Psychographics: Reading Your Mind

Number Two in the Series:

Since most of my writing this time of year is papers for college classes, I thought I'd post them and see what Gather has to say.  This one is in response to the question: Explain the concept of psychographics, and how it is used by advertisers. Do you think you could be sold a product more easily if an advertiser had information about your values and resources?

Psychographics, in the text, is defined as "A combination of demographics with psychological characteristics such as attitudes, opinions, and interests."(1.)

A more complete definition is found in the online Wikipedia: In marketing, demographics, opinion research, and social research in general, psychographic variables are any attributes relating to personality, values, attitudes, interests, or lifestyles. They are also called IAO variables (for Interests, Attitudes, and Opinions). They can be contrasted with demographic variables (such as age and gender), and behavioural variables (such as usage rate or loyalty).(2.)

The idea, of course, is to target advertising to precisely those consumers who are pre-disposed to purchase your product, or believe your message. "The information you glean from a journey into your target audience's brain is often key to your marketing efforts, particularly the positioning of your product. It includes the audience's activities, interests, and opinions. You have to work through behavioral factors, economic factors, and even interpersonal factors to get to the root of purchasing behavior."(3.)

Psychographics is not new. It is an offshoot of the even older Demographics, the study of population patters in a geographic sense. Edward Bernays, the "Founder of Public Relations", does not refer to Psychographics by name in his book Public Relations. He does say, "In making up his mind about anything, a person is conditioned by not one but many influences -- some made up of words alone, others by actions or attitudes of the groups of which he is a part. We must plan our advertising campaigns on the principle of these multiple influences."(4.)

I don't believe there would be as many questionnaires, "registration" forms, telephone surveys and the like, pounding away at my privacy, if this concept did not work. Business does not spend its marketing dollars for something that does not produce results.

On the other hand:

I have, no doubt, succumbed to a well-placed marketing ploy more than once. But I am a consumer mature enough to recognize the difference between a want and a need. I know from long experience what works for me, and what doesn't. My values, and my resources, are not the sort that attract many promoters, thank God. I think I am relatively immune to their blandishments -- because my approach to "special" offers, "great deals", and "rewards, because you're our best customer" is skeptical. I intend to remain so.