Marketing Musings: Today's Passion Groups

5 years ago, a brilliant woman introduced this ideology which has greatly influenced and shapd the way I view people, most especially in the marketing perspective.

People gel together because of common interests, passions as they call it. Hence, the term passion groups. Their passion/s are often identified and maximized as a means for brands to make a connection, to engage their consumers. Of course, the assumption is that the brand will make a relevant connection with an existing equity.

Although I do know for a fact that Market Research agencies have metrics to arrive at conclusions, I do have a number of identifiable passion groups of today. These include:

1. The Music Junkies - They breathe music. If they can't play an insrument or maybe write songs, they'd be groupies, attending all the gigs of their favorite band/s. Their must have accessory is an iPod/mp3 player. There are also sub-groups within this passion group: the rockers, the hip hop gen, the sentis, the oldies but goodies.

2. The Rugged Active - They get their fix by being active outdoors. They engage in sports including wakeboarding, mountaineering, scuba diving, surfing, etc. They like the dirt, the sweat, the scars, the muscle spasms. The world is their playground, quite literally.

3. The Entrepreneurs - They are the future capitalists of this world: buy and sell, new trinkets (revolutionary or useless but useful things), etc etc. Multiply is filled with this passion group. You have at least one of them in your contact list.

4. The Visual Medium - These are people who enjoy expressing themselves through visual means. They are very much into photography/lomography, graphic design/art, film and writing. They own at least one camera and/or a laptop with Adobe Photoshop or another graphic design software.

5. The Be Seens - These are people who love getting attention from others whether it be through the clothes that they wear, the places they go to, and even the people spend time with. It is seen and be seen. They're always ahead in the it places and have the latest it things.

6. The Foodies - The gastronomic experience will take them places, near and far, and will burn their pockets. The like taking pictures of their gastronomic conquests and sharing them with family and friends. These are the best people to ask if you want to eat good food. They can cook and maybe sometimes cannot cook a decent meal (They can always eact out anyway).

7. The Gym Rats - They spend every spare second of their lives in the gym. They know all the instructors and have tried all the classes. They even know and more likely have tried all the diets (South Beach, Atkins, 3-Day diet, etc) and meds/supplements (Shakes, steroids, Whey Protein, etc). Their number one enemy is body fat.

8. The Roadsters - Cars, cars and more cars. They like old cars, new cars, big bikes, scooters, and more. Their eyes go teary at the sight of newly waxed cars and the adrenalin rushes with the speed of their vehicles.

9. The Gamers - Board games, card games, PSP, network gaming and more takes up their time. If they do not have a PC at home, they practically live in internet cafes. Sometimes they don't even eat just to spend their allowances on game time.

So to which passion group do you belong to? Or maybe you could be a little of everything?