Demographics & Audiences

Marketing researchers have two objectives: first to determine what segments or subgroups exist in the overall population; and secondly to create a clear and complete picture of the characteristics of a typical member of each of these segments.

Once these profiles are constructed, they can be used to develop a marketing strategies.

The four types of demographics in marketing are:

age, gender, race, and income level.

Demographic profiles in marketing

Marketers typically combine several variables to define a demographic profile.

This provides information about the typical member of this group to create a mental picture of this hypothetical consumer.

For example, a marketer might speak of the single, female, middle-class, age 18 to 24, college educated demographic.

Wrong audience!

Social Grade Social Status Occupation

A Upper middle class higher managerial, administrative or professional

B Middle class intermediate managerial, administrative or professional

C1 Lower middle class supervisory or clerical, junior managerial, administrative or professional

C2 Skilled working class skilled manual workers

D Working class semi and unskilled manual workers

E Those at lowest level of subsistence

state pensioners or widows (no other earner), casual or lowest grade workers

Demographics Classifications

Criticisms

• Critics of demographic profiling argue that such broad-brush generalisations can only offer such limited insight that their practical usefulness is debatable.

• Not all marketing plans work. So generalisations can only suggest trends, rather than be specific.

• So how influenced by marketing are we?

1. The effects model

The earliest theories imagined that mass media had very strong effects on their audiences. This model saw the media message as a kind of "magic bullet." Sent out by the organization, the magic bullets "hit" the members of the audience in their "minds" and changed their thoughts.

• The bullet theory assumed that an audience was passive, waiting for the media to shoot a propaganda message into it, and would roll over in a state of docile surrender when hit, as long as the bullet was sufficiently powerful.

Must watch new Nicolas Cage film.

2. The Uses and Gratifications Model

• In the uses and gratifications approach the audience is active. Audience members are seen as consumers of a media product, and as with consumers of other goods and services, they shop around, consider alternatives, and make choices.

Instead of asking, "how does the media change our minds?" the uses and gratifications researchers ask "what is the role of media in our lives?"

• Here are some examples of the uses to which the media are put: • Getting the "news" • Getting information about available products and services • Establishing common topics to talk about with friends • Creating a substitute for having friends • Providing a way to feel connected to other members of the audience • Providing a way to escape from the day's problems and worries

• In this view media becomes just one of many cultural influences in our environment, and far from the most important.

In this view media becomes just one of many cultural influences in our environment, and far from the most important.

Nicolas Cage? No, I’d rather read

philosophy.

3. Two-step Flow (or Interpersonal Diffusion)

• This theory states that certain members of the audience, called "opinion leaders," would be more influential than other members. In theory the opinion leaders would make up their minds as to what the media messages meant and then tell their friends and neighbours.

• However, different people seem to be the opinion leaders on different subjects. Because of this, it was (and continues to be) very difficult to find a simple explanation for the spread, or diffusion, of the content of

media messages through a society.

That looks great!

That looks terrible! I want to

see that!

Which theory is right?

• Effects model (or bullet model, or hypodermic model)

• Uses and gratifications model

• Two-step flow (or interpersonal diffusion model)