Stop guessing, start knowing: Profiling is no longer a luxury

The smartest brands don’t chase everyone – they find the right someone. And now, that capability is within reach for all.

For decades, audience profiling was the preserve of brands with the deepest pockets. Enterprise-level segmentation tools, proprietary research databases, and bespoke targeting solutions came with price tags that locked out the very businesses that needed them most.

That changes now.

The science behind smarter targeting

The evidence for audience profiling and targeting is unwavering. Research from System1 and Effie’s Creative Dividend report reveals that creative quality now delivers a x21 profit multiplier – but only when it reaches the right audience at the right moment. Meanwhile, Binet and Field’s seminal IPA research, The Long and Short of It, demonstrates that marketing efficiency peaks when brand building and awareness accounts for 40–60% of total media investment.

The implication? Scatter-gun approaches waste the very investment brands make in creativity. Without audience clarity, even the most brilliant campaign becomes expensive noise.

The case for broad targeting – done right

Here’s a paradox: broad targeting and precision profiling aren’t opposites – they’re partners.

Mark Ritson has long championed the importance of distinctive brand building that reaches beyond existing customers. System1’s research reinforces this, showing that emotional campaigns build long-term business growth, driving profits up by 43% over three or more years compared to 23% for rational campaigns.

But ‘broad’ doesn’t mean ‘blind’. The most effective broad reach strategies are built on deep audience understanding – knowing precisely who you’re trying to reach, where they congregate, and what moves them. This is where profiling becomes transformative.

Introducing AskPinpoint: Profiling for everyone

AskPinpoint, developed by Bonfire and its partners over five years of rigorous testing, analyses 67 million people and 28 million UK households, segmenting them into five wealth categories, 17 life-stage groups, and 58 lifestyle tribes based on property type, interests, and attitudes.

The tool transforms complex customer data into actionable insights, enabling brands to define, target, and acquire the right customers – eliminating guesswork so resources focus where they matter most.

Powering the Extraordinary Brand Framework™

AskPinpoint sits at the heart of Pillar 2 (Audience Clarity) within Bonfire’s Extraordinary Brand Framework™ (more on that in the new year). Research demonstrates that 80% of customers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer personalised experiences, whilst 52% expect personalisation and 73% expect it to improve as technology advances.

As the framework states: ‘Extraordinary Brands don’t just segment their audiences – they truly see them as complete human beings.’

AskPinpoint helps deliver this capability – moving beyond demographics to understand the humans behind the metrics.

Fuelling the Uncover phase

Within Bonfire’s Creative Intelligence™ methodology, AskPinpoint also empowers the crucial Uncover stage – turning complexity into clarity through data-driven audience insight. Brands can gain a forensic understanding of who they’re speaking to, where to find them, and what truly resonates.

This isn’t just research for research’s sake. It’s the strategic foundation that keeps everything onBrief®.

Practical applications

For B2C Businesses: Use postcode data to reach high-converting audiences and reveal persona profiles for tailored messaging. Identify specific audience areas based on industry sector for precise marketing, optimise resource allocation by focusing spending on profitable areas, and identify new locations with similar customer demographics for strategic expansion.

For B2B Businesses: Adjust sales strategies based on regional performance data, reduce ad costs through localised marketing support, and find new clients similar to top performers through precision business development. Calculate market share performance within catchment areas versus expected sales, and optimise account management with efficient route planning.

The commercial reality

Strong brands achieve triple the sales volume of weaker brands and command a 13% price premium. But this advantage only materialises when targeting precision meets creative excellence.

AskPinpoint democratises access to the audience intelligence that separates extraordinary brands from merely successful ones – without the enterprise price tag.

Whether you’re a business looking to grow, a brand seeking better ROI, or a charity aiming for greater impact, the capability to target and convert the right customers – efficiently and cost-effectively – is now within easy reach.

The bottom line

The research is unequivocal: 80% of companies claim to deliver good customer experiences, but only 8% of customers agree. That gap isn’t a creative problem – it’s an audience clarity problem.

AskPinpoint helps close that gap.

Ready to explore, validate and pinpoint areas for brand and business growth in the UK?

The AskPinpoint website is in development, but enquiries are being taken now.

Find out now how we can help improve both your UK campaign targeting and creative by emailing [email protected]

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