APAC Brands Move Past Simple Demographics To Segment Audiences
Rock star Ozzie Osbourne and Prince Charles are the same age and gender, but that doesn’t mean they have the same preferences, according to Jenny Williams, CMO of health insurer HCF, speaking at Adobe Symposium 2016.
Rock star Ozzie Osbourne and Prince Charles are the same age and gender, but that doesn’t mean they have the same preferences, according to Jenny Williams, CMO of health insurer HCF. Williams was among the speakers at a session at Adobe Symposium, in Sydney on July 26, that highlighted the shortcomings of traditional demographic segmentation.
“People are different even if they are in the same demographic,” Williams said. “That difference is what’s going to make a difference when it comes to content.”
This break with traditional demographic analysis was further highlighted by Manjit Gill, global manager digital of analytics and optimisation for Tourism Australia. Gill pointed out that it is now possible to segment audiences based on online behaviour, and that this data allows for more effective targeting than simple demographics.
“Before we had these insights, we were very limited in terms of what we could use in campaigns,” Gill said. “Now we can specifically offer content based on what we already know about our audience.”
Similarly, Claire Gibson, Fairfax Media’s digital brands and data director, said a comprehensive series of data partnerships has enabled the company to redefine its 11-million-strong customer base.
“We’ve now got more than 22 thousand data points to enable us to increasingly carve out unique content and expand into new categories of products,” Gibson said. “This is a huge improvement in terms of what we know about who our audience is based on their online behaviours.”
Peter Nagy, VP of digital optimisation and analytics for Citibank in Australia, is using these insights to boost the effectiveness of specific campaigns. He is able to deliver existing and prospective clients offers they are more likely to find attractive based on cross-referenced data.
“We now have the ability to connect business data and intelligence through a global data warehouse, and we’re able to create unique campaigns based on this profiling,” Nagy explained. “This personalised experience looks very different. We strip away all the generic marketing and present a tailored offering with relevant photos and creative.”
Nagy revealed a proof-of-concept campaign based around home-loan products pitched to prequalified customers that resulted in a 151% increase in completed online requests for more information.
“Now we know who our customers are based on their online behaviour, which makes it a lot easier to offer them what they want,” Nagy said.