Narrowcasting

Instructor Lewis

Marketing 351

18 July 2012

Current Marketing Trends: Narrowcasting

Narrowcasting is the dissemination of information to a select audience via proprietary equipment or discriminatory means. Narrowcasting involves aiming marketing messages at specific segments defined by values, gender, preferences, age or demographic attributes. It usually does not involve the general public in the same way as broadcast messages. In contrast, broadcast marketing is transmitted to the general public and is available to anyone with the capability to capture the signals or openly view the material. Also called niche marketing or target marketing, narrowcasting is based on the idea that viable mass audiences no longer exist and the marketing campaign will yield greater results when tailored to the potential buyer. Broadcast and narrowcast marketing refer to any form of marketing including but not limited to physical marketing forms, audio and video, visual advertising content, and the Internet. Broadly defined, the target market is a “fairly homogenous group of customers to whom a company wishes to appeal”. (Cannon and McCartney) Along with the marketing mix the target market makes up the marketing strategy for a company, which is the big-picture plan for what a company does in some specific market. The big-picture marketing objective of a company is to gain customers and increase sales through effective marketing of their product. To effectively market goods in today’s age of information overload and instant delivery systems, a company must successfully utilize the newest, most powerful methods to pass information to potential customers. With narrowcasting, it is certainly about the audience but it’s also having the opportunity to create messages with a specific group and entice them to do what you are asking.

Narrowcasting is the new paradigm. With the advent of the digital age, technology has enabled marketing executives to choose from a robust new...