Audience Segmentation Techniques

Stop lumping your customers into broad categories like age and income. You're missing out on the secret sauce—occasion-based segmentation. Your thrifty weekday customer is the same guy ordering an extravagant pizza and Cola combo on Saturday night. People don't change; the occasion does. Tailor your marketing strategy to occasions, not stereotypes. Imagine a restaurant pushing cheap rice bowls Monday to Friday and going full-throttle with pricey pizza ads on weekends. We did this with Swiggy - two of the brands in my portfolio were Homely (an affordable homestyle meal brand) and The Bowl Company (a premium meal brand). We realised our consumers were pretty much the same people - young professionals who ordered Homely during the weekdays to eat home-style food that was ‘safe’ for the stomach,  and The Bowl Company on weekends for splurging and partying. Switch to occasion-based segmentation, and you won't just see higher sales—you'll understand the fluidity of consumer behaviour like never before. It's not just smart marketing; it's respecting the complexity of your customer. #marketing #marketresearch #business

There's a major shift happening in music. Artists are taking back the relationship with their fans. In just the last 3 days, James Blake, James Vincent McMorrow & Dermot Kennedy have spoken out: → They're reclaiming their fan data. → They're no longer playing the platform game. → They're rejecting the idea that platforms, labels or anyone else should hold the keys to their audience. These artists join a growing list of established names who now see the only way forward is to become better direct-to-fan businesses. It's about taking back power. This doesn't mean abandoning platforms. It means no longer depending on them. → Use Rented Audiences for reach → Use reach to grow your Owned Audience Repeat. That's your mailing list, your text list, your community. This isn’t rocket science—it’s just good business. It's time for artists to take control, so they can build stronger businesses & more sustainable audiences. Build your own damn platform. Build your own world. ***** 1. I recommend Openstage to put all your fan data in one place. Just make sure you're using something. 2. I'll go deeper into how to build a strong direct-to-fan business in this week's Where Music's Going: https://lnkd.in/eUkdYyie 3. I'll include the links to all 3 artist posts below.

Why Food & Beverages is a Unique Category Most consumer categories have well-defined customer segments—mass, premium, luxury, etc. etc.. You don’t normally see the same person owning both a Maruti and a Mercedes. Or flying both business class and economy. Or using both Lifebuoy and Dove. So segmenting and targeting customers is the ground zero of brand marketers, essentially the Kotler school. But in food? The same person has a ₹10 chai at a roadside tapri in the afternoon… …and goes for an expensive fine-dine meal with family on Saturday night. The same customer orders a buy-one-get-one pizza for a team meeting and goes to a fancy restaurant to eat Pan-Asian. At Rebel, we learnt this over time. Insight 1: In F&B, customers are not segments—use cases are. It may be a tad oversimplified (life is a 2X2), but fundamentally, if you have two axes: One representing serving size and another Value to Indulgence, then you get four quadrants. Single Serve | Value → your weekday lunch, quick evening snack. Group Serve | Value → team pizzas, samosas with chai. Group Serve | Indulgence → big biryani buckets, fancy cake on a birthday. Single Serve | Indulgence → that New York cheesecake or Nasi Goreng on a solo business trip. Each quadrant needs a different food experience. But here’s the kicker: the same customer moves between all four. All of us do it every week. Insight 2: People don’t trust one brand to do many things well in food. And hence,  McDonald’s = burgers Domino’s = pizza Starbucks = coffee Daryaganj = North Indian Paradise = Biryani (There is no famous “multi-cuisine” restaurant brand. Ever wondered why?) But not many know that: the same company (Yum Brands) runs Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC. McDonald's used to own Chipotle for many years These two insights together led us to Rebel’s model: One operating system. Multiple focused brands. Each known for one thing. Each built for a specific food use case. All serving the same customer. This post isn’t about us, though. It’s about the opportunity for every food entrepreneur: In this category, your customer base is not the constraint—your imagination is. You can paint on a much larger canvas, almost infinite, without multiplying costs. Think about it. (P.S. If you have time to kill, I’d written more on the insights that drove the Rebel model a few years ago. https://lnkd.in/g8jRaXhc )

This week I read 20 winery websites. They all said the same five things. "Intersection of innovation and tradition." "Family winery." "Crafted with passion." "Sustainable and eco-friendly." These phrases sound good. And they say nothing. When every winery says the same thing, no one stands out. What gets lost: 📍 Connection. People connect with real moments, real people, real decisions… Not with abstractions. 📍 Differentiation. If you sound like everyone else, why should someone choose you? Or even remember you? 📍 Trust. Vague language feels like marketing (like smoke). Specific language feels honest. The fix: Talk about family, sustainability, passion, tradition. But make it real. Specific. Make it something I can picture. Examples: Instead of: "We're at the intersection of innovation and tradition." Try: "My grandfather fermented in concrete. I still do, but now I use wild yeast again and short macerations. We argue about it every harvest." Instead of: "We're a family winery." Try: "Our dad planted these vines in 1989. I stopped using herbicides. My sister runs the tasting room and has strong opinions about which wines we should pour. We don't always agree, but we all show up." Instead of: "Crafted with passion." Try: "I wake up at 5 a.m. during harvest to walk the vineyards before the crew arrives. Even though I wish I could stay in bed a little longer, I can't clone myself... Besides, I love walking the vineyards on my own, before the picking starts." Instead of: "We're sustainable and eco-friendly." Try: "We compost our pomace and spread it back in the vineyard. We use sheep to manage cover crops instead of tractors. Our electricity comes from solar panels we installed in 2019. It's not perfect, but it's what we can do." The shift: Start writing like a person talking to another person about something they care about. Ask yourself: What do we actually do that reflects this value? Can someone picture it? Would I say this to a friend over a glass of wine? How would I say it? Your words matter. They're how people decide if they trust you. If they want to visit. If they want to buy your wine. Make them count. Make them tangible. Make them yours. What's the most specific, real thing you've read on a winery website that made you want to visit? --- I'm Melisa Agamennoni. I've been working in wine since harvest 2009. Wine is the longest relationship of my life after my parents. And I care about it too much to see great bottles (and vineyards) become forgettable experiences. The picture is from harvest 2021, when I went back to winemaking and crafted with passion 🍇

Independent Musicians: Your Time Is Now The music industry has flipped. The gatekeepers? Losing relevance. The tools? Already in your hands. Here are the 5 power plays every indie artist should use to grow in the digital age: 1️⃣ Own Your Power Social and digital platforms make it easier than ever to grow your brand and make a living without waiting for a label’s blessing. Control your narrative. 2️⃣ Know Your Audience Like You Know Your Setlist Use platform analytics to understand who is engaging and why. Ask fans directly through polls, Q&As, and DMs. The better you know them, the better you can serve them. 3️⃣ Community = Currency Your personal brand is your community. Respond to every comment, go the extra mile with personal messages, and turn casual listeners into superfans. 4️⃣ Content Now & Later Trends come fast (hello podcasts & voice search), but the key is consistency with purpose. Post regularly, and plan for where your audience is headed next. 5️⃣ Your Website = Your Safety Net Social platforms can change overnight. Your site is your digital HQ a place you fully control to host music, sell merch, and rank on Google. 💡 Takeaway: The digital age has leveled the playing field. Independent musicians who combine creativity with strategy will thrive. 🎤 Want to go deeper? Join Music Biz Club (our creator hub for musicians) for marketing insights, industry resources, and community support to help you grow your career. Try it free for 7 days 👉 see link in the comment section. #musicians #musicindustry #musicproducer

Is the wine industry creating self-inflicting wounds? Yes. Here's the biggest: Observation: 90% of wine industry professionals are Explorers or Collectors. 90% of the people who are consumers of wine are Value or Lifestyle. The result: you aren't your target customer. This isn't about age demographics. If you are credentialed wine person (or even know what WSET is...), you have crossed the threshold into Explorer. You know about 20 more grape varieties than a Lifestyle drinker. And you're CURIOUS. You have the itch. You want to go down the beautiful wine rabbit hole. Nebbiolo. Pet Nat. Natural Wine. Orange Wine. Noble Rot. My mouth is watering. You might watch videos on social media that help you learn more about different types of wine, because different types of wine are interesting. I mean, you work in the wine industry, after all! If you're building a brand for the Lifestyle buyer, guess what? The vast majority of them don't care about any of the stuff I wrote above. And here's the kicker...most of them NEVER WILL. They are ok, and perfectly comfortable NOT going on the journey down the rabbit hole. But you, as a wine person, partly got into this whole thing because THE RABBIT HOLE IS THE POINT. Being an Explorer, being a Collector, is what makes wine so fricking awesome. So you think that your job is to talk about wine in a way that draws people toward Explorer and Collector. It's not. Radical Solution Part A: If you're selling to a Lifestyle buyer, appeal to their lifestyle interests. These interests vary by the type of buyer you are going after, but the lifestyle does not include deep wine curiosity. It might be 5 minutes of curiosity. Then onto the actually interesting thing to talk about. Radical Solution Part B: For that small fraction of Lifestyle buyers that have the curiosity itch, pass them off to brands that appeal to the Explorer. How this will look for Currently, a coastal lifestyle brand: -we'll talk a lot about Taylor Swift, the Bachelorette, how to host or participate in gatherings with friends, the cool places to go in Cape Cod, Nantucket, the Hamptons; promote experiences that allow people to connect with peers in fun ways and connect people to causes that matter in their local environment. And for the (I'm going to ballpark this) the 10% of Currently's customers that will graduate from our offerings, I'll have them go to a brand like Maker Wine. And I'll make this referral proudly-- because that's the way to have them continue on their journey. #wine #winemarketing #buyerjourney

𝗟𝘂𝘅𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 As global wine consumption plummets to its lowest level since 1961, declining 3.3% to 214.2 million hectoliters in 2024, premium wineries are discovering that survival requires more than exceptional terroir. The industry faces an existential crisis where traditional marketing no longer suffices. In America, consumption dropped 5.8% as younger generations gravitate toward craft cocktails, ready-to-drink beverages, & cannabis over cabernet. Against this backdrop, a strategic shift emerges among luxury wine brands: diversification through high-visibility partnerships that transcend the tasting room. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 The Duckhorn Portfolio's three-year partnership as official wine partner of the Academy of Country Music Awards exemplifies this evolution. Rather than relying solely on distribution channels, The Duckhorn Portfolio positions its brands where cultural moments happen. Far Niente Wine Estates secured a landmark agreement with the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park, creating the House of Far Niente Wine Estates Vintage '58 Promenade Level bar. These partnerships deliver captive audiences, experiential engagement, and association with beloved institutions. The strategy mirrors broader industry trends across entertainment, sports, & awards shows. Franciacorta's Emmy Awards partnership generated extensive media coverage and social impressions while creating influential brand ambassadors. Stags' Leap Winery partnered with Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, aligning with adventurous experience-seekers. Industry data reveals that brands sponsoring awards shows experienced remarkable growth amid widespread decline, suggesting that visibility at prestige events translates directly to consumer preference & premium pricing power. 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗱 What distinguishes successful partnerships is their ability to elevate perception through cultural capital. Frank Family Vineyards partnered with 4ocean for ocean cleanup, removing 25,000 pounds of trash while generating features in Forbes and Polo Lifestyles. The integration of purpose-driven storytelling with premium wine creates differentiation in an oversaturated market where traditional appellations matter less than experiential relevance. The luxury wine sector now operates where demographic shifts, health consciousness, & competition from alternative beverages necessitate radical strategic thinking. Duckhorn and Far Niente recognize that in 2025, brand building requires meeting consumers in their moments of celebration, not waiting for them to visit Napa. 💡 The wineries that rise above the fold will have mastered the art of strategic partnerships, transforming every venue into a vineyard and every attendee into an advocate. __________________ derekengles.com #hospitality #wine #business #economy #luxury #sales #marketing #innovation #economy

Today's wine consumers want to decide for themselves. How do you sell to gen Z & millennials? This is how. In order to give these buyers an opportunity to buy, you need to give them resources to decide. Provide the resources that allow the customer to do their own research. By giving buyers the tools, resources, and guides, they will start to choose your products and experiences over brands that don't give them what they need to decide. If you give them nothing, they can’t decide for themselves. One of the best ways I've found to do this is through SEO. When you make resources for customers to make decisions, not only do you signal to them your authority in the market, but you signal authority to Google. Comprehensiveness is a major ranking factor in Google. Take a look at the best brands in any industry... - TurboTax: Tax guides, finance calculators - IKEA : Interior design planning tools - Consumer Reports: 1000's of free content These major brands invest a significant amount of money into resources that help buyers make decisions. As a result, they capture thousands of new potential customers each month with this content. This is the trick to SEO. In addition, their brand gains trust and authority. This results in further SEO value because more websites will link to theirs. In the wine industry, very few wineries take advantage of this opportunity. Here is how wineries can do this: - Wine pallet quizzes that help you choose the right wine for you - Wine pairing guides so you know the best food to drink the wine with - Brand colorations so that customers have an identity to associate with the wine - AVA guides to customers understand the difference between wines These are just a few. Let me know if the comments what you think would be valuable resources.

One of the “a-ha” moments in my conversation with Aly Wente O'Neal of Wente Family Vineyards comes from a line that should make wine marketers pause: “𝗜𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝟵𝟬 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.” Aly wasn’t being provocative. She was being accurate. What she realized — and what so many wine brands still struggle with — is that trade-focused language had quietly taken over consumer-facing marketing, i.e. points, clones, farming credentials. Yes, these are technical truths that matter deeply inside the industry… but often fail to land with younger drinkers. The result? Wine marketing that feels intimidating, exclusionary, or simply irrelevant to people who didn’t grow up with wine at the table. What’s powerful about Wente’s shift is that it wasn’t about dumbing anything down. It was about translating. Instead of leading with industry fluency, Wente Family Vineyards refocused its marketing around what consumers actually use to make decisions: – Flavor and trust – Occasions and lifestyle – Real people, not stock imagery – Peer validation over critic validation One of the clearest examples Aly shared: 𝗔 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝗱 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗱𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝟱𝘅 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲. That unlocked a mindset shift. They leaned into lifestyle content. They worked with influencers who felt authentic to the brand. They showed wine as part of everyday life — not a test you have to pass to participate. And it worked. Younger consumers engaged. The brand became more accessible without losing credibility. The takeaway: Just because something is authentic and true (i.e. appellation, soil type) doesn’t mean it’s meaningful to consumers. 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 — 𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗿. Listen to the clip on Business of Drinks 👇 #BusinessOfDrinks #WineMarketing #WineIndustry #BrandStrategy #MillennialConsumers #GenZWine #MarketingROI #BeverageAlcohol #DTCWine Scott Rosenbaum Caroline Lamb

✨ Artists, indie labels, indie music execs & marketeers this is for you✨ Want to learn how to run ads that drive streams? There’s no shortage of opinions on how to run Meta ads. But there is a shortage of clear, music-specific guidance for artists, indie labels and marketers who are starting from scratch, especially on small budgets. So I made a Beginners Guide To Running Music Ads on Instagram and Facebook. It's for artists, indie labels, marketers, music managers and anyone interested that could benefit from this knowledge. It's a practical step-by-step resource on how to run ads to drive streams and reach fans. No confusing ad theory. Just the method that’s worked again and again across campaigns. Contents: → The limits of advertising (and why ads alone won’t build a career) → Warm vs Cold audiences explained → Budgeting for campaigns (what to expect, what to spend) → What makes a good ad (creative tips & common mistakes) → Real ad examples for inspiration → Glossary of key Meta ad terms (plain English) → Setting up your Meta Business Portfolio & Ad Account → Creating your landing page, Pixel & Conversions API Token → Understanding country tiers & targeting locations → Audience targeting options: from broad to detailed → Step-by-step campaign setup (from start to publish) → Optimising campaigns & reading your results → Common mistakes to avoid → What Meta won’t approve in music ads → Extra resources & tools to help you go further If you’re in Hype Drop Club, you get 50% off on the guide Join the community via the link in the comments to take advantage of this or simply click the second link to get it without joining.