TY - JOUR
T1 - Creating the Customer
T2 - The Influence of Advertising on Consumer Market Segments - Evidence and Ethics
AU - Nairn, Agnes
AU - Berthon, Pierre
PY - 2003/1
Y1 - 2003/1
N2 - For over half a century market segments have been considered objective groupings of individuals which marketers identify, understand, and target with advertising messages. The process of market segmentation has, therefore, occupied a position of moral neutrality. An increasingly popular method of segmentation is by consumer personality, with advertisers targeting messages to specific personality types. This paper explores personality segmentation, and presents empirical evidence to support the proposition that personality metrics that are used to assign individuals to segments may, in fact, be manipulable by advertising executions themselves. Quite apart from the implications that this has for the business efficacy of the segmentation process, the ethical implications particularly as applied to children - are considerable.
AB - For over half a century market segments have been considered objective groupings of individuals which marketers identify, understand, and target with advertising messages. The process of market segmentation has, therefore, occupied a position of moral neutrality. An increasingly popular method of segmentation is by consumer personality, with advertisers targeting messages to specific personality types. This paper explores personality segmentation, and presents empirical evidence to support the proposition that personality metrics that are used to assign individuals to segments may, in fact, be manipulable by advertising executions themselves. Quite apart from the implications that this has for the business efficacy of the segmentation process, the ethical implications particularly as applied to children - are considerable.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0346494729&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1023/A:1021620825950
DO - 10.1023/A:1021620825950
M3 - Review article (Academic Journal)
AN - SCOPUS:0346494729
VL - 42
SP - 83
EP - 99
JO - Journal of Business Ethics
JF - Journal of Business Ethics
SN - 0167-4544
IS - 1
ER -