At one point or another in their evolution, most companies contemplate how to segment their market to ensure they are catering to the unique needs of various constituents that comprise said market. Done well, segmentation analysis informs a variety of different strategic imperatives, including brand strategy, positioning product/service features and benefits, and customer experience.  Its influence nearly always finds its way to media, as businesses attempt to get the messages informed by the segmentation out to constituents in an efficient and effective way. 

A Disorganized Path to Media Segmentation 

The path to media activation for most segmentations is often haphazard at best, ultimately resulting in poorly placed media and subsequent underwhelming outcomes. The problem rests with the translation of the segmentation, which is typically built from a survey or customer database and thus attitudinal or behavioral in nature, to the media platforms upon which campaigns targeting the segments are delivered. Segmentations and media platforms typically operate with different data currencies – segmentations with survey-based data or customer behaviors, media platforms with cookies and other identifiers – that often do not communicate well with one another. As a result, compromises in accuracy typically emerge in the translation of the segmentation to the media platform.   

Innovations Assisting in Media Segmentation 

Several recent industry innovations are finally providing a solution to this age-old problem, though. First, natural language processing of digital consumption patterns in a privacy safe fashion provides access to signals which suggest certain attitudes, sentiments, and behaviors that historically have been challenging to derive in the past. Second, advances in identity resolution techniques enable linkages between these signals and the attitudinal data generated by surveys that previously were harder to establish. Finally, analytical techniques have emerged recently that help sift through these signals in search of those most predictive of the attitudes or behaviors that are typically the foundation of a customer or marketplace segmentation. The end result is a more efficient approach to translating segments from research into activation.  

Big Village’s Portfolio of Attitudinal-Based Media Segments 

Over the past several years, Big Village Insights has leveraged this approach to develop a portfolio of attitudinal based segments that advertisers and their agencies can leverage to plan and execute campaigns more effectively. Our taxonomy is comprised of thousands of commonly targeted segments ranging from industry specific intentions to relevant attitudes to specific sentiments. Deep insights around media consumption, values, and demographics are available on each segment through our Audience Intelligence Platform.  Additionally, custom segments can easily be stood up in instances where a desired target has not already been developed. Learn more about Big Village Segmentation and Audiences and start targeting your desired consumer groups, today.  

Written by Andy Davidson, Head of Analytics and Data Strategy.

ABOUT Big Village

Big Village is a global, full-service media and marketing services company that unites culture and commerce to move brands forward faster. We are: Driven by data. Fueled by imagination. Powered by technology. Founded in 2005, Big Village has global headquarters in New York and 16 offices across North America, the UK, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Big Village empowers clients to outperform in the present and win in the future with its vast range of marketing solutions including – insights, creative, media, data and technology.