New marketing needs new targeting models
From the Flickr of Vidiot
Just finished Grant McCracken’s new book Transformations. If you haven’t read it, the main premise is that transformation – or self-reinvention – has become a defining aspect of contemporary culture. Grant catalogues the different types of transformations at play and notes that the idea of a singular self is becoming less and less common and that individuals are more likely to exhibit a variety of different identities that they flow in and out of quite seamlessly.
This was some of the thinking that drove the naming of Zeus Jones and also, I think, ties to John’s thinking about brand molecules. But more than that, the idea that we are living in a world where people’s identities have become much more complex and multi-faceted fits with our everyday experience. It makes sense because we come across this constantly in the people we meet (and it probably resonates with your own personal experience too).
In the same way that monolithic, singularly-focused brand models are losing relevance, so too are homogeneous brand targeting models. I wrote a little about this the other day, but I think that we desperately need some new thinking around targeting that doesn’t try to separate people out into discrete groups who all think, act, behave and buy alike.
Part of the answer may lie in using different targeting strategies for different types of channels. For example, on the web, targeting by task – like Google does – is an easy way of getting around this problem. With a bit of clear thinking, there’s a lot that can be discerned about someone who is “looking for something (in the case of search)” or someone who “wants to know where something is (in the case of maps).”
Google also used some very smart outdoor targeting from a campaign by Crispin several years ago by targeting a level of knowledge.
However, I think that using different models for different channels can only get you so far. It doesn’t address the fact that most brands today don’t have one audience. Or rather, that the audience that each brand has is can’t be described simply or cohesively. What’s needed are targeting models that enable brands to target a variety of different needs, mindsets, values, attitudes, etc. without simply devolving to the “brand for everyone” cop-out thinking that you often run into.
Anyone working on this sort of thing out there?