Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Is it time to market to the tribe instead of individuals?


In last week's blog I discussed the idea that all think is now group think.  This week the Wall Street Journal pointed out that people show their allegiance to the tribe by defying facts.  Wow.  (Goldstein, 2018)

So does it make sense to move from the traditional approach of defining targets based on demographics to focus on a tribal approach?  Delta, MetLife and Hertz demonstrated their use of this alternative by extending discounts to members of the NRA, which they have now discontinued due to the boycott. (Lehrer, 2018)  But offering discounts to specific segments is old news.

A more interesting example comes from symphony orchestras, who are now featuring videogame music in concerts.  Not only are they attracting double the average amount of attendees, but these attendees, many of whom come in costume, spend more than $13,000 on souvenirs, versus the $3,000 that is normally spent.  (Needleman, 2015) 

So going back to the original question - should we replace demographics with tribal affiliations when defining our targets? 

Not entirely, because there is still tremendous value in knowing the demographics of your target since they are the key to unlocking a wealth of research data.  But appealing to the targets' passion for the tribe could certainly be part of the target definition.  And based on the latest information about tribal allegiance, it certainly should be.


Goldstein, R. (2018, March 15) Truth Isn't the Problem - We Are. wsj.com.  Retrieved March 21, 2018, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/truth-isnt-the-problemwe-are-1521124562

Lehrer, P. (2018, March 14) Is there any individual thought anymore, or is it all tribal? pjlehrer.blogspot.com.  Retrieved March 21, 2018, from  http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2018/02/nra-boycott-behold-power.html

Needleman, S. (2015, October 12)  How Videogames Are Saving the Symphony Orchestra.  wsj.com.  retrieved March 21, 2018, from  https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-videogames-are-saving-the-symphony-orchestra-1444696737

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