ASSIGNMENT
ON
THE DEMOGRAPHIC, SOCIAL & CULTURAL CONTEXT OF BUSINESS

Submitted To:
Mr. Ruhual Amin
Faculty Member,
BRAC University

Submitted By: Iffat Zarin Khan ID No: 15364042 MBA, BRAC University

Subject Name: Business Environment
Subject Code: BUS503
Date of Submission: 8-12-15

Review and Discussion Questions

1. What is meant by an “ageing population”? Examine some of the key ways in which an ageing population can affect the supply side of the economy?

Answer: Population ageing is a phenomenon that occurs when the median age of a country or region rises due to rising life expectancy and/or declining fertility rates. Aging of population (also known as demographic aging, and population aging) is a summary term for shifts in the age distribution (i.e., age structure) of a population toward older ages. A direct consequence of the ongoing global fertility transition (decline) and of mortality decline at older ages, population aging is expected to be among the most prominent global demographic trends of the 21st century. Population aging is progressing rapidly in many industrialized countries, but those developing countries whose fertility declines began relatively early also are experiencing rapid increases in their proportion of elderly people. This pattern is expected to continue over the next few decades, eventually affecting the entire world. Population aging has many important socio-economic and health consequences, including the increase in the old-age dependency ratio. It presents challenges for public health (concerns over possible bankruptcy of Medicare and related programs) as well as for economic development (shrinking and aging of labor force, possible bankruptcy of social security systems).

Its Impact on Supply Side of Economy: a) Increase in the dependency ratio. If the retirement age remains fixed, and the life expectancy increases, there will be relatively more people claiming pension benefits and less people working and paying income taxes. The fear is that it will require high tax rates on the current, shrinking workforce. b) Increased government spending on health care and pensions. Also, those in retirement tend to pay lower income taxes because they are not working. This combination of higher spending commitments and lower tax revenue is a source of concern for Western governments – especially those with existing debt issues and unfunded pension schemes. c) Those in work may have to pay higher taxes. This could create disincentives to work and disincentives for firms to invest, therefore there could be a fall in productivity and growth. d) Shortage of workers. An ageing population could lead to a shortage of workers and hence push up wages causing wage inflation. Alternatively, firms may have to respond by encouraging more people to enter the workforce, through offering flexible working practices. e) Changing sectors within the economy. An increase in the numbers of retired people will create a bigger market for goods and services linked to older people (e.g. retirement homes) f) Higher savings for pensions may reduce capital investment. If society is putting a higher % of income into pension funds, it could reduce the amount of savings available for more productive investment, leading to lower rates of economic growth.

The ageing of population could have dramatic on government finances. The impacts of ageing population can affect both public revenues and expenditures. Government revenues will be adversely affected as the large increase in the level of aged population. Thus an ageing population will impact the supply side of the economy by slowing the growth of the labor force. These effects emerge in two ways: a) a lower fertility rate will slow the inflow of younger people into the labor force and b) older and soon to be more populous aged tends to have weaker labor force and therefore the participation rate of the labor fore may decline. While population aging represents, in one sense, a success story for mankind (massive survival to old ages has become possible), it also poses profound challenges to public institutions that must adapt to a changing age structure.
The first challenge is associated with dramatic increase in the older retired population relative to the shrinking population of working ages, which creates social and political pressures on social support systems. In most developed countries, rapid population aging places a strong pressure on social security programs. For example, the U.S. social security system may face a profound crisis if no radical modifications are enacted. Cuts in benefits, tax increases, massive borrowing, lower cost-of-living adjustments, later retirement ages, or a combination of these elements are now discussed as the possible painful policies, which may become necessary in order to sustain the pay-as-you-go public retirement programs such as Medicare and Social Security.
Population aging is also a great challenge for the health care systems. As nations age, the prevalence of disability, frailty, and chronic diseases is expected to increase dramatically. The aging of the population is indeed a global phenomenon that requires international coordination of national and local actions. The United Nations and other international organizations developed recommendations intended to mitigate the adverse consequences of population aging. These recommendations include reorganization of social security systems, changes in labor, immigration and family policies, promotion active and healthy life styles, and more cooperation between the governments in resolving socioeconomic and political problems posed by population aging.
On the positive side, the health status of older people of a given age is improving over time now, because more recent generations have a lower disease load. Older people can live vigorous and active lives until a much later age than in the past and if they're encouraged to be productive, they can be economic contributors as well. Also the possibility should not be excluded that current intensive biomedical anti-aging studies may help to extend the healthy and productive period of human life in the future.
Conclusion
The ‘maturing’ of the population in Bangladesh is certainly a major achievement, with people today living far longer and healthier lives than previous generations. The demographic change that is taking place offers opportunities to harness the experience, expertise and creativity of large number of working people. However, unless resources are diverted and utilized in education, health and nutrition, infrastructure, and creation of favorable environment for local and foreign investment, Bangladesh will not be able to take advantage of this demographic transition.
The same applies for the ageing population. The country is reaching a crucial impasse where pro active and vigilant planning and execution is required to account for the increasing number of people who are entering 60 years of age. There are various options available to both government and private companies to deal with the ageing population. As a result, it is essential that the best possible economic, social and political structures are planned and developed at present to avoid a conundrum in the future.

2. In a country of your own choice, identify some of the major social trends over the last decade. How are these trends reflected in changing patterns of consumption? Answer:
A major impact in the country will come from the rapid demographic expansion and a youth bulge that the country will experience. If it is not managed well then it can explode in many forms. In fact, the NIC report lists Bangladesh among the top 15 countries at high risk of state failure due to poor human ecology and resilience. The country faces grave challenges from the nexus of food, water and energy. Bangladesh has been identified as one of the Highlighted 18 countries that achieved rapid human development in the past decade.

Over the last ten years Bangladesh has made impressive gains in key human development indicators. According to the 2008 UNDP Human Development Index Statistical Update, Bangladesh ranked 147 among 179 countries with an HDI score of 0.524, placing it among countries considered to have achieved medium human development. However, even though Bangladesh has taken considerable steps towards poverty alleviation, many challenges remain. More than 63 million people live below the poverty line, the constant threat of sudden shocks - natural and manmade - the uncertain impact of globalization and an increasingly competitive international trade environment impede higher growth rates. In addition, structural changes in rural Bangladesh have spurred rapid economic migration with the related complexities of rising urban poverty, lack of decent work and adequate shelter in urban areas. Bangladesh thus faces considerable challenges in order to sustain and build on the achievements of the last decade and to remain on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). 2.1 Economic Growth and Major Structural Changes in Bangladesh Economy Economic development in developing countries critically hinges on high growth rates that have the potential to create employment and generate income. However, there is a growing realization and empirical evidence, that this is not inevitable and guaranteed, and economic growth alone cannot achieve the desired objective of growth with equity (Islam 2004). Consequently, the pattern and changes in the structure of growth have emerged as equally important areas of investigation in the contemporary economic discourse, along with the search for appropriate modalities to attain faster growth. In this context, it may be noted that Bangladesh has performed reasonably well as far as growth is concerned, with the rate of GDP growth increasing from an average of less than 3.5 per cent during the 1980s to 4.8 per cent in the 1990s, and accelerating in the 2000s to eventually cross the 6.0 per cent mark in 2004. The economy once again posted below 6.0 per cent growth rates in FY2008-09 and FY2009-10; and this deviation from recent trends may be attributed primarily to the impact of the global financial crisis. However, compared to other economies in similar state of development, Bangladesh appears to have done rather well in containing the adverse impacts of the global crisis on her economy. Given the steady rate of increase in the growth rate and resilience the economy has demonstrated, attaining 7-8 per cent growth appears feasible for Bangladesh in near future. Indeed, the target set in the Sixth Five Year Plan (SFYP) is to have a GDP growth of 7.2 per cent in FY2011-12 and 8 per cent by FY2013-14.
The growth rate achieved by the Bangladesh economy remains impressive even if plotted against her major South Asian counterparts; on the basis of average growth rates during FY1999-00 to FY2009-10, only India managed to record higher growth rate than Bangladesh (Figure 1). This also holds true for the year FY2008-09, the year marked by the worst consequences of the global crisis.
With regard to the composition of growth that Bangladesh achieved, there has generally been a steady shift of sect oral weights of GDP, away from agriculture to modern sectors over the last decades, as is traditionally observed in early stages of a country's structural transformation. However, one must note that Bangladesh is still a low-income economy. And akin to most other low-income countries, agriculture continues to constitute a large share in the total GDP of Bangladesh. However, over the years, its relative contribution has been declining steadily. In FY1989-90, share of agriculture in the GDP was 28.7 per cent. This went down to 24.6 per cent in FY1999-00, and stood at 19.5 per cent in FY2009-10.

FY1999-00 ■ FY2004-05 ■ FY2009-10 V J 2.2 Population, Poverty and Labor Force Dynamics
Within her relatively limited geographical space of about 147,570 sq. km., Bangladesh is inhabited by a population of 146.1 million (BBS 2010a). This makes Bangladesh one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Following the significant increase in population during the 1970s, extensive population control programmes were taken and notable success was achieved in restricting the growth rate. Population growth rate declined from 2.31 per cent in 1981 to 1.41 per cent in 2001. The last census was conducted in 2001x, but according to the estimates of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), current (2009) growth rate stands at 1.39 per cent. Male to female ratio is 106 (males per 100 females), and vast majority of the population lives in the rural areas. Rural population constitutes 74.5 per cent of the total, while the rest 25.5 per cent lives in the urban areas.
Though such a large population and high density for a small country can be of a major concern, population structure of Bangladesh possesses a unique advantage: majority (about 45 per cent) of the population belongs to the age group of 15-44, i.e. working age category. This is likely to bring dividends for Bangladesh in the medium to long-run. However, if the economy falters in sustaining the current growth momentum, and in generating sustained labour demand for this category, or if the growth in working age population is not accompanied by skill development policies, it may well exacerbate the unemployment and underemployment situation of Bangladesh.
In the current context, however, a major feature of Bangladesh's population is the significantly high share of poor in the total number of people. It needs to be appreciated that Bangladesh has achieved remarkable progress in reducing poverty in the recent past (population below the poverty line had decreased by one percentage point a year during the 1990s, and by about two percentage points between 2000 and 2010), according to the latest Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) of Bangladesh. However, poverty headcount rate (according to the Cost of Basic Needs (CBN) method) remained high at 31.5 per cent of the population in 2010 , declining from 52.3 per cent in 2000 (BBS 2011). Despite this progress, it is generally recognized that the recent commodity price hike, particularly of rice, and the impact of the global economic shocks, have had significant adverse impact on the pace of reducing poverty rate. World Bank predicted slower reduction in poverty headcount ratio between 2005 and 2008 (by a significant margin of 6 per cent) due to the various shocks mentioned above (World Bank 2008). The World Bank (2009) also predicted that the global financial crisis was likely to deny about 2.4 million people in Bangladesh from the opportunity of moving out of poverty by the end of 2009-2010. One particular impact of the global crisis on Bangladesh economy was that the number of people who were able to go for overseas jobs was significantly lower in 2010 than the preceding two years. This has also had negative implications for poverty and employment situation in the country. Since remittance plays an important role in household income and in terms of reducing poverty, the slowdown in migration rate had detrimental impact on income and poverty levels. 2.3 Employment Trends 2.4.1 Changes in Unemployment and Underemployment Rates
According to the surveys of labor force and employment, Bangladesh enjoys a very low unemployment rate. In fact, the rate appears to be too low to be a realistic estimate given the dynamics of population, growth and income and poverty. Too often the low employment rate has been criticized as a definitional issue. According to the MES 2009, unemployment rate of Bangladesh was only 5.1 per cent, although the rate has increased from 4.4 per cent in 1999-00. The labor force surveys of both 2002-03 and 2005-06 recorded decline in unemployment rate, before increasing between 2005-06 and 2009 (see Annex Tables 13, 16 and 17 for details).
Unemployment rate has been much higher within the female labor force cohort compared to the male, although this gap is gradually narrowing. In 2009, female unemployment rate was 7.5 per cent as against 4.3 per cent for male labor force. The rates were 8.2 per cent and 3.4 per cent respectively in 1999-00. While unemployment rate in the urban areas has been gradually declining till 2006 before marginally increasing in 2009, rural unemployment, in contrast, has been consistently increasing throughout the decade: 3.8 per cent in 1999-00 and 5.1 per cent in 2009.
Considering the high share of self-employment and family workers within the total employment (discussed later in this chapter) and informal nature of the labor market, it is more important to look at the underemployment dynamics rather than the unemployment rate. High underemployment that prevails in the labor market, to a large extent, explains the low unemployment rate of Bangladesh. According to MES 2009, underemployment (less than 3 hours worked a week) rate was 28.7 per cent in 2009, having increased from 16.6 per cent in 1999-2000. In conclusion Bangladesh is undergoing substantial economic and social change, and this will intensify in the coming decades. Fundamental forces are in play – the end of the demographic transition, rapid industrialization and structural change, and substantial rural-urban migration. These processes will bring with them a host of developmental pressures. Chief among these are a suite of potential inequities, as the country moves to MIC status, the tendency towards differentiation in incomes and living conditions will continue. This is a by-product of the growth process, Bangladesh’s economic model and its basic geography. It is vital these are addressed if poverty reduction is to be maintained, and a host of future problems associated with social exclusion are to be avoided. Environmental pressures, exacerbated by climate change, will remain significant and could easily worsen, if remedial actions, at the local and global level are not taken. While the population will stabilization at around 200 million, growing wealth and mass population movements will place further enormous strains on ecosystems and the living environment.

3. What is meant by the term “Culture”? To what extent do you agree with the proposition that globalization could destroy local cultural diversity?

Answer:
Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. There are many definitions of culture : * Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving. * Culture is the systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people. * Culture is communication, communication is culture. * Culture in its broadest sense is cultivated behavior; that is the totality of a person's learned, accumulated experience which is socially transmitted, or more briefly, behavior through social learning. * A culture is a way of life of a group of people--the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next. * Culture is symbolic communication. Some of its symbols include a group's skills, knowledge, attitudes, values, and motives. The meanings of the symbols are learned and deliberately perpetuated in a society through its institutions. * Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered as products of action, on the other hand, as conditioning influences upon further action. * Culture is the sum of total of the learned behavior of a group of people that are generally considered to be the tradition of that people and are transmitted from generation to generation. * Culture is a collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.

Globalization: A threat on Cultural Diversity There are many reasons to think that globalization might undermine cultural diversity: * multinational corporations promote a certain kind of consumerist culture, in which standard commodities, promoted by global marketing campaigns exploiting basic material desires, create similar lifestyles--"Coca-Colonization"

* backed by the power of certain states, Western ideals are falsely established as universal, overriding local traditions--"cultural imperialism"

* modern institutions have an inherently rationalizing thrust, making all human practices more efficient, controllable, and predictable, as exemplified by the spread of fast food--"McDonaldization"

* the United States exerts hegemonic influence in promoting its values and habits through popular culture and the news media--"Americanization"

* Corporations all over the world see their businesses succeeding not only locally but also making it huge internationally Instead, this article will confer globalization’s pros and cons on cultural diversity and how it compromises the idea of different cultures being able to accept each other’s differences. There are basically two sides to this issue. There are numerous amounts of reasons that move towards saying that Globalization tends to destabilize cultural diversity. But there are also sources saying that Globalization is in fact helping diversity between cultures. The topic will mostly revolve around the reasons behind cultural diversity being jeopardized by globalization.

* Secondly, culture also refers to the common form of life of a national community which have achieved a common national identity and homogeneous value system and lifestyle, either by the forging of a common identity through processes of industrialization and modernization.

* This definition could thirdly be extended further to include a broader international form of life, or even societal and political arrangement in terms of which various national and ethnic cultures are accommodated and towards which they contribute. Cultures today are extremely interconnected and entangled with each other. Lifestyles no longer end at the borders of national cultures, but go beyond these, and are found in the same way in other cultures.

* Fourthly, in the case of an intertwining of culture and ethnicity, culture could also refer to the form of life and concomitant history, language, values, symbols, customs, and practices of a specific ethnic community. Regarding ethnic community the most important feature of its meaning can be stipulated as a form of life of a community with a common descent, history, and language which is experienced and valued by its members in such a way that it provides them with a common sense of identity on the basis of which they distinguish themselves as a community from other communities, maintain cohesion and regulate relationships between members. * On Taewon Moon’s article, Organizational Cultural Intelligence: Dynamic Capability Perspective, it talks about CQ or cultural intelligence playing a vital role in corporations succeeding on a foreign land. The article puts focus on Cultural Adaptation and Dynamic Capability of businesses. I absolutely agree that these things are what a business needs to be viable in an international scene but what it does is that it somehow predominate local customs and traditions. Take a look at McDonald’s for example. In different countries, the McDonald’s menu adapts to local tastes and culture. Like in Thailand where spice is an ever prevailing part of food, the chicken nuggets have its own spicy sauce. This notion of traditional practices moving towards rationalized, proficient and manageable routines puts the local culture in a very bargaining place that both produces profit for the company doing it and modernizes cultural traditions which in most cases is not really a good thing.

* The inequality that Globalization causes between the North and the South seems to show strong evidence that Globalization indeed decreases cultural diversity. The fact that this idea shows a positive relationship between globalization and inequality states and shows that it clearly does not help the impoverished part of the world improve its own sense of being and therefore are pressured to adapt to popular culture or the western way of thinking. This creates an environment of intense compression between cultures clashing through entrepreneurial enterprises trying to make it on a foreign land. People from a particular kind of culture doesn’t have a firm grasp on a culture different from them and that now generates a confusion and somehow some corporate giants go around this problem and creates a solution that in many ways greatly advances the company into a incredibly competitive force but at the same time surpasses the idea of cultures diversifying.

4. Why do marketers segment markets? Give examples of particular markets where demographic segmentation might be appropriate.

Answers: Market segmentation is a marketing strategy which involves dividing a broad target market into subsets of consumers, businesses, or countries who have, or are perceived to have, common needs, interests, and priorities, and then designing and implementing strategies to target them.
There are several advantages of segmentation.
1) Focus of the Company – Segmentation is an effective method to increase the focus of a firm on market segments. If you have better focus, obviously you will have better returns. Numerous automobile companies have started focusing on small car segments. This is nothing else but a company changing its focus for better returns. Thus companies base their strategy completely on a new segment which increases its focus and profitability.
2) Increase in competitiveness – Naturally, once your focus increases, your competitiveness in that market segment will increase. If you are focusing on youngsters, your brand recall and equity with youngsters will be very high. Your market share might increase and the chances of a new competitor entering might be low. The brand loyalty will definitely increase. Thus market segmentation also increases competitiveness of a firm from a holistic view.
3) Market expansion – Geographic segmentation is one type of segmentation where expansion is immediately possible. If you have your market strategy on the basis of geography, then once you are catering to a particular territory, you can immediately expand to a nearby territory. In the same way, if you are targeting customers based on their demography (Ex – Reebok targets fitness enthusiasts) then you can expand in similar products (Ex – Reebok expanding with its fitness range of clothes and accessories). Segmentation plays a crucial role in expansion. You cannot expand in a territory when you have no idea of which segment of customers you will be meeting.

4) Customer retention – By using segmentation, Customer retention can be encouraged through the life cycle of a customer. The best example of this is the Automobile and the Airlines segment. You will find major example of customer life cycle segmentation in the Hospitality segment whether they be hotels, airlines, or hospitals. In India, Titan is an example of products which are planned through the life cycle of a customer. From fast track to Sonata and the high range watches, Titan has them by price segment as well as life cycle segment. Thus a watch is available for any customer who enters a Titan showroom, whatever be his age.
5) Have better communication – One of the factors of marketing mix which is absolutely dependent on STP is Promotions or communications. The communications of a company needs to be spot on for its TARGET market. Thus if you need a target market, you need segmentation. Communication cannot be possible without knowing your target market. Imagine if you had to make someone across a curtain understand what is politics. You would go on about ruling parties, states, countries and politicians. And when the curtain is taken aside, you find that the person across the curtain is a 5 year old kid. Is there any use talking to him about politics? This shows why communication needs segmentation. If you dont know your market segment, what is their demography, what is their psychology, where they are from, then how can you form a communication message.
6) Increases profitability – Segmentation increases competitiveness, brand recall, brand equity, customer retention, and communications. Thus if it is affecting so many factors of your business, then definitely it affects the profitability of the firm. Do you ever see people negotiating in a Nike, Gucci or BMW showrooms? You won’t. One of the USP’s of this brand is their segmentation. They are in fact targeting segments which have no need of bargaining or negotiation. Thus their profitability is high.
Demographic Segmentation:
Demographic segmentation is market segmentation according to age, race, religion, gender, family size, ethnicity, income, and education. Demographics can be segmented into several markets to help an organization target its consumers more accurately. Demographics can be segmented into several markets to help you target your consumers more accurately.
Gender
While the target market for a given product can include females and males, one gender may represent a larger share of a company's target market. Businesses can segment their markets by gender, and come up with variations of their products devoted to serving a specific gender or alter their marketing campaigns to appeal to the male or female segment. A company that manufactures men and women's clothes may create a segment for the women customers and promote a new dress line they're offering to them, while promoting a new tie line to the men.
Income Level
When companies develop pricing strategies for their brands and products, they consider the income levels of their target markets. Salary, or income level, is an example of a demographic segmentation businesses use when they prepare to introduce a product to the market or initiate a sale. For example, designers such as Zac Posen and Isaac Mizrahi have created affordable clothing and accessories, sold at Target, to reach customers who cannot afford their high-end, more expensive lines.

Age
Age plays an integral role in how companies promote their products online and offline. Segmenting your market by age often involves diversifying pricing and color options, and adjusting features to fit the anticipated needs and expectations of each age group A bookstore releasing a new decade-specific book written about growing up in the 1980s, might send a promotion to customers born in the 1980s, for example.

Occupation
Businesses who offer products and services to individuals and businesses in specific professions or industries may use their demographic data to segment their markets by occupation. For example, if you sell a marketing e-book targeted to C-level marketing executives, you can segment them from your overall list of customer occupations then focus your advertising activities around reaching the chief marketing officers who make up your target market.
Marital Status
A company might discover that married individuals are more willing to pay higher prices than single individuals, or that single customers purchase a certain product more frequently than married people. A jewelry store can target married customers with promotions for anniversary bands, for example, while targeting unmarried women with "right-hand" rings, which are often worn as a signal of independence.
Examples of Demographic Segmentation:
Potential customers are identified by criteria such as age, race, religion, gender, income level, family size, occupation, education level and marital status. Choose those characteristics of your demographic target market that relates to the interest, need and ability of the customer to purchase your product or service.
For example, a target market for a real estate developer selling luxury vacation homes near Walt Disney World would include professional married couples approximately 30 to 45 years old with young children, and with incomes of more than $100,000.
Another example of targeting through demographics is Liz Claiborne Apparel Company. They have named their target market, her name is Liz Lady. They know Liz Lady’s age, income range, professional status, family status, hobbies and interests. Every decision from marketing to design is based on Liz Lady’s profile.
A demographic profile for a business would include such factors as customer size, number of employees, type of products, and annual revenue. If you are a business-to-business marketer for example, you may want to consider segmenting according to your target customer’s size. A printing company may decide to target only magazine publishers that publish more than one magazine because they need high volume accounts to make a profit.
Amazon is a hugely successful global company, and in recent years they have developed an e-reading device that they named the Kindle. Currently, the Kindle’s target market is most likely a lot broader, since e-readers have become incredibly popular in recent years. However, the initial target market for the Kindle was more specific. It included a younger demographic, because potential customers had to have a flair for technology, and be able to find their way around a tablet-like device. Younger generations are more likely to embrace changes and advances in technology, so it would make sense to market a new technology like e-readers to younger people. The target market also included more educated people. Those who have pursued education beyond high school are more likely to indulge in reading for pleasure, and therefore more likely to buy an e-reader. The target market also included those people who earned enough money to spend a few hundred dollars on a device like the Kindle. In a basic sense, Kindles were originally marketed to young, smart, well-to-do consumers, because they were most likely to be interested in books and new technology, and also able to afford an e-reader.
Toy and board game companies such as Hasbro or Mattel have a very specific target market. Interestingly, toy companies have to maintain a balance between marketing to parents and marketing to children. Their products have to be advertised in a specific way so that children are interested in the toys, but also so that parents are willing to buy them. The target market, in terms of adults, includes people of a certain advanced age, since younger people are less likely to have children. Families with children tend to live in suburban areas rather than in large cities or metropolitan centers, so the target market probably also includes those people who live in suburban parts of the country or the world