive subcultures within the nation. The successful development of an effective communication campaign should begin with an in-depth understanding of cross-cultural differences in socio-cultural values and behaviors.
Culture and advertisement:
Advertising is believed to act as a mirror reflecting culture by transferring current cultural meanings (McCracken 1986). In other words, advertisements are considered a form of social communication that resonate the cultural values of a society (Khairullah 1995). At the same time, advertising creates and produces new cultural values and meanings by influencing group identities and reinforcing stereotypes. So advertising is not only influenced by cultural values but also acts as an agent influencing cultural values. From a marketing perspective, advertisers have been more interested in the effects of culture on consumers’ response to advertising.
People tend to live within their cultural boundaries; i.e., people have their own cultural values and norms, which influence the way they think, feel and act. People in the same ethnic groups tend to share the language, customs, values, and social views. These shared values (i.e., culture) influence people’s cognitive (beliefs and motives), affective (emotion and attitude) and behavioral (purchase and consumption) processes. Based on this notion of “advertising as a mirror,” cultural values and standards are implanted in ads in such a way that consumers can “see themselves” and identify with the characters in the ads and feel affinity with the brands
Owing to increasing population size and purchasing power of multicultural audiences in the U.S., marketers have already recognized the importance of multicultural marketing, and many marketers are using multicultural segmentation and customized marketing strategies and tactics to appeal to ethnic consumers.
Over half of Fortune 500 companies were using some form of multicultural marketing strategies, such as customized advertising, tailored promotional activities, new product lines, customized product packaging, etc. (McDermott 1994).
EXAMPLES
For example, a recent campaign by McDonald’s targeting Spanish-speaking audiences resulted in a 32 percent sales increase (TelevisionWeek, 2003).
Coca cola is making specific adverts
General Motors doubled their advertising expenditures for multicultural marketing in 2002, and plans to double them again in 2003, to more than $100 million (Adweek 2003).
How to approach:
U.S. marketers in multicultural settings should establish cultural adaptability and understanding, so that they can embrace increasing multicultural marketing demands and opportunities.
She suggests that marketers in multicultural settings can be successful by 1) sharing interests with customers, 2) developing specific marketing strategies for different cultures, 3) identifying important cultural values and situational identities for distinctive cultural groups, 4) targeting “contact points” between consumers and brands, and 5) facilitating consumer dialogue by acquiring intensive (vs. extensive) information about their target customers (vs. all potential buyers).

Multicultural marketers should establish the tool
1) To spot patterns that allow subcultures to be grouped together, so that a common marketing strategy may be extended to several subcultures in a group (“transcultural” marketing);
2) To develop a distinct marketing strategy for each subculture, if there is a significantly distinct cultural dimension that is important to the specific culture (multicultural marketing);
3) To further segment audiences in a subculture, if needed, in terms of cultural affinity, cultural identity or acculturation level (tactical adaptation within a subculture);
4) To develop parameters of culturally acceptable marketing stimuli; and
5) To establish a protocol for measuring cultural effectiveness of the stimuli.
How to Segment:
Acculturation: Acculturation has been defined as “the process of cultural change and adaptation that occurs when individuals with different cultures come into contact” (Gibson 2001). This concept has been widely used to understand the process whereby U.S. immigrants change their behavior and attitudes toward U.S. society through customs, language, and interpersonal contacts (Khairullah 1995). That is, acculturation level serves as a variable influencing consumer attitudes and behaviors within the same ethnic group, such as shopping orientation, use of language and media, perceptions of product attributes, attitude toward advertising, and gender roles (Wallendorf and Reilly 1983).
Critique:
The use of acculturation measures in marketing research has been critiqued. First, extant acculturation measures tend to be oversimplified or bipolarized - Second, there exists no single measure or indicator of acculturation universally agreed by researchers Third, most marketing research uses several variables to measure level of acculturation expressed as a single “acculturation score,” but acculturation should be viewed and measured as a multi-dimensional construct
Media is one of the four socialization agents along with family, peers and institutions. Normative data indicates a stronger response on impact/brand name registration, comprehension, evaluation and intended response among Hispanics because advertising is more relevant; it is playing a critical role in the resocialization of the consumer. In other words, the information transmitted in advertising to immigrant populations may be welcomed, as opposed to dismissed by consumers socialized in the U.S.
Cultural Affinity:
A concept that helps to measure the attitudinal dimensions of acculturation is cultural affinity, which denotes that people tend to have higher affinities with those from a similar cultural background. For example, a person who has a high affinity with his/her ethnic culture responds more favorably to ethnic appeals than those who have lower affinities with their cultures.
From Melting Pot to Multiculturalism
In the early twentieth century, the playwright Israel Zangwill coined the phrase “melting pot” to describe how immigrants from many different backgrounds came together in the United States. The “melting pot” metaphor assumed that over time the distinct habits, customs, and traditions associated with particular groups would disappear as people assimilated into the larger culture. A uniquely American culture would emerge that would accommodate some elements of diverse immigrant cultures, such as holiday traditions and language phrases, in a new context
Since the 1960s, scholars and political activists, recognizing that the “melting pot” concept fails to acknowledge that immigrant groups do not, and should not, entirely abandon their distinct identities, embraced multiculturalism and diversity. Racial and ethnic groups maintain many of their basic traits and cultural attributes, while at the same time their orientations change through marriage and interactions with other groups in society. The American Studies curriculum serves to illustrates this shift in attitude. The curriculum, which had for decades relied upon the “melting pot” metaphor as an organizing framework, began to employ the alternative notion of the “American mosaic.” Multiculturalism, in the context of the “American mosaic,” celebrates the unique cultural heritage of racial and ethnic groups, some of whom seek to preserve their native languages and lifestyles. In a sense, individuals can be Americans and at the same time claim other identities, including those based on racial and ethnic heritage, gender, and sexual preference. Multiculturalism has been embraced by many Americans, and has been promoted formally by institutions. Elementary and secondary schools have adopted curricula to foster understanding of cultural diversity by exposing students to the customs and traditions of racial and ethnic groups. Government agencies advocate tolerance for diversity by sponsoring Hispanic and Asian American/Pacific Islander heritage weeks. The United States Post Office has introduced stamps depicting prominent Americans from diverse backgrounds.

The Future of Multicultural Marketing in America:
The changing US population continues to influence marketing practice; a multicultural approach is no longer a choice for companies, it is now essential for success.
“The concept of a “melting pot” is rendered obsolete as people of all races, ethnicities, languages and ancestries live and thrive together, while still preserving important aspects of their heritage and culture. In this new, urban market, it is essential to get beyond ethnic segmentation and understand that it is the very intermingling of cultures and ethnicities that defines the urban sensibility. And the urban market is not just the inner city of New York or parts of Los Angeles – the urban market is America” (Waterson , 2004)
The future of multicultural marketing will require that we embrace the ethnic and cultural diversity of this country and begin to view the market through different lenses. Ads that target Hispanics will be both Spanish and English speaking and it will be understood that Hispanics can be of many races. It will also be understood that Asians are not all the same: Filipinos are different from Chinese and while they have some overlapping cultural values, there are differences that are worth understanding
In fact, mainstream culture in itself is a contradiction, items such as food that are considered o be “all American” have their roots in other cultures and are the result of immigrants taking these things with them from their homelands, superstars such as Halle Berry, Vin Diesel, Mariah Carey and Alicia Keys appear on the covers of main stream magazines almost as much as non-Hispanic stars, platinum selling and Grammy award winning artistes such as 50 cent, Eminem and Rihanna have given birth to a generation where music has transcended race and though branded as American, is a composite of cultures across the world and represents the new mainstream.
What I mean to say is this, the general market can no longer be seen as non- Hispanic whites, nor can we take it for granted that their values are the same. The new mainstream is a mosaic consisting of people of all races who have grown into a culture that has roots in many different cultures. Their values reflect this, their consumption reflect this and marketing communication will also need to reflect this.

Segmentation of the multicultural market as has been established will need to go beyond race or ethnicity since multiculturalism itself is so wide. As cited in Rao (2006), multiculturalism encompasses race, nationalism, gender, ethnicity, sexuality as well as philosophical and political ideologies. Multiculturalism also includes religious beliefs, the growing Jewish and Moslem community who have come to represent increasingly powerful and distinct consumer groups; the disabled population is another segment that adds to the diversity of the multicultural landscape.
Culture. This covers a broad range of factors such as religion, education, and language, which are easy to measure, and aesthetic preferences of the society that are much harder to comprehend. Hofstede's classification scheme proposes five cultural dimensions for classifying countries: Individualism vs. Collectivism, Power Distance (PD), Uncertainty Avoidance (UA), Masculinity vs. Femininity, and Strategic Orientation (long-term vs. short-term). For example, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Great Britain, and Ireland form one cluster that is medium-high On Individualism and high on Masculinity. These cultural characteristics signify the preference for "high performance" products and a "successful achiever" theme in advertising.
The changing and diverse population in the United States presents a continual challenge for marketers. Products must be uniquely adapted and modified to meet the expectations, and satisfaction, of the various consumer segments. This provides an exceptional opportunity in the service sector. The nature of services and its "inseparability" from the provider offer the chance to target minority markets, allowing for and delivering to their respective characteristics, e.g., values, norms, and behavior.

Psychographic segmentation divides consumers on the basis of difference in lifestyle, attitude, interest, and opinions.

Socio-cultural segmentation divides consumers on the basis of culture, sub-culture, cross-culture, religion, social class, and family life cycle 1. Culture itself 2. Acculturation 3. Vals2 4. behavioral segmentation:
A more focused form of market segmentation that groups consumers based on specific behavioral patterns they display when making purchasing decisions enabling producers to adapt their marketing approach to specific groups. Grouping patterns may include such behaviors as spending, consumption, life style, usage, and desired benefits.

The distinction between country and culture as a unit of analysis has managerial implications in global marketing, in which organizations must effectively distinguish between vertical market segments, which exist within national borders or a region (i.e., cross-national analysis), and horizontal market segments, which exist across a group of countries that share certain characteristics (i.e., cross-cultural analysis). Thus, international market segmentation must address the possibility of behavioral heterogeneity and homogeneity within and across countries and cultures. Cultural groups and phenomena across countries are subject to global culture’s continual influence, which reshapes individuals’ “personal” cultures, thereby strengthening the etic validity of horizontal global segments. If cultures and values of the various locales of the world are indeed converging (Ralston 2008), horizontal market segments should become increasingly prevalent, and global marketing strategies should become more similar across nations.
More so than any election in the past, the data suggests that Hispanic and Asian Americans will have an important and ever-growing impact on the political landscape of this country. Here in California Hispanic's are 38%, Asians 13% and African Americans are a little over 6%. This compares with 32%, 11% and 6% respectively in 2000. With Hispanic and Asian populations increasing all over the US this is an entrepreneurial marketers dream! For the first time you will see more segmentation among pollsters. What presidential candidates, Democrat or Republican are favored by Latinos/Hispanics? (Don't be fooled! You can't lump California, Texas, Florida and other states together!)

In 2012, multicultural marketing will continue to migrate toward digital assignments. The declining cost of smart phones and other mobile devices will make them more accessible to everyone, and the result will be substantially higher usage. Multicultural consumers already show higher usage than the overall market in accessing the Internet through mobile devices. Marketers must understand that optimizing digital messaging for mobile devices is key to reaching these consumers.

The African American Market
"Black Still Matters: Why Increasing Your Cultural IQ About Black America is Critical to the Survival of Your Brand" by Pepper Miller Boyd (Paramountbooks.com) sets the marketing outlook for 2012. Key decision makers in CPG or Pharma brand categories, financial services, chain or independent retailers, and federal agencies should know "Black Still Matters." Effectively reach these consumers through proven grassroots cultural connections: churches, beauty salons, barbershops, neighborhood venues, community based retailers, (large and small chains) and black media, (traditional and social).
-------------------------------------------------
For consumer product makers Consumer Acculturation is the acquisition of the consumer traits of the host culture and the maintenance of the consumer traits of the culture of origin.
-------------------------------------------------

Other pointers: 1. Minority cultures would adapt to a majority culture and its perceptions about time, space, concept of self and others. 2. Societies could be Monochronic (M-time) or Polychronic (P-Time). M-time do one thing at a time which is according to a set schedule. P-time societies would involve other people who can do several tasks at the same time, easily change preset schedules and seldom experience time as ‘wasted’. M-timers values time, logic and reasoning (people standing in queue example). P-timers value people. 3. Pakistanis would give more respect to a woman in a queue and would offer their place to her whereas Americans would to the opposite i.e. everyone will wait for his/er turn. 4. For most Asians cyclicity of time holds more value whereas for Christians, life ends when you die and your fate will be decided on the Judgment day. a. Americans would prefer doing everything they can in this life (entrepreneurial culture). 5. Cyclicity of time is also affected by nature. For example Chinese year of Monkey starts many days after the Gregorian calendar (followed by us). Chinese celebrate these years with full enthusiasm in their home country whereas its totally different in the host country 6. Almost all of the cultures of the world celebrate New Year (based on Gregorian calendar) here is where they share a common culture 7. Example: South Asians celebrating and enjoying discounts at Thanks Giving. 8. Americans don’t have holidays for Eid-ul-Azha/Fitar because their culture is in Majority. Muslims celebrate Eid at work there. 9. Americans and other Christian nations don’t slaughter animals (chicken and goat to be specific) the Muslim way because there animals have value and they enjoy rights.