Several types of custom digital ethnography reports include demographic insights to show how different groups participate in cultural conversations.
These demographics are modelled based off of an extensive backend ethnographies of hundreds of thousands of consumers, and our ongoing testing and validation finds the demographics to have an accuracy exceeding 80% within a 4.8% margin of error.
Reading our socio-demographics
Each demographic factor is presented in two ways:
- Colored bars – Represent the percentage of the cultural population engaged in a trend.
- Gray bars – Represent the national average for comparison. Each year, we update the national averages to reflect the most recent information gathered by that region’s dominant census organizations (for example, the U.S. Census).
Over-Indexing & Under-Indexing
Over- and under-indexing measure a demographic’s engagement with a trend relative to their proportion in the total population—not absolute levels of participation.
- Over-indexing means a group is more engaged in a culture than expected based on their proportion in the total population.
- Under-indexing means a group is less engaged than expected, but does not imply they are absent from the conversation.
Example Calculation:
- 54% of a culture’s population is middle class, while the national average is 50% → Over-index by +4%.
- 28% of a culture’s population has low education, while the national average is 38% → Under-index by 10%.
Understanding which groups over- or under-index provides valuable insights into which consumers drive a trend, which ones are underrepresented opportunities, and how different groups engage with a cultural topic.
Using our socio-demographics
- Product Development: Identify which consumer segments drive demand for new product innovations.
- Market Expansion: Target under-indexed groups with tailored offerings.
- Marketing & Messaging: Ensure campaigns resonate by aligning with consumer motivations and fears.
- Pricing & Positioning: Understand how income and social class affect perceived value.
- Brand Strategy: Position brands effectively by aligning with the right cultural narratives.