This article, from the September 2015 issue of the Journal of Advertising Research, analyzes the challenge of launching marketing messages when advertisers want to address two different customer segments for one product offering, where one of the segments is a primary target, and the other is a secondary target. Frank Alpert, University of Queensland, and M. Kim Saxton, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, provide insights on whether video-game marketers should leverage different messages for different target segments for the same product. Their research addressed these questions in the context of print advertisements.
Among their conclusions:
-Two consumer segments can be targeted with the same product as long as advertisements are created to target each segment.
-Advertisements should be released for the primary target first. Then, a complementary advertisement can be launched to attract the secondary segment while reinforcing why the primary target should be interested.
-There is negative backlash when one segment sees its dedicated advertisement, followed by an advertisement for the other segment.
-Yet, perceptions of the product are enhanced if the segment sees the two advertisements as interacting to provide more information.
-Further, this enhancement happened not only from internal processes but also because the advertisements interacted.
The authors provide additional information on their research hypotheses, methodology, results and conclusions, as well as the implications for marketers.
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