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Do Age and Gender Matter?

MediaPost Publications, 9/17/09

Abstract:

Age and gender are the foundation upon which the great majority of marketing plans and creative are built. In most cases, this information is inferred based on the collection of syndicated data such as Nielsen or consumers' actual behavior offline (e.g. purchase history) and online (e.g. web browsing history).

These data have been considered so valuable historically that virtually all companies involved in product marketing and the buying and selling of media have dedicated significant resources to understand and reach specific sets of consumers based on these two demographic points. They key word here is "historically."

It's no longer efficient or effective to target consumers based on narrow, potentially inaccurate demographic points at a moment in time when there is much more insightful information available to drive targeting decisions. Acknowledging that there is some "prospecting" involved in many mass media buys, marketers buying just age and gender never the less run the risk of wasting impressions on uninterested consumers or missing an audience that may be exactly the right customers to embrace, and possibly evangelize, the message and the product. The new media ecosystem can yield data that enables targeting based on rich, multi-dimensional profiles of consumers, and reduce the risk of waste.

The fact is, self-selecting interests and actions are more important targeting barometers than age and gender.

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