Global Marketing and Consumer Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Global Marketing and Consumer Culture - Essay Example The emerging global consumer culture is pushing people to live under a single system. There exist variations between exposure to global flows and the extent to which people identify themselves with the mainstream global trends. Bicultural identities have been formed through globalization (Ritzer 2002). One aspect of the emerging culture is a robust connection with the traditional culture while the other is linked to the emerging global consumer culture. The global consumer culture has caused an enormous impact in cosmopolitan regions. Globalization has led to the need for marketers to standardize, localize or use hybrid strategies while promoting products and services. The differences between local and international markets are becoming minimal and the global culture continues to harmonize consumer expectations.Consumption is increasingly being perceived as a social behavior and a cultural complex (Merz et al 2008). Consumption is a complex social function that goes beyond mere purch ases. Therefore, consumption is affected by stimulus. The subculture of the consumers’ social ecosystem plays a central role in the process (Breckenridge 2002). The world appears to be turning into one enormous McDonalds dominated by multinationals, brands and nationalism. New local cultures are being created while traditional cultures are getting discarded. The unprecedented global and cultural transformations have started a new phase of expansion in which cosmopolitan culture is driven from a unified front. (Breckenridge 2002). Cross-cultural connections are affordable and national limitations in terms of consumer preferences appear to be increasingly becoming minimal (Agrawal 2008). This has led to a level of global integration in terms of perceptions, preferences and consumer tastes. The flow of commodities has been on the rise and countries and nations have been forced to depend on each other for food and essential commodities (Cashmore 1997). This has led to a dramatic increase in the manufactured good (Breckenridge 2002). Consumption of good designed in foreign markets is becoming acceptable even in the most conservative societies. The threat to the existence of traditions has been realized through an increase in consumption of European and American goods (Merz et al 2008). Local cultures and economic autonomy is increasingly becoming lost (Cashmore 1997). The most populous nations are going through cultural and consumer revolutions. A compelling example is China. There seems to be a predisposition towards social emulation. Market place choices are motivated by matching, imitation, and influence (Agrawal 2008). There is a social engineering of marketers and advertisers targeting the social marketplace. Consumers need continue to be increasingly harmonized and even among different global markets (Ritzer 2002). There is rapid circulation n products and intensive exchange among social groups. The power and autonomy of consumers has been growing (Breckenridge 2002). This has caused many consumers to source for the finest goods and services in the foreign markets. Globalization and international marketing by