Advertisement classification: Target audience

Advertising can be classified by four main criteria: purpose, target audience, geographic area and medium. Advertising is not aimed at everybody. Each advertisement has a target audience it is intended to reach.

The advertising message is therefore, tailor-made to address and influence the selected target audience. These are the people who are most likely to buy the product.

Once the target audience is decide and what they are looking for in terms of the product or service is offered it is time to decide what the advertisement will say.

Advertisement should always be written to communicate a message that will be seen as important by the target customer. The advertisement should be clearly and convincingly “speak” to the target audience, explaining the important benefits of the product or service offer.

The word, phrases, style and main message of the advertisement are carefully selected to appeal to the particular group targeted.
Advertisement classification: Target audience

Target audience

Target audience
One of the target audience in marketing is influencers. These alongside customers and consumers are the principal members of the ‘decision making unit’, any one or combination of whom be selected as targets.

Such a group might come together formally, as in industrial markets, or informally, as in many consumer purchases decisions.

Influencers for a child’s toy, for example, might include the child friends, teachers, relatives, parents and the media.

If marketing communications are used to ‘influence the influencers’ more favorable outcomes may occur.

For this reason, opinion leaders and the media may specifically targeted when new products are being launched.

It is wise to consider a range of target audiences (both push and pull) when planning marketing communications and their specification should be as precise as possible.

The most widely quoted approach is use to the social grading system. It uses ‘occupation of the head of household’ as the basis of the A B C1 C2 D E classification system familiar to so many people.

The groupings toughly equate to social classes. Although the social grading approach remains popular, it is best to used in conjunction with other approaches.

Today, there are many other and more powerful measures that can be used, including those using other demographic, geodemographic, psychographic, mediagraphic, buyer behavior and life stage variables.

For example, research into people’s lifestyles reveal telling differences between audience groups.
Target audience

How to define audience

How to define audience
Defining audience is an extremely important marketing communications task.

Unless the right audience is identified and reached, marketing communications cannot be effective.

Research and analysis is used to identify and develop an understating of audience. Messages and media are then chosen to reach selected targets effectively and efficiently.

The most obvious target audiences are customers, but there should not be thought of as the only targets.

Consumers are another group. Whereas customers are buyers, consumers are users and as such influence the decision to buy.

Sometimes they may be the same people, but often they are not. In industrial purchases this is typically the case.

In family situations, the other may make many household purchases, but do so for other members of the family.

In situations where trade intermediaries are used (e.g. wholesalers and retailers), both trades customers and the end customers/consumers will need to be targeted.

Promotional strategies are known as push (promoting to the trade) and pull (promoting to end buyers and users) strategies.
How to define audience

Audience

Audience
Defining the audience is an extremely important marketing communications task.

Unless the right audience is identified and reached, marketing communications cannot be effective.

Research and analysis used to identify and develop an understanding of audiences.

Messages and media are then chosen to reach selected targets effectively and efficiently.

The most obvious target audiences are customers, but these should not be thought of as the only targets.

Consumers are another group. Whereas customers are buyers, consumers are users and as such influence the decision to buy.

Sometimes they may be the same people, but often they are not.

In industrial purchases, this is typically the case. In family situations, the mother may make many household purchases but do so for other members of the family.

In situations where trade intermediaries are used both trade customers and the end customers/consumers will need to be targeted.

Promotional strategies are known as push (promoting to the trade) and pull (promoting to end buyers and users) strategies.

A third category of target audience is other influencers. These, alongside customers and consumers, are the principal members of the ‘decision making unit’, any one or combination of whom may be selected as targets.

Such a group might come together formally, as in industrial markets, or informally, as in many consumer purchase decision.

Influencers for a child’s toy, for example, might include the child, friend, teachers, relatives, parents and the media.

If marketing communications are used to ‘influence the influencers’, more favorable outcomes may occur.

For this reason, opinion leaders and the media may be specially targeted when new products are being launched.

It is wise to consider a range of target audiences (both ‘push’ and ‘pull’) when planning marketing communications and their specification should be as precise as possible.

The most widely quoted approach is use of the social grading system.
Audience