Psychographics: Effective Audience Analysis

Introduced in the late 1970s, psychographics divides the population into lifestyle segments or broad categories of people in order to better analyze which advertisements and other forms of media are best suited where. This form of analysis, VALS, is broken down into nine categories of people and include: Belongers, Achievers, Societally Conscious, Emulators, Experientials, I-Am-Me's, Survivors, Sustainers and Integrateds. As society changes and the media advances these groups provide an incite on where to aim certain views. Everyday people switch into other groups as they age which also helps with the ever changing media.

As the media advances and the views of groups change the demographics are affected and must be met accordingly. For example, the Belongers are typically church goers and television watchers which provides quality information as to how advertisers should reach these people, usually through television commercials. Oppositely the Achievers are not big television watchers making them targeted largely by public advertisements. By focusing on these groups, demographics also play a part in how audiences are reached making this method extremely effective. By utilizing two different techniques the range of people reached is far greater and much more beneficial to the people looking for this information.