Why you need more than analytics
Editor’s note: Cheryl Auger is the senior director of research at Lux Research. This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared under the title “Stop Stereotyping: Why Your Targeting Strategy Needs Anthropology, Not Just Analytics.”
In the world of consumer insights, demographics have long served as a foundational tool for targeting and segmentation. Age, gender, income, education and region offer valuable information that helps teams estimate market size, communicate efficiently and create early personas. But in today’s fast-evolving cultural landscape, relying on demographics alone is not just insufficient; it’s risky.
To truly connect with consumers and drive impactful innovation, we need a deeper, more human-centered approach grounded in cultural anthropology and belief-driven understanding.
Why is targeting important?
In an era of personalization and crowded marketplaces, targeting is more important than ever. When brands understand who they’re speaking to, and not just what they look like on paper, they can craft content, products and experiences that emotionally resonate.
Targeting supports:
- Clearer communication: Messaging that connects functionally and emotionally.
- Efficient resource use: Marketing budgets aren’t infinite; precise targeting maximizes impact.
- Aligned innovation: Research and development teams can design products that solve real problems or bring real joy to a well-defined audience.
- Cross-functional clarity: A clear consumer definition guides everything from media spend to product features to partnership strategies.
Strong targeting helps companies deliver the right message, to the right person, at the right time.
The limits of demographic-based personas
While demographics serve as a starting point for defining and aligning a target audience, they fall short of revealing the “why” behind consumer behaviors. When it comes to understanding consumers, demographics provide the skeleton but not the soul.
Here’s where demographic segmentation breaks down:
- Demographic segmentation misses cultural and emotional context: Knowing someone is a 40-year-old woman tells you little about her values, beliefs or aspirations.
- Demographic segmentation risks stereotyping: Relying on age or gender to define behavior can lead to outdated, even offensive assumptions.
- Demographic segmentation ignores fluidity: Today, age doesn’t define stage. A 60-year-old might be building a startup or taking up surfing. Gender and family roles are more diverse and complex than ever.
- Demographic segmentation limits innovation: Anchoring too tightly to demographics can cause brands to overlook emerging needs, subcultures or values-driven segments.
Anthropology: The missing piece
To overcome these limitations, consumer insights must go deeper. Cultural anthropology offers the tools to do just that. By studying the belief systems, rituals and emotional motivations that shape behavior, anthropology uncovers the invisible forces that drive consumer decisions.
Rather than relying solely on surveys or focus groups, anthropologists observe how people talk and behave in natural, digital environments. This type of analysis reveals not just what consumers do but why they do it.
For example, instead of labeling someone a “35-year-old clean eating enthusiast,” we might explore what “clean eating” means to them. While it’s about enjoying minimally processed foods for health and longevity, it’s also about demonstrating their sophistication and gaining social capital through the status and prestige a commitment to whole foods offers.
Building human-centric personas
When developing human-centric personas, insights teams should:
- Map belief systems: Identify the core ideas that drive groups and what they value; get a deeper understanding of their aspirations and anxieties.
- Spot meaningful trends: Identify shifts in values or language to help clients get ahead of the curve.
- Track cultural maturity: Is a belief emerging, peaking or declining? This helps prioritize messaging and product timing.
- Understand emotional and social Jobs To Be Done: Consumers “hire” products to meet emotional needs (control, confidence), social needs (status, belonging) and functional needs (speed, utility). Understanding these necessities helps build human-centric personas.
Case study: AI through two lenses
Let’s look at consumer perspectives on AI as an example. A demographic approach might focus on urban, Gen Z, digitally fluent and hip individuals. But that lens risks excluding many others who are deeply engaged with AI and misses key motivations.
Demographic view:
- Young, tech-savvy, prone to early adoption.
- Interested in biohacking, virtual coworking or futuristic tools.
Anthropological view:
- Motivated by progress, empowerment and future-readiness.
- Value ethical innovation, equity and human-centered design.
- Fear loss of control or human agency.
- Want AI to enhance their abilities, not to replace them.
From this lens, the “right” products aren’t just the most advanced. They’re the ones designed with transparency, ethics and upskilling in mind. Think AI career coaches, precision health tools or fairness-certified platforms.
The bottom line: Consumers are complex
Consumers are not just “millennials” or “moms” or “midwestern dads.” They are complex, belief-driven people who make choices based on deeply held values and evolving identities.
By incorporating anthropology into our innovation and communication strategies, we have the potential to unlock:
- Richer insights: Understanding people’s motivations, not just their markers.
- Stronger storytelling: Messaging that resonates on emotional and cultural levels.
- Smarter innovation: Products that feel made for real lives and not just personas.
Integrating anthropology into your toolkit allows you to uncover why people behave the way they do, not just who they are on paper. This shift fuels more resonant storytelling, more aligned innovation and ultimately, more meaningful connections with consumers. In today’s cultural climate, anthropology isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a strategic imperative for building brands and products that matter.