Targeting "Life Stages" vs. Demographics in Advertising

It's becoming harder and harder to segment the population for targeted advertising based on traditional demographics such as age, gender, and location. There are just too many variables in the world nowadays that it makes sense to look more toward behaviors and stages in life as more appropriate indicators of possible buying decisions.

According to a recent study conducted by the USC Entertainment Technology Center, Hallmark Channel, and E-Poll Market Research, people are more affected by their 'life stage' than other factors:

The wealth of information captured in the survey reveals that individuals in different life stages can have very similar demographic profiles but different attitudes and media usage. For example, the 18 – 49 demographic group familiar to TV and advertising executives is made up of people in seven different stages, with College Students, New Nesters and Married No Kids comprising nearly equal proportions. Three of the life stages have a median age of 37 or 38. Yet when examining behavior, the life stages are distinct and exhibit clear differences.

Ch-ch-check it out here....

(Courtesy of AdWeek and E-Poll)