Audience Classification

The need to define audiences has been driven by commercial needs. Many media businesses need to deliver audiences’ eyeballs, or ears, to advertisers in order to be profitable and so the audience needs to be categorised.

The Registrar General’s Social Scale

The Registrar General’s Social Scale is the way the British Government defines the populace through their occupation:

Group Occupations

A Professional Workers (lawyers, doctors etc.), Scientists, Managers of large-scale organisations.

B Shopkeepers, Farmers, Teachers, White-collar workers.

C1 Skilled Manual (i.e. hand) workers – e.g. high grade, e.g. master builders, carpenters, shop assistants, nurses.

C2 Skilled Manual – low grade, e.g. electricians, plumbers.

D Semi-skilled Manual, e.g. bus drivers, lorry drivers, fitters.

E Unskilled Manual, e.g. general labourers, barmen, porters.

A benefit of the Registrar General’s Social Scale is that it can help companies to target audiences. However, the scale has been criticised for being both crude and rigid.

Values, Attitudes and Lifestyles (VALS)

Possibly a better way of defining audiences is by categorising them by the values and attitudes they hold and the lifestyle they have; these are psychographic (psychographics is the study of personality, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles) variables. For example, one of the better known systems is the Values, Attitudes and Lifestyles (VALS):
*Actualisers: Successful, wealthy, dynamic people for whom image is important as an expression of their individuality

* Fulfilleds: Mature people who are well-educated professionals. This group values order, knowledge and responsibilities.

* Achievers: Successful and career-orientated people. They are politically conservative and value the status quo. Image is important to them and they tend to buy established, well-known products.

* Experiencers: Young, impulsive and rebellious. They like new products and styles but soon tire of them and search for new novelties. They spend as much as they can afford on clothing, fast food, music and films.

* Believers: Conservative people who believe in traditional institutions, such as the Church, and in the importance of the family and community. Their lifestyle tends to be very routine.

the importance of the family and community. Their lifestyle tends to be very routine. Their income is small but sufficient.

* Strivers: Tend to be unsure of themselves and have a low income. They are striving for approval from others, which they feel they could gain by ownership of possessions, most of which they cannot afford.

* Makers: Makers are do-it-yourself enthusiasts and tend to live a conventional, family life.

* Strugglers: Strugglers are on the lowest income and tend to be loyal to their favourite brands.

Selby’s Psychographic Clusters

Similar to the VALs system, Psychographic Clusters is a system invented by Keith Selby:

* Trendies: who crave the admiration of their peers.

* Egoists: who seek pleasure.

* Puritans: who wish to feel virtuous.

* Innovators: who wish to make their mark.

* Rebels: who wish to remake their world in their own image.

* Drifters: who are not sure what they want.

* Drop-outs: who shun commitments of any kind.

* Traditionalists: who want things to stay as they are.

* Utopians: who want the world to be a better place.

* Cynics: who have to have something to complain about.

* Cowboys: Who want easy money.