Page 16 - Going for Growth: Targeting Today's Diverse Consumers

GOING FOR GROWTH: TARGETING TODAY’S DIVERSE CONSUMER 15

As you move into the marketing strategy phase, it’s imperative that you break things
down even further and get more specifi c. For the purpose of this exercise, let’s say you
have identifi ed Asians as a high-opportunity segment. Within the Asian community,
there are marked differences between sub-segments that should not be overlooked.
But no single segment is without nuances that may be unifying or unique. There are
also a number of marketing variables that, as a modern marketer, you would apply
to any audience as part of your planning process. Perhaps you add an income and/or
a geographical lens to your segment-specifi c exploration. You may fi nd that higher-
income coastal families are driven by brand perceptions, but Midwestern families are
more interested in value driven by technology and quality.

So, with more than one discrete audience identifi ed, you may consider developing a
two-fold marketing strategy:

1. Improve brand perception with higher-income coastal families.

2. Improve value perception in the Midwest.

With more clarity here, you can determine if you should be developing a singular
assignment or multiple assignments for your media and creative agencies. Again, even
within a single segment — Asian, Hispanic, African-American, LGBTQ+, People with
Disabilities, Veterans or others — there are demographic and psychographic areas
that, when explored, yield more specifi c targeting insights. The more specifi c, the more
likely relevant messaging can be created and media contexts can be selected, thus
making your efforts more effective and effi cient than broad-based generic outreach.

B. DEVELOPING YOUR CREATIVE AND MEDIA APPROACH

With your audiences and marketing strategy defi ned, it’s now time to apply cultural
intelligence to your creative and media approach.

Let’s go back to the example:

You’re focusing on automotive marketing, directed at Asian families. A geographic fi lter
has delivered specifi c insights that will infl uence your creative and media approaches.
Your creative and media tactics will be developed in ways that are aligned with a more
brand-oriented strategy for coastal families and a more value-based approach across
the Midwest.