[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2014\/10\/30\/telling-your-brand-story-to-an-audience-of-one\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2014\/10\/30\/telling-your-brand-story-to-an-audience-of-one\/","headline":"Telling your brand story to an audience of one","name":"Telling your brand story to an audience of one","description":"There\u2019s a targeting mistake causing most ad campaigns to fail. And if you\u2019re an advertiser, it\u2019s a mistake you\u2019re most likely making.","datePublished":"2014-10-30","dateModified":"2024-04-12","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/rich-taylor\/#Person","name":"Rich Taylor","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/rich-taylor\/","identifier":79,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4047d1e3d612728a5321afcca6b9fd94b552f95ba7293c54a03db680789385ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4047d1e3d612728a5321afcca6b9fd94b552f95ba7293c54a03db680789385ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/emotional-marketing-examples_FTR.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/emotional-marketing-examples_FTR.jpeg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2014\/10\/30\/telling-your-brand-story-to-an-audience-of-one\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/content-marketing\/","name":"Content Marketing","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Content_marketing","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q558685"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/customer-engagement-marketing\/","name":"Customer Engagement","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_engagement","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q5196451"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/e-commerce\/","name":"E-Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/E-commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q484847"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/","name":"Marketing","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marketing","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q39809"]}],"wordCount":511,"keywords":["Branding","Content Marketing","Customer Engagement","E-commerce"],"articleBody":"There\u2019s a targeting mistake causing most ad campaigns to fail. And if you\u2019re an advertiser, it\u2019s a mistake you\u2019re most likely making.Who’s your audience? If you ask most brand marketers and agency teams you’ll likely get an answer like: “our primary target audience is Adults 35-54 who are married with kids, dual earners with household income greater than $75k, they live active lifestyles, are involved in community causes, and are heavy users of social media and mobile.”This kind of demographic, psychographic and technographic profile may be necessary for planning and buying media. But using such a description for developing your creative campaign\u00a0and content\u00a0is a big mistake.Your audience is not a list of characteristics. It’s not a set of lowest common denominators. They are people with wants, needs, desires and feelings.When you try to develop a message that speaks to a group of statistics you often end up with a story and message that speaks to yourself and doesn\u2019t connect with the customer.The best marketing and advertising speaks to people on an individual level. Brands that view and define their audience in clear, simple and relatable terms are much more likely to develop a story that people find interesting and compelling.Let’s look at an example of a brand that has mass consumer appeal \u2013 Tide. When P&G and their agency partners buy media to reach consumers who do laundry their audience could be defined in demographic terms as everyone: e.g. Adults 18+.But trying to develop a campaign or commercial that speaks to everyone won\u2019t lead to a creative story that engages your audience on a personal level.When I look at the commercial for Tide with Color Guard I see a brand and team that understood very clearly how to define and engage their audience on a personal level.Here\u2019s how I imagine they defined their target audience: A mom with kids who does multiple loads of laundry every day.Additionally, I imagine they further explained the struggle or challenge that this mom faces as: Her son made her a t-shirt for her birthday that she cherishes. After a few washes Mom noticed that the color began to fade in her cherished shirt. She realizes a need to find a laundry detergent that gets her family\u2019s clothes clean without fading colors. Mom discovers Tide with Color Guard as her solution.A campaign that defines its audience in such simple terms with a clearly defined struggle makes it much easier to create a story that establishes a personal connection with your consumers.Ditch the demographics. Scrap the customer persona. And describe your audience simply as a person with whom you\u2019re trying to have a conversation. This is the best way I know to make sure your marketing and advertising is more successful.  In 2023, customer loyalty dropped 13%.In 2024, it fell by 10%.Is your brand retaining \u2013 or repelling \u2013 customers? Get the data + details on how to keep consumers loyal in this REPORT. 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