From promotional CD compilations, to advertisement soundtracks, to live concerts, music is gaining popularity among advertisers. More and more companies are using musical tastes to define clients by segments. According to TARGET, a research tool from New Ad and Ipsos-Reid, music preferences can be divided into 10 main categories corresponding to specific consumer profiles.
Rock music 35%
By far the most popular music category in Canada, rock appeals to all ages. While 18-24s prefer grunge and punk, other styles such as pop, rock and adult contemporary are more appealing to the 30-49s. No matter what age groups they belong to, rock fans share a common characteristic: they all have an active lifestyle:
*Outdoors and sports enthusiasts
*More likely to travel inside Canada than the national average
*Higher income and spending on alcohol and cars than the national average
*4 times more likely to buy or lease a vehicle during the next year than the national average
Rap/Hip Hop 12%
Rap/hip hop is clearly the 18- to 24-year-old’s favourite type of music, especially among students and young men.
* 65% more likely than the national average to be full-time students
*They live with their parents and receive disposable income from them
*They spend a significant part of their budget on clothes
*Favourite activities include outings in bars and nightclubs, movies, and fitness
Electronic music 9%
Slightly older than rap/hip hop fans, electronic music fans are mostly young, hedonistic men, 18-29. Most of them are single and have graduated from college or university.
*Fans of technologies, they are more likely to have high speed Internet, cellphones and MP3 players than the national average
*They hang out in bars and health & fitness clubs
*They spend more on alcohol than the national average
Urban music 8%
Consumers who prefer urban music are mostly young women aged 18 to 29. Elegant and well groomed, they like to take care of themselves.
*Most of them live with their parents or share an apartment with roommates
* 43% more likely than the national average to graduate from college or university during the next year
*Favourite activities: social activities, physical exercise and shopping
*They spend an average of $1,240 each year on clothes, more than two times the average for the same age group in Canada
Classical & Jazz 7%
Most jazz and classical music lovers are professionals aged between 35 and 49 with children. They have a high personal income with a taste for luxury and quality.
*Higher education level: they are more likely to have a master’s or doctorate degree
*They spend an important part of their budget on cultural outings, home furnishings and restaurants
* They travel frequently (inside and outside Canada)
*They possess high-end technological products (personal digital assistant, digital camera)
TARGET is a research endeavour of 12,000 personal interviews conducted across Canada by NEWAD and Ipsos-Reid among the Valuable Active Crowd, comprising 3.7 million active and urban consumers. For more information contact Samuel Bussières at NEWAD: samuelb@newad.com
