Young and Rubicam's audience theory.

Young and Rubicam is a New York advertising agency who developed a method of categorising people into recognisable stereotypes that reflect their motivational needs. 

Simply using demographics like age or gender to divide and categorise an audience doesn't always produce an accurate result as it is becoming outdated as people may not fit into the right categories. This encouraged Young and Rubicam to create their theory which categories the audience into five groups based on their motivational needs. which allows a producer to change their methods to appeal to a specific audience.

The Five main categories are: 

The Aspirer, they like brands with a status that show their place in society. they are happy to spend a lot of money on luxury goods, which they often do so using credit. they like to think they are stylish and current and can often be persuaded the most by celebrity endorsements.Their goal is one of status.

The Explorer, they like to discover new things and can be attracted to new brands that may be slightly unknown. they look for innovative and exciting products and experiences. they seek to discover and love adventure.

The Mainstreamer, they make up 40% of the audience.they tend to stick to tried and trusted brands which they now they like and are value for money. they class themselves as a larger group of like-minded people who are likely to stick to what they know and not take risks.Their biggest comfort is security.

The Reformer, they are motivated by self-esteem and self-improvement.they do not follow big brands and are not attracted to status, they are not materialistic and do not like to follow the pack. these people are socially aware and are more likely to invest in goods that are beneficial to the environment and invest more in brands that are good for them or others.They are mainly attracted to enlightenment.

The successor, these are the ones with high social status and are happy with their status and feel they have nothing to prove. they believe they deserve the best and decide upon the best brands based on reliability. they often seek control.

Pros and Cons
This theory can be seen as a more up to date theory compared to theories such as Maslow's hierarchy of needs which can be seen as outdated and in a modern society not be representative of all groups whereas young and Rubicam's theory helps categories all people making it easier to relate to your targeted audience. In a modern society, it is becoming harder to categorise people based on class or income, therefore, using this theory makes it easier to group people in a more current way as it because hard to distinguish between class which is becoming outdated.

If a high street brand such as top shop was to use this theory to understand which kind of audience it would have they would find there target audience would be mainstreamers, as top shop is a high street brand which is trustworthy and fashionable therefore appeals to people less likely to take risks and wanting to stay on trend and stick to trusted and tried brands. 

However, a higher end brand such as Armani may appeal to the aspirers more as they wish to show off their wealth. they like to spend more money on luxury goods to look better. these people are attracted to brands recognised as being a lot of money and want to show off the money they have.