Target Demographic

I recently attended a wine and jewelry event at an upscale suburban mall with a friend of mine. This friend (let's call her Judy) LOVES things that are shiny and pretty with fancy packaging. She also loves wine. And she love a good sales pitch. Judy was in heaven.

The event was basically a progressive wine tasting, allowing the jewelry stores in the mall (surely hard hit by the current economy) to make showcase their wares to the progressively inebriated. Each time we walked into a new jewelry store, Judy would "oooh" and "ahhh" over whatever was shiniest until she had the attention of some eager salesperson.

"Your friend seems to be really enjoying herself," said one saleswoman, sidling up to me rather casually.

"Yes," I replied, "she IS your target demographic."

"Perhaps I can show you some of our bracelets," she said, eagerly reaching for her keys to open one of the display cases.

"No, thank you," I replied firmly but otherwise devoid of emotion. "I'm just the designated driver."

When it comes down to it, every single thing that is bought or sold or consumed or traded or marketed or shown on TV/the Internet/at the movies is created with a target demographic in mind. This may explain why my parents don't get the humor on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and why The View does not appeal to my nephew.

But whose target demographic are YOU? Have you ever stopped to think for a moment? Do you fall into the "wired teen hyper texting nano gizmo" crowd who MUST have an iPhone on their person at all times and post on Twitter no less than ten times an hour? Or are you with the "super crunchy peaceful karmic natural granola" crowd who only buy organic and know how to recycle anything? Perhaps you relate to the "instant info all access media frenzy" crowd, with their televisions constantly tuned in to CNN while surfing on MSNBC, TMZ and the Huffington Post.

Just something to think about today. Let's consider it a few minutes of self-contemplation procrastination. I'm not saying you have to share with your neighbors--unless you have something to sell and they are your target demographic.