“I do what I like”
Although peer pressure influences almost everyone, there are few who would admit it does. This non-admitting behaviour in itself may be a manifestation of peer pressure; it is not ‘cool’ to be taking decisions based on someone else’s behaviour. The “I-take-my-decisions” feeling is so satisfying to the ego! Yet, we often do things looking at what our peers are doing, consciously or otherwise. The need to be not embarrassed in a group is quite compelling.
So, what’s in it for the marketeer?
An Indian male would seldom admit that he has been using Fair & Lovely for years. Fair & Lovely For Men may be acceptable. Fair & Handsome may be even more acceptable. But what might make the macho man very comfortable is Nivea For Men Whitening. What a name! No girly words! (Caveat: I have not checked the sales figures of these three products).
The desire to keep one’s manly image upright in a group prevents one from publicly buying a product with feminine connotations. There is a need to look fairer but there is also a need to not to be associated with a feminine ‘fairness’ cream.
Fairness cream is just an instance of the ubiquitous peer pressure affecting our buying and consuming behaviour. The extent to which this phenomenon influences may depend on the ‘what’ and ‘where’ attributes. And yes, it does depend on the individual too. Thankfully, the field of Consumer Behaviour makes life easier by bringing in many stereotypes for the individual. A (stereo)typical kid will use all his might in pursuing his parents to buy him the same bicycle his friends have. This case is slightly different from the fairness cream one though. Here the need is created because of interaction with peers. The kid actually needs a bicycle after he finds his friends have one each. The male fairness cream buyer, on the other hand, is not comfortable buying it. There is no change in the needs dimension. He wanted a fairness cream anyways. There seems to be many situations and ways where peer pressure plays a role. I will try to explore them more in this series. Stay tuned.
“Mom! I need an octopus-eating-a-shark-shaped birthday cake!”