Explainer: Micro-Targeting

What It Is: The term “micro-targeting” first emerged in industry lingo from the political arena and referred to campaigns which focused on a few salient characteristics of various audience segments and used those elements to create smaller segments which allowed marketers to have a more intimate portrait of their audience. The famous “Nascar Dad” phrase was a product of micro-targeting research. These small audience segments provide greater detail on audience make-up and behaviors than larger audience segments, and this data is often referred to as “granular” insights. These insights speak to consumer motivations, affinities for certain brands and sometimes the reasoning behind purchase behaviors, such as positive or negative associations with other products or ideas.