1. Today’s marketplace is fundamentally different as a result of major societal forces that have resulted in many new consumer and company capabilities. These forces have created new opportunities and challenges, and marketing management has changed significantly in recent years as companies seek new ways to achieve market excellence. Discuss the societal forces as well as the new opportunities and challenges they present. How has this changed marketing management? There are many societal forces that can affect the marketplace, and influence how marketing managers create and implement their marketing campaigns. One prominent force is the aging of the American population. As Baby Boomers get older and begin to reach retirement age, many companies have opted to shift their marketing from younger adults to older adults, creating products that are meant to cater to this active, but older generation. Another important social force is public interest, such as the “green movement” that has led to many people making their own lifestyles more environmentally-friendly, with methods from recycling to carefully choosing the products that they buy. Marketers have responded to this public interest in various ways, including cutting back on packaging for products, changing the manufacturing of certain products and packaging to incorporate recycled or “postconsumer” material, and even designing products, such as energy-efficient lightbulbs or hybrid cars, that will allow individuals to shop in accordance with their ideals. Still another societal force that can shape the marketplace is that of the increasing diversity of America's population. As the traditional Anglo-American culture becomes less dominant, there has been increasing interests in cultivating market segments among Latino and other minority populations. Another related force could be the rise of subcultures in the