Many faces of entertainment: 5 modern mindsets broadcasters should target

Amazon’s decision to sign up as the headline sponsor of Channel 4’s The Great British Bakeoff has caused huge waves, in the tech giant’s biggest UK TV deal to date. The deal, thought to have cost Amazon around £5m, will make Bake Off one of the most valuable entertainment sponsorships in the UK. Far from advertisers looking to move away from TV to digital, traditional media like television is being revived.

As one of the big four tech giants, Amazon is often looked to for clues as to what direction certain industries are going. Their TV ad spend accounts for just under half of their total budget from last year, according to Nielsen. Amazon intends to use the show to push its Echo speakers and the capabilities of the Alexa virtual assistant and so attracting new audiences with a modern outlook is key. There’s still enormous potential in TV advertising as a means of reaching new audiences, but not if your strategy relies on outdated demographic measurements.

By focusing on standard measurements and modes of segmentation, such as age and address, as well as measuring the success of a show by ratings alone, broadcasters and content creators are in danger of ignoring what truly differentiates their audiences: their passions, mindsets and motivations.

Using pioneering data science, in a recent study Starcount has delved into the specific passions that lie behind viewing habits, looking at an audience of 8.5 million UK consumers. By analysing how these passions clusters together into different mindsets, we have gained a granular, robust and truly data-driven insight into the diverse UK entertainment industry.

Here are the five key customer segments to be aware of in the UK:

1. Gamers

This group are passionate gamers; they will give games of any genre a go, from Minecraft to Call of Duty, and spend hours on YouTube, both watching content created by their favourite gamers and uploading videos themselves. Outside of the gaming world, they love to read and watch comic books, Manga and animation. They are self-identified geeks, obsessed with the latest technological innovations and often work as developers, animators or software designers themselves.

2. News Junkies

The News Junkies mindset has a strongly outward focus. This group are hungry for knowledge and are active participants in the world around them, particularly when it comes to local, national and global politics. They read a wide range of newspapers and always have one eye on their Twitter feeds so they can be the first to hear about breaking stories. They aren’t afraid to stand up for what they believe in, supporting charities and campaigning for their favourite causes.

3. Primetime Petrolheads

The Primetime Petrolheads are proud of their role within their families, identifying strongly as loving husbands/wives, mothers/fathers and sons/daughters. They have a passion for cars, watching Formula One and keeping an eye on the latest automotive releases and developments. They love to spend evenings in, watching some comedy with a glass of wine.

4. Reality TV Lovers

This group love a range of popular culture, ranging from soaps like Hollyoaks to popstars like Justin Bieber. Many of them are teenagers and they are always scrolling through Instagram, looking for fashion and beauty tips, as well as updates from their favourite celebrities.

5. Sports Fanatics

Football is the Sports Fanatics’ ultimate passion – they love to watch it, play it with their friends and kids, and talk about it, both face to face and online. When they’re not engaged with ‘the beautiful game’, they enjoy cricket, rugby, boxing, cycling and going for a run.

Insight taken from Starcount’s whitepaper: ‘The Many Faces of Entertainment’. Download the full whitepaper here.