Survey of Broadcasting: Assignment 2, Question 3. Give an example of and define, in detail, the term “psychographics”.–Videos

Posted on June 30, 2011. Filed under: Advertising, Demographics, Psychographics, Radio | Tags: Attitudes, Beliefs, Hobbies, Interests, Lifestyles, Listeners, Motivations, Passions, psychographics, Values, Viewers |

Advertisers and media buyers target their commercials or messages to the listeners of a radio station.

Radio stations in turn use one of about twenty distinct formats such as music, news, talk, and sports to attract listeners to their radio station.

Radio stations use both the demographics and psychographics of their listening audience to attract advertiser and advertising revenues.

Advertisers and radio stations need to know who are listening to their programs and commercials.

Demographic traits of an individual include their age, gender, income, marital status, racial/ethnic background and other attributes of the individual.

Psychographics are an individual’s personality traits such as their attitudes, beliefs, values, lifestyles, hobbies, political interests, passions, opinions and other motivating factors for listening to a particular radio station.

Listener psychographics, also known as qualitative, values or lifestyle research, are studies used to determine a radio station’s listeners or what the listeners are really like.

The station’s audience  is segmented by various personality traits and their listening or viewing behavior.

The individual rates himself on a number of different scales, such as active-passive, leader-follower, relaxed-tensed, romantic-practical, independent-dependent, and so forth.

Lifestyle surveys put more emphasis on values that influence consumer behavior.

The best known lifestyle survey is the VALS II developed at the Standard Research Institute that divides people into eight groups (Achievers, Actualizers, Believers, Innovators, Makers, Strivers, Strugglers, and Thinkers)

Advertisers develop ad campaigns that are consistent with their target audiences based on VALS II.

Background Articles and Videos

Psychographic Profile: Communicating with Your Target Market

Psychographics Who Is Most Likely to Buy?

Are You My Audience? – Intro to Surveys and Psychographics: Part 1

Are You My Audience? – Intro to Surveys and Psychographics: Part 2

Are You My Audience? – Intro to Surveys and Psychographics: Part 3

Are You My Audience? – Intro to Surveys and Psychographics: Part 4

NICHE – demographics vs psychographics

Psychographic

“…In the field of marketing, demographics, opinion research, and social research in general, psychographic variables are any attributes relating to personality, values, attitudes, interests, or lifestyles. They are also called IAO variables (for Interests, Activities, and Opinions). They can be contrasted with demographic variables (such as age and gender), behavioral variables (such as usage rate or loyalty), and firmographic variables (such as industry, seniority and functional area).

Psychographics should not be confused with demographics. For example, historical generations are defined by psychographic variables like attitudes, personality formation, and cultural touchstones. The traditional definition of the “Baby Boom Generation” has been the subject of much criticism^{[by whom?]} because it is based on demographic variables where it should be based on psychographic variables^{[citation needed]}. While all other generations are defined by psychographic variables, the Boomer definition is based on a demographic variable: the fertility rates of its members’ parents.

When a relatively complete profile of a person or group’s psychographic make-up is constructed, this is called a “psychographic profile”. Psychographic profiles are used in market segmentation as well as in advertising.

Some categories of psychographic factors used in market segmentation include:

• Activity, Interest, Opinion (AIOs)
• Attitudes
• Values

Psychographics can also be seen as an equivalent of the concept of “culture” as used most commonly in national segmentation. “Psychographics is the study of personality, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles” ^[1] …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychographic

VALS

“…VALS (“Values, Attitudes and Lifestyles”) is a proprietary research methodology used for psychographic market segmentation. Market segmentation is designed to guide companies in tailoring their products and services to appeal to the people most likely to purchase them.

VALS was developed in 1978 by social scientist and consumer futurist Arnold Mitchell and his colleagues at SRI International. It was immediately embraced by advertising agencies, and is currently offered as a product of SRI’s consulting services division. VALS draws heavily on the work of Harvard sociologist David Riesman and psychologist Abraham Maslow. ^[1]

Mitchell used statistics to identify attitudinal and demographic questions that helped categorize adult American consumers into one of nine lifestyle types: survivors (4%), sustainers (7%), belongers (35%), emulators (9%), achievers (22%), I-am-me (5%), experiential (7%), societally conscious (9%), and integrated (2%). The questions were weighted using data developed from a sample of 1,635 Americans and their partners, who responded to an SRI International survey in 1980. ^[2]

The main dimensions of the VALS framework are primary motivation (the horizontal dimension) and resources (the vertical dimension). The vertical dimension segments people based on the degree to which they are innovative and have resources such as income, education, self-confidence, intelligence, leadership skills, and energy. The horizontal dimension represents primary motivations and includes three distinct types:

• Consumers driven by knowledge and principles are motivated primarily by ideals. These consumers include groups called Thinkers and Believers.
• Consumers driven by demonstrating success to their peers are motivated primarily by achievement. These consumers include groups referred to as Achievers and Strivers.
• Consumers driven by a desire for social or physical activity, variety, and risk taking are motivated primarily by self-expression. These consumers include the groups known as Experiencers and Makers.

At the top of the rectangle are the Innovators, who have such high resources that they could have any of the three primary motivations. At the bottom of the rectangle are the Survivors, who live complacently and within their means without a strong primary motivation of the types listed above. The VALS Framework gives more details about each of the groups.

Psychographic segmentation has been criticized by well-known public opinion analyst and social scientist Daniel Yankelovich, who says psychographics are “very weak” at predicting people’s purchases, making it a “very poor” tool for corporate decision-makers. ^[3] VALS has also been criticized as too culturally specific for international use. ^[4]

VALS Framework and Segment

• Innovator. These consumers are on the leading edge of change, have the highest incomes, and such high self-esteem and abundant resources that they can induldge in any or all self-orientations. They are located above the rectangle. Image is important to them as an expression of taste, independence, and character. Their consumer choices are directed toward the “finer things in life.”
• Thinkers. These consumers are the high-resource group of those who are motivated by ideals. They are mature, responsible, well-educated professionals. Their leisure activities center on their homes, but they are well informed about what goes on in the world and are open to new ideas and social change. They have high incomes but are practical consumers and rational decision makers.
• Believers. These consumers are the low-resource group of those who are motivated by ideals. They are conservative and predictable consumers who favor American products and established brands. Their lives are centered on family, church, community, and the nation. They have modest incomes.
• Achievers. These consumers are the high-resource group of those who are motivated by achievement. They are successful work-oriented people who get their satisfaction from their jobs and families. They are politically conservative and respect authority and the status quo. They favor established products and services that show off their success to their peers.
• Strivers. These consumers are the low-resource group of those who are motivated by achievements. They have values very similar to achievers but have fewer economic, social, and psychological resources. Style is extremely important to them as they strive to emulate people they admire.
• Experiencers. These consumers are the high-resource group of those who are motivated by self-expression. They are the youngest of all the segments, with a median age of 25. They have a lot of energy, which they pour into physical exercise and social activities. They are avid consumers, spending heavily on clothing, fast-foods, music, and other youthful favorites, with particular emphasis on new products and services.
• Makers. These consumers are the low-resource group of those who are motivated by self-expression. They are practical people who value self-sufficiency. They are focused on the familiar-family, work, and physical recreation-and have little interest in the broader world. As consumers, they appreciate practical and functional products.
• Survivors. These consumers have the lowest incomes. They have too few resources to be included in any consumer self-orientation and are thus located below the rectangle. They are the oldest of all the segments, with a median age of 61. Within their limited means, they tend to be brand-loyal consumers.

[edit] References

Use of the VALS Framework

Marketing classes use this tool to determine the placement of a given product to a certain niche in an industry. …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VALS

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