Socioeconomic measures help marketers grasp realities for South Africans

History shows that a boom tends to follow a recession. While the boom may be slow to develop, when it gains momentum it unfurls like the protea seed after a wildfire.

How do you prepare today for a full new bloom?

Marketers must maintain a grasp on the realities of shifting markets during tough times. Brand custodians need to understand people’s moves and mindsets through market lows, and in response, must power up their brands to shape solutions.

The imperative to see ahead can at times feel like a heavy burden, but market segmentation provides robust consumer intelligence to carry the load better. This is important for media strategists as they are looked to for tighter targeting.

Valuable answers are available in the SA market and audience data contained n the socioeconomic measure (SEM) market segmentation model. This tool provides strategists with reliable media audience measurement and reporting.

To cultivate new seeds of value in SEMs, Ebony+Ivory partnered with media consultant Gordon Muller. The result was the agency’s Market Segmentation: SA series, in which SEMs are analysed across four pillars: people and places, purchasing power, products, and platforms.

That in turn led to production of this book, a read for anyone wanting to secure their business strategy roots in an understanding of the complexities of SA living.

Six strategic SEM dimensions:

1. Agility strength

Using SEMs to navigate open-source industry databases means we a have tool that offers a reliable and agile interpretation of the SA marketplace and media landscape.

2. Segmentation value

The Popi Act and the constraints for personalised data-driven marketing in a post-cookie environment have been the catalyst for a renewed interest in traditional market segmentation methods.

3. Purchasing power

The model retains a strong predictive capability, as SEMs provide broad product and service landscape perspectives and deep vertical insights at a branded level.

4. Cluster clout

As with Living Standards Measures, SEMs offer a 10-segment lens for partitioning the market, but add functional application through the inclusion of clusters/supergroups. The Muller segmentation model consists of five clusters/supergroups. 

5. User experience usability

SEMs are versatile and allow media planners to adjust the lens to create brand-specific segments and maximise marketing and media effectiveness.

6. Multiplatform application

SEM audience insights are available across all media platforms, including digital and social media.

Read the full e-book here.

This article was paid for by Ebony+Ivory.