Outdated Targeting Is Costing You Sales — Here's What to Do Instead
As a brand-first Marketer, I’ve been the person in meetings beating on the drum of “if you want to appeal to everybody, you’ll resonate with nobody”. But what do you actually do when you genuinely have a product where interest spans generations?
For years, traditional marketing relied on straightforward segmentation: age, gender, income. Today’s consumers don’t behave in neat demographic boxes. They’re guided by values, digital fluency, and life stage, not just how old they are.
I’m at Shoptalk Europe with the continents leading retailers and marketers - listening into a talk between the VPs of Marketing at Foot Locker and Estee Lauder.
The generational lens isn’t entirely irrelevant, but you need other data to make the messaging relevant to different generations. As Slavka Jancikova, VP of Marketing at Foot Locker, put it:
“Generational context still gives us cultural cues. But real connection comes from understanding behaviour — not just birth year.”
Youth Drives Culture But It Doesn’t End There
At Foot Locker, Jancikova and her team take a nuanced approach: demographic context overlaid with behavioural interest. They recognise that youth culture sets the tone for sneaker culture, but the influence radiates far beyond Gen Z.
Their strategy:
Centre the narrative around the young consumer.
Create layered content that feels aspirational across generations.
Use dynamic content optimisation to adjust messaging by platform and demographic.
This results in community, relevance, and a sense of belonging that transcends age.
What SMEs Can Do:
Create 2–3 content variants per campaign: Keep the message the same, but shift tone or visual treatment slightly for different audiences (e.g. humour for younger, empathy for older).
Use polls or IG Stories questions to validate what your different customer cohorts care about before launching content.
Test age-adjacent language in your emails or ads (e.g. “radiance” vs “glass skin”) and monitor clicks.
One Trend, Different Stories
In beauty, similar shifts are playing out. Karen Ehrlich, Executive Director of Consumer Engagement at Estée Lauder, shared how the company tracks emerging trends like skinplicity, a cross-generational preference for simple, effective skincare routines.
Younger audiences might chase “glass skin” inspired by TikTok and Korean beauty. Older customers seek “radiance” and “glow.” It’s the same behaviour, but different language and emotional entry points.
Ehrlich’s team leans heavily into first-party data, social listening, and even AI-driven content scraping to stay ahead of emerging behaviours and tailor how the brand connects without diluting its identity.
What SMEs Can Do:
Create a glossary of customer language: Use review mining, DMs, and comment threads to log the actual words people use to describe the same goal then segment them by age or platform.
Use quizzes or onboarding flows to learn what outcome each customer is seeking (e.g. “glow” vs “matte” vs “hydration”) then personalise emails accordingly.
Use the same CTA for everyone, but adjust the emotional hook based on what matters to each cohort.
Data Will Break Your Assumptions
Both Jancikova and Ehrlich made a point many SME founders need to hear:
High price points don’t scare off lower-income segments when passion is involved (this is something I also see in my own brand, Kilter).
Behavioural data often defies stereotypes.
Personalisation isn’t about more products - it’s about smarter propositions.
In other words, you don’t need to fragment your brand to resonate. You need to understand what your customers care about and speak to those needs clearly and consistently.
What SMEs Can Do:
Tag buyers by product, journey stage, and sentiment (via CRM or manual tags) and review monthly for patterns.
Run a monthly "What surprised us?" team review of your data. Ask: who bought this, who didn’t, and why?
Test pricing elasticity by offering bundled upgrades to passionate segments before dropping price for the broader audience.
One Brand, Many Entry Points
Modern brand building is about telling one clear story and shaping it dynamically across platforms and audiences. Foot Locker’s hyperlocal campaigns, like their Nike partnership anchored in Napoli, are a masterclass in this.
They kept the brand’s core values intact, but cast local voices, local culture, and real generational diversity.
Engagement metrics doubled. Relevance soared.
What SMEs Can Do:
Build a modular messaging toolkit: one brand story, multiple phrasing options per platform or persona.
Highlight your brand's values in every campaign, but showcase different faces or use cases depending on audience.
Partner with creators from different generations who can interpret your brand through their lens, not just re-share a script.
What This Means for SMEs
If you’re still building your marketing around static demographics, it’s time to evolve.
Lead with values and behaviours, not age.
Use your own customer data (not assumptions) to guide content and channel strategy.
Craft a brand proposition that speaks to shared needs across segments.
Then tell that story in platform and generation-appropriate ways.
The brands winning today aren’t trying to be everything to everyone.
They’re just speaking clearly to the people who care and in a way that feels relevant, personal, and culturally on point. That’s where brand builds traction and where marketing actually works.
