There are a lot of questions there and in this posting I will be giving answers to each of them as this subject is, one that is very, complicated and contains many different factors.
Dictionary.com describes values customs. This is true as they are both interlinked. Our customs and values are closely related as they are both taught by parents when we are growing up. For example; not leaving the dinner table until everyone is finished, and respected elders and other peoples opinions.
Every single human being has their own value system that is unique to them. This is one of the many things that makes each person different. Just because each person has different values does not mean that they are not a good person, its simply they way they prioritise the things they feel are important in their lives. In today's diverse world, people prioritise things differently, from their health to their family.
Values can be affected by various different aspects of everyday life. This can also be linked to the posting on self concept, where an attitude towards a person can affect their self esteem.
In my life there have been many things that affected my values, although some have not affected me personally, they had made me think about certain things in life. For example when the Tsunami hit, in 2006, I felt some sadness as people had lost everything. This then led me to lead less of a materialistic life and made me open my eyes and be thankful for what I actually had in life. This disaster was somewhat personal for me as I had visited Thailand some years earlier and had seen the conditions that these people had to live in.
Another example of how my value system changed is one that is very personal, when two members of my family died in the same week. This then led me to think about living each to the fullest, as nobody knows what is around the corner.
Therefore, I feel that it is acceptable for values to change as life goes on. As a child our values come from our parents and up-bringing. However, as we get older and surroundings and friends change we pick up different beliefs that we may not have thought about or deemed important before.
Having taken a VALS test it shows that I am an experiencer and a maker, the two most opposite sections in the results table. As an experiencer it shows that I am experiencing new things in life and learning new things whilst being a maker and having a hands on approach to the way I live my life. Strangely, this is somewhat true!
Having looked at Kahle's list of values from 1983, I would choose the following factors, that I feel affect my life from the list:
- Self Respect, If you can't respect yourself - nobody else will
- Being Respected - Being respected will lead back to the Self Concept posting as being respected helps build a persons self esteem
- Warm relationships with others - If a person is able to have a friendship or more with another person it can give a sense of belonging and/or a sense of happiness. This is something that can be related back to Maslows Hierarchy of Needs.
Laddering is a projective technique where people end up with a terminal value which is a persons preferred goal in life, this could be anything from world peace to family security. Laddering is something that helps marketers to identify the links between functional product attributes and desired end states.
An example of laddering is below:
The above example is one that represents someone who does not want to drink due to the after affects.
Solomon describes laddering as ' Consumers are helped to climb up the 'ladder' of abstraction that connects functional product attributes with desired end-states.' (Solomon, Bamossy, Askegaard & Hogg, 2010, p204), having interpreted this I understand it can only work if the information of the products is available for the consumer to make their own mind up.
MECCAS - Means end conceptualization of the components of Advertising Strategy. This is where researchers can find information used to develop an advertising strategy, by identifying elements such as:
- Message Elements - This is where specific features are represented
- Consumer Benefit - What good will using this product do?
- Leverage Point - How will the message trigger terminal values by linking it to the specific features?
- Driving Force - What is the end value that the advert will focus upon?
A good advert that describes difference cultural values are those produced by HSBC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSLPEwvVvN0&feature=related
The above advert shows the different meanings between the
Reference List:
Solomon M R, Bamossy G, Askgaard S, Hogg M, 2010, Consumer behavior a european perspective, 4th ed, Harlow, Pearson's Education LTD
Dictionary.com
This is absolutely great on theory but can you fiond some practical marketing applications - get some ads?
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