Question

Bonus Questions: Did your findings surprise you? How is the PRIZM tool different than VALS? As a marketer, which do you prefer?

Answer 1

VALS (Value and Lifestyle): Popular psychographic method in consumer research that divides consumers into groups based on resources and consumer behavior motivations. VALS classifies consumers into eight distinct segments based on resources available to the consumer (financial, educational, and intellectual resources), as well as three primary motivations (ideals motivation, achievement motivation, and self-expression motivation).

PRIZM is another popular tool for lifestyle analysis that was marketed by Nielsen Claritas. It stands for Potential Ratings Index by ZIP Market. This demographic procedure combines data on consumer expenditures and socioeconomic variables with geographic information. This actually helps identify commonalities in consumption patterns of households in different regions. It is based on the idea that people who have similar backgrounds tend to live around each other and emulate each other’s behaviors and lifestyles.

PRIZM combines demographic and behavioral information to better understand and target their customers. This technique uses 66 different segments to distinguish consumers’ like, dislikes, lifestyles and purchase behaviors. It basically provides a common language for marketing in this diverse country.