Sociocultural Environment

The Sociocultural / Ethnic / Linguistic environment is more and more influential especially in multi-cultural urban areas such as Toronto, New York, London, etc.

For companies selling industrial products, which are often simply marketed by dimensions (size, weight, height etc.) there is not a strong requirement for documents and packaging material to be “culturally sensitive”.

For companies selling consumer products, particularly food and clothing, it is increasingly important to use all the languages of your customers in your promotion campaigns and communicate effectively with your target demographic.

Examples of influences of the socialcultural environment include

• regulations about language use in publications and broadcasts
• rules and laws about equality based on considerations of gender, race, sexual orientation, maritial status etc.
• relationships between people of difference faith, ethinicity, language etc.
• how companies used people in commercials to focus on a “target market segment”
• cultural/demographic changes and the effect on national symbols, structures
• uses of colour, slogans, music, slang expressions in marketing promotions
• business ethics is highly infleunced by changes in cultural norms
• democracy vs theocracy