Audiences aren’t what they used to be — and nor are demographics. This week one of Australia’s major banks, the Commonwealth, released a report showing just how different the Australian population looks today compared to the past. It tells us that traditional assumptions about demographics are broken. In today’s Brand Newsroom, James and Sarah take a close look at why it’s important to segment your audience rather than use outdated demographic assumptions.

 

Here are some key take-outs:

  • Marketers have been slow to adapt to the need to (and the ability to) segment their marketing to communicate with discrete audiences.
  • It’s now possible to target very specific target markets within your larger audience. Hit them with messaging that resonates, not a “one size fits all”.

“Any time you understand your audience and you can market to that audience in a way that resonates with them, you’re going to win. — Sarah

 

  • Consumers aren’t relying on salespeople for information any longer, they’re doing their own research online.
  • If you’re relying on traditional demographics, you’re probably in trouble. Consumers and their needs don’t fall into the simple categories we’ve always used. For example, single people aren’t necessarily young people.

“If you’re marketing, it’s the ‘Peter Pans’ you want to tap into — they’re… young at heart, living independently, enabled by the latest technology… they’re the ones theoretically who have got all the money and want to spend it on doing crazy things.” — James

 

  • Don’t make assumptions about who your audience is, find out who they actually are, then make sure that you’re getting your marketing right.
  • For example, if some people aged 70 think “70 is the new 30” you can’t market to them with picture of a grey-haired person and a Zimmer frame.

“I think what this report does is it really shows how you cannot say just because you’re aged between 18 and 24 you’re X and because you’re aged between 30 and 40 you are Y. It doesn’t work like that any more.” — James

Here are the links you might need

 

Have you heard the one about…

Recently James, Sarah and Nic were joined by Lush Digital’s managing editor Dan Hatch, for a chat about article idea generation.

 

And here’s a discussion with Rebecca Lieb about the metrics marketers often overlook.

 

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