Reflection Paper On Bobos

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Recommended: Consumer society sociology

Professor Margaret O’ Keefe
Course: Fundamentals of Advertising
Date: March 17th ‘2014.
Reflection Essay on Bobos
The term Bobos actually refers to Bohemia and Bourgeois. These are two different social classes that have mingled to form the Bobos - a class that bears completely different characteristics from the two distinct classes. In this paper, I will discuss these two demographic groups with regard to psychographic market segmentation. At the end of this paper, I will give my opinion on the best advertising tips that can be used to target the Bobo market.
During our discussion in class, I learnt a lot with regard to the Bobos. To begin with, I came to realize that Bobos bears a balance of characteristics of the Bohemian and the Bourgeois. While Bohemia is naturally creative and emotional, Bourgeois are the serious individuals tailor-made for the corporate world. The Bobos thrive in the information age and thus have a taste for a luxurious life. They are people who live large and spend on expensive goods. For instance, Brooks says that these are people who have renovated kitchens with the size of aircraft hangers in their houses. This group is made up of the well-educated and wealthy individuals in the society. Due to their education, this group of people has good jobs and makes lots of money and hence lives a life of consumerism.
Although the Bohemians traditionally showed rebellion and lived free lives, when they get education, their rebellious attitudes are tamed and eventually, they make up their minds to live independent yet responsible lives. These are people who were against consumerism but when they got good jobs and good money, they could not resist from consumerism anymore. Brooks noted that to Bobos, “ideas and cr...

... middle of paper ...

...should focus on this (Communication and Consumer Behavior 17). If targeting the Bobo market, advertisers should be keen to mention quality and price. The consumers will be attracted to a quality product and will not mind the cost. Conversely, a cheap product might be a turn off. In my opinion, quality and price are not the only factors when making an advertisement targeting the elite group; uniqueness is a crucial factor too. The Bobos want to stand out and want to conform at the same time. They want to rebel yet uphold some values. A prudent advertiser would be keen to highlight the quality, cost and uniqueness of a product or service if they want to capture the Bobos’ attention.

Works Cited
Book Discussion on Bobos In Paradise. C-SPAN, 2000.
Brooks, David. A Conversation with Gwen Ifill. 2000. Print.
"Communication and Consumer Behavior." McGraw Hill, 2012.

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