Karma chameleon...

Culture...it's a minefield isn't it? Such a varied and dense topic that we could be here all day examining it. But frankly, I don't have the time nor the patience...so I'll try and sum it all up in a nice bitesize chunk for you.

The dictionary defines culture as "a form or type of civilization of a certain race or nation"...but then further down it does also describe it as "the commercial rearing of fish and certain plants". So, are we talking about races and nations, or am I just writing this for the halibut...hahaha. I joke, I joke.

So, ignoring my humourous quip, what exactly are we talking about?

"Culture is the fabric of meaning in terms of which human beings interpret their experience and guide their action." (Clifford Geertz)

Well, culture could be defined as a common set of beliefs, values and customs that are shared between a group of people. For instance, the chav culture love Burberry, gold jewellery and stealing cars. They believe that education isn't important as they go to the "university of life". They value McDonald's over Burger King (it's cheaper) and their customs include fighting, robbing and drinking Stella in parks. But that's not for everyone...I'd much prefer a nice, warm can of Special Brew.

"Culture is a little like dropping an Alka-Seltzer into a glass-you don't see it, but somehow it does something." (Hans Magnus Enzensberger)

Once again, segmentation is fundamental when considering different cultures. What one group of people may like, others may hate. However, I'm not going to bang on about segmentation as I seem to do that in absolutely every post. In terms of the the purchase process and how marketers can apply the theory to different groups, culture is a vitally important aspect to consider. As you may have started to gather, many of the different aspects of this whole blog have started to mix in with the others. We've previously covered values, social class and personality and self concept, and I like to think of culture as the amalgamation of all of them, with (as always) a bit of segmentation thrown in for good measure.

"I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any." (Mahatma Gandhi)

Culture can include the perceived meaning of things and the translation of words and language. Therefore it is important for marketers to recognize what cultures their target market will incorporate, and how the use of their marketing skills can be applied to appeal to (or in some cases repel) certain cultures.

"On a group of theories one can found a school; but on a group of values one can found a culture, a civilization, a new way of living together among men." (Ignazio Silone)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_WAmt3cMdk
HSBC ran a series of successful adverts that show the differences in certain cultures quite cleverly. Watch the above advert and it might help you to understand culture a little bit more.

"Culture is the name for what people are interested in, their thoughts, their models, the books they read and the speeches they hear, their table-talk, gossip, controversies, historical sense and scientific training, the values they appreciate, the quality of life they admire. All communities have a culture. It is the climate of their civilization." (Walter Lippmann)

To me, culture is everything that makes a person unique, yet everything that they have in common with others.

Hopefully this post has given you some idea of what culture is all about. If nothing else, I've thrown a lot of lovely soundbites in here for you to use at your own will. And here's my favourite;

"Culture is roughly anything we do and the monkeys don't." (Lord Raglan)