3.Within the rapidly changing global picture, marketers must monitor six major en-
vironmental forces: demographic, economic, natural, technological, political-legal,
and social-cultural.
4.In the demographicenvironment, marketers must be aware of worldwide popula-
tion growth; changing mixes of age, ethnic composition, and educational levels;
the rise of nontraditional families; large geographic shifts in population; and the
move to micromarketing and away from mass marketing.
5.In the economicarena, marketers need to focus on income distribution and levels
of savings, debt, and credit availability.
6.In the naturalenvironment, marketers need to be aware of raw-materials shortages,
increased energy costs and pollution levels, and the changing role of governments
in environmental protection.
7.In thetechnologicalarena, marketers should take account of the accelerating pace
of technological change, opportunities for innovation, varying R&D budgets, and
the increased governmental regulation brought about by technological change.
8.In the political-legalenvironment, marketers must work within the many laws reg-
ulating business practices and with various special-interest groups.
9.In the social-culturalarena, marketers must understand people’s views of themselves,
others, organizations, society, nature, and the universe. They must market prod-
ucts that correspond to society’s core and secondary values, and address the needs
of different subcultures within a society.
CONCEPTS
1.One of the changes in the demographic environment is the increasing proportion
of older adults, who comprise many markets for certain products. Discuss how this
demographic trend could affect the product features and/or distribution arrange-
ments of the following:
a.Minute Maid orange juice
b.Mail-order businesses
c.the Social Security office
2.You are a product manager at Minolta. Your boss has just received a copy of The
Popcorn Report(see the Marketing Insight “Faith Popcorn Points to 16 Trends in the
Economy”). Although her background is in engineering, your boss has always been
interested in the sensory appeal of product features, and this book has aroused her
curiosity about this phenomenon. Prepare a report summarizing the potential im-
pact of each of Popcorn’s 16 trends on Minolta’s product (cameras). Specifically,
how will each trend affect product development, features, and marketing?
3.Budweiser, Calvin Klein, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Chevrolet are examples of
brands that have become cultural symbols for the United States. Name some brand
names and products that are cultural symbols for the following countries: (a) Japan,
(b) Germany, (c) Russia, (d) France, (e) Italy, (f) Ireland, (g) Colombia, (h) Mexico,
(i) England, (j) Switzerland, (k) the Middle Eastern nations, (l) Australia.
Scanning the
Marketing
Environment^155APPLICATIONS