Advanced Ch. 5: From Demographics to Intent-based Audience — Capturing the Soul

1. The Demographics Lie

If you tell an AI “Find me 25-35 year old men,” it finds:

• A stressed manager preparing a PPT.
• A clerk slacking off on TikTok.
• A boyfriend frantically searching for “anniversary gift ideas.” In demographics, they are identical. In conversion intent, they are worlds apart.

2. What is Intent-based Audience?

It’s about focusing on Current Action Signals rather than Historical Labels.

• Demo Label: Likes electronics.
• Intent Signal: Searched for “Sony A7M4 vs Canon R6” in the last 24 hours. The intent signal is 100x more valuable than the label.

3. Brand in Action: Spotify’s “Emotional Intent” Logic

Spotify doesn’t just know what music you like; it knows your Current State.

1. Scenario Targeting: Playlists like “Cooking,” “Gym,” “Deep Work.”
2. Inferred Intent: In the “Deep Work” playlist, your intent is Focus.
3. Placement: An ad for “Noise-Cancelling Headphones” converts better here than in a “Gym” playlist.

Lesson: The most precise audience definition is spoken by the users themselves through their actions.

Next Chapter: Advanced Ch. 6: Audience Fatigue & Scaling Bottlenecks. Why ads get more expensive as you spend more.