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how to create effective marketing characters: a practical guide

Imagine that you are going fishing. You know for sure that you need a fishing rod, bait and a pond. Taking out a spinning rod and a can of worms from the garage, you go to the nearest lake and return to dinner with a small catch. Now imagine that you are gathered not just for fish, but for a specific type of fish - for example, for carp. In this case, you will have to study in advance where he lives, what he bites on and what type of fishing rod is best suited for this.

The same thing happens with the target audience. If you sell anti-wrinkle cream and all your marketing is based on the fact that the target audience of the product is women from 35 to 70 years old, then you are just going for the fish. Of course, there will be a catch, but what and who you will catch is unknown.

What is a character

In order to avoid blind fishing, marketing has invented a method of creating characters or avatars. A character is a collective image, a typical consumer of a product or service. He is not a real person, but at the same time he has quite living characteristics - habits, preferences, shortcomings and pain points.

Unlike cardboard and impersonal people from statistics, the character evokes emotions. We know his character, lifestyle and therefore we can predict how he will act in a given situation. This helps specialists in working on the site interface, creating content for social networks and creating an advertising message.

Let's take an example. The template phrase “men 30-45 years old, Moscow” does not carry any deep meaning. But as soon as it is supplemented with at least a couple of details, an image will begin to emerge. Compare the original version with this one: “a businessman from Moscow, 30-45 years old, married, enjoys surfing, has no bad habits, prefers casual style in clothes, loves Italian cuisine.”

Collecting data

Characters are conceptually simple, but creating them takes time and effort. It is not enough to whip up a couple of types in haste, based on your own ideas about the target audience, attach a finished photo from the Internet and add a short description. Such characters will not be useful.

In order for personas to become effective marketing tools, it will be necessary not only to conduct many interviews, but also to identify patterns in user behavior. Use all possible ways to get the information you need - below there is a list of the most popular data sources:

– interviews with the company's clients;

– interviews with company representatives: company executives, sales and customer service departments, as well as marketers. These people most often interact with real customers of the company and can share information about them;

- interviews with contractors, journalists, independent consultants and competitors (remember, you probably have such acquaintances);

– market research data: focus groups, customer surveys;

– competitive analysis — competitor sites where you can read reviews about the site and products, forums, groups in social networks;

- Literature - articles on topics.

Creating a character

After we have finished collecting data and analyzing it, it is important to decide on the number of future characters. To do this, it is necessary to group consumers according to similar lifestyles and matching patterns of behavior.

Usually in the course of work it turns out that there are several characters to describe the target audience. We look at whether two characters can be combined into one, and if this does not work, then we try to describe the rest. However, you should not get carried away either - with rare exceptions, there should not be more than three or four characters.

After we have formed the "skeleton" of the character based on the basic demographic characteristics, we begin the process of its phased "revival".

Coming up with a name

By giving a character a name, you help bring it to life for yourself and others in your organization. In the West, there is a tradition of giving names in the spirit of "Perfectionist Harry" or "Stylish Jane" - the name itself is random, but the characteristic is a concentrate of essence. The name is important for convenience, especially if you have multiple characters. And it’s easier to make decisions when you can ask yourself: “How will our spender Misha react to this advertisement?”.

Collecting an exhaustive dossier

Having carefully studied the informational background and the environment in which the prototypes of the character live, we are trying to recreate an exhaustive biography. Imagine that you are writing a dossier on a suspect's object as a private detective: where does our character most often rest on a Friday evening? What do you like for lunch? How does he prefer to get to work and what social networks does he use?

It is important not to focus solely on interests or professional characteristics - we try to cover as many facets of the personality as possible: the manner of speech, everyday habits and the buying mentality. We add key identifiers to the general portrait: by them, the seller or manager can easily identify the character and choose the right tactics for communicating with the client.

Good marketers watch TV, sometimes go scouting places they don't belong to, and communicate in places where they never even thought of before. You may be a homebody cat breeder, but if you're selling to a millennial party animal, you need to understand how they communicate, what they're interested in, what problems they have, and how they solve them.

Giving inner peace

A good in-depth interview gives an understanding of the client's problems and pains. The right questions will allow you to play a little psychologist and dig deeper - to find out the values, fears and hidden motives of the audience's actions. Without this, the future character is still half a cardboard man without real feelings and emotions.

Here is a sample list of questions that will help you understand the inner world of the character and get to know him better:

- What keeps you awake at night?

What is your most annoying part of the day?

Is the easiest way to piss you off?

Who and where do you turn to for advice?

– How do you feel about the changes?

– What are you most proud of?

- How do you want to feel when buying our product or service?

Forming an advertising message

As soon as exhaustive portraits of all the characters have been drawn up, you can begin to form an advertising message. It should be a clear and concise message that describes our product and the emotional outcome for a particular client. It will serve as a filter for brand marketing and communications in accordance with this particular character.

Based on this message, you will concentrate advertising on the most effective communication channels and begin to speak the same language with your audience.

Recommendations

– analyze the characters at least once a year to keep them relevant. As your business grows and sales increase, you will learn more about your core customers.

- characters are dynamic. If the assortment or brand positioning has changed, it's time to reconsider them. If your prices have increased by more than 20-30% - the same. In each case, your clientele has now changed. These are not the same people as before.

- by analogy with keywords and negative keywords, there are characters, and there are negative characters. We advise you to make at least their sketches and also take them into account in your promotion strategy. When you clearly know what a non-customer looks like, you will save the company time and money.

Characters provide amazing insights and actually build the structure for the entire marketing strategy. With them, you can strategically serve each segment of your audience and better understand the customers you are trying to attract. Creating personas is well worth the time spent as it allows you to attract the most valuable visitors, leads and customers to your business.

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Policy on the Processing of Personal Data

 

1. General Provisions

This Personal Data Processing Policy is drafted in accordance with the requirements of Federal Law No. 152-FZ dated July 27, 2006, “On Personal Data” (hereinafter referred to as the Personal Data Law) and defines the procedure for processing personal data and the measures taken to ensure the security of personal data by LLC “AISIU+” (hereinafter referred to as the Operator).

1.1. The Operator considers the observance of human and civil rights and freedoms during the processing of personal data, including the protection of the right to privacy, personal and family confidentiality, to be its primary objective and essential condition for carrying out its activities.

1.2. This Policy of the Operator regarding the processing of personal data (hereinafter – the Policy) applies to all information that the Operator may receive about visitors to the website .

2.9. Personal data made publicly available by the subject of personal data – personal data to which the subject has granted access to an unlimited number of persons by giving consent to the processing of personal data made publicly available, in accordance with the procedure established by the Personal Data Law (hereinafter – personal data made publicly available).

2.10. User – any visitor of the website.

7.2. The Operator is also entitled to send the User notifications about new products and services, special offers, and various events. The User may at any time opt out of receiving such informational messages by sending an email to the Operator at hello@icu.agency with the subject “Unsubscribe from notifications about new products, services, and special offers.”

7.3. Anonymized data of Users collected through web analytics services is used to gather information about User behavior on the website, improve the quality of the website, and enhance its content.

8. Legal Grounds for Personal Data Processing

8.1. The legal grounds for the processing of personal data by the Operator are:
– Federal Law “On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection” No. 149-FZ dated July 27, 2006;
– federal laws and other regulatory legal acts in the field of personal data protection;
– the Users’ consent to the processing of their personal data, including the processing of personal data permitted for distribution.

8.2. The Operator processes the User’s personal data only if it is provided and/or submitted by the User voluntarily through special forms available on the website . By filling out the relevant forms and/or sending their personal data to the Operator, the User consents to this Policy.

8.3. The Operator processes anonymized data about the User if this is permitted in the User’s browser settings (such as enabling the storage of cookies and the use of JavaScript technology).

8.4. The personal data subject independently decides to provide their personal data and gives consent freely, by their own will, and in their own interest.

9. Conditions for Personal Data Processing

9.1. Personal data is processed with the consent of the personal data subject to the processing of their personal data.

9.2. The processing of personal data is necessary to achieve the purposes provided for by an international treaty of the Russian Federation or by law, as well as to fulfill the functions, powers, and duties imposed on the Operator by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

9.3. The processing of personal data is necessary for the administration of justice, the execution of a court decision, or the decision of another authority or official subject to execution in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on enforcement proceedings.

9.4. The processing of personal data is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the personal data subject is a party, a beneficiary, or a guarantor, or for the conclusion of a contract at the initiative of the personal data subject or a contract under which the personal data subject will be a beneficiary or a guarantor.

9.5. The processing of personal data is necessary for the exercise of the rights and legitimate interests of the Operator or third parties, or for the achievement of socially significant goals, provided that this does not violate the rights and freedoms of the personal data subject.

9.6. Personal data is processed that has been made publicly available by the personal data subject or at their request (hereinafter – publicly available personal data).

9.7. Personal data is processed that is subject to publication or mandatory disclosure in accordance with federal law.
10. Procedure for the Collection, Storage, Transfer, and Other Types of Personal Data Processing

The security of personal data processed by the Operator is ensured through the implementation of legal, organizational, and technical measures necessary to fully comply with the requirements of current legislation in the field of personal data protection.

10.1. The Operator ensures the safekeeping of personal data and takes all possible measures to prevent unauthorized access to personal data.

10.2. The User’s personal data will never, under any circumstances, be transferred to third parties, except in cases related to the fulfillment of applicable legislation or if the personal data subject has given the Operator consent to transfer the data to a third party for the purpose of fulfilling obligations under a civil law contract.

10.3. If any inaccuracies in the personal data are identified, the User may update them independently by sending a notification to the Operator at the email address hello@icu.agency with the subject line “Personal Data Update.”

10.4. The period of personal data processing is determined by the achievement of the purposes for which the personal data was collected, unless a different period is specified by contract or applicable law. The User may withdraw their consent to the processing of personal data at any time by sending a notification to the Operator via email at hello@icu.agency with the subject line “Withdrawal of Consent to Personal Data Processing.”

10.5. All information collected by third-party services, including payment systems, communication tools, and other service providers, is stored and processed by those parties (Operators) in accordance with their own User Agreements and Privacy Policies. The personal data subject and/or User is solely responsible for reviewing such documents in a timely manner. The Operator is not responsible for the actions of third parties, including the service providers mentioned in this clause.

10.6. Any restrictions established by the personal data subject on the transfer (except access), processing, or conditions of processing (except access) of personal data permitted for distribution do not apply in cases where personal data is processed for state, public, or other socially significant interests as defined by the legislation of the Russian Federation.
10.7. The Operator ensures the confidentiality of personal data during processing.

10.8. The Operator stores personal data in a form that allows identification of the personal data subject for no longer than is necessary to achieve the purposes of personal data processing, unless a longer storage period is established by federal law or a contract to which the personal data subject is a party, beneficiary, or guarantor.

10.9. The grounds for termination of personal data processing may include the achievement of the processing purposes, the expiration of the data subject’s consent, the withdrawal of consent by the personal data subject, or the identification of unlawful processing of personal data.

11. List of Actions Performed by the Operator with Collected Personal Data

11.1. The Operator carries out the collection, recording, systematization, accumulation, storage, clarification (updating, modification), retrieval, use, transfer (distribution, provision, access), depersonalization, blocking, deletion, and destruction of personal data.

11.2. The Operator performs automated processing of personal data with the receipt and/or transfer of the obtained information via information and telecommunication networks or without such transfer.

12. Cross-Border Transfer of Personal Data

12.1. Before initiating the cross-border transfer of personal data, the Operator must ensure that the foreign country to which the data is to be transferred provides reliable protection of the rights of personal data subjects.

12.2. Cross-border transfer of personal data to foreign countries that do not meet the above requirements may only occur if there is written consent from the personal data subject for the cross-border transfer of their personal data and/or for the execution of a contract to which the personal data subject is a party.

13. Confidentiality of Personal Data

The Operator and other individuals who have access to personal data are obligated not to disclose or distribute personal data to third parties without the consent of the personal data subject, unless otherwise required by federal law.

14. Final Provisions

14.1. The User can obtain any clarifications regarding the processing of their personal data by contacting the Operator via email at hello@icu.agency.

14.2. Any changes to the Operator’s personal data processing policy will be reflected in this document. The Policy is valid indefinitely until replaced by a new version.

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