AF7420 Chap.5 Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning
Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning
Why segment at all
The handout begins from a plain observation: companies cannot serve every buyer, because customers differ in needs and behaviour, so they identify the parts of a market they can serve well and profitably.
Target marketing then runs in three steps, segmentation, targeting and positioning, set out as six tasks from choosing segmentation bases to building a marketing mix for each chosen segment.
Four bases and their film forms
Markets are segmented geographically, demographically, psychographically and behaviourally, and the course gives each a cinema form: city against rural audiences; children's animation, teen films and films aimed at women; genre preference as lifestyle; and discount days, time slots and premium formats as behaviour and benefit.
Hybrid bases combine them.
Generation receives special attention, with Western labels set beside the Mainland habit of naming generations by decade, and the VALS framework sorts consumers by resources and motivation.
Is the segment worth it?
An effective segment is measurable, accessible, substantial, differentiable and actionable, and segments are evaluated on size and growth, structural attractiveness and the company's own objectives and resources.
Targeting then ranges from undifferentiated mass marketing through differentiated and concentrated marketing to micromarketing.
The course adds red and blue ocean strategy, market share against share of wallet, and a reminder that the choice of whom to target carries a social responsibility.
Positioning in the mind
Positioning gives a product a place in the target's mind that is clear, distinct and appealing compared with its rivals.
Following Ries and Trout, it works on the prospect's perception rather than on the product, and the course reduces it to branding and differentiation: the product meets a need, the brand meets a want. Kotler's seven strategies position on attributes, benefits, occasions, user class, against a competitor, away from competitors, or against another product class.
A position is then communicated through a credible message and communicator, suitable media and a proportionate budget.
Three layers for a film
For a film, the course separates the film's own core position, the project position presented to circuits and platforms, and the publicity position presented to viewers through the main slogan, and it links positioning to a communication strategy and to distribution execution.
Demarketing, reducing demand the supplier cannot or should not meet, completes the toolkit.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Why companies segment
- 02
Six tasks across three steps
- 03
Geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural bases
- 04
Generations and the VALS framework
- 05
Five tests of an effective segment
- 06
Targeting levels, oceans and share of wallet
- 07
Seven positioning strategies
- 08
Film, project and publicity positioning, and demarketing
Worked example · free
Pick a targeting level and a positioning strategy
- 2Choose and justify the targeting level.
- 2Choose one of Kotler's positioning strategies and justify it.
- 2Write a publicity line that carries the position.
Key terms
- Market Segmentation
- Splitting a market into groups of buyers whose needs, traits or behaviour differ enough that each group may call for its own product or marketing mix.
- Target Marketing
- Weighing how attractive each segment is and choosing the one or several a company will serve.
- Concentrated Marketing
- Targeting one narrow segment with a single programme, feasible on a small budget and facing few competitors.
- Micromarketing
- Tailoring products and marketing to individuals and specific locations rather than to groups.
- Blue Ocean Strategy
- Seeking non-customers and new demand so that competition becomes irrelevant, in contrast with fighting rivals for existing customers.
- Share of Wallet
- Winning most of the spending of a few customers, as opposed to market share, which wins a little from many.
- Demarketing
- Marketing that reduces demand, through higher prices, limited availability or selective targeting, when demand exceeds what should or can be supplied.
Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning FAQ
What are the tests of a good segment?
The handout lists five: the segment must be measurable in size and purchasing power, accessible so that it can be reached and served, substantial enough to be worth serving, differentiable in how it responds to marketing, and actionable, meaning a programme can be designed for it. A label that fails any of these is a description rather than a target.
Is positioning the same as product placement?
No. The course states that positioning has nothing to do with where goods sit on a shelf; it works on how the target customer perceives the product, building a clear and distinct place against its rivals. Product placement, putting a brand inside a film, belongs to tie-in promotion, a separate topic covered later in the guide.
Why does a film need three kinds of positioning?
Because it faces three audiences. The film's own core position defines what makes it different. The project position speaks to circuits, platforms and partners about the whole package. The publicity position speaks to viewers, usually through the main slogan, so that they grasp at a glance what the film offers them.
Assessment move
Choose three posters for films opening this month and write, for each, the segment it targets and which of Kotler's seven strategies its main line uses. Then plot the three films on a simple two-axis map chosen by you. The empty area of the map is where a new film could be positioned.
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