The creation of consumer segments is one of the big market research cash cows – lots of money and generally happy customers who have seen the people who buy their stuff nicely put into little boxes. Truth be told, these resulting segments are pretty pointless as anything but guidelines but my goodness they communicate well within an organisation and that, usually, is the real idea.
Of course every so often a segment gets out into the wild. Market research segments tend to have incredible memetic energy in direct proportion to how vapid and generalising they are, hence “Mondeo Man”, “Yuppies”, “Soccer Moms” etc. and now “Wristband Generation” which I would pray doesn’t spread except I’M SPREADING IT NOW AAARGH. I feel like a character in an Al Ewing future shock.
If you can’t be bothered to click on the link, the “wristband generation” is David Davis’ way of saying “young folk of today”. In a dramatic demonstration of research insights he reveals that “This is the generation who wears the ‘Make Poverty History’ wristbands. They display their intolerance of racism with their white and black bands.” Bring back the backwards baseball caps.