I recently ran across the attached article entitled, "Are Demographics Dead?", and before reading I immediately thought to myself, "I sure hope not!"  In the media world demographics are one of the most commonly used tools to guide our research and decision making during local media planning. Demographic profiles such as age, gender, household income, etc. define a certain media type and it's audience. 

Luckily, as discussed in the article demographics are not dead they are just being redefined.  Researchers are diving even deeper in to certain groups and subsequently identifying their life-stages.  Eight have been established thus far: teens, college students, recent graduates, single no kids, new nesters, established families, married couples with no children and empty nesters. It's interesting to see the differences between these groups in terms of habits, finances, opinions, attitudes, and how all of these attributes change as individuals progress through life stages. The study's sponsors are continuing the research to more clearly define these differences in hopes of employing them in the media word.  If successful it will be an incredibly valuable tool in local marketing strategy and execution of local media buying.