These three subcultures are the most seen and probably well recognised subcultures in Australia.

Bogan – a slang that describes a person who is stereotyped to be lower-class, less educated. The things bogans pursue in purchase are also stereotyped to be cheap. However, this is only stereotypical, today’s bogans have changed considerably. They are a lot socially aware, they follow popular culture, meaning they’ll spend most of their earnings on popular items even if they don’t really like it themselves, for them this is to show a sense of class. I personally think they are the most easily conveyed people when compared to other subcultures that have trends, rules and guidelines. They are rather more free flowing, following which ever direction people in the marketing industry take them.

Emo – a term that describes hardcore punk fans. It originally stated in Washington D.C, where the word Emo was short for “emotional punk”. As many of us know, they are very similar to Punk, they have a very restricted boundary towards what to and not to do. Stereotypically however, we often assosciate Emos with tight jeans, very long fringes brushed to one side of the face (covering one eye), studded belts, tight t-shirts with their favorite rock bands, skate shoes and dyed hair. Although the emotional side of a Emo has stereotypically changed in recent years, the fashion trend has seen very slight changes meaning it’s still very easy to distinguish a Emo from the norm. Emotionally, today’s Emos are known to be extra emotional, sensitive, shy and definitely introverted as it has a lot of associations with depression and suicide.

From a marketing perspective, it’ll be very hard to push their boundaries. Personally, I believe excluding their t-shirts, their other fashion symbols have little relation with their true characters. So I think targeting their mental state, meaning targeting depression and suicide will be a lot more wise than targeting a fashion trend.

Hip Hop – Hip hop is a very diverse culture, it accepts a heavy range of originality as long as it has some relation to the struggle in the ghetto. Homie is a term often used to describe someone who belongs in the hiphop culture. Homie is a slang for “homeboy”. Stereotypically, homies often oversize whatever they wear and it often relates around sports clothing (sneakers in particular). Like Emo and Punk, hip hop is a culture often based around anti-popular culture. It originated in the African American community, decades ago during the struggle of the civil rights movement. While every culture had a specific style that they can proudly distinguish themselves from, the African American culture at the time didn’t have anything due to racism. Thus, disc jockeying and MCing (Rap) was forcefully introduced into a culture because it was something they invented that was very close to disco which they love at the time. And due to the poverty of black communities, this culture has since be heavily related to poverty, ghetto and a hatred to polices and governments (known to them as pigs and haters respectively).

However, in recent years a new trend of hip hop has arrived. The dress sense has become so much more elegant and luxurious. Skater-boy clothes are really fashionable due to the influence of Pharrell Williams and Lupe Fiasco. Expensive jewellery is still a heavy sign of power in the hip hop world, always viewed as major stature. Retro is also a heavy trend of the hip hop world in recent times. A hip hop character is often very distinguishable due to

From a marketing standpoint, tackling the hip hop culture is no longer so obvious. The culture has expanded into such a different range that it’s really hard to see any similarities between modern hip hop and the stereotypical retro style. I believe we should try go retro and refurnish its original designs.

Posted in Posted by Bowen Ji at 10:54 PM