| If you've been involved in marketing during the | | | | the gamut of religious and spiritual beliefs, political |
| past decade, you've probably noticed that things | | | | leanings, socioeconomic levels, education and |
| are a bit different since this whole 'online' thing got | | | | what's considered a fun way to spend a Saturday |
| underway. | | | | evening. In short, we share very few |
| While being online has starting to become an | | | | characteristics as a population apart from our |
| 'ordinary' part of many people's day-to-day lives, | | | | choice to live in the same part of the country. |
| the experience of being online is very different | | | | For marketers trying to reach 'us' based solely on |
| from any other type of popular media. | | | | where we live, the results of any geographically |
| Those of us over the age of twenty clearly | | | | targeted campaign are going to be just about as |
| remember a world without the 'Internet'. Back in | | | | untargeted as you can get. |
| those olden days most media consisted of | | | | To reach a more refined group of people based |
| marketing channels to which the majority of the | | | | on attributes that aren't as generalized as most |
| population flocked. In exchange for giving people | | | | demographic groups, marketers need to find |
| access to this content, advertisers were given | | | | ways to measure 'who' consumers are instead of |
| access to the people who came to visit. They | | | | 'what' they are. |
| tossed their messages in front of us as we | | | | Here are a few more recent targeting |
| wandered around hoping that something would | | | | approaches that marketers are using to reach |
| catch our eye. Sometimes it did. Mostly it didn't. | | | | highly refined audiences. |
| Because these mass marketing models were | | | | Psychographic Targeting |
| based on 'quantity' and not 'quality' of consumers, | | | | For marketers to effectively target any audience |
| there was an up-front expectation that there | | | | they need to have a clear understanding of the |
| would be a tremendous amount of waste. | | | | personal interests that the target audience shares. |
| Advertisers understood that even if they were | | | | Social scientists categorize this segmentation as |
| targeting the very best demographic group for an | | | | the study of psychographics. Psychographics are |
| offer the vast majority wouldn't even see or | | | | commonly defined as individual attributes directly |
| respond to the marketing offer. | | | | relating to personality, values, interests or |
| For marketers, it was the safety in numbers | | | | lifestyles. There are sometimes referred to as |
| advertising approach that kept them going. | | | | IOA variables or characteristics (for Interests, |
| This approach also trained us, as consumers, to | | | | Attitudes and Opinions). Psychographics often |
| understand that our direct involvement in the | | | | target the most personal parts of who we are. |
| marketing process wasn't really necessary. The | | | | We belong to multiple psychographic 'groups' |
| TV commercials would continue to run whether | | | | based on our interests as individuals. Our |
| we watched them or not; the print ads would | | | | relationship with each group ranges from little |
| stay right where they were printed even if we | | | | involvement to whole involvement. For example, I |
| didn't open the magazine or newspaper; the ad on | | | | may take my bicycle out for a short spin on a |
| the side of the bus would keep moving down | | | | warm summer day. This action classifies me as a |
| Main Street would keep going even if we ignored | | | | bicyclist and helps me to identify with other |
| it. | | | | people who enjoy riding bicycles. However, my |
| But the arrival of the online world started to | | | | involvement in this group is very different from |
| change things and pretty dramatically. Consumers | | | | the guy who's training for an upcoming Tour de |
| now have millions of "channels" to choose from | | | | France and spends 6 hours a day on his bicycle. |
| and advertisers have fewer places where they | | | | My identity with bicycling is one of enjoyable |
| will reach mass markets. In fact, the very | | | | weekend pastime while for the guy in training it's |
| structure of the Internet means that consumers | | | | almost on par with being a lifestyle. If given the |
| don't even need to look at or interact with | | | | opportunity to purchase bicycling paraphernalia I'm |
| advertising anymore...unless they really want to. | | | | going to have a different perspective as to its |
| Culturally we've developed a number of ways to | | | | value and necessity than he will. |
| share information with one another. We've also | | | | Marketers looking to reach a thin-sliced audience |
| learned how to customize messages so that they | | | | need to understand common shared traits and |
| reach specific people. We never pick up the phone | | | | how individuals in these groups 'weigh' their |
| and think 'Okay, I need to talk to every person | | | | interests in these areas. Whether targeting deer |
| on Earth. What's the number?' We don't send an | | | | hunters, urban dwellers, backgammon players, |
| email to everybody in the company every time | | | | people of Scotch-Irish descent, unicyclists or guys |
| we have a thought to share with Sandy in | | | | who mow their lawns on Saturday morning, the |
| accounting. | | | | value of each psychographic slice is going to |
| When we start any new marketing campaign we | | | | depend on how the people in these segments |
| need to first think about who the campaign is | | | | define themselves. |
| trying to reach. What is the ultimate goal? What is | | | | Technographic Targeting |
| the campaign saying? What obstacles can get in | | | | Online targeting is often restricted by technological |
| the way of the right consumer receiving the | | | | limitations that prevent marketers from reaching |
| message? What should the consumer do to take | | | | consumers. For marketers to effectively reach |
| advantage of the offer? | | | | consumers it's often necessary to know where |
| In the past mass marketing has represented the | | | | potential obstacles or bottlenecks exist. |
| ultimate delivery mechanism for advertising | | | | Technographic targeting focuses on identifying the |
| messages but paints the audience with such a | | | | technological foundations that consumers are using |
| broad brush that its goal of reaching the right | | | | to connect with the Web. This includes things like |
| people can't be efficiently kept. To be truly | | | | computer CPU speeds, Internet connection |
| effective, a delivery system has to reach the | | | | speeds, Operating Systems, browser types, |
| greatest number of individual consumers who can | | | | browser versions, and drivers or extra software |
| take action on the message being sent. | | | | availability. |
| The bottom line is that a message that reaches | | | | A common example of technographic targeting is |
| 1,000,000 of the wrong people isn't more | | | | measuring the online bandwidth capabilities of a |
| effective than a message that reaches a single | | | | visitor to a web site. For example, if, as a |
| right person. | | | | marketer, I wished to send a video based ad to |
| The ultimate goal of effective advertising is to | | | | my target audience I'm going to want to know if |
| maximize effectiveness while reducing waste. | | | | they can receive the ad. While broadband adoption |
| Correctly targeting a campaign means first | | | | over recent years has made this task easier, |
| identifying who the best people to receive a | | | | there are still millions of people worldwide who are |
| particular offer are and how to go about | | | | using dial-up modems to get online. Without |
| identifying where they are. | | | | knowing how my target audience accesses the |
| When we target online audiences that are three | | | | web, I run the risk of wasting impressions by |
| primary areas of exploration: | | | | sending ad content to people who can't receive it. |
| 1. Contextual targeting | | | | On the other hand, by measuring the connect |
| 2. Database targeting | | | | speed of my target audience, I can then sort that |
| 3. Behavioral targeting | | | | audience out into sub-groups and provide separate |
| Let's take a closer look at the differences | | | | ad units for each group. |
| between these three areas. | | | | Technographic measuring can also tell marketers a |
| Contextual Targeting | | | | lot about a potential customer. A high-tech |
| The simple definition for contextual targeting is | | | | company looking to introduce a new cutting edge |
| the placement of messages where the people | | | | product can effectively target prospects by |
| most likely to be interested are most likely to see | | | | measuring the operating system on the recipient's |
| it. Contextual targeting is perhaps the oldest type | | | | computer. Prospects running the most recent |
| of targeted marketing. For years, trade | | | | versions of Windows or the Macintosh OS might |
| magazines, area newspapers, local television | | | | be classified as being technologically savvy while |
| stations and local radio stations have served as | | | | prospects still running Windows 98 on a 7 year old |
| channels for contextual marketing campaigns. | | | | PC are probably not good candidates for |
| Because each channel caters to a specific range | | | | marketers looking to reach 'early adopters'. |
| of the population either based on topic interest or | | | | Centrographic Targeting |
| region, advertising using contextual targeting has | | | | While geographical targeting is generally considered |
| generally meant reaching an audience that has | | | | part of standard demography there are a few |
| already been 'filtered' down to a common interest | | | | variations that fall outside of the basic geographic |
| or locale. | | | | targeting realm. Whereas most geographic |
| In online marketing, contextual marketing works in | | | | targeting focuses on regions and areas of the |
| a similar way. Many web sites focus on, or have | | | | country and world based on their proximately to |
| sections that focus on a single or limited range of | | | | one another, centrographic targeting focuses |
| topics. Like trade publications, these sites attract a | | | | more on population characteristics that can be |
| self-selected audience who share a common | | | | associated with specific regions. |
| interest whether its butterfly collecting, paintball | | | | For example, every winter across the Northern |
| battlefield strategies or exploring the validity of | | | | United States there is a need for snow removal |
| UFO sightings. For advertisers looking to | | | | services. There is also a need for services like |
| communicate with these specific groups, good | | | | heating system maintenance, fuel delivery and |
| targeting is as easy as placing topically relevant | | | | sales of things like ice scrapers and snow tires. |
| ads on those pages. | | | | Meanwhile, in the Southwestern United States the |
| Demographic Targeting | | | | need for these services or products each winter |
| Demography covers a broad range of ways a | | | | is very limited or non-existent. On the other hand, |
| population can be sliced up to define certain | | | | the hot summers in the Southwest requires air |
| segments. A few of the more traditional | | | | conditioning and home cooling services that are |
| segments include: | | | | not always necessary in the North. |
| - Age/ Lifecycle | | | | Centrographic targeting can also identify and |
| - Gender | | | | isolate differences between population groups. For |
| - Race/Ethnicity | | | | example, people living in a city like New York are |
| - Socioeconomic status | | | | going to have a different perceived need for |
| - Location of residence | | | | products and services than people living a few |
| - Religion | | | | hours north in rural New York might. Even staying |
| - Nationality | | | | within the boroughs of New York, the cultural |
| - Occupation | | | | diversity of different ethnic groups alone makes |
| - Education level | | | | for dozens of unique regional markets. |
| - Family size | | | | Significant differences can also exist among |
| - Marital status | | | | cultural groups that share a similar language and |
| - Ownership (of home, boat, car, etc.) | | | | history, or current geography. For example, |
| - Language | | | | Hispanic populations living in Southern California and |
| While many of these characteristics can | | | | those living in Southern Florida may share |
| effectively narrow a population down into an | | | | common cultural histories and ancestry but |
| audience, traditional demography often offers just | | | | represent very unique markets based on unique |
| a generalized benchmark of behavior. | | | | regional characteristics. |
| For example, I currently live in a fairly rural part | | | | While reaching those audiences requires a new |
| of the country. While I share a number of | | | | layer of understanding on the parts of marketers, |
| demographic characteristics with other people | | | | if used correctly the ability to reach more of the |
| within my particular zip code (middle aged, white, | | | | right consumers with any marketing offer is also |
| own my own home, went to college, married, | | | | going to result in greater effectiveness and much |
| speak English, or a variant thereof) those | | | | less waste. |
| benchmarks do a lousy job at identifying us as a | | | | Rob Graham - LearningCraft, LLC. |
| whole or me as an individual. My little town runs | | | | |