Targeted Ads: Reaching the Right Audience With Demographic Segmentation - Essay Sample

Introduction

Demographic segmentation is the most prominent base in the advert. It is seen in the symbols, figures, words, and language used in the advert. Demographic segmentation refers to the segmentation of the population in terms of gender, age, family size, income, among others (Sarvari et al., 2016). The base is built on the premise that since people in the population have different characteristics, their needs are also different. Using these characteristics, organizations seek to identify and study groups of customers with shared needs, design suitable marketing mixes, and define marketing objectives more accurately (Dolnicar et al., 2018). In advertisement, the process helps target specific groups of consumers that have similar needs, preferences, characteristics, and interests. Ecosport is the first-ever compact SUV launched by Ford Motor Company. As such, the product is targeted at consumers with small family sizes. Such families can use the car for trips and long vacations with whole luggage comfortably. To prove this, the advert states, "Feels like family, for a change."

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Therefore, the advert points towards the suitability and effectiveness of the car in satisfying the needs of this particular population aiming to increase their interest in the product. Though the advert is targeted at the Indian population, English is used as the only language. This means that the advert is targeted at the educated members of society. By using this base of segmentation, the advertisement aims to elicit a response from the target groups, which will, in turn, raise the sales of Ecosport Ford. Ultimately, the organization will get value for its investment in the advertisement as revenue grows.

From the advertisement, it can also be deduced that the model is made particularly for empty nesters and millennials. The compact design of the car, especially, resonates well with the millennials who prefer small packages fitted with the latest technologies and different amenities, just like in Ecosport. To this generation, the model is manageable but also gives room for all the things they love. Though small, it allows them to live big. The price of the car is also indicated in the advert. It indicates that the car is targeted at people who would like to drive SUVs but cannot afford the normal SUVs. As per the advert, the car sells at between 7 and 8 Lakh. Therefore, the product is meant for the middle-income or the entry-level utility vehicle segment. The color of the car may mean that the advert is targeted to females. In the advert, the car bears a blue color which is largely associated with the female population. However, men can also drive cars of such colors.

Psychographic Segmentation

The advert also heavily employs psychographic segmentation. This refers to the process through which the organization targets the psychological characteristics of the consumers, their unconscious and conscious motivations, motivations, among others (Liu, et al., 2019). As intimated earlier, the car model targets millennials and empty nesters. The two populations share several psychographic characteristics. They both are active, outgoing, optimistic, and love their freedom. The millennials seek to enjoy the freedom of their youth, while the empty nesters, who have already raised children and probably live alone, seek to constructively use the freed up time. The Ecosport allows them to enjoy this kind of freedom. The freely and highly flying kites in the advert are symbols of this freedom. It has been observed that millennials prefer spending more time and experiences with people they love rather than buying more stuff. The product also looks modern, sporty, and premium features that matter greatly in this population. The Ecosport, therefore, directly serves this lifestyle.

Behavioral Segmentation

Under this base of segmentation, marketers target the perceived benefits of using the product, usage rate, awareness state, among other factors (Zaheer & Kline, 2018). For Millenials, cars are loved for their functional benefit and not solely as a status symbol. Therefore, they do not see value in paying for surplus options or quality inclusions such as a big motor. The pricing of the car as indicated in the advert addresses this concern since the price is lower than other products in the market. The size of the car, as shown in the advert, also speaks to this belief. Cars in this population are mostly for movement from one point to another, and the "Go Further" logo in the advert address this. However, though aspects of the advert point towards behavioral segmentation, this base is difficult to implement due to the complexity associated with its measurement. It is not as objective as the demographic variables and hence is often subjective.

References

Dolnicar, S., Grun, B., & Leisch, F. (2018). Market segmentation analysis. Market Segmentation Analysis, 11-22. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-10-8818-6_2

Liu, H., Huang, Y., Wang, Z., Liu, K., Hu, X., & Wang, W. (2019). Personality or Value: A Comparative Study of Psychographic Segmentation Based on an Online Review Enhanced Recommender System. Applied Sciences, 9(10), 1992. Retrieved from https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/10/1992

Sarvari, P., Ustundag, A., & Tacki, H. (2016). Performance evaluation of different customer segmentation approaches based on RFM and demographics analysis. Kybernetes. Retrieved from https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/K-07-2015-0180/full/html

Zaheer, N., & Kline, M. (2018). Use of Lifestyle Segmentation for Assessing Consumers' Attitudes and Behavioral Outcomes towards Mobile Advertising. Market-Trziste, 30(2), 213-229. Retrieved from https://hrcak.srce.hr/213176