Identifying an Aspirational Audience

Challenge

Understanding “aspirational” pockets of Gen-Pop to inform marketing strategies and executions and accelerate growth for a leading social media company.

In order to help a leading social media brand regain its position in social conversation and drive relevance, our client wanted to re-engage with aspirational people; the people their friends say are in ‘the know’. Our task was to help them illuminate this audience so they could understand both what matters to them, and how they engage in social conversations, especially when sharing things they’re interested in.

Approach

We began by thinking about how we could find real trend setters within Gen-Pop communities – our aspirational segment. In collaboration with our client, we landed on a bank of attitudinal statements that we could use to help identify this segment of people.

We then validated the identified audience through group discussions, where we illuminated the kinds of experiences they get excited for. We then explored a new brand narrative and early stage advertising ideas and app features to see how each individually and together could shift existing perceptions of the brand.

Impact

We learned how our client’s potential new messaging and platform features performed against this audience, identifying what to leverage and what needed further refinement.

Our client is now moving forward confidently knowing that they’re connecting with their aspirational audience as they try to propel the platform back into relevant social circles.