Geodemographics

Public relations professionals use geodemographic data to learn about stakeholders and publics. Geodemographics is the process of combining demographic and psychographic information with geographic or location-based information. Typically, a geodemographic system combines three types of data: (1) enormous electronic databases of public and private, individual and group, characteristics and information; (2) a geographic information system; and (3) a factor, cluster, or network analysis of beliefs, values, and ideological behaviors.

Public information and persuasion campaigns are often aimed at unfamiliar publics—especially in the case of an agency—and serve the needs of diverse publics. Thus, public relations professionals see geodemographic data as a precursor to more useful and accurate data about stakeholders and publics derived after long-term relationship have been built.

For many public relations professionals, geodemographic data are useful for background research (the R in the RACE/ROPE acronym—research, analysis, communication, evaluation), and understanding what stakeholders and residents are like in neighborhoods or regions. Although useful in public relations, geodemographics has been criticized by some public relations professionals as a tool of marketing.

The field of geodemographics goes back to English sociologists and demographers of the 1950s. Jonathan Robbin is credited with developing the first computer-based geodemographic systems in the early 1960s and 1970s. Thus, the field is quite mature.

Geodemographic data are most often used by marketers and advertisers to target specific types of consumers. PRIZM (Potential Rating Index for ZIP Markets), for example, the nation's first geodemographic system, used census and survey data to develop 40 lifestyle profiles for consumers in 36,000 U.S. ZIP codes.

Given the depth of information mined, and the constantly changing location-based data, individual communicators cannot simply gather geographic, demographic, and psychographic information and be able to target key publics with precise messages. Many professional communication agencies develop comprehensive profiles of their target publics and stakeholders using geodemographic data as one part of the profile. Enacting geodemographics requires vast amounts of data and skilled demographers, researchers, and statisticians. Additionally, only modest marketing gains of 2% to 3% are often realized by geodemographic data, but because of the scale of marketing efforts, such small gains can mean a lot of new customers and sales.

Although originally developed in the United Kingdom for use in urban public policy, and by the Department of Housing and Urban Development [Page 388](HUD) in the United States, the field of geodemographics has evolved primarily into a marketing and sales tool. Geodemographics links together diverse data sets and detailed profiles of potential publics, enabling complex decisions to be made. For example, geodemographic data have been used in television ratings for programming decisions, credit score calculations to make lending decisions, and consumer product development decisions.

Geodemographic data are gathered via websites, point of purchase sales (cash registers), telephones (call centers and sales), and aggregated data purchased by organizations, and through marketing and advertising organizations. Geodemographic data must be regularly updated and refined to maintain their usefulness and accuracy. Neighborhoods, cities, and regions do not change overnight, but they do change quickly as a result of layoffs, immigration, economic trends, or employment opportunities. Geodemographic data offer a starting point for more refined and useful organizational information.

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