An OINK by any other name still won’t buy kid’s shoes
Most people have heard of the YUPPIE. You might even be a YUPPIE. But if you aren’t a YUPPIE, what are you? Are you a YAPPIE? (My dog Mia certainly is.) Perhaps you are a ZUPPIE or a WOOPIE. You might even be a GLAM.
But what is a YAPPIE, a ZUPPIE and a WOOPIE. And what on earth is a GLAM, and why should you care?
- YAPPIE = Young Affluent Parent
- ZUPPIE = Zestful Upscale Person in his or her Prime
- WOOPIE = Well-Off Older Person
- GLAM = Graying, Leisured, Affluent, Middle-Aged
The list goes on forever. But the definition of each acronym isn’t nearly as important as what it means for you and your business. All of these acronyms represent people with lifestyles based on different interests and needs. Lifestyles, values and attitudes are a good way to divide people into groups with similar interests. These groups make perfect niche marketing targets, and niche marketing is very important in today’s cluttered marketplace.
As an example of lifestyle segmentation, an OINK couldn’t care less if your company is offering a discount on children’s shoes. A NILKIE, however, might drop everything to buy them. Why? Because OINK stands for “One Income, No Kids,” while NILKIE stands for “No Income, Lots of Kids.” While an OINK has no use for children’s shoes, a NILKIE may need great deals on children’s shoes, and a discount makes your shoes even more attractive.
Why would a company selling children’s shoes waste valuable time and money targeting an OINK with its message? Well, it wouldn’t want to. However, lots of businesses spend advertising dollars targeting people who may not be interested in what they have to offer. This happens when a niche market has not been specifically defined or when a niche market is not accurately targeted.
But where do you start? Identifying the primary media usage of your target group can be a great beginning point. Find out what television shows they watch, what radio stations they listen to, what magazines they read and what Web sites they visit. Place your ads accordingly.
Television offers many opportunities for niche targeting. An advertiser could target prospects with specific show selections. Another option is to select specialized networks whose entire audiences share commonalities. Networks like The History Channel, Food Network, and Discovery Health provide advertisers with audiences that have specific interests and needs.
If you want to tell people about your great new golf tees, you can advertise on ABC and reach a lot of people with your message. If you were to advertise on ESPN, you would also reach a lot of people, and they would likely be sports fans. Better, right? If you want to reach an even more specific group of people, golfers for example, you might consider placing your advertisement on The Golf Channel. While you might reach fewer people on The Golf Channel than on ABC, a higher percentage of the people you are reaching should be interested in purchasing golf tees. And, because the numbers watching are smaller, the dollars spent will usually be as well.
Like television, different radio stations attract different kinds of people. As I’m sure you already know, the people listening to a Country radio station are different than the people listening to an Alternative music station. But have you considered the more subtle differences between listeners of The Eagle versus listeners of KFRU? Both are Talk format stations, but most listeners are loyal to one or the other. What defines why a listener chooses one station over the other? And what happens when you spend your money to buy a very specific show? I have a client who swears by the minimal investment we make for him on Saturday morning’s “Fix It Show.” Its audience of home fixer-uppers is a perfect match for his construction-related business.
Magazines also offer a wide variety of niche marketing opportunities. Going back to the golf tee example, a great place to run your print ad would be in a golfing magazine, such as Golf Digest, rather than a general sports magazine such as Sports Illustrated. Sports Illustrated would deliver your audience, but not as cost-effectively as a more narrowly defined audience.
The Internet has opened a new realm of opportunities for reaching niche audiences. Savvy use of key words, paid ad placements and cross promotions are the most common tools advertisers use to deliver targeted marketing messages to interested prospects or lead pre-qualified searchers to their Web site.
It’s not always easy to find a vehicle that perfectly matches the niche you are trying to reach. But a little time and effort spent investigating the options may be well worth your while. Of course, if you already have enough responsibilities demanding your attention, Visionworks can help. Either way, the goal is to maximize the impact of your advertising investment. If you can achieve that, you are on your way to becoming a “VIMP” (Very Intelligent Marketing Professional).