FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Stephen F. Moore
Claritas Inc.
(858) 677-9634
stmoore@claritas.com
CLARITAS LIFESTYLE SEGMENTATION PROVIDES PERSPECTIVE ON WHO IS
SUPPORTING WHO AS 2004 PRESIDENTIAL RACE NEARS FINAL STRETCH
PRIZM NE Shows President Bush Appeals to Rural, Exurban, Suburban Locales;
Kerry Draws Heavily in the Urban Sectors
SAN DIEGO, CA —AUGUST 31, 2004 — With the 2004 Presidential race poised to enter its
stretch run following the Republican National Convention, Claritas data experts thought it was
®
time (again) to see what PRIZM NE, its signature lifestyle segmentation system, had to say
about who is financially supporting whom. Using donation data from the Federal Elections
Commission (FEC), Claritas first explored the subject last September when the primary season
was just cranking up, and in nearly a year’s time the only notable changes, outside of John
Edwards’ impact on the race, have occurred in the top segments backing Democratic nominee
John Kerry.
The FEC’s most recent data (through May 2004), which is based on donations of $200-plus,
showed that while Kerry continues to receive strong support from the upscale urban segments of
Young Digerati, Money & Brains and Bohemian Mix, previous support (a year ago) from some
of the more suburban, high-end segments such as Movers and Shakers, Blue Blood Estates and
Beltway Boomers has apparently waned. In fact, all of the top 10 segments for Kerry, based on
the percent of all donations by segment, are now urban-based.
*Top ten segments for Kerry as percent of all dollars donated by the segment
Segment No. Segment
04
Young Digerati - Young, Urban and Wealthy
07
Money & Brains - Older, Upscale Urban Sophisticates
Dollars
Edwards
Share Index Bush Index Index
$15,233,690 60.21
173
58
$12,256,760 55.51
160
66
87
90
16
Bohemian Mix - Young, Midscale Urban Singles
$6,017,127 54.49
157
64
113
31
Urban Achievers - Young, Multi-Ethnic Midscale Singles
$3,197,041 47.33
136
75
131
65
Big City Blues - Inner-City Multi-Ethnic Families
$475,540 41.13
118
85
132
59
Urban Elders - Poor, Multi-Ethnic Urban Seniors
$1,183,341 40.51
117
83
159
40
Close-In Couples - Older, Multi-Ethnic Urban Couples
$608,814 39.49
114
91
108
29
American Dreams - Urban, Multi-Ethnic & Middle-Class
$1,378,439 38.39
110
94
99
26
The Cosmopolitans - Established, Midscale Urban Couples
$1,106,597 36.61
105
97
103
61
City Roots - Poor, Small-City Retirees
$288,626 36.02
104
95
119
*Note: The segments are sorted by an index value with 100 being average. For example, John Kerry's share of total donations from
Young Digerati households (at 60 percent) is 73 percent higher (index of 173) than his overall 35 percent share of all contribution
dollars. President Bush's share among those same households (at 34 percent) is 42 percent lower (index of 58) than his overall
donor share of 58 percent.
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Page 2
PRIZM NE/Presidential Election
By comparison, the top 10 segments of donors for President Bush are predominantly exurban
and suburban with a modicum of rural support, which, not surprisingly, is basically the same
type of supporters he was attracting a year ago. Interestingly, however, only one of the affluent,
suburban segments – Winner’s Circle – is on the President’s top 10 list. Most of the other
segments fall squarely within the middle-to-lower-middle class, with names like Kid Country,
USA; Fast-Track Families; New Homesteader; Red, White & Blues and Suburban Pioneers.
Top ten segments for Bush as percent of all dollars donated by the segment
Segment No. Segment
Dollars
Share Index Kerry Index Edwards Index
50
Kid Country, USA - Younger, Lower-Middle Town Families $534,659 81.52
140
30
113
20
Fast-Track Families - Middle-Aged, Upper Middle Town
Families
$1,120,641 81.30
140
35
90
06
Winner's Circle - Exec. Level Suburban Families
$3,109,653 80.69
139
40
78
32
New Homesteaders, Middle-Aged, Midscale Town
Families
$1,133,305 80.14
138
40
84
42
Red, White & Blues - Blue-Collar Town Singles & Couples
$521,198 79.15
136
40
99
52
Suburban Pioneers - Mobile Young Families in Suburbia
$337,956 79.03
136
44
82
33
Big Sky Families - Middle-aged, Midscale Couples, Rural
Kids & Cul-de-Sacs - Upper-Middle-Class Suburban
Families
$739,885 78.63
135
47
73
$1,431,347 77.48
133
46
93
$925,618 77.32
133
50
74
$1,121,125 76.52
132
48
96
18
25
34
Country Casuals - Middle-Aged Town Couples, Rural
White Picket Fences - Mid-aged Families, Mid-Level
Cities
These segments are part of the 66 segments that make up the PRIZM NE system, which is based
on a merging of marketing research and census data to classify every U.S. household by
reflecting lifestyles, marketplace behavior and attitudes.
“PRIZM NE allows the candidates to know that they may have strong support in the rural
families of Mayberry-ville, but still need to do some work among their suburban cousins in Kids
& Cul-de-Sacs,” says Michael Mancini, the Claritas vice president of consumer targeting.
Looking at the bottom 10 segments for each candidate is a study in opposites. For example,
President Bush’s weakest support originates from the urban sectors where Candidate Kerry has
the strongest group of supporters, while Kerry’ bottom 10 group is virtually a mirror image of
President Bush’s strongest group. In fact, half of the Kerry bottom 10 segments are in the Bush
top 10. They are by system ranking: No.6 Winner’s Circle, No. 20 Fast-Track Families, No. 32
New Homesteaders, No. 42 Red, White & Blues and No. 50 Kid Country, USA.
Bottom ten segments for Bush as percent of all dollars donated by the segment
Segment No. Segment
54
Multi-Culti Mosaic – Multi-Ethnic, Lower-Middle Urban Families
40
Close-In Couples - Older, Multi-Ethnic Urban Couples
Dollars
Share
Index
$629,460
54.31
93
$815,086
52.87
91
$436,930
52.16
90
66
Low-Rise Living - Poor, Young Single-Parent Families
65
Big City Blues - Inner-City Multi-Ethnic Families
$572,927
49.55
85
47
City Startups – Poor, Younger Singles in Small Cities
$1,285,085
49.49
85
59
Urban Elders - Poor, Multi-Ethnic Urban Seniors
$1,409,374
48.25
83
31
Urban Achievers - Young, Multi-Ethnic Midscale Singles
$2,930,970
43.39
75
07
Money & Brains - Older, Upscale Urban Sophisticates
$8,415,695
38.11
66
16
Bohemian Mix - Young, Midscale Urban Singles
$4,140,877
37.50
64
04
Young Digerati - Young, Urban and Wealthy
$8,519,144
33.67
58
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PRIZM NE/Presidential Election
Bottom ten segments for Kerry as percent of all dollars donated by the segment
Segment No. Segment
56
Crossroads Villagers, Rural Downscale Singles & Couples
32
New Homesteaders, Middle-Aged, Midscale Town Families
Dollars
Share
Index
$120,084
14.13
41
$196,823
13.92
40
$90,960
13.81
40
$532,157
13.81
40
$92,870
13.45
39
42
Red, White & Blues, Blue-Collar Town Singles & Couples
06
Winner's Circle, Exec. Level Suburban Families
51
Shotguns & Pickups, Rural, Lower-Middle-Class Families
63
Family Thrifts, Young Downscale City Families
$137,864
13.15
38
20
Fast-Track Families, Middle-Aged, Upper Middle Town Families
$170,115
12.34
35
57
Old Milltowns, Downscale, Aging Factory Towns
$72,573
12.16
35
50
Kid Country, USA, Younger, Lower-Middle Town Families
$68,679
10.47
30
64
Bedrock America, Younger, Downscale Town Families
$88,400
10.21
29
As for the top 10 segments Edwards brings to the Kerry campaign, they predominantly cut
directly into Bush’s biggest donor group. With the exception of one urban segment – Low-Rise
Living – and a smattering of exurban segments like City Startups, Park Bench Seniors and
Boomtown Singles, the remainder of Edwards’ top 10 list is made up of rural and suburban
segments that fall within the same social groups as Bush’s top 10 segments. Some of them
include Bedrock America, Old Milltowns, Shotguns & Pickups and Young Influentials.
Top ten segments for Edwards as percent of all dollars donated by the segment
Segment No. Segment
64
Bedrock America - Younger, Downscale Town Families
47
City Startups - Poor, Younger Singles in Small Cities
Dollars
Share Index Bush Index Kerry Index
$171,600 19.82
280
120
29
$466,446 17.96
254
85
94
60
Park Bench Seniors - Poor, Small-City Retirees
$360,098 17.23
244
108
57
56
Crossroads Villagers - Rural Downscale Singles & Couples
$127,430 14.99
212
122
41
57
Old Milltowns - Downscale, Aging Factory Towns
$80,200 13.44
190
128
35
51
Shotguns & Pickups - Rural, Lower-Middle-Class Families
$90,367 13.09
185
126
39
66
Low-Rise Living - Poor, Young Single-Parent Families
$108,942 13.01
184
90
100
35
Boomtown Singles - Younger, Middle-Class, Small Cities
$266,040 12.70
180
97
88
22
Young Influentials - Younger, Midscale Suburban Singles
$560,860 12.36
175
113
63
53
Mobility Blues – Young, Downscale Small City Renters
$166,660 12.28
174
115
60
About Claritas
San Diego-based Claritas Inc. is regarded as the leading provider of intelligent marketing
information and target marketing services aimed at reducing the cost of customer acquisition and
growing customer value. Claritas offers over 60 marketing databases, industry leading consumer
segmentation systems, consulting services and software applications for site analysis, advertising
sales and customer targeting. Since 1971, Claritas has been the pre-eminent source of accurate,
up-to-date information about people, households and businesses within any geographic area in
the United States. Claritas is a division of VNU, a world-leading information and media
company that includes ACNielsen, Nielsen Media Research, Spectra Marketing Systems, and
Scarborough Research, among others. To learn more about Claritas and VNU products and
services visit their web sites at claritas.com and VNU.com.
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