Lodestar Universal unveils mechanism for better segmenting television audiences

Lodestar Universal, in association with TAM Media Research, has launched TV Graphics, a tool for marketers that enables them to do precision targeting on what is believed to be the most powerful medium in India today – television.

“However, narrowcasting is almost impossible as, by its very nature, television is a mass medium,” says Mahuya Chaturvedi of Lodestar Universal Labcentre, the agency’s research cell. This is more so in the case of niche and lifestyle products. For instance, if a marketer wants to address a corporate honcho, he also ends up talking to petty traders; if he wants to target working women, he winds up targeting all women.

All this leads to indistinguishable viewing preferences. For instance, for a SEC A metro male, a SEC B woman and a SEC C small town man, the number one channel may be the same: STAR Plus, hypothetically speaking. But as the lifestyle market in India matures, this can be a worrying phenomenon. Today, seven of the top 15 advertised categories are lifestyle ones.

What TV Graphics intends to do is transform targeting from mass to directed, from diffused to distinct, and from wasteful to effective. The tool segments respondent level TAM data and groups it into clusters on the basis of time spent on different channel genres. The findings of TV Graphics reveal that there are distinct clusters that exist within men, women and teens.

Men can be further classified into clusters, which help marketers target men with different lifestyles.

Modern Mehra is a niche, up-market and evolved viewer, often a yuppie, who is often the first to embrace new concepts such as reality shows. These form 7 per cent of the total base of men. Then there is Sporty Sharma, who is a hard-core sports buff (forms 13 per cent of the base). These two groups combined form the premium, high-end class, which can be best targeted by durable categories such as cars.

Then comes Joru Ka Ghulam, who forms 17 per cent of the total base. He is often the kind to watch a GEC along with his wife and is, most often, the Hindi heartland shop owner who believes in owning essential luxuries. Kulkarni Kaka is the regional viewer who forms a small percentage of the base – 6 per cent. He is often the older petty trader. The largest base belongs to Ayaram Gayaram (35 per cent), who is a multi-genre viewer and tends to flirt across channels. These three combined form the great Indian consumer class.

Lastly, Hero Hiralal is the small-town Bollywood fanatic, 12 per cent of the total base. This guy is average on durables ownership and can be best targeted with entry level products.

Women, too, can be classified similarly. Matinee Meena strives to make ends meet and tends to catch films on television during the morning or the afternoon. The Kahani Kusum Ki lady, on the other hand, is the older, traditional homemaker. These two combined form the price conscious segment.

Weekend Cine Saathi is the starry eyed Bollywood fan and a conformist. Cinesoap Seema, on the other hand, is a lower-rung, employed woman, mostly an SSC pass person. She is into soaps and movies big time. The two collectively form the ‘aspiring’ segment.

Dophari Diva is the affluent, lifestyle conscious housewife, most often found in Delhi. She is the flashy, showing off kind, who is out to make a statement. Ms Uptown is a highly educated working woman who is, more often than not, a trendsetter.

Among the age group of 15-24 years (mostly teenagers), too, clusters are possible. Cool Dude is essentially a SEC A metro person, into high-end durables and prone to watching channels such as STAR One. The Stepping Out person resides in mini metros (SEC AB) and, like Ayaram Gayaram, watches everything on television. Next comes the Star Struck SEC BC person from a small town and big family background, who survives on odd jobs. He is a Bollywood buff.

Lastly, there is Restrained Kid or the good kid who is compelled to watch a GEC as his family’s choice rules. He is mostly from a small town, owns a two wheeler, and is perhaps headed towards a shop-owning career.

The TV Graphics analysis can also help distinguish the purchase decision process in different family types.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!