Marketing teams often get mixed up when it comes to different types of target audience. The potential confusion was illustrated by a recent Linked In update by Andrew Tindall of System 1 (1). He was responding to some shocking comments on his earlier post on the John Lewis Christmas commercial. “The comments suggesting their Christmas campaign won’t work with some people because it only features female characters are crazy,” he rightly pointed out.
In this post I try to clarify three different types of target definition and how to use them in brand positioning: 1. core target, 2. portrayed user, 3. consumption target
1. Core positioning target – guides positioning
When presented with a tightly defined core target audience, some team members will protest that the target is defined way too narrowly. After all, we do want as many people as possible to buy us, right?
Having a tightly defined core target can help create and execute a distinctive brand positioning.It allows you to tap into the human emotions this person feels. I remember talking to one creative director who said he always imagined a single, real-life person when working on a brand. Indeed, it can help to describe the core target using a pen portrait that describes the person, including not only their functional needs, but also their attitudes to life. See below for an example for the Top Gear brand (The car magazine and TV show).
2. Portrayed user – guides communication
The second type of target is the user you portray in your marketing activity. This could be different from your positioning target. So, Nike’s core positioning target might be young, style conscious urban guys 18-24. However, in their marketing the brand often uses celebrity athletes to create aspiration.
In the case of the John Lewis ad, we had a lady looking for a present to give to her sister. This created an emotionally evolving story with the brand and product having a central role. System 1 data shows that the Star Ratings for long-term potential and Spike Rating for short-term potential were the same for both men and women. The positive emotions were also similar (interestingly, women had slightly more contempt than men). “We need to tell authentic stories about ANYONE, not put EVERYONE in EVERY ad. Resonance, not relevance. Brands are magnets, not mirrors,” as Andrew rightly says.
3. Consumption target – guides distribution and activation
This is the broadest target audience of all, and is the group of people you want to buy your product. This group of people will include the positioning target, but also other people who aspire to the same set of values. We illustrate this concept on the Mastering Brand Growth program using an example I saw at Heathrow airport. Whilst browsing the stores I saw an ad for Beats by Dre headphones. Very cool, edgy people were portrayed in the ad.
Later I was in the queue to get on the plane. And next to me were two Beats consumers wearing the distinctive “b” branded headphones. But as you can see below, the consumption target was a bit different fron the portrayed user! This raises a separate question about how a fashion brand like Beats stays hip and cool as it goes more mainstream… but that’s a post for another day.
In conclusion, who you position against, who you portray and who you sell to can be different targets. They each have a role to play to help you build your brand and SMS (sell more stuff).
SOURCES
1. Linked in post by System 1
