As the digital marketing mix grows more complex, reaching the desired demographic is no longer a simple strategy but instead requires expert navigation and analysis for digital marketers to identify and target the audience that will be most receptive to their brand message.
To get a grasp on the challenges of unlocking the demographics puzzle, iMedia took a moment to discuss upcoming trends and insights with Peter Francese, a veteran demographics forecaster and the demographic trends analyst for the worldwide advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather.
Looking to tap into the burgeoning Baby Boomer demographic? Interested in learning about the rising economic power of women consumers? Then read on for insight from Francese on the next big demographic trends digital marketers should be preparing for.
iMedia: Describe what you do for Ogilvy & Mather, and how the agency integrates your demographic analysis into its overall marketing strategies.
Peter Francese: I have worked for Ogilvy over the last five years, providing them with timely reports on consumer trends specifically relevant to their clients. My work informs marketing strategy by explaining in detail how a chosen market segment is changing, and how those changes might affect their consumer behavior.
iMedia: How has the discipline of demographic analysis become part of the ad agency purview?
Francese: One important aspect of the agency is the concept of a "360 vision." That means going way beyond just a simple ad campaign and instead developing quite a full 360-degree understanding of the client's set of customers, including their demographic characteristics, trends, and associated consumer behavior.
iMedia: As we're seeing digital technology infiltrate new markets, is it becoming easier or harder to follow consumer trends?
Francese: It has become easier to follow consumer trends in large part because of the huge online databases. But it is still difficult to know how to reach a chosen market segment with digital marketing. Bottom line: research is easier, reach is harder.
iMedia: What is the most surprising demographic trend you see affecting the digital marketing industry?
Francese: The rising economic power of women consumers. There is not one marketing person in 10 who fully grasps that fundamental change in our consumer markets. Women have long been a majority of U.S. adults, but they are now a majority of college graduates, a majority of professional or managerial workers, and they will soon be a majority of householders. Those facts have yet to be seen in most marketing plans.
iMedia: What is your best advice for digital marketers wanting to reach the burgeoning Baby Boomer demographic?
Francese: Stick with email and search. Baby Boomers are generally not as familiar with social media as Gen X or Y. But they will do web research to find information and recommendations about products and services they want. Younger and college graduate women Boomers are far more facile with digital media than older men.
iMedia: There is clear evidence that the U.S. has become a much more complex and multi-cultural nation. What do marketers need to know to prepare for this trend?
Francese: Know that the multi-cultural marketplace requires that marketing plans be based on solid research and not on any preconceived ideas. Too many times, I have seen plans based on a few personal anecdotes from family or friends. That's a bad idea.
iMedia: What are some of the more significant demographic trends you've seen in the digital age?
Francese: I have been both surprised and impressed by how the internet is creating stronger bonds between grandparents and their tech-savvy grandchildren. This phenomenon has greatly enhanced the rise of what I call our new multi-generational society.
iMedia: What is the most underestimated demographic that digital marketers need to watch for?
Francese: The African-American marketplace. Too many marketing executives ignore this important market of 30 million Americans because they hold onto out-of date images of it from 20 or 30 years ago. It's a big market opportunity often lost but waiting to be found by someone with a more open mind.
Gretchen Hyman is executive editor for iMedia Connection.
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