The 14 Ps of Mixed Media Marketing - Part 7

Personas
This is one of the mixed media marketing Ps that has not yet been mentioned in marketing school. A persona is a representation of a typical character in your target audience. They are a group of people that you can label (for your own marketing purposes). The people that you want to appeal to should be captured in a persona or several different personas so that your brand can communicate more effectively with each group. It is a way to help you, the marketer, get into the mind of your consumers and understand them; what is important to them and what they like/dislike. Your mixed media marketing campaigns will be built specifically for people who fit within your personas.

A car dealer selling small cars can have several personas to cater for. One may be the elderly person who only needs to drive around town. A name for this persona may be “Nanas”. Another group may be young professionals, mostly females, working in the city. They cannot afford a large car or the petrol that goes along with it. A small car is also ideal for them to park in the city’s small spaces. This persona can be the “Chics” or “Fashionistas”.

Personas take market segmentation to a new level because it requires the marketer to learn about a particular type of person. It is more than demographics. We include lifestyle, values, views and other information to build profiles of the groups.

To get inside these personas and understand your market; read what they read, go where they go, do what they like to do, spend time with them and use what you have learnt to appeal to them in your marketing. To relate to your customers and market successfully you must be able to understand their personas.

This is not a new idea; it’s a fundamental of targeted marketing.