Learning Through Experience

Segmentation’s Impact on Gaining Insights

Even though our room assignment, the Backyard, brought some constraints, the limitless consumer segments and product categories forced us to prioritize opportunities where these two intersected and presented opportunities to stimulate growth and profits. We considered many factors when selecting our target segment, including:

• potential growth and size
• spending power
• changing needs as it relates to the Backyard
• access to gaining a deeper understanding of this segment through research and methods

We ultimately selected the Young, Affluent Family, professional families with annual incomes greater than $125K and two children under the age of six. This selection guided future decisions and key-learnings.

This selection greatly influenced our choices for gaining insights due to their inherent life-style and time constraints. For example, we initially wanted to do in depth interviews with the entire family and have each parent construct a current and future vision-collage of the backyard. During scheduling we quickly realized that young families could not dedicate the amount of time our plans required. In response to this challenge, we provided participants our materials well in advance of interviews to allow them to complete many tasks and questions on their own schedule, such as when their children were asleep. We decided that journals from each parent, short-interviews and one current and future vision-collage of the backyard per family would provide much valuable information, while fitting into our participates tight schedules. During the interviews we were unable to get the collaborative insights of the parents together due to their need to each take turns managing the children. Researchers studying this demographic should consider the increased expense of paying the parents or doing focus groups where the parents get free childcare.

Ultimately it is important to not let demographics entirely dictate your segmentation. You risk not identifying rising social trends or even similarities between completely different demographic groups. For example, the Honda Element reaches both the male Gen-Yers and women Baby Boomers, to polarized demographics, due to the common denominator of both wanting to feel young while watching their pocket-books. We learned that by strictly using demographics you could identify a group with many sub-segments, making your ability to identify common un-met needs difficult through research insights.

Lateral Marketing

You do not have to reinvent the wheel to create an innovative product for consumers. This was particularly crucial for the Young, Affluent Family because though they are not afraid of technology, they have significant time constraints that limit their ability to learn challenging new products. If a product offering builds on or combines two existing products in the marketplace while adding value for these consumers, it is more likely to be adopted and therefore purchased. These differentiators must also be clearly communicated (and then delivered) for the very same reasons.

Taking these factors into consideration we chose to use Kotler’s lateral marketing techniques of substitution and combination when evaluating our research results. With our segment placing their children’s needs and enjoyment number one and our secondary research indicating that the greatest amount of discretionary income ($285K) would be spent on the children, not including education; we determined that the playscape provided the greatest opportunities for differentiation, profits and growth. Our research indicated that product safety, evolution with the children, aesthetics and service were the top opportunities for improvement. Finally we substituted:

• bright colors with less garish colors for accessories to blend better with the consumers’ homes,
• mesh to replace wood slats that exposed children to slipping, suffocation and falling hazards, and
• wider steps where narrow steps allowed for children to slip-through and fall.

And we combined:

• playscapes of different age-levels to meet the consumers’ evolutionary needs, and
• playscapes with web-cam technology to increase the security and parents’ safety response.
  

The Experience

After years of methodologies that allowed only one potential answer to be considered the correct one, discouraged creative thought and focused on only one environment, it was refreshing to attend a class where fundamentals were laid without these constraints. The project flowed logically, and helpfully, solidifying and expounding class lessons. The in-class work days were immensely helpful, particularly for a cross-functional class of advertising masters and MBA students. These sessions also allowed us to leverage each other’s experiences and get advice and insight from Professor Walls.

Our group was very diverse both from our personal and professional backgrounds. This created some interesting and creative discussions. I think our selected project segment may have been an indirect form of birth control for our group, as we learned the level of change children bring to one’s life. The insights often brought about many shocked faces and laughter; however, nothing was more fun than brainstorming product ideas. My team was very inventive . . . crazy, but inventive.

I personally appreciated the slides set aside for reflection. It was often working through this slide where I learned the greatest lessons and prepared for the next phase. It would be easy to forgo the concerns and lessons learned if not for this exercise.

Teen Power?

Teen Spending Power Declines

A recent report on teens discloses common misperceptions that influence teens’ attitudes toward money and financial matters such as, banking practices and spending power. Contrary to popular perception, the spending power of todays teen population is not increasing, but has actually declined 12% from 2003 to 2006. Though the current teen generation is large, the teen population is not expected to grow significantly in the next ten years because parents have chosen to have fewer children.

Despite the declining spending and population, their estimated spending power was $153 billion in 2006. Therefore teens still represent a vast marketing opportunity, but to successfully target teen consumers, manufacturers and marketers must be aware of demographic changes in the teen population. The proportion of Caucasian teens is diminishing while the number of Hispanic and Asian teens is rapidly growing. These demographic changes could have significant changes on the groups tastes, preferences and perceptions.

On the retail front, much has been made of teens’ attraction to the youthful image projected by retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch where teens themselves have given high marks to this retailer as one “for someone my age.” Yet when it comes to actual shopping behavior, their money tends to go to more affordable stores like Old Navy and American Eagle Outfitters, and even Wal-Mart and Target.

Teens Still Impact Advertising

The Echo Boom generation, also known as Gen Y or Millennials, comprises the offspring of the Baby Boomers. This generation rivals their parents’ generation in size but differs greatly in buying habits and reactions to advertising. Echo Boomers have grown up bombarded with media and are more resistant to advertisers who try to attract them with image or celebrity appeal. Nearly half of Echo Boomers surveyed say that all advertisements seem the same, more than any other age group surveyed. Even worse for advertisers, this generation tends to show little brand loyalty. But this may change as Echo Boomers mature as consumers.

In 2005, Echo Boomers span the ages of 11 to 28 and so are just beginning to develop their own consumer preferences. Their tastes are more varied than previous generations, and they are more ethnically diverse. The majority of the generation is still at an age where they are likely to still receive parental financial support (roughly half live with their parents), which means they are able to spend what money they have on discretionary purchases.

By 2010, approximately 63 million Echo Boomers will have reached driving age and are expected to rival Baby Boomers in purchasing power. And though Echo Boomers do not earn as much as Gen Xers, there are 55% more of them. Both of these make them a top-priority for retailers. For example Toyota launched Scion, a new brand of automobile in 2003, with Echo Boomers specifically in mind. In 2004, Toyota spent $60 million to advertise its new brand, 20% of which went toward magazine ads. However, taking into account the fact that Echo Boomers are unlikely to read conventionally popular magazines, Scion places 75% of its magazine budget in obscure, youth-oriented lifestyle magazines, such as Modified, Scratch, or XLR8R, which helped it build street credibility as the “cool” car. As a result of its non-traditional ad campaign, almost 90% of Scion owners are completely new to Toyota.

Alleluah! Alleluah! Alleluah!

Until Wednesday I thought creativity or innovation was beyond my reach. But on Wednesday I realized that even creativity is often a combination of two existing ideas or a reflection on the past. If that was the case, I had been creative a million times over. Then I read the next piece; a creative idea or product must also be useful . . . . ok not so many creative ideas. Although the few creative ideas that have surfaced truly have come from reflection in the oddest of places; the shower, the massage room, the elliptical machine, etc. That is where I imagine that the people at 3M must come-up with their amazing products like Art Fry and Dr. Silver's Post-it notes or the most recent, Post-it flag highlighters.

Long before email (and blogs) Post-it notes revolutionized the way people communicate and even think about the processes in their life. So rarely does one see a non-technical innovation so radically change communication and processes. It is hard to imagine that Art Fry's revolutionary creation started in the 1970's in search for a bookmark for his choir hymnal that would neither fall out nor damage the hymnal (i.e. requirements).

It was because 3M employees and scientists are encouraged to step outside of their own departments and projects to learn what people in other areas of the company are doing and spend time working on independent projects (15% of the time) that Fry learned about 3M researcher Dr. Spencer Silver's "failed" (was not sticky enough) adhesive. However, this adhesive was strong enough to stick to surfaces, but left no residue after removal and could be repositioned without damage. Fry took some of Dr. Silver’s adhesive and applied it along the edge of a piece of paper creating his hymnal "bookmark".

Fry soon realized that his "bookmark" had other potential functions and used it to leave a note on an internal report. Fry then found himself inundated with requests from co-workers for more of that sticky notepaper. Despite the internal success of the now Pull and Peel Notes, Fry had difficulty selling his product to his superiors. Fry was forced to prove their worth through testing them among the office and keeping track of how many pads were requested and having the staff journal their thoughts about the product. They were almost addicting to the 3M staff. This "bookmark" actually created a new way to communicate and to organize.

Finally, 3M crafted the name Post-it note for Fry’s "bookmarks" and began production in the late 1970s for commercial use. In 1977, test-markets failed to show consumer interest. However in 1979, 3M implemented a massive consumer trial and education strategy, and the Post-it notes finally took off. Today, we see Post-it notes scattered across every surface in offices and homes throughout the world. From a choir hymnal "bookmark" to an office and home essential, the Post-it note has revolutionized the way we live.

Now Post-it notes have graduated too many other related products; one being the Post-it flags. Unlike the Post-it notes the latest innovation, Post-it flag highlighters, were not developed out of requirements but from the combination of two existing innovations, the Post-it flags and highlighter. However what is consistent with Post-it and what makes this creative is the fact that 3M considered how one uses these products and in what context. When pondering the usages and timing of each of these products (possibly in the shower), one would determine that they are often used simultaneously and that combining the products would reduce time and increase convenience. As Art Fry would say, "Alleluah!"

My First Survey

Surveys prove very helpful in collecting quantitative and even qualitative data in a short period of time. The proliferation of the internet has decreased survey costs, but not without a sacrifice. In my experience, thinking of every possible way a survey participant could give you poor data or misinterpret your questions leads to constant survey revisions and second-guessing.

Creating my first survey was more challenging and required more time and patience than I expected. I anticipated this level of dedication would be reserved for the next phase of my research, focus groups. I am a bit terrified.

After several informal interviews to guide our question formation, my team and I started with general insights about our main subject, make-up, then moved on to more detailed needs and brand insights. Finally about where we anticipated survey fatigue (approximately question 17), we concluded with the demographic data.

Determining the best answer choices for the questions was surprisingly time-consuming. Some questions lent themselves to particular answer structures such as, demographic data, brand awareness or product experience and quality. However, there were many other questions where the wording of the answers and/or determining the selection structure (i.e. Likert, open-ended, select one, select all that apply and rank) were quite challenging and the subject of a reasonable amount of discussion. We often used ranking questions where there was a strong likelihood that the respondent would select many of the answers rendering the questions less useful, or if we felt that one particular answer might be significantly stronger than the others. We allowed for only one answer when we felt that the primary answer led to key factors or decisions. Finally we used “select all that apply” questions when knowing every selection was the question goal versus the individual importance of on response over the others.

One concern is limiting the number of questions than insure the respondents could successfully answer them without survey fatigue. Every question was evaluated for its value and effectiveness and whether the same information was provided by another question. If the same or similar information could be gathered by another question, then the question was eliminated. All other questions were ranked, and questions were cut at the fatigue limit, which we estimated at about 20 questions, including demographic questions.

There are other survey shortcomings I hope we can avoid, such as respondents answering untruthfully or inaccurately, or even being offended by questions related to sensitive issues. We intend to validate our survey data with focus to catch and resolve any such problems.

Marketing to the Millennial Teens

There is no teen generation that has ushered in more change for marketers than the millennial generation or Echo Boomers. With this market segment we saw a radical shift in disposable income, technology and key buying influencers. As the generation’s influence grows, Marketers are granting these teens ever increasing ownership of brands. So who are the Echo Boomer teens?

Demographics:

• Age: 13 to 18 years of age
• Ethnicity: Predominantly Caucasian
• Disposable Income: $3,309 per year per teen (does not include influence on parental purchases)
  

Behavioral Profile:

• Raised on the internet and technology gadgets, Echo Boomers not only embrace technology, for them technology is a way of life.
• Granted an unprecedented access to information has made them very brand and product savvy.
• Due to parental time pressures and guilt, Echo Boomers yield considerable influence on major family purchases.
• They have little to no brand loyalty, therefore new and emerging brands or products have more likelihood for success than in previous generations.
• Media is a significant focus for this group, including the following areas: TV, internet, video games, cell-phones and digital-media devices.
• Use the internet as a way to experiment with ‘self’, particularly areas like MySpace and FaceBook.
• Though they have changed significantly, there still are unique groups that impact buying patterns such as Moshers, Cool Geeks, Socialites, Sporties, Techies, Urbos, Chavs and Goths.
  

Psychographic Profile:

• Echo Boomer teens want to be acknowledged, but do not want extra-special attention or want marketers to be overtly courteous.
• Surprisingly this group is less concerned about peer pressure.
• Echo Boomers are very motivated by causes (e.g. environment, education, poverty, etc.), but it does not appear that any one cause stands out.
• Jeans and tennis shoes are no longer believed to be status symbols; it is the ipod, cell phone and lap top that identify you.
  

As I continue to research this market segment I plan to narrow my research focus, potentially just to this segment, their use of technology and its impact on marketing.

Lance Armstrong Campaign: LIVESTRONG

http://www.livestrong.org/

SENSE

Though LIVESTRONG campaign is most well known for the visual imagery of the bright yellow bracelet, more than 50 million people wear the LIVESTRONG bracelet globally, the LIVESTRONG website has topical articles and information for visual senses and personal story audio files for auditory senses.

FEEL

Cancer is an emotional topic. The LIVESTRONG campaign inspires people to empower others and/or be empowered by those around them. This particular campaign makes it particularly difficult to disassociate the community (RELATE) from the emotions (FEEL) because the community inspires the emotion through strength and unity.

ACT

The motto, LIVESTRONG, encourages those directly or indirectly impacted by cancer to take action by changing their attitude and gaining knowledge. Their belief is that these changes have a significant impact on the success of cancer treatment and recovery. For cancer fighters they encourage action through materials like the LIVESTRONG survivorship notebook and worksheets. For everyone they encourage and enable grassroots fundraising, advocacy, personal donation and volunteering through print materials and the website. Note that most of the buttons on the website are action oriented.

THINK

Though the LIVESTRONG motto is action oriented the meaning behind it is all about knowledge. The more you know the more you can do. The more you know about fighting your cancer the better chance you have of beating it. The more you know about your friend or family member’s cancer the better chance you have of helping them and of empowering them and yourself.

RELATE

The LIVESTRONG campaign is all about creating a community. However its high brand awareness and exponential growth for such a personal topic has weakened its ability to create an intimate and effective community. Surprisingly the website does not seem to allow ways for people to connect and communicate with each other.

MAXIMIZING SEM’S

It was quite challenging to find a campaign and product that touched the maximum number of experiences AND was not an overused campaign. However, the reason is because the campaigns that manage to touch the greatest number of experiences while maintaining their brand strategy puts them on top.

Is the Metrosexual Male Passé?

Some argue that corporations identified the metrosexual male to simply fuel men’s fashion and buying habits. Regardless of its origins, many men identify with the metrosexual moniker, possibly because many women like the idea of a man who better understands them. However, just because you paint the house doesn’t mean the foundation cannot crumble. Much of the marketing research directed to reach the metrosexual male seems to have fallen on deaf ears. Is the metrosexual male passé?

Demographics

The metrosexual male is typically between 25 and 40 years of age; however there is no strict age limit for a metrosexual. The demographic is more generational and tends to move with the accepting generations rather than staying with a particular age group. Maintaining a metrosexual male lifestyle requires a reasonable amount of discretionary income; therefore, the metrosexual male tends to have an income of greater than or equal to seventy-five thousand dollars per year. He also lives in an urban area, allowing access to current trends. According to recent research the metrosexual group is now thought to be quite small, though I tend to believe it is growing, particularly because the female population seems to embrace metrosexual archetypes such as, James Bond, George Clooney and David Beckham. Also this evolved male group will continue to grow as females continue to maintain an equal role in the household and becomes more of an important role model to their male children.

Behavior Profile

When describing the behavior of the metrosexual, he is often referred to as a heterosexual homosexual, meaning he is sexually attracted to women, but has a strong interest in being hip, fashionable and well-groomed. The metrosexual does not mind, even enjoys, shopping, particularly the result of being trend-forward. He is also comfortable with buying and using a wide variety of grooming products and may even visit a spa for beauty treatments previously reserved for women. He tends to be a member of an upscale gym or athletic club. The metrosexual is inclined to be an early adopter particularly in the following areas: clothing & accessories, technology, cars, music, travel and food & alcohol. Therefore, a great deal of his income is spent on such items. The metrosexual also takes great care with his home décor, even while single. Since men are currently single during greater portion of their life, this is a significant change for marketers. The metrosexual enjoys studying the latest on subjects such as art, politics and wine. Women often befriend the metrosexual, but are not inclined to date him until later in life, at which time they tend to snatch him up like candy. Non-metrosexual males often find the metrosexual pretentious.

Psychographics

The metrosexual believes that appearance is a reflection of person. He also affirms that one’s knowledge of current topics emulates their intellect, requiring him to keep-up with prevalent news in pop-culture, business, world events & politics, restaurants, clubs and bars and the arts. He believes that quality and refined-taste are synonymous with expensive. The metrosexual desires to be the life of the party.

Observers note a recent cultural shift from the metrosexual towards the retrosexual male. There is much speculation as to the reason for the pendulum swing. Some believe that it is due to a backlash in response to the metrosexual label by the larger more masculine male market segment. Others believe the retrosexual moniker is just another corporate creation, designed to re-focus on the manly-man to which so many of their products are designed. More than likely, it is simply that many companies have discounted the complexity of their male consumers and failed to understand them.

In answer to my opening question, no, the metrosexual is not passé. And the retrosexual roams free. The reality is that neither taxonomy comprehensively covers most men who reside comfortable somewhere in the middle.