Porsche - Porsche Cars North America is an example of a company that uses psychographics to divide up its consumers.
Porsche sells cars costing between $40 and $82 thousand to a demographically homogenous group, consisting of 40something male college graduates earning over $200,000 per year. Even with this information, Porsche’s sales were slipping.
They hired a team of anthropologists to figure out the psychographic composition of their consumers. What they found
surprised them. They had been marketing to the wrong people in the wrong ways.
After gathering psychographic information on their consumers and implementing marketing plans tailored to these
specific segments, they ended a seven-year slump and sales rose 48% (Taylor, 1995). The automotive industry, in general,
attempted to divide its consumers into four psychographic segments: participants, functionalists, ego show-offs, and do-ityourselfers (Mitchell, 1994). Porsche consumers were divided into five segments according to their psychographic
characteristics (Taylor, 1995). These groups included:
·
Top Guns: Driven, ambitious. Power and control matter. Want to be noticed.
·
Elitists: Old money. A car is just a car, no matter how expensive.
·
Proud: Ownership an end in itself earned by hard work, no need to be noticed.
·
Bon Vivants: Worldly jet setters and thrill seekers. Car heightens the excitement in their already passionate lives
·
Fantasists: Their car is an escape, uninterested in impressing others, may feel a little guilty about owning a Porsche
(Taylor, 1995).
“The refinement of raw automotive power – The new 911 Turbo.”
This Porsche advertisement might appeal to the “bon vivants” psychographic group. The Porsche is being sold
because of the fact that it is fast and exciting. This would most appeal to thrill seeking, passionate, people. It would also
appeal to the “ego show-offs” or “Top Guns” who want to be noticed and admired.
“Sports do not build character. They reveal it. Competition challenges us to reach deep inside and push ourselves past previous
limits towards new, higher achievements. We discover something about strength, perseverance of the human spirit and the
importance of choosing the right equipment. Which is why you choose Porsche.”
This second Porsche advertisement positions the Porsche and the Porsche owner as being stylish, sporty, and hip. This
advertisement would most appeal to the driven and ambitious, or the “Top Guns.” They want to be noticed, as the bright yellow
car would indicate, but also have other interests. This advertisement might also appeal to the “bon vivants” psychographic
segment or “participants” because of the excitement and love for life the ad depicts.
Taylor, A. (1995). Porsche slices up its buyers. Fortune, 131, 24.
When every month you are trying to sell 500 exotic sports cars that cost between $40,000 and $82,000 apiece, you have to
really know your customers. Porsche Cars North America hired a team of anthropologists to find out who its owners were and
how Porsche could better sell to them. The demographics of the Porsche owner are utterly predictable: a 40-something male
college graduate earning over $200,000 per year. The psychographics, however, were of more interest. Porsche owners were
categorized into five rather unusual -- and not necessarily all that flattering -- personality types (see box).
Richard Ford, Porsche's vice president of sales and marketing, found the results astonishing. Said he: "We were selling to
people whose profiles were diametrically opposed. You wouldn't want to tell an elitist how good he looks in the car or how fast
he could go."
Besides refining its marketing as a result of the study, Porsche has cut its prices, launched a new ad campaign, and introduced
a successful redesign of its classic rear-engine coupe, the 911. (See photo for the hot new 1995 Cabriolet version -- a $72,400
trophy.) After a seven-year slump, Porsche's U.S. sales rose 48% in 1994, as of the end of November.
A TAXONOMY OF PORSCHE BUYERS % OF ALL TYPE OWNERS DESCRIPTION
Top Guns 27% Driven, ambitious types. Power and control matter. They expect to be noticed.
Elitists 24% Old-money blue bloods. A car is just a car, no matter how expensive. It is not an extension of personality.
Proud 23% Ownership is an end in itself. Patrons Their car is a trophy earned for hard work, and who cares if anyone sees
them in it?
Bon 17% Worldly jet setters and Vivants thrill seekers. Their car heightens the excitement in their already passionate lives.
Fantasists 9% Walter Mitty types. Their car is an escape. Not only are they uninterested in impressing others with it, they also
feel a little guilty about owning one.
PHOTO: Bon vivants go for the Cabriolet.
Ex/Taxonomy of Porsche Buyers
Top Guns
27% Driven, ambitious. Power & control
important. Expect to be noticed.
Elitists
24% Old-money blue-bloods. Car is just a car.
Not extension of personality.
Proud Patrons
23% Ownership is end in itself. Trophy for
hard work.
BonVivants
17% Jet setter, thrill-seeker. Car heightens
excitement in passionate life.
Fantasists
9%
Car is escape. Uninterested in
impressing others. Feel somewhat
guilty owning it.