The Family and Generational Cohorts

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Chapter 13
The Family and Generational Cohorts

• The Family and Generational Cohorts

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The family

• The Census Bureau defines family asTwo or more
  persons, related by blood, marriage, or adoption
  who reside together
• In the US today, 70 of the approximately 100
  million households are families
• Although all families are households, not all
  households are families
• Despite changes, the family remains the central
  institution in providing for the welfare of its
  members

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Types of families

• In Western society, three types of families
  dominate
• Married couples
• Nuclear families
• Extended families
• Single-parent families are increasing in number
  due to divorce and out-of-wedlock births
• In other cultures, different types of families
  dominate

4
Consumer socialization of children

• Process by which children acquire the skills,
  knowledge and attitudes necessary to function as
  consumers (consumption skills or consumer
  behavior norms)
• Preadolescents acquire skills by observing
  parents and older siblings
• Adolescents and teens more likely to see friends
  and peers as role models

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Family consumption roles

• Individuals in each family are the key decision
  makers
• Marketers need to know who in the family makes
  decisions in order to know whom to target
• Buying roles have changed significantly in recent
  times

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Eight roles in the family decision-making process

1. Influencers
2. Gatekeepers
3. Deciders
4. Buyers
5. Preparers
6. Users
7. Maintainers
8. Disposers

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• Number and identity of family members who fill
  these roles varies from family to family and from
  product to product
• Roles vary based on culture as well
• Marketers need to know which family members make
  which decisions in order to develop effective
  marketing strategies

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The family decision process

• Research identifies four categories of decision
  patterns
• Husband-dominated
• Wife-dominated
• Autonomic--each spouse makes an independent
  decision about half the time
• Syncratic--decisions are made jointly

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Figure 10.10 Husband-Wife Influence in Financial
Tasks and Decisions
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The family life cycle (FLC)

• A steady and predictable (at one time) series of
  stages that most families progress through
• FLC analysis enables marketers to segment
  families in terms of their current stage
• At each stage there are differences in earning
  power and unique needs and demands placed on
  family resources

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Traditional family life cycle

• Divided into five stages
• Bachelorhood
• Honeymooner
• Parenthood
• Post-parenthood
• Dissolution

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Nontraditional FLC stages

• Family households
• Childless couples
• Couples who marry later in life
• Couples who have children later in life
• Single parents I (divorced)
• Single parents II (child out of wedlock)
• Single parents III (adoption)
• Extended family (adult children return home or
  elderly parents move in)

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• Non-family households
• Unmarried couples (heterosexual or homosexual)
• Divorced persons (no children)
• Single persons (most are young)
• Widowed persons (most are elderly)

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Consumption in nontraditional families

• When households undergo status changes, they
  often undergo spontaneous changes in
  consumption-related preferences and thus become
  attractive targets for many marketers
• Divorce
• Boomerang kids
• Latchkey kids

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Generational marketing

• As we have seen, age is one method to segment and
  target a market
• As consumers age, their preferences and their
  access to resources change
• Age-related life transitions create demand for
  specialized goods and services

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Age cohorts

• Age also has meaning in terms of common
  experiences shared with others
• Groups of people who have grown up during
  specific time periods and share experiences,
  memories and symbols that translate into similar
  preference patterns

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The depression cohort

• Born 1912-1921
• Depression years remain the defining moment
• Risk averse
• Frugal
• Avoid debt
• Invest only in safest investment vehicles (e.g.,
  government bonds)

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World war II cohort

• Born between 1922 and 1927
• WWII is the defining moment of this generation
• Also influenced by the depression
• Financially conservative
• Risk averse
• Housing and health issues are important

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Baby boomers

• Individuals born between 1946 and 1964
• Huge segment 40 of adult population in the US
• Highly educated and thus affluent
• Represent 50 of those in professional and
  managerial occupations
• Represent more than 50 of those with a college
  degree or higher

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Consumer characteristics of boomers

• Tend to be consumption-oriented
• Willing to borrow to support life style
• Socially conscious and willing to spend extra for
  environmentally-friendly products
• Yuppies are a small but highly sought-after
  segment of this market
• Well off financially, well educated and in
  professional fields
• Often associated with expensive brand names
• As they age, shifting attention to physical
  fitness and travel

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Generation X (busters or slackers)

• People born (approximately) between 1965 and 1977
• 46 million in the US
• 21 of total population of US
• Children of divorce, day care and latchkeys
• Politically conservative with a whats in it for
  me attitude
• Many continue to live at home into their 20s and
  find good jobs hard to come by

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Marketing to Gen-Xers

• Newspaper advertising isnt effective
• The MTV generation
• MTV
• Fox television
• Comedy Central
• E!

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Teens (Generation Y)

• Substantial segment of the population in the US
  and abroad
• Enjoy enormous discretionary purchasing power
• Increasingly market savvy and involved with
  consumer culture
• As rate of single- and working-parent families
  increases, teens increasingly become primary
  shoppers for families
• Regularly go through rapid periods of physical,
  mental, social and emotional changes, generating
  rapidly evolving physical, self-expression and
  self-realization needs

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Children (Millenials and Generation Y)

• Children represent considerable market
  opportunities for those who can meet their
  distinct needs and cognitive competencies
• Greatest expenditures are in Food and beverages
  (including sugared cereals) Entertainment (toys,
  games, movies, music) Clothing
• Average child sees approximately 20,000
  television commercials a year
• Children as young as three recognize heavily
  advertised cartoon characters this recognition
  produces positive attitudes toward products
  associated with these characters
• Children are very brand conscious  

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Table 10.4 Noteworthy Nontraditional FLC Stages
Alternative FLC Stages
Definition/Commentary
Family Households
Childless couples
It is increasingly acceptable for married couples
to elect not to have children. Contributing
forces are more career-oriented married women and
delayed marriages.
Couples who marry later in life (in their late
30s or later)
More career-oriented men and women and greater
occurrence of couples living together. Likely to
have fewer or even no children.
Couples who have first child later in life (in
their late 30s or later)
Likely to have fewer children. Stress quality
lifestyle Only the best is good enough
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Table 10.4 continued
Alternative FLC Stages
Definition/Commentary
Family Households
Single parents I
High divorce rates (about 50) contribute to a
portion of single-parent households
Single parents II
Young man or woman who has one or more children
out of wedlock.
Single parents III
A single person who adopts one or more children.
Extended family
Young single-adult children who return home to
avoid the expenses of living alone while
establishing their careers. Divorced daughter or
son and grandchild(ren) return home to parents.
Frail elderly parents who move in with children.
Newlyweds living with in-laws.
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Table 10.4 continued
Alternative FLC Stages
Definition/Commentary
Nonfamily Households
Unmarried couples
Increased acceptance of heterosexual and
homosexual couples.
Divorced persons (no children)
High divorce rate contributes to dissolution of
households before children are born.
Single persons (most are young)
Primarily a result of delaying first marriage
also, men and women who never marry.
Widowed persons (most are elderly)
Longer life expectancy, especially for women
means more over-75 single-person households.
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Table 10.5 continued
Number of household by type in 1996
Distribution of Households by type
ALL HOUSEHOLDS
101,018
100.0
NONFAMILY HOUSEHOLDS
30,777
Living alone
25402
Female householders
14,861
14.7
Male householders
10,442
10.3 25.1
Living with others
5,375
Female householders
2,110
2.1
Male householders
3,266
3.2 5.3 30.5