Consumerism and the consumer movement
The history of consumerism
– First wave – industrial revolution
– Second wave – 1930’s
– Third wave – 60’s’ 70’s, 80’s
• Resurgence of interest in consumer education
• Vance Packard (the Waste Markets)
• JF Kennedy Consumer Bill of rights – right to safety, be informed, to
choose and to be heard
• Consumer Advisory Council and others formed
• Ralph Nader
• UK Consumer Assocation, National Consumer Council
• Various acts of parliament
Consumerism and the consumer movement
– ‘a social movement seeking to augment the rights and power
of buyers in relation to sellers’ (Kotler 1972)
– Activist school of marketing
– Boycotts emerging – Barclays, Nestle
– Fourth wave – 1990’s until today
• WTO Seattle, Jubilee 2000
• Role of computers – protest sites
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wwwnosweat.org.uk
www.corpwatch.org and www.corporatewatch.org.uk
www.accountability.org.uk (Accountability)
Ethical Consumer Magazine – www.ethicalconsumer.org
• Naomi Klein, Eric Schlosser, Noreena Hertz
Consumerism and the consumer movement
Muniz and O’Guinn (2001) – brand community
Carrigan and Szmigin – anti-brand community
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Consciousness of kind
Shared rituals and traditions
A sense of moral responsibility
Based on Hirschman (1970) – classification of anti-brand
behaviour
• Exit
• Voice
• Positive choice
Consumerism and the consumer movement
– Boycotts and the consumer movement
• Sen et al (2001) ‘an attempt by one or more parties to achieve certain
objectives by urging individual consumers to refrain from making
selected purchases in the marketplace’
– New momentum for boycotts (Gelb)
• French – McDonalds, Coca Cola
• Shell – Brent Spar/Nigeria; Nestle - $40million
• Timberland – Alaskan sled races
- Publicity and boycotts
- www.saigon.com/nike
- www.mcspotlight.org
Consumerism and the consumer movement
Who will boycott
– Countryside alliance, fuel tax protesters
– Greenpeace over £102 million (Sting, Elton John, Tom Jones)
– Likelihood of boycotting (Sen et al 2001)
• Likelihood of success
• Susceptibility to normative social influences
• Costs incurred in boycotting
– To encourage boycotting
• Frame message positively
• Highlight substitutes
• Social dilemma of boycotting
• Reference group theory
Consumerism and the consumer movement
Activist abuses
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Criticism is both emotive and subjective
Difficult for companies to fight back
Brand leaders are main target
Firms do face genuine ethical dilemmas
PR advises entering ‘dialogue’ and being prepared
for change
– If violent or illegal, bring in the law
Consumerism and the consumer movement
What do ordinary consumers think about
marketing ethics?
– The US consumer (Creyer 1997, JCM)
– The UK consumer
• MORI/Co-op bank
• Freedom Foods eggs 16% of market
• Cafedirect 5% of market
– The contradictions
• Boulstridge and Carrigan (2000) – attitude-behaviour gap
Consumerism and the ethical consumer
Carrigan and Attalla (2001)
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Caring and ethical
Confused and uncertain
Cynical and disinterested
Oblivious
• Should marketers be making any efforts?
• Is the sophisticated consumer overwhelmed?
• Other stakeholders
Consumerism and the consumer movement
International consumerism
– Ali Quazi (2001)
• Bangladesh vs Australia
• Life cycle of consumerism in different countries
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Crusading
Popular movement
Organisation/managerial
Bureaucratic
• LDC’s focus on micro issues; West focus on macro issues
• Wally Olins (Wolff Olins consultancy) – “The next big thing in brands
is social responsibility. It will be clever to say there is nothing different
about our product or price, but we behave well... The difference in the
future will be that it will be the consumers not philanthropists who will
dictate the social agenda..”
Consumerism and the consumer movement
Summary