Classifying scientists by Media Engagement

In my last post, I explained that we created a “media engagement score” for scientists based upon the frequency of 7 key behaviors:

Evaluating or purchasing a new product
Referencing a printed catalog
Registering at a vendor Web site
Seeking more information in response to direct mail
Meeting with sales representatives
Seeking more information in response to an ad
Spending 15 minutes or more at an exhibit booth

Using a basic calculation of mean and standard deviation, the results were plotted on a curve and divided into three groups—Less Engaged, Moderately Engaged, and Highly Engaged.

Less Engaged scientists were generally unreceptive to most marketing media and were unlikely to evaluate new products or respond to product ads. These are the consumers who are the least likely to consume your marketing materials and to take the actions you hope those materials invoke. In fact, they prefer peer-based information, such as colleague recommendations, significantly more than Highly Engaged scientists. This is indicative of their more passive approach to gathering product information, which makes them quite difficult to reach with traditional marketing.

Moderately Engaged scientists, the largest group, do consume a fair amount of marketing information. However, they lack significant difference on other variables, such as media preferences, and thus are not necessarily ideal for marketing purposes. While they certainly don’t dismiss every marketing message they receive, Moderately Engaged scientists are not likely to be influenced by marketing alone.

Finally, Highly Engaged scientists consume the most marketing information and are the most likely to respond to the information they review. These scientists make up the group that I mentioned in my previous post—those who exhibit preferences and behavior that make them the ideal targets for marketing campaigns. We’ll explore this group further next time.