No One Acts Their Age: A Conversation With David Allison on Rethinking Demographics

Philip McKenzie I have talked about the postdemographic reality for a while Similarly you39re focusing on values rather than demographics Walk me through your thinkingDavid Allison Demographics are an enormous waste of time and resources because they are such an antiquated way of thinkingamp8230 We want to talk to 18 to 24yearolds or 25 to 36yearolds and then men and women We ask quotHow much money do you havequot As if that39s somehow going to give us a glimpse into the soul and the motivation of the people we39re trying to communicate withamp8230 It became very apparent to me over time because I39d worked in marketing for so long that this system seemed inefficientSo I settled on a fundamental idea that what we value is code for what we care about In turn what we care about determines what we do If we can find a way to profile target audiences and figure out what they have in common in terms of what they care about we can look at a target audience for anythingMcKenzie You39ve conducted global surveys to frame your argument can you share a bit about amp8230 the variables you examinedAllison We have 500000 surveys in our database from all over the world a list of 420 different metrics of which 40 correspond to core human values as measured by the World Values Index and the Bhutan Gross Domestic Happiness Index These are the scientifically accepted lists of the personal values that human beings potentially possess That forms the core of how we assess values This comprehensive data capture allows us to get very contextualized data that is statistically accurate in 180 countries In short we have created a replica of the real world in miniatureMcKenzie Given the depth of data capture how can organizations use this approach to be more effective in their customer reachAllison I think if most companies amp8230 start looking at marketing outreach they39ll find that shared values are represented there somewhere but they39re probably not centered and the volume isn39t as loud as it should beIdentifying the values that are important and linked to the intrinsic benefit of a product or service allows you to unlock incredible potential An organization can then be strategic and begin to brainstorm around a particular set of values that they know are important rather than more nebulous assumptions based on demographics Now brainstorming can flow and it can flow based on data and on the science behind knowing that those are the values that are important to your audienceMcKenzie Do you think this allows you to flip the data conversation as you are getting a richer contextAllison The only way we can change the future is if we understand what people value because what we value determines what we do Demographics are a decent way to describe people on a surface basis psychographics gives us a record of behavior These are steps but they don39t give us a full picture Valuegraphics is more predictive because values drive our choices It provides the astute observer insight into where the consumer is going nextMcKenzie Why is this idea of the allure of demographics still so persistentAllison Demographics at some point in history had a purpose and probably were an excellent way of predicting what people would do And in those days demographics probably were a much more useful tool for marketers In recent history we39ve acquired the ability to curate our lives and live pretty much however we likeamp8230 And so it is very much a postdemographic ageMany members of the marketing community amp8230 have only known demographic profiling so it39s hard to break that adherence especially when they control the purse stringsMcKenzie Finally what has your work either reaffirmed or changed in your perspective on how we are shaping narratives around differenceAllison I can say a couple of things about that The first is that we now have far more data than required to prove that we are all far more similar to each other than we would ever care to thinkamp8230 Many of the conversations we see in media are a reflection of our current events and our political life that causes divisionSecond is that many of those narratives are rooted in the very distinct ways in which we see each other in connection to specific issues We create tribes based on otherness If we can get people to start using valuesbased thinking as a way to move forward instead of demographics I think the whole world could start to come together because we39d be identifying what we have in common and what we share We will be seeking the values that make us humanDon39t stop now Stay in the know on Influence and Influencers with more from Phil McKenzieClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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No One Acts Their Age: A Conversation With David Allison on Rethinking Demographics

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Philip McKenzie

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No One Acts Their Age: A Conversation With David Allison on Rethinking Demographics

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