Marketing Chapter 8 Boomerang Kids Are Young Adults Ages Who Graduate From College And Move

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Boomerang kids are young adults, ages 18 to 34, who graduate from college and move

back home with their parents. Some have suggested the term adultolescence to describe

this stage. The sandwich generation consists of those consumers who must take care of

both their own children and their aging parents. It is now estimated that nearly half of

American consumers aged 40–50 are considered sandwiched consumers.

C. Household Purchase Roles [Instructor PPT Slide 20]

Five important roles in the household purchase process can be identified, and each member of

a household plays at least one of these roles:

• Influencer—the person in the household who recognizes a need and provides

information about a potential purchase to others

• Gatekeeper—the person who controls information flow into the household (for

Gender Roles and Household Decision Making [Instructor PPT Slide 21]

An important concept in gender roles and family decision making is sex role orientation

(SRO). A family’s SRO influences the ways in which household decisions are reached.

Families that have a traditional SRO believe that it is the responsibility of the male head of

household to make large purchase decisions, while families with a “modern” SRO believe

in a more democratic approach.

Kid Power [Instructor PPT Slide 21]

The role of children in household decision making is also evolving. Though it is difficult to

measure kids’ spending precisely, it has been estimated that kids command more than $1

trillion annually in personal spending and family influence. Consumer socialization is

defined as the process through which young consumers develop attitudes and learn skills

Video material for this chapter can be found on page 23 of the IM

End of Chapter Material

Discussion Questions

(*) Indicates material on prep cards.

1. Explain how primary, secondary, formal, and informal groups influence consumers. What

are the differences between each type of group? Give examples for each type of group that

you belong to.

2. Explain how family members can influence value perceptions.

3. What are the various power bases of reference groups? Give examples of how these power

bases have influenced you in your personal life.

4. Compare the concepts of peer pressure, conformity, and persuasion.

5. Discuss the differences between the informational, utilitarian, and value-expressive

influence of reference groups.

6. How does the utilitarian influence of groups emerge for you in one of the reference groups

to which you belong?

7. How has Facebook and Twitter affected consumer behavior? How has it affected your

behavior as a consumer?

8. Describe ways in which consumers can benefit from social buying and couponing websites

such as Groupon and LivingSocial.

9. What role does Twitter play in consumer word-of-mouth?

10. How is buzz marketing related to consumer word-of-mouth? What buzz marketing

campaigns are you familiar with? Have you ever participated in spreading word-of-mouth?

11. What is meant by the consumer doppelganger effect? Do you think the effect is as popular

with men as it appears to be with women? Why, or why not?

12. How do households influence consumer behavior? How does your household influence

you?

Group Activity

Divide students into teams. Have each team begin a group page on Facebook for their particular

team, restricting membership to only team members. Ask students to use the group as a

discussion board for this project. Have each team member post a question on their own walls

about a particular product or brand for this project. For example, a question might be: “Does

anyone know where I can get a good deal on a used car?” or “I’m looking for a new hairstylist,

does anyone have any ideas?” Each member is to take notes of the responses they get and then

report it back to the team on Facebook. Let this continue over the course of several weeks,

including several different questions. At the end of the exercise, have students report on the types

Assignments

1. Make a list of all the formal and informal groups that you belong to. Which ones are most

important to you? Why? How long have you belonged to these groups? If they are formal

groups, what was the process of joining?

2. Locate an advertisement that uses a theme of conformity. This can be to either get a

customer to conform to trends or to avoid following a crowd and instead acting

individually. Do you think the ad is effective? Why, or why not?

3. Considering the power bases of referent, expert, reward, coercive, and legitimate, think of

examples of how a group holds this type of power over you. There should be one group for

each type of social power. Of these groups, which ones are most important to you, and

why?

4. Take a survey of students, and find out how many groups they belong to on Facebook. Ask

them why they join these specific groups. What meaning do they carry for them? Are there

some that they take more seriously than others? Why?

5. Using a website like Whatthetrend or Tweetreach, take note of popular trends over the

course of a week. Why do you think these tweets were so popular? What ones were you

particularly interested in?

6. Discuss the issue of “boomerang kids” with classmates. What are your classmates’

attitudes on the subject? Do they plan to move back in with their parents after graduation?

What are your thoughts on the subject? Do you think about moving back in to your

parent’s home after graduation if you’re not living there now? How do you think most

people your age feel about the subject?

Chapter Video Summary

To view the video case on Teenage Research Unlimited, access the Chapter 8 Media Quiz in

CB8 Online (create a course at login.cengage.com).

Teenage Research Unlimited

Gathering information is key to marketing success. For businesses interested in selling products

to teens, Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU) is an invaluable research partner. The market

research firm has been studying teen habits since the 1980s, and data gleaned from TRU’s focus

groups and surveys reveal the ways in which teens are influenced by reference groups and each

other. According to analysts, the teenage consumer segment will continue to grow in importance,

especially in the age of smartphones and social networking.

Ask Your Students

1. Why is gathering information important for marketers?

2. How do companies benefit from the information obtained by Teenage Research Unlimited

(TRU)?