Now this blog is about group conformity. This is one of the most prominant human effects that we have on each other in our day to day lives. It can be quite umourous the way that we go to absolute extremes just to conform with each other and to be part of a group.
This is often thought of as something that young people do and we grow out of it however it is not true at all. I have no shame in admitting that I conform to various things in my everyday life including the latest fashions (well I try) the 'in' music even down to what I buy in a supermarket. The other day I was in Sansbury's and as I was picking up a certain brand of washing up liquid she picked up another and said "this ones better" in a stern and 'don't mess with me' kind of voice so did I stick to my guns and get good old fairy... no of course not I conformed and got the cheaper and apparently 'better' Sainsburys own which I have since found out it is not better however I know for a fact that if I were confronted with the same situation again I would buy what I was told and conform. It's Ridiculous isnt it!
In terms of Music I personally hate Dub Step which unfortunately is currently experiancing a renaissance and therefore I have to put up with it. When I was arranging my group event during the meeting with our venue manager when talking about the music playing at the venue when one of the group memebers shouted Dub Step I wanted to cry. That was obviously kept well under wraps though as I sat there smiling and nodding and minding my p's and q's in front of the venue manager until we got outside and I gave dear old Stevie a right talking to! No way jose would I have said anything at all whilst in the meeting and yet again just sat there and conformed. Afterwards it seems stupid but it happens more often that you think.
Sticking with the subject of music Jennifer Lopez has a new song out and again I hate it! Since when has being a talent show judge meant having number 1 hits even if the music is crap.... woops anyway.... moving things along when out and about and as it comes on everyone cheers do I stand there with a face like a slapped backside... Nooo definately not I wave my hands in the air like I just dont care and sing along to the worst lyrics in the world at the top of my lungs. I mean would you honestly go against everyone and look like a weirdo... Thought Not.
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsPvRtQIKG0&feature=related
This video shows conformity whilst linking in with groups. Each of us has to fit into a specific group and conform to the rules that are set by that particular group in order to be accepted. As this video shows the character that is narrating believes that the group she belongs to is the best and this is often the case. For example when I see The Only Way Is Essex on the TV whilst I am aware that walking a Micro Pig in a forest on a lead is not normal behaviour the rest of the show isnt exactly 'abnormal' in my opinion anyway whereas everyone and there dog in High Wycombe believes it's ridiculous and if I get greeted with 'oh my god you're from Essex... I'm gonna tell my daughter i've met an Essex boy like that show' once more whilst working I may have to punch them in the face. At this rate they might as well put me in a Museum. This is I guess however due to the fact that I have conformed in some way to how things are done in Essex and therefore to me it's not all crazy. This can be linked to Culture as certain places or areas have cultures that people adhere to.
According to a study performed by Gerard Keegan the main reason that we conform is 'To convey a good impression of him/herself'. This really does ring true as in the supermarket I didnt want an old lady to think I was being horrible by not listening to her.....
So there you have it we conform because we are too nice..... and they say people these days are selfish. I guess it just shows you.
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
Friday, 1 April 2011
Cultural differences
So, have you ever wondered why you find something funny and the person next to you just doesnt? Well that could be one of two reasons.... Maybe they are simply from a different culture and therefore see things differently and find other things funny. The other explanation would be that they were German. (That was a joke..... oh dear swiftly moving on)
Culture can be defined as many things. Clifford Geertz defines it as simply 'The total way of life of a people'. This can be taken and explained in many real life situations and personally I have experianced different culture in the workplace as I have worked for the high street store Next since 2008. This was in a large store in Essex in a large shopping Centre. Since coming to University I have transferred to the High Wycombe branch and the culture is certainly different. Although it is based in a shopping centre it is nowhere near as busy and therefore the way things are done reflect that. The attitude is far more laid back and staff are well...... lazy. This would simply not be tolerated at the previous store and it did take a while for me to adjust to this new culture and new way of working, I still find myself doing things quicker than other people - and thats not me saying i'm better because i'm not its just the way I have been use to working and therefore the attitude and culture that I have difffers slightly to the other workers.
Men and Women often have different cultures and beliefs. The woman for example believes she's right and the man lets her believe it to get an easy life. I have touched on this previously in my blog about men and women's differences and there has been extensive resarch done on these differences which is extremely interesting.
Culture could also be defined as someones religion and belief system. Different religions believe in different things are have different values. For example certain religions don't eat pork as this is their belief. Certain religions don't believe men and women are equal and if my nan were still around and she knew that I was planning to eat meat on the upcoming good Friday there would be some serious issues! (Sorry Nan) This is all fine though as long as there is an acceptance between these religions and they at least acknowledge and respect other religious views. There is an on-going debate in the UK currently that the different cultures in this country are segregated from one another and it leads to an un-healthy atmosphere in communities or in the workplace. Although there are different cultures these days in communities this has always been an issue as the North of the country often have issues with the South of the country and vice versa. For example when my flatmate who heralds from the dark and mysterious Sunderland first ordered Chips with cheese and Gravy I did not believe my ears. 'That's just ridiculous' I believe were my words... I'd like to tell you her words but I wont go there. In my head that was just wrong however i'm sure that if I go to Sunderland with the Essex accent I pocess i'm sure there will be questions such as 'is everyone like that TV program' which I get on a regular basis anyway thanks to the unfortunately brilliant Only Way Is Essex. In my opinion therefore as long as their is an understanding between different cultures whether it is religious or otherwise I don't see it being a problem in either communities or the workplace.
Culture can be defined as many things. Clifford Geertz defines it as simply 'The total way of life of a people'. This can be taken and explained in many real life situations and personally I have experianced different culture in the workplace as I have worked for the high street store Next since 2008. This was in a large store in Essex in a large shopping Centre. Since coming to University I have transferred to the High Wycombe branch and the culture is certainly different. Although it is based in a shopping centre it is nowhere near as busy and therefore the way things are done reflect that. The attitude is far more laid back and staff are well...... lazy. This would simply not be tolerated at the previous store and it did take a while for me to adjust to this new culture and new way of working, I still find myself doing things quicker than other people - and thats not me saying i'm better because i'm not its just the way I have been use to working and therefore the attitude and culture that I have difffers slightly to the other workers.
Men and Women often have different cultures and beliefs. The woman for example believes she's right and the man lets her believe it to get an easy life. I have touched on this previously in my blog about men and women's differences and there has been extensive resarch done on these differences which is extremely interesting.
Culture could also be defined as someones religion and belief system. Different religions believe in different things are have different values. For example certain religions don't eat pork as this is their belief. Certain religions don't believe men and women are equal and if my nan were still around and she knew that I was planning to eat meat on the upcoming good Friday there would be some serious issues! (Sorry Nan) This is all fine though as long as there is an acceptance between these religions and they at least acknowledge and respect other religious views. There is an on-going debate in the UK currently that the different cultures in this country are segregated from one another and it leads to an un-healthy atmosphere in communities or in the workplace. Although there are different cultures these days in communities this has always been an issue as the North of the country often have issues with the South of the country and vice versa. For example when my flatmate who heralds from the dark and mysterious Sunderland first ordered Chips with cheese and Gravy I did not believe my ears. 'That's just ridiculous' I believe were my words... I'd like to tell you her words but I wont go there. In my head that was just wrong however i'm sure that if I go to Sunderland with the Essex accent I pocess i'm sure there will be questions such as 'is everyone like that TV program' which I get on a regular basis anyway thanks to the unfortunately brilliant Only Way Is Essex. In my opinion therefore as long as their is an understanding between different cultures whether it is religious or otherwise I don't see it being a problem in either communities or the workplace.
Friday, 25 February 2011
I'm so down with the kids.... not
This weeks blog is on Generation Marketing. This is when a product is aimed at a certain generation, various methods are used when doing this such as Nostalgia; Values; culture and gender roots.
Every generation has its own identity and something which they as a whole can relate to. For example Generation X which usually involves people born in the 1960's to roughly 1982 love the Beatles and the police (the band that is, no one likes the real police!) Now you may think this is a generalisation and there will definitely be exceptions to the rule however during that time period Sir Paul McCartney was the closest thing to God and so you can bet your life that at every party that had a hint of cool about it would have had The Beatles playing. This is much the same as nowadays going into a party and not hearing Rihanna - That's just not normal is it? 'ooh nah nah whats my name' sorry flashbacks of last night; I'm digressing however the point is that if Mr Marketer wants to make those people that come under generation X feel good about a product and would want them to buy this it may cross their mind to play some 'Hey Jude' in the background. This would link into some Nostalgia and could give a product a helping hand in getting into those tricky consumers brains..... scary isn't it! Even more so if you remember that women do the shopping mostly and therefore you don't just have to get a place in any brain.... its a women's...... Now they are really really scary. Poor bloke he's going to need all the help he can get.
As mentioned above culture has a large impact on generations and therefore marketers have to keep this in mind. Now in the 60's something of a social revolution took place - so I'm told anyway I'm to young to know what that means. I believe they called it the 'swinging sixties'.... not sure if that sounds magical or disturbing to be honest but we shall plough on nonetheless. This time represented a change in attitude among this generation and everything was much more care free and open. The most famous Marilyn Monroe picture was of her in the dress that was flowing effortlessly in the wind This I believe represents so much more than just an attractive women in a nice dress but the whole attitude of a generation. Everything was flowing in whatever way it wanted and for the first time thats the way it was suppose to be. This therefore must be reflected when marketing and advertising towards Generation X. Everything must seem care free and just a little bit rebellious. This generation is also known as the baby boomers and therefore they like sex as well. So why not play the sex card when advertising as well? Sex sells doesnt it?
Another way of looking at marketing to generaation X would be to play the 'children' card. Because they were known as baby boomers the majority of this generation had two or three kids. Therefore now they are older and their kids probably have kids they may feel as though they have lost that part of their belonging (or not as the case may be) they therefore need something to fill all of their time and they may want to get away on a cruise and this cruise company may feel compelled to mention the fact that there will be no children on this cruise? - Just a thought.
Generation Y on the other hand are viewed in a different way and therefore should be advertised to in a different way also. They are generally people born in the 1980's and 90's however this may vary depending on who you ask. This generation for many is more difficult to pin down as the emmergence of digital technology has really taken effect. This means that with such a wide array of things in the digital universe and with the carefree attitude of generation X carried down even more so there really are limited things that will cover the whole generation. This is not just because of the diversity between the attitufdes but also the ethnic diversity. The UK is far more ethnically diverse than it ever has been again meaning that each race and culture will have their own ways and value systems. So is generation marketing over? Is it now an impossibility for Mr Marketer to lump together a whole generation of people? Apparently not but you need to do it in a segmented way, appealing to different bands of people within our generation. 'Appeal to our ego, our parents, AND THEN our senses'. That is the comment made by a 23 year old media professional from the United States who believes that we have to be shocked and our attention grabbed bfore the traditional marketing methods of appealing to our senses can take place. This may explain why techniques such as Flash Mobs are being used more frequently?
There is a sub section to generation Y that are called 'the i pod' generation, this is because they have grown up completely with things such as I pod's and technology in general at their beckoning call. They are the younger members of generation Y. I'm not sure whether i feature in this section or not however I have decided that I am down with kids and that I am going to plant myself in the I pod generation. After all I own an I pod and invartiably listen to it everyday... I also have a laptop and as a student I use that everyday.... oh wait so does my dad.... ok maybe i'm not in the I Pod generation then... its really an unknown entity as the debate as to the age of consumers that grew up completely with technology rages on. Without a doubt the biggest development for generation Y has been technology and how integrated this has become in our day to day lives. I mean technology is so trusted that the London Stock Market is run on a new computer system that would never go wrong....... oops. Marketers have had to become open to all sorts of digital ways to market to generation Y as that is how their lives are lived. Having Coca-Cola or Tesco as a Facebook friend is common place nowadays..... err just me then.
Because marketers do have to break generation's into sub groups now they may consider doing this for gender. This has been going on for years but has become more prominant nowadays as both Men and Women are pretty much equals in terms of the world therefore women are not just aimed at when advertising a new hoover like they may have been bofore but they are aimed at for everything including breakdown cover.
This is the same for men, they are no longer always rugid and just want a ploughmans for lunch - oh no they want style and sophistication and they want delicately put together wraps with organic ingredients- man sized portions of the stuff obviosuly. This is something that marketers have to take into account when aiming at generation Y as for the most part people care about their appearence more.
It is really difficult to market towards a whole generation however it can still be done. Just in a more spiradic way. Just wait until generation Z hits full flow....
Every generation has its own identity and something which they as a whole can relate to. For example Generation X which usually involves people born in the 1960's to roughly 1982 love the Beatles and the police (the band that is, no one likes the real police!) Now you may think this is a generalisation and there will definitely be exceptions to the rule however during that time period Sir Paul McCartney was the closest thing to God and so you can bet your life that at every party that had a hint of cool about it would have had The Beatles playing. This is much the same as nowadays going into a party and not hearing Rihanna - That's just not normal is it? 'ooh nah nah whats my name' sorry flashbacks of last night; I'm digressing however the point is that if Mr Marketer wants to make those people that come under generation X feel good about a product and would want them to buy this it may cross their mind to play some 'Hey Jude' in the background. This would link into some Nostalgia and could give a product a helping hand in getting into those tricky consumers brains..... scary isn't it! Even more so if you remember that women do the shopping mostly and therefore you don't just have to get a place in any brain.... its a women's...... Now they are really really scary. Poor bloke he's going to need all the help he can get.
As mentioned above culture has a large impact on generations and therefore marketers have to keep this in mind. Now in the 60's something of a social revolution took place - so I'm told anyway I'm to young to know what that means. I believe they called it the 'swinging sixties'.... not sure if that sounds magical or disturbing to be honest but we shall plough on nonetheless. This time represented a change in attitude among this generation and everything was much more care free and open. The most famous Marilyn Monroe picture was of her in the dress that was flowing effortlessly in the wind This I believe represents so much more than just an attractive women in a nice dress but the whole attitude of a generation. Everything was flowing in whatever way it wanted and for the first time thats the way it was suppose to be. This therefore must be reflected when marketing and advertising towards Generation X. Everything must seem care free and just a little bit rebellious. This generation is also known as the baby boomers and therefore they like sex as well. So why not play the sex card when advertising as well? Sex sells doesnt it?
Another way of looking at marketing to generaation X would be to play the 'children' card. Because they were known as baby boomers the majority of this generation had two or three kids. Therefore now they are older and their kids probably have kids they may feel as though they have lost that part of their belonging (or not as the case may be) they therefore need something to fill all of their time and they may want to get away on a cruise and this cruise company may feel compelled to mention the fact that there will be no children on this cruise? - Just a thought.
Generation Y on the other hand are viewed in a different way and therefore should be advertised to in a different way also. They are generally people born in the 1980's and 90's however this may vary depending on who you ask. This generation for many is more difficult to pin down as the emmergence of digital technology has really taken effect. This means that with such a wide array of things in the digital universe and with the carefree attitude of generation X carried down even more so there really are limited things that will cover the whole generation. This is not just because of the diversity between the attitufdes but also the ethnic diversity. The UK is far more ethnically diverse than it ever has been again meaning that each race and culture will have their own ways and value systems. So is generation marketing over? Is it now an impossibility for Mr Marketer to lump together a whole generation of people? Apparently not but you need to do it in a segmented way, appealing to different bands of people within our generation. 'Appeal to our ego, our parents, AND THEN our senses'. That is the comment made by a 23 year old media professional from the United States who believes that we have to be shocked and our attention grabbed bfore the traditional marketing methods of appealing to our senses can take place. This may explain why techniques such as Flash Mobs are being used more frequently?
There is a sub section to generation Y that are called 'the i pod' generation, this is because they have grown up completely with things such as I pod's and technology in general at their beckoning call. They are the younger members of generation Y. I'm not sure whether i feature in this section or not however I have decided that I am down with kids and that I am going to plant myself in the I pod generation. After all I own an I pod and invartiably listen to it everyday... I also have a laptop and as a student I use that everyday.... oh wait so does my dad.... ok maybe i'm not in the I Pod generation then... its really an unknown entity as the debate as to the age of consumers that grew up completely with technology rages on. Without a doubt the biggest development for generation Y has been technology and how integrated this has become in our day to day lives. I mean technology is so trusted that the London Stock Market is run on a new computer system that would never go wrong....... oops. Marketers have had to become open to all sorts of digital ways to market to generation Y as that is how their lives are lived. Having Coca-Cola or Tesco as a Facebook friend is common place nowadays..... err just me then.
Because marketers do have to break generation's into sub groups now they may consider doing this for gender. This has been going on for years but has become more prominant nowadays as both Men and Women are pretty much equals in terms of the world therefore women are not just aimed at when advertising a new hoover like they may have been bofore but they are aimed at for everything including breakdown cover.
This is the same for men, they are no longer always rugid and just want a ploughmans for lunch - oh no they want style and sophistication and they want delicately put together wraps with organic ingredients- man sized portions of the stuff obviosuly. This is something that marketers have to take into account when aiming at generation Y as for the most part people care about their appearence more.
It is really difficult to market towards a whole generation however it can still be done. Just in a more spiradic way. Just wait until generation Z hits full flow....
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
I'm a nice guy....... most of the time
This weeks blog is on Values. These can vary for different people and can depend on Religion; the way they were raised; Their environment and previous experiances.
Now for me personally when asked to list the three most important things to me that I value the most I went for Family; Friends and Money.
The first two suggest i am a very well respected and grounded person who cares for there loved ones and then i hit you right in the face with Money. I mean lets face it without money you are kind of stuck aernt you?
You cant go on Holiday - and the way this countries climate is that is DEFINATELY a bad thing. You cant buy a nice car - Which means you will have to invest in an AA membership and be laughed at when your on the road side pretending to be 'taking a break from driving' when really yoiu are waiting for Bob to come and tell you that your engines bust and you need to get rid of the scrapheap that you drive.
There are some people that say they'd rather be happy than have lots of money. They are LIARS! (in my opinion anyway) Money makes you happy as all of the things that you cant do without money you can do when you have got money. Its not really that difficult to work out is it. You ask Richard Bransan if he would give all his money to charity and i know what the answer will be. I can just picture it him lying on his own private island and saying'yeah alright, ive worked hard for this empire but sure i'll give it all away'. He may feel good about himself for a couple of weeks but when the novelty factor wares off he will be craving the lifestyle that money and power gives him.
This is my own creation that kind of throws the convential values out of the window but I believe it rings true....
=
+
+
+
=
HAPPINESS!!!
This is the best theory I have learnt since being at Uni thats for sure. It's really true to life and there are no real counter theories. This is how it works..... end of Story!
As i mentioned earlier our values can be changed by our experiances. When I got thinking about this i started to make a list of how famous events that have happened in my life time may have effected me and my values.
I will warn you there are quite a few and i shall start with the earliest that i remember and work my way up.
The first International event that i remember happening was the death of Princess Diana. I will always remember this day as although i was still fairly young i remember it being August 31st which is my Brothers birthday and us all as a family sitting in the living room and looking at my brother opening his presents (dont worry i cant remember what he got). My mum then turned the TV on and saw the news. I remember her utter shock at the news and she was sitting there staring at the TV with her hand over her mouth for a good 10 minutes. Being young still myslef i didnt quite understand the magnitude of the news but i remember being incredibly concerned about my mum and her reaction. This I suppose in reflection bought my family higher up my values list.
Secondly I remember the twin towers collapsing. Again I was fairly young so I didnt realise the enormity of the situation, however again I used the people around me's reaction to gauge how serious the event was. At school the following day we had a special Assembly where the local vicar came in and we all said a prayer for the victims and their families. I knew it was serious as the vicar doesnt get out of bed for nothing. This made me more aware of the world and made me value life itself more as there were so many people that had been killed in these attacks and therefore it detracted my attentions away from the more material things such as money and fame (which by the way I was convinced was going to be my fortay - being famous that is; exactly what i have and had to offer for that matter I've no idea)
On a lighter note I remember the World Cup of 2002 in Korea as my uncle actually got tickets and was out there for the whole tournament. I therefore convinced myslef that i'd seen him on the TV at least three times a match - Once I was convinced I was with him which on reflection is impossible but trying to tell myslef that would have fallen on deaf ears. I remember going into school early one morning as England were playing and the school was showing the match. That walk to school will probably always be in my memory as everywhere you look there were my friends walking with flags, cars going past racing home to get to the TV. Mum's and Dads come to think of it (they must have developed a fever or something - I think they call it world cup fever) briskly walking their little angels to school so they could get home and turn on the box themselves. Just a general feeling of anticipation and nervousness yet a celebration. Obviously it was the bogey stage of the tournament that England cannot seem to get past (the quarter finals) sure enough Michael Owen slotted a beaut past the goal keeper putting England 1-0 ahead at half time. The atmosphere in the school hall was palpable..... will they wont they? - can they? Obviously they ended up losing to Brazil 2-1 and the atmosphere.... well it went sour. Being a primary school attending male footbll was my life and as far as i was concerned and the other 14 boys in my class were as well. This might sound quite far fetched and hollywood but there was a feeling of comradory in the classroom that day. A sort of 'it will be alright' attitude..... oh they were the days - biggest issue was football... oh dear. Because of this though Friends suddenly became very important as we were all dissapointed but we all played football against the younger years in the playground and obviously we were England and we won the world cup so all was forgiven by Lunch time... At the time though we all helped each other through a very difficult time - i mean it was really tough - What? - I'm being serious!
Fast forward a few years and we get to the Recession - At this point i was at Secondary School and therefore thought I knew everything. Therefore when i got home one day and my mum was ironing (don't worry it gets better) she was in tears. I thought i'd done something wrong at school (she took things like that very seriously) then I looked at the TV that was on in the corner. Big Bold letters at the bottom of Sky News said 'LEHMAN BROTHERS GOES INTO LIQUIDATION'. My dad worked for Lehman Brothers and there was confusion as my mum couldnt get hold of my dad and therefore she thought he'd lost his job. All of a sudden (this sounds very shallow) but I thought 'oh no what about that Holiday'. It turned out that because of my dads role he was needed while they sorted the debts out so he was given a contract for a further year. The future however was still uncertain and I definately noticed the difference with my parents and the purse strings. I being a teenager didnt understand this at all but it definately had an affect on the way I view money and weather it is as important as i originally thought. My dad ended up staying on in the same building which is in Canary Wharf with Canary Wharf limited so he actually never lost his job really but it taught me a lesson to not to take things for granted and to not be quite so single minded as I looking back now I realise that my Mum was genuinely scared which again makes me think of Family rather than money more in my list of values
So there you have it! My values have been shaped by various things that have gone on in the world. As the time you don't think your affected but looking back you certainly are. Values are very personal and are not good or bad. I tried to find a song that repesents values. I did find it difficult if im honest but i came up with 'Bring it All Back' by S Club 7. Yes I know what you're thinking and yes it is cheesy but also tradgically catchy. It kind of explains how life can shape values and how 'life is sent to try you' and just be who you are with your own beliefs and values. Enjoy and on that rather embarrasing note i'm going for my dinner!
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