Defining Market Segmentation Based on Several Advertisements - Assignment Example

1. Kotler & Armstrong define market segmentation as the process of dividing a market into smaller groups with distinct needs, characteristics or behaviours who might require separate products or marketing mixes 1. When segmenting consumer markets, there are different factors that are taken into consideration such as demographic, geographic, psychographic as well as behavioural variables. As such this paper focuses on how demographic and psychographic segmentation has been applied on four different advertisements going to be discussed below. The paper starts by explaining the two concepts in order to gain a clear understanding. Basically, demography deals with issues such as age, gender, life style, family, level of income, race, religion, level of education, occupation as well as nationality among others Strydom 2. On the other hand, psychographic segmentation divides the market into different groups based on social class, lifestyle or personality characteristics Kotler 3. Organizations benefit from segmenting the market in many ways. The firm is able to target the market so that it can serve it best. The firm is also able to position the product so that it can be easily accessible to the targeted audiences. Thirdly, the firm can also be in a position to gain a competitive advantage by virtue of delivering valuable products to the customers. 2. The image above is a print advertisement of Tommy’s pizza. The three demographic characteristics of this target market include the following. Age- both the young and old prefer to eat pizza in one way or the other. Therefore, the marketers specifically target people of different age groups since they are potential buyers of pizza. Income- Middle class people can afford to buy pizza in most cases and they are the targeted audiences by the marketers. These people enjoy hanging around with their peers especially in fast food restaurants. Occupation- the young working class people in most cases prefer to buy their food from exquisite fast food restaurants. The young working class people do not want to cook food at home so they just go to fast food restaurants. On the other hand, psychographic factors include the following Personality- other people’s preference of food are shaped by their personalities. Some people view themselves with high self esteem and they want to maintain this status by visiting up market restaurants. This is a form of identity creation in the society. Lifestyle is also the other characteristic where it can be seen that people who enjoy an affluent lifestyle are the ones who prefer to visit expensive restaurants The aspect of social class can also impact on the people who buy pizza. In most cases, people who are well up prefer to eat pizza compared to other products. Source: https://www.google.co.zw/search?q=examples+of+print+advertisements&biw=1365&bih=605&tbm=isch&imgil=dQbAJ83Tngnn-M%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcRzLXT1WYm_NMoP94CQ8zosoaUNo1_jhsBFr77CskepI1MVd-dleA%253B600%253B424%253BIZEN59KWxj853M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fslodive.com%25252Finspiration%25252Fshowcase%25252Fprint-advertising-examples%25252F&source=iu&usg=__nSMWiIwrfdbJUVAx0SWFBwVcUPM%3D&sa=X&ei=VRcwU8r3D8aS4ASumoHYDQ&ved=0CDwQ9QEwBg#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=dQbAJ83Tngnn-M%253A%3BIZEN59KWxj853M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fslodive.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2011%252F10%252Fprint-ads%252Fspiciest-secret.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fslodive.com%252Finspiration%252Fshowcase%252Fprint-advertising-examples%252F%3B600%3B424 The print advert above is for Coca-Cola. The demographic characteristics for the targeted consumers are numerous in this case given that this is a reputable brand across the globe. The first characteristic is age. Both the young and old people prefer coke because of its refreshment qualities. Family life style also has a bearing on the type of food that is consumed by the members. For instance, many family members identify with popular brands such as coke. Generation: both the young and old generations prefer coke as a result of the way it is portrayed in different advertisements. It is a unique brand in that other competitors cannot imitate it. On the other hand, psychographic factors include the following Benefits sought from consuming the beverage. Many people are interested in the benefits they get from consuming a particular product. In this case, coke is refreshing and there are also special brands for people with special cases like zero coke. People’s lifestyle also has an impact on their choice of coke as their preferred drink. Some people just prefer to drink coke because it is a famous and popular beverage across the whole globe. Therefore, they just want to maintain the standards set by their families. Most people prefer coke because it is a prestigious brand that is very popular among all age groups and they want to associate themselves with this famous drink. Psychologically, the targeted customers are motivated if they are associated with such a strong brand. Source: http://www.andysowards.com/blog/2012/30-unbelievably-awesome-print-advertising-examples/ 4 The above advert is for Chevrolet Aveo. There are various demographic factors that influence people to buy this trendy vehicle. These include the following: Level of income- people who have a high level of income usually prefer to buy these trendy vehicles. These cars are quite expensive and they are usually purchased by people with high levels of income. Age- in most cases, the middle aged people prefer to buy fashionable cars. These people usually belong to the age category of 25 to 45 years of age. There are also other older people in society who enjoy driving flashy cars. Generation- the young generation also is the one that usually associates itself with fashionable and trendy cars. The young generation usually wants to associate itself with trendy lifestyles. The psychological factors include the following Status-people who seek high status in society often buy expensive cars. There are some people who want to maintain their high status in society and they often buy expensive vehicles. Social class- this also applies to people who view themselves as rich and affluent and these people usually buy expensive cars. These cars are for high class people. These people often have high disposable income such that they can afford a lavish lifestyle depicted by the quality of cars they drive. Personality- there are some people who believe that flashy and expensive cars will make them distinct from the other members of the society. Psychologically, these people feel satisfied to live above the line. Heineken beer is very popular among the young generation. The young people prefer this brand as a result of the fact that it is light and prestigious. The level of education also has a bearing on the demographic consumption patterns of this brand. In most cases, the young and educated are the largest consumers of this particular beverage. The other demographic factor that affects the consumption of this beer is related to occupation. The working class people prefer it because it is mild and it is slightly expensive than other brands. Family members can also influence the consumers to drink this beverage if they want to maintain their identity. There are also certain psychographic factors that influence people to consume Heineken beer Psychologically, a lot of people prefer to drink Heineken as a result of their need to assert their status in society. This beer is often associated with prestige and class structure in any society. People who have pride in themselves often like to associate themselves with expensive brands. Many people are of the view that this beer is for the rich and affluent people since it is a bit expensive compared to other brands found in the market. Therefore, people who view themselves as affluent are the major consumers of this brand. The other issue is related to personality. There are some people who always want to treat themselves as special and they often choose high class brands in most cases. The main reason is that these people think they are special than others. References 1. Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. (2004). Principles of Marketing, Pearson Education. NJ: Upper Saddle River. 2. Strydom J. (2004). Marketing. 3rd Edition. CT: Juta & Co Ltd. 3. Kotler P. (1999), Kotler on Marketing: How to create, win and dominate Markets, Free Press, London. 4. https://www.google.co.zw/search?q=examples+of+print+advertisements&biw=1365&bih=605&tbm=isch&imgil=dQbAJ83Tngnn-M%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcRzLXT1WYm_NMoP94CQ8zosoaUNo1_jhsBFr77CskepI1MVd-dleA%253B600%253B424%253BIZEN59KWxj853M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fslodive.com%25252Finspiration%25252Fshowcase%25252Fprint-advertising-examples%25252F&source=iu&usg=__nSMWiIwrfdbJUVAx0SWFBwVcUPM%3D&sa=X&ei=VRcwU8r3D8aS4ASumoHYDQ&ved=0CDwQ9QEwBg#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=dQbAJ83Tngnn-M%253A%3BIZEN59KWxj853M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fslodive.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2011%252F10%252Fprint-ads%252Fspiciest-secret.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fslodive.com%252Finspiration%252Fshowcase%252Fprint-advertising-examples%252F%3B600%3B424 5. http://www.andysowards.com/blog/2012/30-unbelievably-awesome-print-advertising-examples/ 4 Read More