The identification of a market segment and subsequent development of a perfect
market mix is only possible through market research and analysis.
Stereotypes define widely held ideas of persons or things in the society. Such ideas are
commonly misconceived, generalized, and oversimplified. They are also based on bigotry,
ignorance, and prejudice. In the stereotyping of consumer populations, marketers create
stereotyped images, units, or compounds of the two to exploit specific target groups.
A typical
marketing campaign using stereotyped images would be the case of a suggestive advertisement
involving youths consuming expensive drinks in a thrilling party. This would seek to portray
youths as out for wealth, money, expensive lifestyles, and fun. While such an advert may not
necessarily appeal to other categories like parents, it may have some influence on youths who
may end up buying the marketed products. Examples of unit-based marketing stereotypes may
involve the selection of categories like ethnic groups and gender categories. Combining image
and unit-based strategies may prove more effective in influencing stereotyped target markets.
Despite the fact that segmenting and stereotyping of markets both engage in the
subdivision of target populations, many differences exist between two. The first is achieved
through market research and analyses while the latter develops over a period through beliefs that
are consistently repeated in the society. Whereas segmentation seeks to define unique selling
positions and to understand consumers, stereotyping endeavors to exploit established beliefs.
Segmentation considers geographic, behavioral, psychographic, and geographic features of
market segments while stereotyping uses stereotyped images or units.
.Capon, Noel, and Frank M. Go. Frameworks for Market Strategy (London: Routledge Publishing, 2017),
166.
. Mooij, Marieke K. Global Marketing and Advertising: Understanding Cultural Paradoxes (London:
SAGE Publications, 2014), 62.
