Market Targeting Strategies 157
tersegmentationto broaden their customer base. Smith Kline Beecham introduced
Aquafresh toothpaste to attract three benefit segments simultaneously: those seeking
fresh breath, whiter teeth, and cavity protection. Next, the company moved deeper
into countersegmentation by launching flavored toothpastes for children, toothpaste
for people with sensitive teeth, and other toothpaste products.
Targeting Multiple Segments and Supersegments
Very often, companies start out by marketing to one segment, then expand to others.
For example, Paging Network Inc.—known as PageNet—is a small developer of pag-
ing systems, and was the first to offer voice mail on pagers. To compete with
Southwestern Bell and other Bell companies, it sets its prices about 20 percent below
rivals’ prices. Initially, PageNet used geographic segmentation to identify attractive
markets in Ohio and Texas where local competitors were vulnerable to its aggressive
pricing. Next, the firm developed a profile of users for paging services so it could tar-
get salespeople, messengers, and service people. PageNet also used lifestyle segmenta-
tion to target additional consumer groups, such as parents who leave their children
with a sitter. Finally, PageNet began distributing its pagers through Kmart, Wal-Mart,
and Home Depot, offering attractive discounts in return for the right to keep the
monthly service charge revenues on any pagers sold.^33
In targeting more than one segment, a company should examine segment inter-
relationships on the cost, performance, and technology side. A company that is carry-
ing fixed costs, such as a sales force or store outlets, can generally add products to
absorb and share some of these costs. Smart companies know that economies of scope
can be just as important as economies of scale. Moreover, companies should look
beyond isolated segments to target a supersegment,a set of segments that share some
exploitable similarity. For example, many symphony orchestras target people with
broad cultural interests, rather than only those who regularly attend concerts.
Still, a company’s invasion plans can be thwarted when it confronts blocked mar-
kets. This problem calls for megamarketing,the strategic coordination of economic, psy-
chological, political, and public-relations skills to gain the cooperation of a number of
parties in order to enter or operate in a given market. Pepsi used megamarketing to
enter India after Coca-Cola left the market. First, it worked with a local business group to
gain government approval for its entry over the objections of domestic soft-drink com-
panies and antimultinational legislators. Pepsi also offered to help India export enough
agricultural products to more than cover the cost of importing soft-drink concentrate
and promised economic development for some rural areas. By winning the support of
these and other interest groups, Pepsi was finally able to crack the Indian market.
Ethical Choice of Market Targets
Market targeting sometimes generates public controversy.^34 The public is concerned
when marketers take unfair advantage of vulnerable groups (such as children) or dis-
advantaged groups (such as inner-city poor people), or promote potentially harmful
products. For example, the cereal industry has been criticized for marketing to chil-
dren. Critics worry that high-powered appeals presented through the mouths of lov-
able animated characters will overwhelm children’s defenses and lead them to eat too
much sugared cereal or poorly balanced breakfasts.
As another example, R. J. Reynolds was criticized for plans to market Uptown, a
menthol cigarette targeted toward low-income African Americans. Recently, internal
documents from R. J. Reynolds and Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation (mar-
keter of the Kool brand) have revealed the extent to which these companies target
black youths aged 16 to 25, particularly with menthol brands.^35