For this project, your team will be responsible for identifying and researching two (2) distinct audiences that you will create content for and market to. These target audiences must be clearly defined, and you will need to develop audience personas for each including personas for each. You can use the HubSpot Persona templates to complete this section.
Use critical thinking and research to ensure your content strategy, messaging, and platform choices align with these audiences. Everything you create for this project should relate back to these audience definitions.
I have provided you WITH THE BEGINNINGS OF OUR DEFINED AUDIENCES but you are to research organizations like this, the industry and further outline and define these audiences in detail including the personas. Use critical thinking & research. This is a vital step in entire project. You group must go in-depth with this as everything you do will relate back to theses audiences. Additional information is required. These audiences may not fit with your campaign/content planning. We spoke about this in class. (20 Marks)
Your Role in Refining These Audiences
The audience segments provided above are a starting point—they represent a variety of potential targets that have been brainstormed by the organization. These are not strict guidelines that must be followed exactly. Instead, they are meant to give you a general idea of who the organization is interested in reaching.
Your task is to analyze, refine, and DEFINE YOUR OWN AUDIENCE SEGMENTS BASED ON YOUR RESEARCH, content strategy, and campaign goals. You may choose to:
- Expand on these audiences and make them more specific.
- Modify them to better fit your campaign vision.
- Identify additional or alternative target groups that you believe would be effective.
Think critically about who will be most engaged with this initiative and how you can best reach them through digital content. The more clearly you define your audience, the stronger your content strategy will be.
Take ownership of your audience research, and create a campaign that speaks to the right people!
Total – 20 Marks
Primary Audience:
- Middle School Athletes & Their Families
Middle School Athletes (audience 1)
Demographics:
- Aged: 10-14
- Participating: In Detroit Public Schools PAL
- In the PAL league
- Catholic Schools
- Gender:
- Mainly mail
- Female
- Income:
- Full-time students
- Low to middle-income families
- From underprivileged communities in Detroit
- Location:
- Flint Michigan
- River Rouge
- Grand Chapter
- Whole Town East
- Balmont
- Family oriented
- Race:
- Predominately African Americans
- Hispanic
- Other minority groups
- Living conditions:
- Likely living in single-parent homes.
- Single mother homes.
- Could be multi-generational households.
- Rely on community services
- Religion:
- Christianity
- Spirituality
Psychographics:
- Passionate
- Basketball
- Teamwork
- Competition
- Dream of being a successful professional athlete.
- about sports.
- Dream of making it to the NBA
- Aspirations:
- Aspire to be like:
- Michal Jordan
- Michael Coleman
- Lebron James
- Aspire to be like:
- Values and motivations:
- Motivations:
- Make a better life for themselves.
- Motivated by getting out of their low income.
- Give back to their families and communities.
- Communities
- Values:
- Community.
- Value daily necessities and appliances.
- Family
- Friends
- Sports
- Mentorship
- Opportunities
- Others who help them.
- Stability
- Community networks
- Values and opinions
- Teamwork and competition
- Respect
- Honesty
- Emotional triggers:
- Successful stories
- Underdog success stories.
- Concerns:
- Financial issues.
- Psychological needs (food, water, shelter, clothing, sleep, safety, security, resources)
- Health
- Everyday essentials
- Families/single mothers, siblings
- Processing trauma and poverty
- Lack of emotional support
- Future prospects (educationally, financially, living conditions)
- Motivations:
Behavioural:
- Use a lot of social media platforms (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube)
- Type of content they like to interact with:
- Sports
- Basketball highlights
- Training videos
- Sports content
- Time spent on social media
- 2-4 hours
- Play in their neighbourhoods a lot
- actively get involved in school extracurriculars.
- Play for local leagues.
- Go to school.
- Sometimes rebellious.
- Hanging out in neighbourhoods or with friends.
- Go to arcades.
- Play sports and games outside
- Eat a lot of unhealthy foods/ eat out a lot.
- Social dynamics
- Pressured to succeed.
- Very determined.
- Are defensive of protecting themselves and their families.
Needs and preferences
- Want to feel recognized and be a part of a meaningful competition that celebrates their talent.
- Excited about being part of a larger movement.
- Access to opportunities
- Extracurriculars and sports.
- Stability
- Emotional affection
- Music
- To connect with others.
- Social interactions with people their own age for stability and connection.
- Safety, security
- Social Standing
Athlete’s families (audience 2)
Demographics:
- Age:
- between 30-50
- Income:
- $25,000-$50,000
- Low to middle class.
- Are working multiple jobs.
- General labourers
- Rely heavily on government funding and food stamps.
- Location:
- Suburban areas in Michigan
- River Rouge
- Grand Chapter
- Whole Town East
- Balmont
- Location:
- Suburban areas in Michigan
- Flint Michigan
- River Rouge
- Grand Chapter
- Whole Town East
- Balmont
- Race:
- Predominately African Americans
- Hispanic
- Other minority groups
- Very involved in school and sports life
- Living conditions:
- Living in multi-generational households.
- Are probably renting their homes.
- Move around different shelters.
- Are likely living in shared family homes (with relatives)
- Probably don’t have access to a drying and other more expensive appliances (air fryer)
Psychographics:
- Passionate:
- Aspirations:
- Aspire to be like:
- Want their kids to have a better life and to stay out of trouble
- Aspire for a successful career.
- Further their education.
- Aspire to be like:
- Values and motivations:
- Motivations:
- Their children
- Giving their kids a better life (safe environment to grow up in)
- Have a better future
- Break toxic generation norms
- Get out of poverty.
- Values:
- Family
- Strength
- Adversity
- Resilience
- Community connection
- Faith
- Honesty
- People that try to help their kids
- Hard work
- Concerns and Emotional triggers:
- Concern:
- Fear their children’s safety and habits
- Possibly losing their job and income.
- Violence and crime in the neighborhoods they live in
- Unsafe neighborhoods.
- Emotional Triggers:
- Unfair treatment
- Feeling trapped by their circumstances.
- Success stories
- Acts of kindness.
- Moments of connection
- Celebrating small successes
- Seeing their children be happy and make great accomplishments
- Seeing their kids do good in school.
- Feelings of regret.
- Concern:
- Motivations:
- Very overwhelmed and stressed.
Behavioural:
- Social media platforms:
- Seek resources and support for their children’s sports involvements from scholarships to essential home appliances (washers and dryers)
- Likely to share stories of their child’s athletic journey community events and sponsorship opportunities.
- Not very active on social media.
- Are usually always working and when not working are trying to spend as much time as they can with their children.
- General jobs they work:
- Walmart
- Generally, work general labour jobs that don’t offer any good benefits (wage, vacation time, poor healthcare insurance benefits)
- Are struggling to raise their kids
- Very active in city programs
- Shops at discount stores (dollar store, donation centres)
- Buy a lot of second-hand clothing and hand me downs.
- Wake up really early in the morning.
- Both parents are working.
- Work really long hours.
Needs and Preferences:
- Need necessary house appliances.
- Reassurances that children will have successful futures.
- Inspiring stories
- Heavily rely on community support.
- Stable living conditions
- Safety and security for their families.
- Financial assistance from the governments and their communities.
- Childcare
Secondary Audience: (audience 3)
- Local Community Advocates
Demographics:
- Occupation:
- Community leaders
- School administrators
- Local business owners
- Non-profit organizations
- Educators
- City officials
- Coaches (former small league athletes)
- Location:
- Detroit Michigan
- Surrounding Michigan communities
- Age:
- 30-60 years
- Gender:
- Men (male)
- Religion:
- Christianity
- Spirituality
- Race:
- Black American
- White American
- Living conditions:
- Safe Communities
- Suburban areas like (Auburn Hills, Grand Rapids, Dearborn etc.)
- Downtown Detroit
- Have children (2-4 kids)
- Live busy lifestyles
- Commute at least 30 minutes to work
- Drive cars as a mode of transportation
- SUVs
- Sedans
- Cadillacs
- Fords
- Toyotas
- Chevy
- Live in 4-bedroom houses in suburban areas.
- Income:
- $70,000-$120,000 annually
- Middle-class
- Invest their time and money
- Business
- Stocks
- Real estate
- Local businesses
- Personal and professional community growth
- Education:
- College educated.
- Have experience training in their specialties (fields of work).
Psychographics:
- Passionate:
- About uplifting their communities.
- supporting opportunities for underprivileged youths.
- Leadership
- Teamwork
- Sports
- Value:
- community
- Sports
- Teamwork
- Leadership
- Hard work
- Very strong work ethic
- Interests:
- Corporate and non-profit partnerships, that provide tangible benefits to local families.
- Emotional triggers:
- Poor representation of their communities.
- People who are not as well-off
Behavioural:
- Engage with their residents and community and actively participate to help meet their needs.
- Attend community events and charity events that benefit local families and schools.
- Active socials:
- Twitter (X)
- Use Instagram interests
- Type of content consumed:
- Long-form videos (video testimonials)
- Local Magazines/newspapers (digital and hardcopy)
- Infographics & statistics about social change
- Articles and blog posts about what is happening in their communities.
- Time spent on social:
- 1 hour to 1/5 hours
- Mostly attend social events, community events and sports-related events.
- Leisure time:
- Spend time with their families.
- Vacation/travel
- Actively volunteer in youth mentorship programs
- Attend local community events and sports events
- Watch sports
- They are busy but deeply invested in their communities
- Hobbies/interests:
- Hosting Community
- Golf
- Play sports with friends, families, and their communities.
- Pain points and challenges:
- Are very busy people.
- Balancing their busy schedules and personal life.
- Don’t like skeptical corporate giving (unethical kindness).
- Lack of resources for youth in their communities.
- Negative media representation of Detroit
- Seeing children struggle due to financial hardship.
Needs and Preferences:
- Strong community connection.
- Like to have opportunities to get involved.
- Need clear and intimate social impact.
- Enjoy sports, leadership workshops, and networking events
- Prefer to live in suburban quiet areas.
- Want long-term change and benefit-driven changes.
- Need to feel like they are benefitting others.
- Want to give back.
- Fulfill their deeper desires for self-actualization.
- Passionate about youth development and mentorship
Persona 1:
Noah Jones
Age: 13 years old
Gender: Male
Location: Flint, Michigan
Education: Grade, Detroit Public School
Race: African American
Religion: Christianity
Income: Full-Time Students
Background: Likely living in single-parent homes, they rely on community services
Personality: Passionate about Basketball, Competitive, Hardworking, Values friends and family
Primary Goals:
– Being a successful professional athlete,
– Make a better life for him and his family,
– Earn scholarships,
– Help his family get out of financial hardship
Values:
- Family and friends
- Hard work and dedication
- Teamwork and Mentorship
Challenges:
– Single-family household,
– Processing trauma and poverty,
– Financial issues,
– Limited Access to trainings, gears etc.,
– Lacks emotional support and feels pressured to succeed and provide for his family
Wants and Needs:
- Be recognized and be part of meaningful competition,
- access to opportunities,
- stability, safety, and security
Platforms:
TikTok, Instagram, YouTube
3-4 hours daily (Short form sports content, basketball highlights, training videos)
Bio:
Noah is a passionate and determined 13-year-old basketball player from Flint, Michigan. He lives in a multi-generational household with his hardworking single mom, grandmom and younger sibling. With no father figure in his life, he often feels responsible for his family while trying to balance school and his passion for basketball.
Noah, a talented player in the PAL League, he dreams of making it to the NBA. He idolizes Michael Jordan and LeBron James, watching their highlights and training techniques online. He spends most of his free time practicing in local neighbourhood and consuming basketball related content on TikTok, Instagram, Instagram and YouTube.
Despite financial struggles, Noah is determined to succeed. He craves for recognition, mentorship and opportunities to grow as a player. His biggest motivation is to provide a better life for his family.
Persona 2: Parents
Name: Michelle Jones
Age: 38
Education: High school
Income: $30,000
Location: Flint, Michigan
Occupation: Cashier and Warehouse worker
Goals:
- Giving her kids a good life
- Giving their kids opportunities
- Spend quality time with family
Frustrations:
- Working too much
- Not having enough money
Wants & needs:
- Affordable sports gear
- Being involved with the community
Platforms:
Bio: Michelle is a hard-working single Mother of 2 who works multiple jobs to provide for her family. She works as a cashier and warehouse worker. She lives with her mother, who takes care of her children while she goes to work. She is a single mother doing her best to give her children opportunities to grow and be a part of the community. She has many responsibilities that take away much of her time. She loves to share on social media whenever her kids achieve anything, as she is a proud parent.
Persona 3: Local Communities
Name: Nick Anderson
Age: 45
Education: College
Income: $ 72,000
Occupation: Teacher
Location:
Goals
- Educate children to meet their potential
- Help their community
- Make a positive impact and inspire students
Frustrations:
- Lack of school funding
- Students who don’t try their hardest
Wants & needs:
- Better-funded school programs
- Stable income
Platforms:
Bio: Nick is a schoolteacher at Detroit Public School, who is dedicated to teaching his young students to reach their potential. He is very active in the community, helping with student programs and extracurricular activities. He wants to make a positive impact on his community by doing what he can for those students who may be less fortunate.
