The Market You Miss Outdoor Advertising Guide
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Outdoor Advertising Guide
The Market You Miss
by Charles B. Burkhart, Founder Burkhart Advertising
Several years ago, at a media seminar, I listened to a representative of one of the national magazines make
a very impressive presentation on the extent of the research capabilities that were employed by his publication.
He made a statement, to the effect that he could identify all of the 25 to 30 year old, blonde, married, females that
had 2 (two) children and lived in a certain section of the city where the meeting was taking place. When it was my
turn at the podium, I couldn’t resist the temptation to remind the audience of the often, overlooked fact. The fact
that we are a highly mobile society and by the time our magazine friend could tabulate and publish his research,
a certain number of his subjects could have dyed their hair, had another child, celebrated their 31st birthday, been
divorced, or moved out of the city. Or even all of the above.
This is not to suggest that the research is invalid. It merely points out the fact that, even as the research
is being conducted, there is a constant and inevitable change taking place in the lives of the population being
researched. And it is taking place, not only on a daily basis, but also constantly throughout the day. While the total
numbers that show up in the final research may be reasonably accurate, they do not necessarily reflect the status
of the individuals that were the original subjects of the studies.
This may not seem significant when applied to any single cause of change of status, however, when you
look at all the forces that dictate change and apply them to all of the people they affect, the numbers become
significant indeed. This is that vast mobile market, a huge moving target, that can literally fall through the grate
of even the best laid media plan, unless that plan provides a safety net to catch the dropouts as they move through
a kaleidoscope of change.
Let’s take a look at the basic types of market mobility and the impact they can have on the ability of an
advertiser to get his message to his target market.
1. MOBILITY OF AGE
There are roughly 247,052 people in St. Joseph County. That means that on the average, 677 of them
will be celebrating their birthday every single day of the year. Every week that adds up to 4,738, which, in
turn, translates into over 20,588 birthdays a month. Besides creating a huge market for birthday cakes, candles,
presents, and all the trappings of a birthday party, think of the impact certain birthdays have on the lives of all
those celebrants. For one thing, the cost of buying life insurance just went up!
Some of them reach 16 and can get a driver’s license for the first time. (I once had an automobile dealer
ask me what was the most important day in the life of an individual. The answer – that individual’s sixteenth
birthday. Independence Day he called it, for on that day the kid was no longer at somebody else’s mercy for
transportation.) Still others reach the age of retirement or will be eligible for their first Social Security check. On
that same day, there will be those who are eligible to vote for the first time and others who can buy their first legal
drink or sign their first legal contract. There are even those who have a shot at having Willard Scott wish them a
happy birthday on the Today Show. I could go on and on, but I think you get the drift.
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2. MOBILITY OF FAMILY
The structure of the family has undergone some significant changes in recent years. The single
parent households have increased dramatically. At the same time, the number of persons per household has
decreased. This, in turn, has resulted in a rate of household growth that has outstripped the rate of increase of
the population. Yet, in spite of all these changes in the family structure, new household formations, through
marriages, has remained relatively steady. And regardless of the circumstances, certain biological and social
relationships remain unchanged.
Each time a birth occurs it sets off a chain of events that impact on the marketplace. Setting aside some of
the aberrations you read about in the media, a first-born creates a whole new set of relationships. Couples, who,
up to that time, may have been merely man and wife, or roommates, are suddenly transformed into mother and
father. Four new grandparents are created, as well as, a myriad of aunts, uncles and cousins. All have an added
dimension to their buying patterns.
The decision must frequently be made as to who goes to work and who stays home. Movie money is
diverted to buy pablum and that new fall dress bows out in favor of Toys-R-Us. The day care industry gets a boost
and that old gang down at the corner tavern is less frequented by one of the regulars.
Each new birth to the family adds to the impact on the market. More mouths to feed means more food
to buy. More bodies means more clothes, more beds, more rooms, more of a whole new set of demands on the
pocketbook that impact on a substantial cross section of the market.
What kind of impact? 3,895 of these blessed events come along every year. That figures of to 11 every
day of the year Sundays and holidays included. Then the kids grow up and leave home and the empty nest
syndrome takes over.
In the meantime, all kinds of forces may be at work altering the family structure. There are divorces and
remarriages, births and deaths, relatives moving in and out. Not a pleasant subject to contemplate, but a factor to
consider when you try to analyze your shifting market demographics, is the 2,259 people who are removed, by
death, from the marketplace every year; 40 from automobile accidents alone. Each in its own way impacts on the
market and contributes to its mobility.
Breadwinners are lost, homes must be sold, living patterns are disrupted, and markets are eroded. To a
degree, illness can create much the same disruption and it certainly impacts on buying patterns. You need only to
read your newspaper to see that here is a daily force, being brought to bear, not only on the market itself, but also
on how we perceive that market.
3. ECONOMIC MOBILITY
One of the most volatile elements that contributes to the constant shifting of marketplace
demographics is economic mobility. This occurs whenever there is a change in the economic status of a
consumer.
Many of the factors discussed above contribute indirectly to economic mobility. We refer here to all the
factors that directly, and often suddenly have their effect. Even, at this moment, somewhere, a boss is telling an
employee, “You’ve done a great job and I’m promoting you and raising your pay.” That employee is experiencing
economic mobility.
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At the same time, in another part of town, a boss is telling an employee, “You didn’t make your quota, so
we’re letting you go.” More economic mobility.
You have economic mobility on a larger scale when a factory closes its doors and dismisses its entire work
force, while elsewhere a new company starts up and hires a new work force. All of the employees involved, in
both cases, experience economic mobility.
There are numerous and often-unpredictable factors that create economic mobility. On the up side, it
could be a bonus, an inheritance, an unexpectedly large commission, or the sale of an asset. On the down side, it
could be an increase in expenses, such as interest or insurance, a strike, an accident or illness, or a bad string of
luck at the races.
There is no way research can accurately factor in these shifts in the ability to buy. You can say, without
fear of contradiction that they will occur.
4. GEOGRAPHIC MOBILITY
The most obvious mobility that occurs in the demographic structure of the marketplace is geographic
structure of the marketplace is geographic in nature.
A friend, who works for a large corporation, told me that he had moved 17 times in 25 years. He may not
be typical. Studies by the government and the moving industry indicate that an average of 17 to 20 percent of the
population move each year.
What happens when a household moves? Plenty! For one thing, it invalidates the information the
householder gave that researcher last month at the old home. They usually have to find a new store for groceries, a
new bank, a new service station, a new school for the kids, and a host of other new sources to fulfill their ongoing
needs. In the new digs, the drapes don’t match the wallpaper, the refrigerator won’t fit in the new kitchen, the
plumbing needs repair, and the next-door neighbor has a brand new car in the driveway. Makes the four-year old
family bus look a little shabby!
All this, or a reasonable facsimile thereof, is happening in some 45,705 households a year. If the media
buy has a geographic fall out that doesn’t match this movement in the marketplace, a large segment of the target
audience can go either unexposed or under exposed to the advertiser’s message.
5. MOBILITY OF LIFE STYLE
To add to the complexity of market analysis, mobility begets even more mobility. All of the factors we
have considered above create a mobility of life styles.
Our youth stay up late, talk loud, drink beer, listen to rock music, and have all the answers to the world’s
problems. Then one day they get a job, get married, settle down, and reach what we fondly call the age of
accumulation. They may start a savings account, take out a mortgage, go to bed before the 10 o’clock news so
they can get up early and go to the job; and, they begin to plan for the future. In the meantime, they graduate from
beer to martinis and attend the Symphony.
Later, when they have achieved a degree of accumulation, you’ll find them in Florida or Arizona or Palm
Springs in the winter. They are buying a condo and eating out 5 nights a week. They decry rock and roll, listen
to elevator music on FM, and drink a light scotch or wine, and decaffeinated coffee.
At every stage of this ever-changing life style the things that interest them and hold their attention are
changing, too. Their needs, their desires, and their ability to pay are in a constant state of change. So is their
accessibility to their traditional media sources.
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6. THE ULTIMATE MOBILITY
The ultimate consumer mobility takes place on the streets highways of America. According to the Federal
Highway Administration, in 1993 Americans rolled up over a trillion vehicle miles on urban roadways. That’s an
8% increase over 1992. Based on the latest figures for 1994, the year-end total will exceed the 1993 figure by at
least 26,000,000 miles.
Every facet of American life has roots in people’s dependence on the automobile. That dependence is
continuous in all stages of the various other forms of mobility that we referred to above.
So we find our market in a continuous state of flux. Physical, cultural, social, economic and chronological
mobility create a fluid, ever moving marketplace to challenge the business community.
It is an accepted truth in advertising that proper timing is essential. A poor ad, properly timed, is often
more effective than a good ad run at the wrong time.
But given this constantly changing market, when is the proper time for an ad to appear?
The answer to that is simple – all the time!
The economics are not so simple
With the high cost of media, advertisers have turned to research to pinpoint their target markets and the
media that cover them best. To a degree this has proved to be a successful strategy. However, because of the
mobility of the markets, they are trying to reach, a large chunk of their target falls through the grate, simply
because their prospect was not ready for their product or service, or, was not available to their selected media.
THE MOBILE MARKET IS THE MARKET THEY MISS!
1. THE SAFETY NET
The targeting of a market with an advertising message is becoming more complex daily. Not only must
an advertiser deal with a constantly moving target, but he must also choose from media that have become highly
fragmented.
The television audience is given so many choices of stations to watch that, except in rare instances,
television can no longer be considered a mass medium.
Radio and magazines went through this transition long ago. Today they are targeted to tightly defined
audience segments.
Daily newspaper readership is being shared more and more by suburban papers and shoppers, and
readership is declining.
The cost of direct mail and specialty advertising is prohibitive if used for mass coverage.
Yet, in spite of the advertiser’s ability to pinpoint the most likely prospect for his goods or services,
without the availability of mass coverage for his message, a sizeable portion of his target market falls through his
media net because of the constant mobility of the market.
Where can he turn to find a safety net to catch the dropouts? Let’s take another look at one of the mobility
factors we discussed above.
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The Market You Miss
2. THE ULTIMATE MOBILITY
The ultimate consumer mobility takes place on the streets and highways of America. According to the
Federal Highway Administration, in 1993 Americans rolled up over a trillion vehicle miles on urban roadways.
That’s an 8% increase over 1992. Based on the latest figures for 1994, the year-end total will exceed the 1993
figure by over 26,000,000 miles. Every facet of American life has roots in its dependence on the automobile. That
dependence is continuous through all stages of various other states of mobility that we referred to above.
This is the source of the audience for outdoor advertising. The target audience of every advertiser is a part
of this vast outdoor audience that is daily moving through the market place.
Naturally, some segments of the market are more active and appear more frequently in the outdoor
audience than do others. However, continuing studies by nationally recognized researchers verify the presence of
almost every segment of our society in significant numbers in this audience. This research further reveals that an
affordable outdoor advertising showing can deliver reach of more than 88% of most target markets with monthly
frequencies as high as 25 to 30 times.
As advertisers search for ways to efficiently reach a mass audience, they are faced with splintered media
audiences characterized by the proliferation of TV channels, the burgeoning number of radio stations and the
explosion of print media publications. Outdoor advertising emerges as the only medium that can consistently
reach a mass audience with a single insertion.
Generalizations are sometimes misleading. If you are concerned about providing a SAFETY NET to
reach the MARKET YOU MISS with your current advertising, it will pay you to consult Burkhart Advertising,
Inc., for a look at a safety net that can increase your NET profit. We will supply you with the specifics on your
marketing area and how they apply to your business.
Resources:
Sales &n Marketing Management, August 1994 (Population and Households)
The Indiana Fact Book, 1992 (Births, Deaths, Auto Accidents)
TAB, Fall, 1994 (Urban miles driven/year in U.S.)
Simmons Market Research Bureau, 1992 (Reach and Frequency)
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