Level 2 Advertising Personalization — What Goes Into Messaging the Many
This is another in an ongoing series on Advertising Personalization. The introductory article, The Evolution of Advertising Personalization: A 100+ year quest to create advertising that people like, can be found here. For a full explanation by level of The Advertising Personalization Classification System go here.
In the absence of a crystal ball, or any other equally reliable way to peek into the hearts and minds of the general population, marketers rely on the statistical breakdown of populations, or demographics, to help them target their message.
The practice of delineating an audience based on geography, age, race, gender, and more, dates back to the ancient Greeks who not only pioneered the practice, they gave it its name.
The breakdown of the word demographics tells us as much about what it means, (demo- or di mo, meaning ‘of the people,’ and -graphics or grafikós, meaning ‘what is written,’) as it does to why this practice was important enough to our forbearers that they made it into a repeatable strategy.
In the ancient world, the act of studying others to better understand the composition of a different society was in most instances a fairly mercenary act. For those living in the earliest days of civilization, learning the geography, traditions, and languages of others facilitated quicker exploitation of another’s resources, land, people, technology, and whatever else they coveted. Such behavior spawned the adage, “Beware Greeks bearing gifts,” the gift, in one case, being the Trojan horse; and we all know how that turned out.
On a more philosophical level, the Greek formulation and application of demographics is profound for reasons other than just providing a crafty way to get inside the enemy’s walls. What makes the development of demographics radical stems as much from its application as it does from its origins.
A long time ago, Greek minds took a counterintuitive approach to solve a complex problem. That is, what is the fastest way for anyone, from a City/State to an individual, to convince a disinterested party to enter into an exchange? Up until that time, the most common way to get others to engage in trade was mild coercion or sheer, brute force. By endeavoring to break the will of others or overrunning those who had what you wanted, you felt no compunction to get to know them; turning every exchange into an adversarial one. This juvenile tactic had a roughly 50% chance of succeeding. Better percentages were to be had if you had the resources necessary to overwhelm your opponent.
As obvious as this seems today, for the people of the antiquity, the act of purposefully understanding the composition of an opponent in order to address them in the language of their interests was wildly contrary to the prevailing wisdom of the era. After all, what’s faster than invasion followed by unbridled looting when it comes to getting what you want? As the Greeks refined their understanding of demographics, or, by actively observing and listening to others, they were able to get what they wanted without loss of life or resources. This effort toward gain-through-understanding was profound enough that it altered the course of history.
We’re Not in Athens Anymore — Applying The Wisdom of the Ancients to Modern Marketing
Most of us today know the study of the statistical breakdown of populations has progressed from a gathering of generalizations to a full-on science. And, that the focus has shifted away from observing others in order to exploit them, to studying what others need or desire so businesses can get it to them.
The demographic data we gather now is used in countless ways but it mostly helps us identify our ideal customer. Given the rise of so many sophisticated demographic data-gathering technologies we can now identify an individual’s marital status, number of kids, product preferences and shopping habits — right down to their last online shopping click. Additionally, technologies continue to help us develop marketing strategies, determine the appearance of our website or of a landing page, informs the messaging of entire ad campaigns, where we locate our businesses, how much we can charge for our goods and services, the look and feel of our brand, etc.
Saturday Morning TV: Pushing the Limits of Demographic Advertising
In the heyday of network television, the Saturday morning time slot was considered a goldmine. During the 1970s and 80s, ABC, CBS, and NBC enjoyed a cartoon viewership of more than 20 million. Why? This time slot lured ideal demographic: children, home from school, most with nothing much to do but watch television. To address this audience directly, the networks, in collusion with advertisers, created content that appealed to kids, and that, over time, became more advertorial and less entertainment.
The programs and ads that ran in the early days of Saturday morning television were relatively subtle, in that the ads and the programs were distinguishable from one another, and for most kids, it was easy to determine when the program cut to a commercial. It didn’t take much time for that to change. Soon programs (with their own merchandise lines) like My Little Pony, G.I. Joe and The Transformers were blurring the lines between children’s entertainment and what amounted to a full-on, 30-minute infomercial disguised as an “adventure.”
A concerted effort to put an end to this demographic exploitation began in the 1970s when the Action for Children’s Television (ACT) group gathered enough steam to pressure the networks and advertisers to improve the quality of children’s programming. In 1970, ACT petitioned the FCC to ban advertising from children’s programming. This ban never took place, but the actions of the ACT did eliminate commercials for specific categories of products.
Despite the efforts of the ATC, the networks and advertisers grew more brazen in the content they broadcast until Congress was forced to take action. In 1990 H.R. 1677, or the Children’s Television Act (CTA) was passed into law. The act mandated that networks, and by proxy, advertisers, stop targeting children. It also placed limits on the amount of time broadcasters and cable operators were allowed to devote to advertisements during children’s programs.
Some argue the CTA killed the cartoons. Others assert that different factors contributed to the decline of the Saturday morning programming, like the rise of cable, the development of networks that specialized in children’s programming and cartoons, VCRs, and then DVRs. Whoever is to “blame,” by 2003, the major network’s Saturday viewership had dropped to a mere 2 million. The under 12 demographic got away.
The demise of Saturday morning children’s programming demonstrates both the power of strategic ad placement based on demographics — up until 1990 the makers of cold cereal were making $7B merely by marketing to the sugar-loving, under 12 audience — and limitations and fragility of demographic advertising. The legality, then abrupt illegality, of directly targeting a specific demographic is a prime example.
The Odds of Hitting Your Target Go up When You Aim at It
As the makers of toys and sugary cereals knew, moving product depended on getting their message in front of the right audience. In their case, kids. This kind of demographic targeting, whether it’s used scrupulously or not, is useful. Good marketers understand that without demographic delineation they’re wasting their time and money, and they recognize the great value of segmenting their audiences.
Some of the more common ways audiences are segmented are:
Demographic: Separates market by gender, age, household type, education level, and income. The products we buy, how much we spend, and how often we buy them are largely determined by demographic factors.
Geographic: Breaks a market into different geographical boundaries. This form of segmentation can be used to determine the product, price, promotional offers, and channel to market. For example, you may not sell very many skis in Nebraska, but cross into Colorado and you’ll likely see sales skyrocket.
Psychographic: Breaks a market up by lifestyle, values, and beliefs. Target markets that fall into psychographic segments include fitness, health, wellness, special diets, etc.
“Demographic trends are essentially long-term. You can ignore them this year, you can ignore them next year. But if you ignore them over time, they’ll get you in the end.”
Dr. David Foot, University of Toronto
Level 2 Demographic Personalization
Taken in total, an individual’s demographic information can be used in three main ways. At a macro-level demographics defines national or large-scale groups such as those within an age range. Mid-depth demographics can be used to tell us how many people own cars or homes, education levels, tax brackets. At the micro-level, we can collate very specific demographic information to create personas. (A persona is a composite “person,” or a “type” created from synthesized demographic information.)
The collection of demographic information and how we use it helps today’s marketers avoid the hit-and-miss marketing method. At Instapage, was use demographic information to help us create personalized ads.
This is where my Advertising Personalization Classification System comes in.
My new system is fed or informed by Advertising Personalization; the act of using insights into who a customer might be to increase the relevancy of an ad. These insights can be as simple as human wants/needs, geolocation, and basic demographic information, to more specific insights such as a niche interest, buying intent, and even behavioral patterns as specific as your political sympathies or interest level in the local sports teams.
The system has five levels and is fully elaborated here, and a beautiful infographic can be found here.
71% of consumers said they would prefer ads tailored to their personalized interests and shopping habits.
— According to a recent study conducted by Adlucent
Level 2 Demographic Personalization addresses identifiable and measurable segments of the population. It starts at dividing and targeting the sexes. It further delineates groups by age. Some are older, some are younger, and that age spectrum can be broken into age groups.
It is also often seasonal, situational, (think summer dresses and swimsuits or back-to-school), or coincides with a holiday. It tightens the targeting focus from Level 1 Regional Personalization, by zeroing in on demographic data like gender, age, married, single, etc. This information can get quite granular; down to education, income level, favorite sports team. A Level 2 campaign can utilize all media to go after a demographic segment.
The pitfalls of Level 2 Demographic Advertising are rife. Not least of which is the lack of specificity within a demographic; like this sample target audience from a slightly modified ad campaign brief:
Primary Target Audience: Men and women who drive vehicles less than five years old, between the ages of 18 and 49. Upper to middle income.
Secondary Target Audience: Anyone else who drives, between the ages of 16 to 80. Any income level.
The demographics defined in this example are general in the extreme. This lack of specificity will affect the success, or failure, of any advertising campaign. If your audience is too broadly defined, or your research is incorrect, or your assumptions are off, the demographic information can cause your campaign to flop.
As in the case above. The research that went into this creative brief stated the ads should be targeted at men and women who own newer cars. In reality, the testing of the product demonstrated the opposite. The actual users of this product were young, single, and many didn’t own cars at all. By targeting the wrong demographics, even just a little bit, you will burn through your ad budget and your ads, no matter how well crafted, will speak to no one.
Most of the messaging you are presented with in your daily routine is formulated based on the Level 2 Demographic Personalization. It is usually delivered in a general way, or, as it is referred to in the ad world: “spray and pray.” This method seldom converts us into customers. In some cases, it adds to our feelings of information overload. At its worst, it sours us on a brand or product.
Level 2 Demographic Personalization lacks insight into your intent; no understanding of your desires.
The Limits of Taking Your Message To the Masses:
It’s safe to say that most everyone who has a product or service for sale is relying on demographic personalization. It only makes sense that you would sell mountain bikes where communities of mountain biking enthusiasts can be found. A mountain bike shop might struggle to stay in business in the heart of Manhattan, but would likely thrive in Marin County, California.
Level 2 Demographic advertising personalization, despite its demographic specificity, does have its limitations. Mainly, this level of outreach struggles to get your attention against nearly insurmountable odds. Even if you see a Level 2 ad there’s a high chance you will have no need or interest in what is on offer. If you do, you still may not feel any compunction to act due to its inability to address your need or desire and the disconnect between you and a way to take action.
In articles to come, we will move up through each level of the Advertising Classification System. A powerful system designed to provide consumers, and marketers, an oculus through which they can see how to best focus their attention and on which of the countless messages that make demands on their time, emotion, and money, are relevant to them. Armed with this knowledge, the consumer will be able to make better choices, save money, and take control of how they’re being marketed to. Brands will be able to offer customers experiences that are tailored to their specific needs, reduce their cost of customer acquisition, and be less obtrusive in the lives of their loyal customers.
At Postclick, the Advertising Classification System helps us craft better campaigns, and our Post-Click Automation technology helps marketers deliver highly personalized ad-to-page experiences, that increase conversion, at scale.
If you are interested in working with our team on your advertising conversion problem, you can contact us here.
If you’re interested in personalization and the future of advertising, follow me.
Sources:
Which Types of Audience Targeting Are Most Important to Digital Branding Campaigns? May 12, 2015 — by MarketingCharts staffhttp://www.marketingcharts.com/online/which-types-of-audience-targeting-are-most-important-to-digital-branding-campaigns-54530/
Marketing Research Chart: How likely are consumers to click on personalized ads? by Dr. Liva LaMontagne , Editorial Research Managerhttps://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/how-likely-consumers-personalized-ads
