Demograhic and Psychographic Profiling, and Project Phoenix

There are a few ways of catergorizing target audience and I intend to discuss Demographic and Pschographic Profiling.

Demographic Profiling

This was the first type of audience profiling that was introduced as media industies started to grow following the end of WW2. They needed a way to identify their audience and they needed a way of marketing it to them.

The way they did this was by spliting and grouping the audience into smaller groups base on:-

• Age
• Gender 
• Sexuality
• Class
• Geographical Area
• Religion
• Economics

This method was made taking into account the lives their audience lead or their social and economic status. The Social and Economic scale split the audience into 6 groups based on their economic status.

•  A (upper class) - higher managerial, administrative or proffessional eg:- surgeon or company director.       
• B ( middle class) - Intermediate managerial, administrative or proffessional eg:- teachers, solicitors.                   
• C1 (lower middle class) - Skilled non manual eg:- sales assistant, shop floor supervisors                                                                                       
• C2 (skilled working class) - Skilled manual work eg:- pluber, electrician   
• D (lower working class) - Semi skilled eg:- assembly line workers, cleaners
• E (subsidence)- Unskilled, pensioners and unemployed

However age needs to be considered and members of a similar age group tend to be at the same stage regarding their family life cycle eg:- new parents would have similar wants and needs. Also people within the same age bracket have smilar financial status eg:- pensioners who live off just their pension and any savings they have, would have a different financial staus to a student at university. This method has caused some problems though as people who have the same type of job do not neccessarily have the same financial status; and this is why a different way of catergorizing audience was introduced known as Psychographic Profiling.

Psychographic Profiling 

This method makes the asumption that the audience is complex and takes into considertion their emotioal and psychological needs when they make their adverts. It takes into consideration Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs which takes into consideration Psychological needs, safety and security, belonging needs, esteem needs and when all these needs are met you have achieved Self Actualization.

Another study which is taken into consideration in Psychographic Profiling is Young and Rubicam's Cross-Cultural Consumer Characteristics. This splits the audience into 4 catergories based on their aspirations.

1. Mainstreamers - 40% of the market. They seek security and comfort in well known brand names. This is the largest part of the market.
2. Aspirers - They are motivated by status and buy smart, high tech and fashion goods.
3. Succeeders - Have already climbed the ladder and want control over what they have. Adverts for cars that emphasise power are aimed particularly at the people within this group.
4. Reformers - Want the world to be a better place. They tend to be educated people such as teachers or doctors. They prefer to buy eco-friendly and health products.

Finally the most recent group that has become a way of classifying audience is 'The Individual'. This group responds to advertisments that emphasises individualism and quirkiness. 1980/90's Niche consumer markets/Lifestyle groups classified consumers further eg:- OPALS - Older People with Active Lifestyles, GLAM - Greying, Leisured, Affulent and Married, NINJA - No Income, No Job or Assets, and SNERT - Snot-Nosed Egostical Rude Teenager. There are many other groups within this way of classifying audience and they focus not only on the economical situation of the person but also personality traits. That makes this one of the better ways of classifying audience.

If you take into consideration Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs, Young and Rubicam's Cross-Cultural Consumer Characteristics and 1980/90's Niche consumer market'Lifestyle groups then you will find that Psychographical Profiling is a lot more beneficial than Demographic Profiling as it takes into consideration more than just the economic status of a person based on what type of job they have.

Project Phoenix

Project Phoenix was a UK based research by Emap, don in 2003, looking at the attitudes towards music of 15 - 39 year olds. They surveyed 2200 people; equal amounts of male and females. They found identified 4 main degrees of interest in music:-

• Savants - 9%. Their lives are tied up in music and they couldn't live without it. A characteristic which identify them are that they are knowledgeable about music. They can be split into subgroups including, Insiders (male mid-late 20's who are usually in a band), Curators (male mid 30's. Aficionados of good music), Hoodies (teenage schoolboys living with parents)
  
• Enthusiasts - 16%. It is a key part and important in their live but they have other interests which balances their life. A defining characteristic of them is that they feel that their ipod as made the world a better place. They can be split into subgroups including Miss Dynamites (mid-late teen girls who are knowledgeable, worldly wise and "sophisticated", ipod tourists (males in their 20's. Passion for niche music. Defines mood and occasion), Party Grandees (male, late 20's-early 30's. Active social life put in front of adult responsibilities).
• Casuals - 26%. Music is welcome in their life but there are other things a lot more important to them. A defining characteristic is that they are equally or more interested in lifestyle and fashion trappings of music world. It can be split into subgroups including The Glamour Club (music important but they don't give much thought to it), Weekend Rowdies (male and female mid teens-early 20's. Live for the weekend), Mums in touch (women early 30's, busy lives. Keep up and not "boxed in" by age or parenthood)
• Indifferents - 48%. they would not be too bothered if music no longer existed. Identifying characteristics are that they have never heard song that they hear at parties and they tend to listen more to radio or sports instead of music. There are no subgroups.