The Sextant System

What is the Sextant System?

You are at the front doors of two homes on the same street. Each household consists of a two-income family, with one child in elementary school. All four adults, in their late thirties, are college graduates. Each household earns $65,000 annually. Based on this demographic data, how "alike" will these two households actually be when the front doors open? Compared to the demographic information alone, how important will the actual differences be to any marketer?

As the door of the first home opens, you notice a room outfitted in black leather, chrome and glass, with avant-garde artwork hanging on the walls, then a kitchen obviously used primarily as a place to reheat take-out meals. The front door to the second home opens to reveal wood bookcases, an authentic (but faded) oriental rug, walls covered with primitive artwork, floors strewn with a child's toys, and the aroma of simmering soup-from-scratch.

Do you want to create, offer and communicate about products and services identically to these two households?

The Sextant System goes beyond demographics to explain the dramatic social and attitudinal differences between the families living behind those doors. A collaboration between and Kaagan Research and Knowledge Networks, organizations that have made profiling and understanding American consumers and American society their specialty, the Sextant System is a fully-integrated and complimentary research program.

Developed by utilizing many years of experiences with a variety of different "trend and segmentation" programs, Sextant integrates a demographic perspective, infused with detailed assessments of consumer and societal values. Incorporating an array of qualitative and quantitative tools, Sextant allows distinctions to be drawn between meaningful change in the broad socio-culture, and the fast-moving but powerful consumer "fads" that can have considerable impact in the marketplace. The components of Sextant include:

• The "big picture" survey and societal data-based view of the "American Life" landscape, accompanied by associated data portraits;

• A sociocultural segmentation model that analyzes sub-group "tribal" affiliations within society;

• An anthropological view that illustrates what these tribal segments look like, and how they live their everyday lives.

The Sextant System looks deeply into the actual lives of Americans. By combining survey data-collection with "household anthropology," it places qualitative information in the context of quantitative frameworks, and views a storehouse of data through a lens of ethnographic texture. This allows Sextant's clients to carefully comprehend and interpret the many variables that drive behaviors of American consumers.