Values Based Segmentation
Definition
Values-based segmentation — most associated with Chris Rose’s Campaign Strategy and the earlier Phil Bennett / SCL/CDSM work — is a UK psychographic framework that divides the public into three motivational groups (Pioneers, Prospectors, Settlers) and a fourth Hostile group, predicting which messages and tactics will move which segments.
The model differs from demographic segmentation by focusing on motivational posture rather than age/income/region: Pioneers are outward-looking and values-driven, Prospectors are status-driven and aspirational, Settlers are in-group and security-driven — and the same policy can be framed to land with each segment by emphasising the aspect that matches its motivational posture. Chris Rose’s How to Win Campaigns (2005, 2nd ed. 2010) and the values-based segmentation (CDSM) framework he developed with Phil Bennett at the Campaign Strategy consultancy is the most-cited operationalisation of this approach; the framework predicts which messages will move which segments and which campaign tactics will be effective in each. [source: campaign-strategy-rose]
Practitioner uses (the UK Climate Coalition, the climate-movement segmentation work, the broader behaviourally-informed campaigning literature) treat the segmentation as a frame for message design rather than a target list — the segments are broad tendencies, not populations, and the campaign’s job is to design messages that move segments rather than to chase segment members as a target.
Full page: [[values-based-segmentation]].
FAQ
What is values-based segmentation?
Values-based segmentation is Chris Rose and Phil Bennett’s UK psychographic framework (CDSM) that divides the public into three motivational groups (Pioneers, Prospectors, Settlers) and a fourth Hostile group, predicting which messages and tactics will move which segments. The full-page version of this definition lives on [[values-based-segmentation]].
How does values-based segmentation differ from demographic segmentation?
The model differs from demographic segmentation by focusing on motivational posture rather than age/income/region: Pioneers are outward-looking and values-driven, Prospectors are status-driven and aspirational, Settlers are in-group and security-driven — and the same policy can be framed to land with each segment by emphasising the aspect that matches its motivational posture [source: campaign-strategy-rose].
Who developed values-based segmentation?
Chris Rose’s How to Win Campaigns (2005, 2nd ed. 2010) and the values-based segmentation (CDSM) framework he developed with Phil Bennett at the Campaign Strategy consultancy is the most-cited operationalisation of this approach; the framework predicts which messages will move which segments and which campaign tactics will be effective in each [source: campaign-strategy-rose].
How should the segmentation be used?
Practitioner uses (the UK Climate Coalition, the climate-movement segmentation work, the broader behaviourally-informed campaigning literature) treat the segmentation as a frame for message design rather than a target list — the segments are broad tendencies, not populations, and the campaign’s job is to design messages that move segments rather than to chase segment members as a target.