To illustrate this, we decided to take a peek into the behaviors of viewers to this season’s new broadcast shows that aired on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox during the month of September. In this example, given the explosion of media multitasking, we thought it was relevant to identify the likelihood of each program’s viewers to use the Internet via their computer while watching TV. A list of the 14 new shows that have premiered so far this season — seven each half-hour sitcoms and hour-long dramas — are listed below. The sitcoms are in blue, the dramas in red.

Using Simmons TV BehaviorGraphics, a proprietary consumer segmentation system based on TV viewing behaviors that links 60,000 consumer elements measured by the trusted Simmons National Consumer Study (NCS) to Nielsen’s National Television Index (NTI), we identified the nine viewing segments that rank highest in the NCS for their propensity to surf the Web while watching TV. The top scoring segment is one called Trendsetters. This segment’s TV viewing behavior is highly focused on entertainment TV, which includes programs on E!, Bravo, MTV and more. In addition to media multitasking, Trendsetters stay on top of the latest celebrity gossip, own the latest electronic gadgets and stay in touch with friends through social media. A brief profile of all of the top-ranking segments is below.

With the top-indexing BehaviorGraphics segments in hand, we can then examine their viewing to each of the 14 new broadcast programs against the latest ratings data from Nielsen. Below, listed in descending order, are the programs where we can find the highest concentrations of these media multitaskers among the viewing audience.

What is interesting about the rankings in this list is that sitcoms are much more likely to have an audience that is multitasking, compared with dramas in general. This is not surprising, given that the audience that is likely to do this is younger, as are sitcom viewers, and that dramas tend to require more involvement in the story to keep up with the plotlines.

The big exception in the list above is Revolution, on NBC, whose viewers are 25% more likely than adults 18+ to be online on their computers while watching TV. This post-apocalyptic drama series follows a young woman and her family as they try to find out why the power suddenly went out all over Earth and use a mysterious device they have to reboot the system. With executive production duties held by JJ Abrams (of Lost fame), it is no wonder that tech-savvy viewers are 25% more likely than the average adult to be media multitaskers.

The new sitcom most likely to attract these online multitaskers is the Mindy Project — starring Mindy Kaling, much known to TV viewers as Kelly from The Office — another show popular with young, tech-savvy viewers, with over 10 million Facebook fans. The Mindy Project, off to a strong start with nearly 75,000 Facebook fans, follows Mindy, an OB/GYN trying to juggle her busy personal and chaotic professional lives.

Advertisers who have committed to these shows should be aware of the higher than average likelihood that viewers are splitting their attention between the TV and the Internet. However, this also presents advertisers with an opportunity to engage viewers even more by driving them to Web properties, including the company or product Website, social media page or a hashtag that can provide targeted consumers with more information about the advertised product or with a way to interact with the brand in a more personal way.

The month of October brings more new programs, including Arrow (CW), Chicago Fire (NBC), Nashville (ABC), Beauty and the Beast (CW), and Emily Owens, MD (CW). Along with these new shows, it will be interesting to see how the audiences for returning shows change with the new TV landscape. Stay tuned for further updates on the attitudes, behaviors and lifestyles of TV viewers this fall.

Learn more about Simmons TV BehaviorGraphics and download a sample profile of BehaviorGraphics segment.

Experian Marketing Services will be presenting marketing solutions and techniques to attendees at several sessions along with some of our leading client brands. Here’s a rundown:

• What Do Users Want From Mobile Commerce Sites?With the increasing penetration of smart phones providing the ability to grab consumers on the go, getting your mobile commerce site right can pay huge dividends. A panel of leading brands including HauteLook, Econsultancy and Experian Marketing Services will discuss an array of successful m-commerce strategies, tactics and best practices.
  Alok Kapur, vice president, Global Head of Mobile, Experian Marketing Services
  Monday, October 15, 11:15 am
• Supercharging Your Energy – How Duke Energy Changed How We View PowerLearn how Duke Energy put the customer at the center of their strategy and created programs to help them spend less on energy. Specific examples will be shared to illustrate how Duke Energy and Experian Marketing Services partnered to drive customer value, loyalty and customer satisfaction, leading to a growth in overall company revenues while encouraging people to spend less on energy.
  Rick Erwin, President, Data and Analytics Division, Experian Marketing Services
  Joe Cunningham, Manager, Market and Customer Insights, Duke Energy
  Tuesday, October 16, 2:00 pm
• Segmentation as a Strategy – Internally and Externally, a Zappos Case StudyZappos, known for its customer service obsession, relies on customer segmentation data which is used in all areas of the company, including operations, product management, merchandising and marketing. This case study will illustrate how strategies are developed, and how the entire company aligns to achieve actions and results.
  Rick Erwin, President, Data and Analytics Division, Experian Marketing Services
  Amara Silao, Senior Director, Retail Operations and Product Management, Zappos
  Dinesh Gaur, Analytics Manager, Zappos
  Chris Peake, Director, Product Management Customer Experience & Data, Zappos
  Lisa Archambault, Display Marketing Manager, Zappos
  Wednesday, October 17, 10:00 am
• Database Marketing Certification – Attaining Marketing Database ROI
  This session brings together data and technology experts to describe how best-in-class solutions within an integrated data management platform support data flow and customer intelligence delivery for more effective customer engagement across all channels.
  Marcus Tewksbury, Experian Marketing Services
  Paul Manderville, Experian Marketing Services’ Conversen
  Wednesday, October 17, 1:00 pm

If you’re at the show and would like to learn more, please stop by Experian’s Booth 815 or visit the DMA event agenda.

Younger, middle income group and less credit-worthy

This group is evenly split by gender, which is similar to the online population. Their age skewed younger, with 18-34 year-olds making up the largest share of visits and the greatest difference versus the online population. This audience also skewed younger when compared to the visitors to the Retail 500 during this time.

Source: Experian Hitwise
Demographic summary  Black Friday shoppers for the week ending November 26, 2011

In terms of income, the highest concentration of Black Friday shoppers was in the $30-$99k income range, and they over indexed versus the online population in terms of visits from the $60-99k income bracket. This skews less affluent when compared with the Retail 500, which over indexes on visits from those with household incomes of $100k+.

With regard to Vantage Score, the concentration is fairly evenly distributed amongst those with scores of B, C, D and F, while the smallest share comes from A, the most credit worthy group. Black Friday shoppers over-indexed slightly in visits from the least credit worthy groups versus the online population. This is also in contrast to Retail 500 shoppers – 44% of them are in the A or B Vantage Score range while just 35% of Black Friday 2011 shoppers fell within those groups.

Concentrated in large DMA markets and Midwest

Source: Experian Hitwise
Demographic summary  Black Friday shoppers for the week ending November 26, 2011

Geographically, the highest concentration of visits comes from large DMA markets and states – CA, NY, TX and IL. Among the top 10 states by visits share, those with the highest index versus the online population were from Ohio and North Carolina. Overall the highest index of Black Friday shoppers was from Kentucky and West Virginia.

Lifestyle segmentation of Black Friday shoppers

To learn a little more we’ve looked at the Mosaic® USA groups of Black Friday shoppers the week of Thanksgiving and Black Friday, along with the index for each group against the online population.

Source: Experian Hitwise
Demographic summary  Black Friday shoppers for the week ending November 26, 2011

The Family Union group accounts for just over 9% of the Black Friday 2011 shopper segment and over-indexes against the online population – the segment is 31% more likely than the online population to fall within this Mosaic group. Family Union is described as mid-scale, middle-aged and somewhat ethnically diverse families who work in blue collar occupations. This group is value conscious and financially cautious.

We also see Group B – Flourishing Families – at the top of the list with the highest index versus the online population. These folks are more affluent than their Family Union counterparts, although they are similarly middle-aged. While this group is brand aware and financially secure, they too are deal seekers when it comes to holiday shopping.

Watch our recent webcast with Black Friday and Cyber Monday insights as our experts shared traffic drivers, search trends and critical insights that will improve your ability to target and engage high value consumer segments. Learn more about what, how and when consumers search and buy online during the holiday season.

The segments come from the PoliticalPersonas consumer segmentation system, which classifies U.S. adults into one of 10 unique segments based on the individual’s political outlook and party ID as well as their attitudes and opinions towards key topics.

The segments we will focus on in this post include the Super Democrats and Ultra Conservatives segments, which represent the most party loyal voters for Democrats and Republicans, respectively. We will also profile the TV preferences of three important swing voter segments during this election cycle, including: Mild Republicans, On the Fence Liberals and Green Traditionalists. For more information about the PoliticalPersonas segments, download the PoliticalPersonas Report.

The shows in each list include those cable and broadcast TV shows with the highest concentration of viewers from each segment. For example, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central has the highest concentration of Super Democrats of any non-news cable or broadcast show on TV. Likewise, Rules of Engagement on CBS has the highest concentration of Mild Republicans. Candidates, political organizations, and even traditional advertisers trying to connect with any of these voting segments would be wise to consider advertising on the programs listed below.

For more information on PoliticalPersonas, watch our Webcast.

With the proliferation of the Internet and mobile technology, today’s consumer operates differently and expects more from their favorite brands. To adapt to that new American consumer, marketers are using highly targeted strategies to drive interest. These can be messages that are relevant to a few hundred consumers or detailed one-on-one communications that target individuals at the point of sale or online.

But some marketers struggle to execute these tactics effectively. Most segmentation is currently done prior to a campaign, meaning that marketers determine which message a consumer will receive before ever interacting with that individual. Unfortunately, with the rapid nature of purchasing decisions and buying transactions, businesses often miss opportunities because it takes too long to get the right message to the right consumer.

To keep up, marketers need to collect intelligence at the point of contact so they can understand each individual consumer’s habits and preferences during that connection. This intelligence can then feed modeling algorithms that enable automatic offers based on an individual’s preferences.

To develop a strategy around real-time marketing intelligence, marketers should take the following steps:

1. Clean existing data – at the root of any intelligence strategy is data. Information determines a company’s ability to reach target individuals – and understand who they are and what they’re interested in. Unfortunately, if the data that feeds intelligence efforts is inaccurate, marketers are simply unable to communicate with or understand consumers. Ensuring the validity of contact information, internal records and third-party data elements helps organizations target consumers and ensures that sophisticated analysis is as precise as possible.
2. Identify strategies – organizations should analyze their target markets and determine which communication channels could benefit from a more personalized customer experience. Marketers should decide how they want to change each communication to help drive the desired action from each consumer. Consider personalizing website displays based on geographic regions, customizing an introductory message or revamping loyalty campaigns based on purchase history and consumer interests.
3. Real-time intelligence – marketers should build models to help predict the best offers for each target audience. These models can be designed to take into account demographic and behavioral information, as well as purchase history and internal data. Marketers can feed these models with intelligence gained at the point of contact to prompt consumers in real time with specific, relevant offers.

As marketers continue to enhance and refine targeting efforts, it’s important to gain customer insight. Those who leverage these advanced technologies and strategies will create stronger customer engagement.

Segmenting customers and taking measurable action in real time are advanced techniques that appeal to many marketers today. Achieving this level of interaction allows organizations to optimize marketing efforts and provide the right offer at the right time to the right consumer.

Sites that are effectively receiving more traffic from Vantage Score A users are Discover, American Express and Fidelity Investments, as they have a higher propensity to visit these sites than the online population. Chase Banking stands out in attracting consumers with the highest credit worthiness when compared against the overall online population.  Common commercial bank sites such as SunTrust, TD and Capital One are  more likely to be visited by the online population than the VantageScore A consumers.

Source: Experian AudienceView

The top search terms of VantageScore A consumers that drive traffic to the Banks & Financial Institutions  are very different than the general population. The top search term ‘mortgage calculator’ received the highest share of clicks bringing these consumers to banking sites during the 12 weeks ending July 14, 2012. They are also searching for custom ‘log in’ pages. Banks and financial institutions may want to consider in enhancing their site with this feature in order to attract more high credit consumers.

Source: Experian AudienceView

When trended over time, the term ‘mortgage calculator’ reveals more search volume from May – June this year.  With recent news that fixed U.S. mortgage rates fell to new record lows – VantageScore A consumers are seeking out information with potential interest in refinancing or may be prospective home buyers.

Source: Experian AudienceView

The key for success is to offer relevant products, outstanding service and timely marketing messages to generate qualified response to offers. Using precise segment insights, lenders can intelligently and effectively target eligible and profitable consumers for acquisition and existing account management strategies.

The Olympic teams’ site visitors tend to be men.  The swimming site attracted the largest share of male visitors at 60%. Basketball and track & field close behind with 58% of visitors being male.

A lifestyle and psychographic look at site visitors shows varying profiles for the fans of each sport.  Using Experian’s Mosaic USA lifestyle segmentation solution, we are able to better understand what the fans of each sport are all about. The following are the top lifestyle segments driving traffic to the respective websites.

At the top of the podium for the USA swimming site is the Booming with Confidence target:

• Prosperous, established couples in their peak earning years living in suburban homes. This group is upscale, experienced travelers, brand-aware, loyal and sports enthusiasts.

For track & field, the Promising Families group leads the way:

• Young couples with children in starter homes living child-centered lifestyles. They have solid incomes and busy lives. They are young and active – especially with child centric activities, team sports are a big part of their lives as well as other activities for the children.

And the USA basketball site has two groups that are most interested in the latest dream team – Booming with Confidence (described above) and Suburban Style.

• Middle-aged, ethnically-mixed suburban families and couples earning upscale incomes. Suburban Style have rich leisure lives and enjoy family centric activities and sports. They are community minded and brand conscious.

Segmenting the lifestyle of a website’s visitors helps to us to create a rich profile of each site’s audience. For advertisers, it presents an opportunity to target audiences that are most relevant to their product or service and create timely, tailored campaigns for each segment.

Related posts: Track ahead of the competition – who will make it to the finish line?; Let the marketing games begin

As a growing number of U.S. states pass laws recognizing same-sex marriages and civil unions, we see an increasing percentage of gay and lesbian Americans reporting that they’re married. Five years ago, for example, when only Massachusetts allowed same-sex marriage, 8% of adult gay men and 14% of adult lesbian women said they were married. Today, 12% of gay men and a full quarter of lesbian women are married. During the same timeframe, marriage rates among heterosexuals fell slightly. Today, 58% of heterosexual men and 53% of heterosexual women are married. Compare that to 60% of straight men and 55% of straight women who were married in 2007.

Percent of adults currently married, by sexual orientation

While marriage is a growing trend among the LGBT population, many gay and lesbian adults (as well as many heterosexuals) live with their partners without tying the knot. Today, two-thirds of lesbian women and 46% of gay men live in a household with one and only one member of the same sex. As expected, the majority of married gays and lesbians are found in these household formations, but we can expect to find many cohabitating couples in this arrangement as well. Among heterosexual adults, 71% of men and 61% of women share a home with one and only one adult of the opposite sex, the comparable formation most likely to contain married and partnered straight couples.

Percent of lesbian and gay adults who live with zero, one or two+ adults of the same sex

Percent of heterosexual adults who live with zero, one or two+ adults of the opposite sex

For more demographic and attitudinal information on the trends among the LGBT population, download the 2012 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Demographic Report.

Fast Track Couples consist of young couples and families already on the road to upward mobility. Although 90% are under the age of 35, most are married, work at good jobs and own their homes. About one-third of Fast Track Couples have already started families, and others might look to start one soon. Other key characteristics that describe this segment include the following:

• Nearly all have at least some college education, which has helped them obtain decent-paying jobs in sales, white-collar professions and technology. More than half of these households have dual workers in the labor force.
• These young couples live comfortably in homes valued close to the national average, though they have yet to sink deep roots. Most have lived at the same address for fewer than three years.
• Fast Track Couples are informed customers, not impulse shoppers. They’re acutely aware of demands on their budgets, and they want to make sure they get good value for any purchase.
• Fast Track Couples are focused on their careers. A significant number are entrepreneurial and dream about starting their own business.
• They are mostly novices when it comes to financial investments and have not saved much money nor invested in many stocks, mutual funds or bonds. A high percentage have 401(k) accounts, and those with young children have started 529 College Savings Plans. Their balances, however, are still relatively modest.
• Many members are comfortable with debt. They’re still paying off student loans and have added auto loans and first mortgages to their liabilities.
• Fast Track Couples lead socially active lifestyles. They enjoy going to bars, movies, comedy clubs and rock concerts.
• They prefer their vacations to be filled with heart-pounding sports, including skiing, scuba diving, water skiing and backpacking.
• Self-described early adopters, they like filling their homes with the latest customer electronics and technology.

The best channel to reach Fast Track Couples is the Internet. They are highly receptive to digital advertising via online search and sponsored links. Few segments spend more time in cyberspace. They are enthusiastic Internet users, going online to simplify their lives. They use the Internet to manage their financial affairs, make travel arrangements and check out new job, car and home listings. They also use the Internet as their chief form of entertainment, downloading music, listening to Internet-only radio stations, watching videos and sharing digital photographs. In addition, they’re comfortable telecommuting and shopping online. Having grown up with communication on demand, they don’t care how they get their Internet access. They bounce seamlessly between cell phone, laptop and wireless connections. Although they dislike email ads, they respond to sponsored Websites and links — especially when doing product comparisons. They like shopping for games and software to improve their online experience. In a list of popular Websites, it’s difficult to find any that they don’t visit, opening up many possible touchpoints for marketers looking to engage this segment.

These lessons have taken some time to be adopted in the expanding world of digital marketing. From broadcast emails to placing banner ads to capture  eyeballs, the metrics have gravitated towards something new, including actions, conversion, click-throughs and even amount of purchase. Different companies, and even internal groups within companies, use different metrics to determine success. The metrics can be proactive based on strategy, or reactive based on other internal or external factors. Sometimes the approach is forced by competitive pressure, in other cases by the need  to track performance against broader objectives such as budgets or margins. As businesses become more used to the digital arena, segmentation and profiling play an increasingly important role in targeted campaigns.

Enter the new frontier of social marketing. Many questions arise for marketers, generating much discussion in industry groups and conferences: Which platform should I use? Which metrics should be tracked? What is the ROI? What does it drive? Also growing in complexity is the issue of revenue attribution in a multi-channel marketing world, and the role social media campaigns play in overall results. All valid questions, but a big challenge is that many seem to be forgetting a very fundamental question in marketing, regardless of channel, and that is: exactly who we are targeting? What is the difference between the 10 or 10,000 people who ”Like” your Facebook page or follow you on Twitter?

What is the difference between the 10 or 10,000 people who ”Like” your Facebook page or follow you on Twitter?

This is an important question because it raises the issue of relevancy. Look at the marketing efforts in other channels. Do we show the same ad on all channels? What about print ads in magazines? Is every customer or prospect sent the same piece of direct mail? The same offer? How about email? Even web pages are providing different experiences to different visitors based on what we know about them, including something as simple as a winter clothing offer that’s based on the IP address of the customer. It’s clear that marketing efforts are becoming more finely tuned and targeted.

One key strength of social media marketing is the ability to engage an audience, though this can be marginalized due to the one size fits all approach for social engagement efforts. The troubling question is: At what point does this approach become irrelevant noise or social spam? If I have one page for customers to like, in an attempt to speak to all of them I may not be speaking to any of them. The only case in which all messages are relevant to all the fans on Facebook or followers on Twitter is if they are essentially alike because I have a very narrow product offering. Let me describe the issue with social spam using a simple example. A national clothing retailer has customers who differ by age, gender and geographical regions. At the most basic level, the factors that segment the customers would be:

1. Gender: 2 groups – male and female
2. Region: 4 groups – West, East, Central and South
3. Age: 3 groups -18-25, 26-34, 35-44

Potentially there are 24 different segments of audience (2x4x3 = 24). It is late Fall and if the retailer is sharing updates once daily on its Facebook page, how often will it post something that is relevant to a 19 year old male living on the West Coast? Say the posting on Monday is for light Fall jackets targeted for teenage girls on the West Coast. Tuesday it is for heavier jackets targeted for 30-something males in the colder East Coast, Wednesday the message is for 35-44 age women in South for accessories, and so on.

At what point should that message targeted to a 19 year old male living in the West Coast show up? Until that message is delivered, the other messages might be seen as irrelevant noise or even be considered social spam. By attempting to engage fans and customers the retailer could be sending the wrong signals ¾ i.e., you are just a number. How long until this customer/target/fan stops paying attention due to irrelevant messaging day after day? It takes one simple click to stop seeing all or most of the retailer’s updates thereby losing the attention of someone who at one time was interested enough to like the retailer’s Facebook page.

So what is the answer? We have to go back to the basic principles of marketing. A social strategy has to be targeted and customized. We must be able to answer basic questions like: Who is our ideal customer? How much do we know about this person, and what is or is not of interest to them? This will help fine tune all aspects of our social channel efforts, segmentation and, eventually, drive strong results.

Profiling and segmentation are critical. We don’t send the same direct mailer or email, or offer the same landing page to all customers, so why force them to the same feed on a social media channel? The answer is to have more specific feeds, whether it’s pages, accounts or albums. The good news is that the right information is available to be able to segment. This includes all kinds of syndicated consumer information, as well as information available specifically in the social channel itself. There are many views and approaches to calculating the value of a “Like” on Facebook or a follower on Twitter, but regardless of how the value is calculated, the more specific your messaging is to the customer the higher the value will be. Remember the channel or tool may provide additional capabilities but the fundamentals have to be followed to make the best use of any channel.