Calm: Target Audience Analysis

Campaign Recap

The company that I decided to create a campaign for was Calm, a meditations and

wellness app. The company has been and continues to be quite successful but while there is still a solid

number of memberships being purchased, it has been declining in the last several quarter and remaining

stagnant. It is $60 per year to be a Calm member and some people hesitate to join due to the higher-than-

average cost for a mobile app. Given that it is based on mindfulness techniques and meditation, some

might doubt the effectiveness despite scientific evidence backing it and hesitate to commit to a

membership.

While Calm offers a few different services like bulk business membership services and brand

collaborations, this campaign focuses on individual consumer use of the app. The Premium subscription

to calm offers a variety of services all designed for a unique purpose. There are guided mediations to

help with covering anxiety, stress, sleep, work, relationships, and exclusive music tracks to improve

focus, emotion management, and reduce tension. Plus, there are over 100 Sleep Stories read by

instructors and celebrities encouraging rest and relaxation. Similarly, there are masterclasses from

experts on application of mindfulness in daily life.

Who is the Target Audience for Calm

The audience that I am planning on targeting is beginner to intermediate meditators or people

who practice mental wellness. Calm works best for people at this level because it offers great

introductory videos but for those skilled in meditation, they might not find it very useful. The most

important thing I would look for are people interested in starting or maintaining a wellness routine, but

who aren’t sure on a massive commitment or have limited time to offer. The reason this is so crucial is
that someone who has little interest in meditation techniques or fitting in wellness to their lifestyle is

unlikely to consider getting the app, let alone paying for a membership. However, someone who has

already invested in the industry whether that is with their money, time, or energy is much more likely to

see Calm as a worthwhile investment. Furthermore, due to its format it would probably be best targeted

to people who are frequent users of current technology. Because it is a tech product and part of the

appeal is that it is a more portable, accessible it is best that the audience has a solid understanding.

Younger generations of women are the ones typically more involved in mental wellness and who the

company keeps in mind with its strategic partnerships. Additionally, this is likely someone who is facing

some stresses or mental struggles in their life as those of many of the issues Calm focuses on. While

much of what Calm provides is useful for anyone in any mental situation, most people seek it out

initially due to difficulties with sleep, anxiety, stress, or the practice of mindfulness. Because they are

facing a problem they want to fix, they’re probably more likely to pay for a way to minimize that.

Market Segmentation

Demographics

Looking at the individuals who currently use wellness apps based in mindfulness, the

demographics are reflective of the target audience of the campaign. While not exclusively targeting

females, that gender tends to be more active in the use of mental wellness products. In the last 30 days,

women are 39% more likely to have used a meditation wellness app (MRI Simmons, 2023a). When

looking at data of who practices mediation and mindfulness, we found that individuals from age 18-44

were more likely to participate than base population and 55+ were 20% less likely to do mediation than

the general population (MRI Simmons, 2023a). One demographic that was not necessarily part of the

target audience was that individuals who make over $75,000 a year are 8% more likely to frequently use

meditation apps and the percentage keeps growing the higher the income is, capping at 132% more
likely to use if someone makes over $250,000 yearly (MRI Simmons, 2023a). This makes sense when

looking at the education demographics of meditation tech users. The groups that are using these methods

of care more than the base population are college graduates and postgraduate, otherwise people who

have some college education or less generally use them at a much lower rate than base population (MRI

Simmons, 2023a). Because these individuals have higher income jobs, it makes sense that they have the

ability to spend money on “extras” such as wellness apps. So, while of course marketing to other groups,

our ideal campaign demographic target is well-educated, moderately wealthy, women from adolescence

to middle age.

Psychographics

To best learn what our audience will respond well to and interests that can be tied into the

campaign strategy, I took a look at the lifestyles and potential interests of people using mindfulness

apps. In line with what we want from our audience, most of the people who are involved in meditation

and wellness apps are familiar with and skilled with technology, adopting new tech easily (MRI

Simmons, 2023b). Looking into another important aspects of wellness, those who are involved in

mediation/mindfulness apps prefer fresh organic ingredients, cooking at home, and consider themselves

culinary experts 117% more than base population (MRI Simmons, 2023b). Holistic approaches to health

usually are applied across multiple areas of life, it is not surprising that those making a mental wellness

effort are also focused on physical wellness. People who engage in meditation and mindfulness

generally like to stay engaged and active, not generally into being passive and laying around. These

people enjoy immersing themselves in arts, music, going out, and social events, in fact they are 153%

more likely than general population to do so (MRI Simmons, 2023b). What I can conclude from these

interests is not only their interests and what I can hone into advertising wise but support our

demographic data. You’ll notice many of these activities are things that are often done by highly
involved women some of whom might value knowledge/education and have money to spend on fancy

tech or expensive food.

Reaching the Target Audience

The audience we are trying to reach uses digital, specifically social media the most with use

above that of the average population in all measured categories (MRI Simmons, 2023c; MRI Simmons,

2023d; MRI Simmons, 2023e). They view a lot of advertisements all over but given that our product is

technology based and our audience is comfortable with/frequently using social media I think that the

best strategy for campaign advertisement is primarily on social media. As mentioned before, a lot of

people who seem to use meditation wellness apps are high achieving and well-educated individuals,

therefore it is less surprising that they are 75% more likely to use LinkedIn than the base population

(MRI Simmons, 2023c). LinkedIn makes sense for busy professionals, and it also makes sense that these

high achieving, career driven people might be dealing with issues involving stress, sleep, or mental

distress. The more casual social media that I would focus on is Pinterest and TikTok which are closely

in second and third at around 40% more likely to use than base population (MRI Simmons, 2023c).

Beyond their use of social media, the target demographic also consumes more than average amounts of

advertisement at events or activities (MRI Simmons, 2023d), meaning there could be an opportunity for

partnerships with companies that sponsor these events or host the entertainment.

Another note regarding partnerships is the role of an influencer being a brand ambassador. Given

all we know about how to best reach the audience I opted for social media, ruling out Pinterest as there

is not much of a influencer base on that app and LinkedIn as that primarily serves as more of a

professional site than typical social media, additionally it might ostracize our younger (18-early 20s)

audience. TikTok was therefore the best remaining option with high engagement. Dr. Julie Smith is a

licensed psychologist and therapist, as well as an online educator and author on TikTok. She has
amassed over 4 million followers by posting short videos promoting mental wellness. Her content varies

but typically is a couple minute video explaining why you might feel a certain way, how you can help

yourself feel a bit better, or ways to identify what you are doing and how you can change to be better.

She has also book she promotes and reads from, teaching people how to tackle different feelings and

moods in small achievable ways. I believe she would be a great brand ambassador because Her content

is very much focused around the same things Calm aims to help with (sleep, anxiety, motivation, stress,

depression) and her way of giving small couple minute reads/videos on ways to manage it that are not

complex and very much based in mindfulness are similar. She also adds insight and credibility to the

program as a licensed psychologist, as well as providing a huge network of followers already interested

in the idea of mindfulness and wellness (therefore likely to consider a membership). A sponsored post

might look something like her starting off with her usual introduction of an emotion or difficulty a

person is facing (what to do if you feel high stress). Then Dr. Julie might introduce Calm as a tool in

techniques she recommends like breathing, meditation, or a talk on advice. She can explain how it’s

helpful scientifically using her expertise in the field, which helps make the benefits more salient.
 References

MRI-Simmons. (2023a). Spring 2021 MRI-Simmons USA [Activities Done To Relieve Stress, Last 30

Days-Meditation/Mindfulness AND Wellness app] [Demographic

profile]. https://simmonsinsights.com/

MRI-Simmons. (2023b). Spring 2021 MRI-Simmons USA [Activities Done To Relieve Stress, Last 30

Days-Meditation/Mindfulness AND Wellness app]

[Segmentation]. https://simmonsinsights.com/

MRI-Simmons. (2023c). Spring 2021 MRI-Simmons USA [Activities Done To Relieve Stress, Last 30

Days-Meditation/Mindfulness AND Wellness app] [Social Media

Usage]. https://simmonsinsights.com/

MRI-Simmons. (2023d). Spring 2021 MRI-Simmons USA [Activities Done To Relieve Stress, Last 30

Days-Meditation/Mindfulness AND Wellness app] [Media Usage &

Channels]. https://simmonsinsights.com/

MRI-Simmons. (2023e). Spring 2021 MRI-Simmons USA [Activities Done To Relieve Stress, Last 30

Days-Meditation/Mindfulness AND Wellness app] [Digital]. https://simmonsinsights.com/