Who's Out There?
A shorthand path to the mind and heart of your target consumer

Advertisers and agencies live in a blizzard of data. They have so much information about their markets and targets that they often drown in it.

Ask them about any prospect's income, age, gender, education level, profession, social class, and neighborhood, and you'll be awash in digital doo-doo before you can finish the question.

Mindless data to mindful understanding

This is why so many creative briefs seem to have all of the words but none of the music. If the purpose of the information were to produce a "Wanted" poster, they'd be in good shape. But in commercial communication, our purpose is to create a message that will be important, perhaps charming, and certainly persuasive, to the target.

We're not talking about a person, we're deciding how to talk to this person.

And that makes all the difference in the world. Because of this, we need to have a feel for what our prospect thinks, what his values are, what his emotional needs are. One thing is certain: all good advertising begins with an understanding of what the world looks like through the prospect's eyes.
And printouts of data just don't have this kind of stuff. But that's where today's shorthand system comes in.

Start with this assumption. Living in our complex society isn't easy. We all have pressures. And in our different stages of life, these pressures change. But there is one constant. Humans are always trying to improve things. To build something! And when you know what your prospect is trying to build, you have the key to his wants and needs.

The skyline of a life

Here's the way it goes:

1) When we're young, we're building our very identities. We're defining our goals. In some ways, the battles we fight in our pre-adult lives are the toughest of our lives. We're besieged by acne, self-doubt, big feet, tongue-tiedness, dental braces, bad hair and algebra.

2) As young adults, we begin building homes and families. We agonize over day care, curtains, bills, diapers, toys on the stairs, auto repair, insurance, and he-said she-said. During this time, young couples daydream about the glorious days when they could go to a movie, have a few beers with the gang, or tell the boss to go to hell.

3) A few years later, these same people are concentrating on building their careers or a business. They're deeply involved with budgeting their time, applying for loans, keeping up with the Smedleys, re-doing the house, and managing to provide for college, retirement, or even a stock option.

4) And finally, after all the battles have been won, our prospect breathes a mighty sigh, and begins to contemplate the glide-path of life. At this stage folks usually have more money than they ever had. But make no mistake. Our seniors are not just planning to move to Palm City or some other version of God's waiting room. The AARP won't let them. Instead, they start jogging, learn new skills, start second careers, and start to build new lives.

The four stages

And so, it all adds up to this: Four stages of life:

1) Identity Builders

2) Family Builders

3) Career Builders

4) New Life Builders

Regardless of all the demographic data in the world, if you understand the drama of your prospect's age, you understand his passions.

Put your prospect in one of these four categories, and you begin to see the world through his eyes.

Dennis Altman is an advertising consultant and a UK Professor of Advertising and Public Relations

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