Monday, December 21, 2009

Age Segmentation


by Sarah Medina, Harris Hickey, Caroline Wilson

Age Segmentation is the strategy of identifying groups of consumers by age. People grouped by age share similar needs and characteristics. Dividing markets for consumer or business products and aggregating these groups into larger market segments according to their mutual interests is a common marketing strategy.

Age segmentation is divided into 6 categories called age subcultures: young children (0-5), school children and teenagers (6-19), young adults (20-34), younger middle-aged (35-49), older middle-aged (50-64), and senior adults (65+). Each group has a different value system and purchasing behavior.

Segmenting can take an even deeper level by segmenting by generation and cognitive age. Cognitive age refers to the age that consumers think they are, not their actual age. The most common age group that experiences cognitive age is seniors. Once advertisers realize that cognitive age is at play, they must change the way they focus on the audience.

Our female college student went through the consumer lifespan steps when purchasing her vehicle, a Land Rover Discovery, She walked us through the five steps in relation to her purchase process.




Our female after-school program operator was a loyal consumer to supplement vitamins, and firmly agreed that her age was a factor in her purchasing decision.





Team Age Segmentation

Sarah Medina, Harris Hickey, Caroline Wilson

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