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SOCIAL CLASS MOBILITY

1. Individuals can move either up or down in social class standing from the class position held
by their parents.
2. Most Americans think of upward mobility.
a) This results in the upper classes being the reference group for many ambitious men and
women in America.
b) Recognizing these aspirations, marketers frequently incorporate higher-class symbols
into their advertising.
3. Social class mobility also contributes to products and services filtering down from a higher
level to a lower one.
*****Use Key Term upward mobility Here; Use Learning Objective #10.8 Here*****

SOME SIGNS OF DOWNWARD MOBILITY

1. There are signs of some downward mobility.

2. Some young adults will find it very difficult to “do better” than their parents, and may not do
as well as their mothers and fathers.
3. Researchers have found that the odds that young men’s income will reach middle-class levels
by the time they reach their thirtieth birthday have been slowly declining.

*****Use Key Term downward mobility Here*****

IS HORATIO ALGER DEAD?

1. There is a growing body of evidence that social mobility in America is not what it used to be.
2. Income inequality is rising to levels not seen since the 1880s.
3. There are signs that social mobility is falling.
4. Americans are no more or less likely to rise above or fall below, their parents’ economic
class than they were 35 years ago.

GEODEMOGRAPHIC CLUSTERING

1. Traditional social class measures have been enhanced by the linkage of geographic and
socioeconomic consumer data to create more powerful geodemographic clusters.
2. The underlying rationale for geodemographic clustering is that “birds of a feather flock
together.”
3. One popular clustering service is PRIZM.
a) This service assigns every one of the U.S. micro neighborhoods (zip + 4 areas) to one of
66 PRIZM clusters.
b) These are collapsed into 14 social groups (that reflect the extent of wealth and a kind of
geographic density or “urbanicity” continuum) and also some 11 lifestage groups (that
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reflect the extent of wealth and©life-age
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c) Marketers can superimpose these geodemographic clusters onto product and service
usage data, media exposure data, and lifestyle data to create a sharply defined picture of
their target markets.

*****Use Key Terms geodemographic clusters and PRIZM Here; Use Learning Objective
#10.9 Here; Use Discussion Question #7 Here; Use Table #10.13Here; Use Figure
#10.10 Here*****

THE AFFLUENT CONSUMER

1. Affluent households are attractive target segments because its members have incomes that
provide them with a disproportionately larger share of all discretionary income.
2. The wealth of Americans grew dramatically during the 1990s partially due to the longest bull
market in U.S. history.
3. While the affluent market is most often defined by income or net worth, on research study
explored this market to examine whether such a definition was sufficient.
4. The study proposed than an operational definition of affluent should also include both
lifestyle and psychographic factors because the heads of affluent households have a tendency
to behave and think affluent. .
5. For over 30 years, Ipsos Mendelsohn (formerly Mendelsohn Media Research) has conducted
an annual study of the affluent market—currently defined in terms of three
affluent segments:
a) Those with household incomes of $100,000 to $149,000 per year—the “least affluent.”
b) Those with incomes of $150,000 to $249,000 per year—the “medium affluent.”
c) Those with incomes of $250,000 or more per year—the “most affluent.”
6. Although the affluent market consists of only 20 percent of all households, this upscale
market accounted for over half of all U.S. household income.
7. The first two segments of affluent consumer spend ample amounts purchasing a wide variety
of products, but the “most affluent” purchasers spend significantly more.
8. Still further, a growing subcategory of the affluent are millionaires.
a) Approximately 3 million individuals or families have a net worth of at least $1 million.
*****Use Key Term affluent market Here; Use Learning Objective #10.10 Here;
Use Discussion Question #8 Here; Use Figures #10.11, #10.12 and #10.13 Here*****

THE MEDIA EXPOSURE OF THE AFFLUENT CONSUMER

1. Media habits of the affluent differ from those of the general population
2. Those homes with an income of more than $100,000 a year view less TV than less affluent
households.
3. They read 8 different publications, listen to 11.3 hours of weekday radio, and watch 19.5
hours of TV per week.
a) 95 percent view cable TV.

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*****Use Table #10.14 Here*****

SEGMENTING THE AFFLUENT MARKET

1. The affluent market is not one single market.

a) Affluent consumers do not share the same lifestyles.
2. In an effort to isolate distinct segments, Mediamark Research, Inc. has developed the
following affluent market-segmentation scheme for the Upper Deck consumers (the top 10
percent of households in terms of incomes):
a) Well-feathered nests—households that have at least one high-income earner
and
children present. (37.3 percent of the Upper Deck).
b) No strings attached—households that have at least one high-income earner and no
children. (35.1 percent of the Upper Deck).
c) Nanny’s in charge—households that have two or more earners, neither earning high
incomes, and children present. (8.3 percent of the Upper Deck).
d) Two careers—households that have two or more earners, neither earning high incomes
and no children present. (9.4 percent of the Upper Deck).
e) The good life—households that have a high degree of affluence with no
person
employed, or with the head-of-household not employed. (10.0 percent of the Upper
Deck)
3. MRI provides its clients with profiles of users of a variety of goods and services frequently
targeted to the affluent consumer and specifically to five segments of the upper deck.
*****Use Table #10.15 Here*****

MIDDLE-CLASS CONSUMERS

1. It is not easy to define the borders of what is meant by “middle class.”

2. Middle market has been defined as the “middle” 50 percent of household incomes – that is
about 57 million households earning between $25,000 and $85,000.
3. For many marketers, “middle class” can be thought of as including households that range
from lower-middle to middle-middle class.
4. The dynamic nature of social class in the United States has been working against the middle
class.
5. There is mounting evidence that the “middle class” is shrinking in America.
6. This is not true in other countries, where the middle class is increasing.

*****Use Learning Objective #10.11 Here*****

THE EMERGING CHINESE MIDDLE CLASS

1. Some observers predict that China will become the biggest consumer marketplace on the
planet by 2020, other feel that this could occur by 2012.

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2. It has been reported that “Chinese consumers are driven more and more by their desire for
social status, which is reflected in their buying behaviors, particularly with respect to
products positioned as status symbols.

MOVING UP TO “NEAR” LUXURIES

1. Adding to the challenge of defining “middle class” is the reality that luxury and technological
products have been becoming more affordable for most consumers and, therefore, more
middleclass consumers have access to products and brand that were once considered beyond
their reach.
2. Recently there has been an increasing interest n midlevel consumer seeking out more status
upscale brands.

THE WORKING CLASS AND OTHER NONAFFLUENT CONSUMERS

1. Although many marketers go after the affluent, the size and income of the working-class or
blue-collar group make them an important target market.
2. Lower-income, or downscale consumers are households earning $35,000 or less.
3. Downscale consumers are more brand loyal than wealthier consumers because they can less
afford to make mistakes in switching to unfamiliar brands.
4. Marketers need to be sensitive to the reality that downscale consumers often spend a higher
percentage of their available incomes on food than do their middle-class counterparts.
a) Food is an important purchase area for low-income consumers because it represent an
are of “indulgence.”
*****Use Key Term downscale consumers Here; Use Learning Objective #10.12 Here *****

RECOGNIZING THE "TECHNO-CLASS"

1. The degree of literacy, familiarity, and competency with technology, especially computers
and the Internet, appears to be a new basis for a kind of “class standing,” or status or prestige.
2. Those who are unfamiliar or lack computer skills are being referred to as “technological
underclassed.”
3. Not wanting to see their children left out of the “sweep of computer technology,” parents in
all social-class groupings are seeking out early computer exposure for their children.
4. Consumers throughout the world have come to believe that it is critical to acquire a
functional understanding of computers in order to ensure that they do not become obsolete or
hinder themselves socially or professionally.
5. It appears that those without necessary computer skills will increasingly find themselves to
be “underclassed” and “disadvantaged.”
*****Use Learning Objective #10.13 Here*****

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THE GEEK GET STATUS

1. “Geek” is now often viewed by peers as “friendly and fun.”

2. The increasingly positive image of geeks has made them and their lifestyles the target of
marketers’ messages designed to appeal to their appetite for novel technological products.

*****Use Figure #10.14 Here*****

SELECTED CONSUMER BEHAVIOR APPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL CLASS

Social-class profiles provide a broad picture of the values, attitudes, and behavior that distinguish
the members of various social classes.

*****Use Learning Objective #10.14 Here*****

CLOTHING, FASHION, AND SHOPPING

1. Most people dress to fit their self-images, which include their perceptions of their own social
class membership.
2. Members of specific social classes differ in terms of what they consider fashionable or in
good taste.
a) Lower middle-class consumers have a strong preference for T-shirts, caps, and other
clothing that offer an external point of identification.
b) Upper-class consumers are likely to buy clothing that is free from such supporting
associations.
i) Upper-class consumers also seek clothing with a more subtle look.
3. Social class is also an important variable in determining where a consumer shops.
THE PURSUIT OF LEISURE

1. Social class membership is also closely related to the choice of recreational and leisure-time
activities.
a) Upper-class consumers are likely to attend the theater and concerts, to play bridge, and
to attend college football games.
b) Lower-class consumers tend to be avid television watchers and fishing enthusiasts, and
they enjoy drive-in movies and baseball games.
2. There appears to be a trend toward more spending on “experiences” that bring the family
together and less spending on “things.”
SAVING, SPENDING, AND CREDIT

1. Saving, spending, and credit card usage all seem to be related to social class standing.

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2. Upper-class consumers are more future-oriented and confident of their financial acumen;
they are more willing to invest in insurance, stocks, and real estate.
3. In comparison, lower-class consumers are generally more concerned with immediate
gratification; when they do save, they are primarily interested in safety and security.

*****Use Figure #10.15 Here*****

SOCIAL CLASS AND COMMUNICATION

1. Social class groupings differ in terms of their media habits and in how they transmit and
receive communications.
2. When it comes to describing their world, lower-class consumers tend to portray it in rather
personal and concrete terms, although middle-class consumers are able to describe their
experiences from a number of different perspectives.
3. Such variations in response indicate that middle-class consumers have a broader or more
general view of the world, although lower-class consumers tend to have a narrow or personal
view, seeing the world through their own immediate experiences.
4. Regional differences in terminology, choice of words and phrases, and patterns of usage also
tend to increase as we move down the social class ladder.
5. Selective exposure to various types of mass media differs by social class.
a) Higher social class members tend to prefer current events and drama, although lower-
class individuals tend to prefer soap operas, quiz shows, and situation comedies.
b) Higher-class consumers tend to have greater exposure to magazines and newspapers
than do their lower-class counterparts.
c) Lower-class consumers are likely to have greater exposure to publications
that
dramatize romance and the lifestyles of movie and television celebrities.
*****Use Exercise #4 Here*****

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. How does the family influence the consumer socialization of children? What role does
television play in consumer socialization?
The family influences the consumer socialization of its children by imparting values, beliefs,
attitudes and modes of behavior that relate to consumption through either direct instruction of
children, or indirectly as children imitate the behavior of other family members. It was found
that TV commercials have great influence on children. Thus, television advertising conveys
consumption-related values and is part of the consumer socialization of children. This role of
TV is important to both marketers and legislators because of the sometimes rather fine
distinction between what constitutes effective marketing and potentially harmful influence on
children.

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