So Long Average Joe, Hello Diversity.

What the new demographics mean to branding. 

According to the recent Census findings from over 20 states, the concept of the average American is over. As a nation, we are becoming a more diverse population and in fact, in our 10 largest cities, no one segment forms a majority.

Throw out your cookie-cutters because the impact of this information to marketing, branding and talent acquisition is significant.

·      The concept of a value proposition, which by definition means creating a targeted strategy aligned with the wants and needs of your audience, is expanding in direct proportion to our audience segments.

·      Adding complexity is the fact that for the first time in history, we have four generations existing side-by-side in the workplace.

·      Social networks have fragmented our audiences even further, creating smaller clusters of niche groups with fewer members.  

In today’s world, building relevant and authentic messages that appeal to multicultural and multigenerational professionals means more market research and message testing. The good news is that the internet has provided us with a greater variety of ways to launch these plans.

Sites like GutCheck and Quantcast bring innovation to qualitative research. And survey tools like Survey Monkey and Zoomerang make Quant a breeze.

Sadly, these tools and technology will not help in analyzing the data and creating truly unique messaging and marketing plans that resonate with fragmented groups.

That can only be accomplished by people with experience, insight and creativity. Fortunately for you, I know a few of them.