With the London Olympics underway, there has been much discussions about the commercials being aired during the Games. At a recent #blogchat, one question that was heatedly debated was the female-oriented P&G commercials. P&G had long used the slogan “Proud Sponsor of Moms”.
Leveraging the Games, P&G has been airing a series of commercials featuring moms supporting their athletes. Proud dads felt left out.
This points to how today’s society is changing, which can greatly impact our marketing. Targeting Moms may not longer be enough. Male shoppers are becoming more and more important in our society. Numbers ranging from 35% to upwards of 51% has been cited as men contributing to today’s grocery shopping. As this trend continues to grow, purely demographic factors (such as gender) will become less and less effective. More sophisticated targeting tactics would need to be leveraged, and more sophisticated marketing messages would need to be crafted.
New York Magazine cited a fantastic example in a recent article, The Money-Empathy Gap. Certain car brands target the rich, while other car brand target the poor. Psychologically, the rich are more antisocial (read: it’s lonely at the top). Therefore, luxury sport car commercials usually feature a lone car racing down a highway. Conversely, a truck, targeting the masses, shows up in a full parking lot with a group of peers having a great time.
While demographics would remain as one of the tools in the targeting toolbox, marketing does need to evolve to reflect our evolving society. Our lifestyle is no longer defined by demographics. Therefore, neither should our marketing.
Photo credit: Herald Post
