PART 1:

Since popular media (i.e.TV in the 1950’s, internet/digital/social media now) has become more accessible, it has changed the way people view what is normal and what people “need” to have. For example, many times we don’t know something exists until we see it on TV or the internet, and suddenly we HAVE to have it. A young kid thinks they are poor because EVERYONE else has certain shoes, phones, etc.

1. How do you feel marketing has influenced the consumer behavior of families? Is this making it harder for families to keep their heads above water?
2. What are a few product examples that are associated with the poor, the working class, and the rich?
3. Do you feel it is ethical for marketers to target children so they influence their parents to buy products – why or why not?

PART 2:

You have been retained by the Walt Disney Company as a marketing consultant to design a study investigating how families make vacation decisions.

1. Among the family members, whom would you interview? What kind of questions would you ask?
2. How would you assess the relative power of each family member in making vacation-related decisions?

PS: Consider the material attached in Power Point on "family decision making" in your answer.