The cultural consumer describes a person who avidly consumes

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

, books,

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

, and live

cultural events Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...

within a society. With the rise of expressive technologies, cultural consumers have harnessed the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

to fuel their own creative efforts. The term was coined by author Patricia Martin in her book, ''The Rise of the Cultural Consumer and What It Means For Your Business'', in which she suggests that the convergence of art, technology and entertainment is remaking the American consumer. This new type of consumer values creativity, design and the power of personal values. These consumers will look toward companies that can "present an offering that solves a problem, does some good, and delivers aesthetically". They also look for products that engage the senses as a way to discern truth. In other words, they believe what they can experience. Authenticity is paramount, and stories and images are powerful means for communicating messages. Although cultural consumers may have once represented a small segment of the population, this group is rapidly expanding through access to technology and the Internet. Recent research indicates that these consumers are connected, active in their communities, and creative. Additionally, they "aspire to be viewed as thinking, expressive human beings rather than

mass market The term "mass market" refers to a market for goods produced on a large scale for a significant number of end consumers. The mass market differs from the niche market in that the former focuses on consumers with a wide variety of backgrounds wi ...

targets."Article in AdAge magazine
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cultural Consumer Consumer behaviour