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Another study questioning the value of demographics described in AdWeek, “Are Demographics Dead? Study suggests looking at ‘life stages’ could yield greater insight” (February 23, 2010).

Media behavior in today’s fragmented landscape is best evaluated by looking at the “life stages” that people experience as opposed to their demographic profiles.

We are not quite ready to drop demographics from our text books, but as users of Basic Marketing and Essentials of Marketing know, we consider the family life cycle (see chapter 5) an important influence on consumer behavior.

This story “In Search Of The Elusive Male Shopper” was on NPR’s Weekend Edition this morning (February 13, 2010).  If you go to the site, you can read the text of the story or listen to it.  While there is an obvious Valentine’s Day tie-in, the story describes differences in how men and women shop.  A number of great examples that can be used to talk about segmentation or consumer behavior.

This 5 minute video clip is an interview with P&G’s new CEO Bob McDonald and A.G. Lafley, its recently departed CEO. They talk about P&G’s focus on developing markets as its source of growth. They mention that demographics drive this focus. The clip would have a nice tie-in with demographics as we talk about it in chapter 5. While the video clearly demonstrates the opportunity here, it might be fun to show the clip in class and ask students – “what P&G should do with its marketing strategy to appeal to this target market?” it might also provide an example of an opportunity that could be discussed with chapter 2.

This article (“The Hispanic Market Is Set to Soar,” Adweek, November 2, 2009)provides a detailed preview of the demographic shifts expected in the 2010 Census. The focus of this article is on the implications for agencies and media outlets.

I really enjoyed this article, “Seeing Store Shelves Through Senior Eyes,” in the Wall Street Journal, September 14, 2009 [subscription required - or search the title on google.]  It describes a program Kimberly Clark has used to raise the awareness of its brand managers and retailers to the challenges facing the elderly consumer.  I used it in class when discussing demographic trends and the growing elderly population, but it could easily fit into discussions of marketing research, brand management, and retailing.