Psychographics in terms of Television

Introduction

In this blogpost, I am going to explain what are psychographics and the different audience psychographic profiles according to thinkbox.com.

What are Psychographics?

"Psychographics is the study of personality, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles". In terms of media, it is the type or category of customers that companies target to aim their advertisements at.

The study of psychographics is linked to the type of audience as it helps advertisers create a "psychographic profile" to help them target the interests and thoughts of the target market.

Reflecting on the idea of psychographics, I think its a good way of targeting and segmenting the ideological audience you wish to focus your advertisements on because it helps to engage with them by finding out what is in their interests and what would gain their attention.

Audience psychographic profiles - Thinkbox.tv

• Men 16-34 - This is the most difficult psychographic profile to target as they dont spend as much time watching tv as women of the same age range. Majority of these men are not in a commited relationship (have a family) so the centre or their lives are their social lives and work/careers/education. The way to target this profile is to target sport, comedy, fitness, racing and "watercooler" (programs/channels after watershed timings) channels/programs.

• Men ABC1 - Men in this group are less likely to be separated or divorced than many other demographics with over two thirds married or cohabiting. This profile are more likely to be career-orientated and have a larger financial budget for entertainment/leisure mediums. Upmarket men love the idea of being able to access a barrage of channels and as a result, are very receptive to digital TV. They continue to take full advantage of its services, interacting with both programmes and ads alike and paying for content such as a sports and films.

• Men C2DE -  Men in this bracket are more likely to be footloose and fancy free or to continue working after the birth of their children. As a result, their media habits generally remain more constant, irrespective of age. Although sport forms a sizable chunk of their TV viewing and their weekends are dominated by sporting events (particularly football, rugby and F1), they also watch a good range of other genres, including Films, general entertainment, reality and comedy.

• Men 55+ - The majority of men over the age of 55 are retired and therefore have significantly more free time than they did when they were younger. They have longer to spend on the things that they enjoy and this is reflected in their media consumption. Men of this age usually watch channels such as BBC 1 and 2 and documentary channels like, The Discovery Channel.

• Women 16-34 - By definition, young women have an incredibly broad set of media tastes and preferences. More than any other group, this is not just a matter of individual inclination but also life-stage. Compared to men of the same age group, young women generally consume more TV, with nearly half falling into the medium to heavy viewer categories.

• Women ABC1 - Upmarket women have a higher tendency to have children in the household and are more likely to be separated or divorced than their male counterparts. Women in this bracket value TV, although they don't rely on it or regard it as a pastime. This attitude is largely reflected in their tastes and habits. They are much more inclined to watch during late peak when the kids have gone to bed. Their favourites are E4, UKTV Style and Living rate alongside Channel 4, ITV and the BBC.

• Women C2DE - With over 11 million C2DE women currently living in the UK, this is one of the largest demographic audiences. It encompasses women from across the age spectrum, from young mums to retirees. ITV and Five rank amongst their favourite channels, although digital channels such as ITV2, E4 and Living TV also do well. Childrens channels such as Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network are also watched regularly reflecting the high amount of shared viewing between mums and children. Unsurprisingly, soaps, dramas and reality shows perform well against this audience

• Women 55+ - 55 may have been considered old a few decades ago, this is no longer the case as peoples attitudes are getting younger. With nearly 9 million women over the age of 55 living in the UK today, Mature women generally rely upon TV for information and entertainment. Generally, women in this age bracket are more time-rich than they were when they were younger as their children have grown up and moved on and they may not be in full-time work.

• Housewives with Children - Commercial channels are particularly well-received and account for two thirds of their viewing. ITV 2, Living TV, UKTV Style, E4 and the children's channels such as Nick Junior and Cartoon Network are amongst their favourites. Although housewives with kids have the same tendencies to watch in peak as other demographics, they also watch throughout the day, providing ample targeting opportunities.

• Children - They have complex social networks, formed both inside and outside the home through everything from school to online chat-rooms. They also soak-up new technology, compared to the rate of their parents. On average, children claim to watch nearly three hours of TV per day (mostly digital, as now have a wide range of watching different channels and programs from all around the world). For both boys and girls, music channels, children's channels, sport and film are the main drivers of viewing.

• Boys & TV  - On the whole, boys claim to watch more TV than girls - 2.7 hours average per night, with a higher consumption of the digital channels. Although there is some variation by age, cartoons still rank highly with boys under the age of 12. As they hit their teen years, sports and music become the main focus. Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and The Disney Channel remain firm favourites.

• Girls & TV - Girls claim to watch 2.4 hours of TV per day, although this increases as they mature and their tastes switch to a broader range of genres such as soaps and reality. Girls watch more terrestrial soaps and entertainment, particularly as they get older. Channels that are perferred by girls are BBC 1, ITV, Channel 4, ITV 2, MTV and E4.

Bibliography

 

http://www.thinkbox.tv/server/show/nav.914 (10/12/2012)

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychographic (10/12/2012)