Lifestage vs Traditional Demographics

Marketers typically combine several variables to define a demographic profile. A demographic profile (or "a demographic") is used to zero-in on groups of like-minded consumers. For example, a marketer might speak of the female, middle-class, age 18 to 24, college educated demographic.

Today, successful marketers are marketing to women from a Lifestages (not age) point of view: identifying common emotional connection points based on shared life experiences and needs. Tapping into emotional triggers specific to a woman’s Lifestage enables you to engage with them in relevant ways that garner attention and foster loyalty and respect.

While on paper two middle-class, college educated females, aged 18 to 24 may seem very similar; you may find that one may be a single, career-oriented woman and the other a stay-at-home mother of two. As you can imagine the single woman's motivation for buying a product would be very different from the mother of two, and would they even be buying the same things?

Harbinger (a marketing consultancy in Toronto and sister company to Bing Creative), has identified six Lifestages that describe distincy phases women might pass through in their lifetime. They are: the Singleton, Me to We, New Mom, Experienced Mom, Empty Nester, and Career Graduate.

Posted by: Lisa Valent