Brad Benbow - Spiritugraphics: The Influence of Faith on Consumption and Why It Matters to Your Brand

Spiritugraphics

The Influence of Faith on Consumption and Why It Matters to Your Brand

Brad Benbow & Phil Daniels

Knowing your customer is a fundamental truth for building a brand that lasts. Consumers have long been viewed through a demographic lens, but we know theres more to todays market. Spiritugraphics is the framework for any brand looking to engage their consumer in a meaningful way.

DAVID GREEN, Chairman and CEO of Hobby Lobby

Todays brands depend on emerging data and insights. The spiritugraphics study offers marketers more than researchit provides a playbook and perspective for reaching a large addressable market. This book is a staple for any leader looking to drive long-term value and loyalty for their brands.

JIM MOTOS, Senior Vice President, Consumer Brands Division at Richs

Spiritugraphics is driven by deep consumer research and in the trenches experience with leading brands. Its an actionable framework for marketers who want to capture consumer hearts and minds across a large US market thats waiting to hear from them. Ive spent 20+ years leading marketing teams and can tell you with certainty that there has never been a more critical time to cut through the clutter and drive more relevance and more impactful marketing. This is the book that needed to be written.

TIM KOPP, CEO of Terminus and former Brand Leader at Coca-Cola, P&G, and Salesforce

While demographics and psychographics are essential fare for most advertisers, no one brings greater experience to Spiritugraphics than Brad Benbow and Phil Daniels. Now they have graciously shared their expertise in a must-read book for anyone desiring business growth driven by deeper, authentic connections between their brand and consumers. In Spiritugraphics, research and agency executives, business owners, ministry leaders, brand managers, and readers will find relevant consumer intelligence backed by refreshingly actionable research that reveals a large, untapped consumer segment hidden in plain sight.

NATHAN ESTRUTH, former Vice President, Procter & Gamble

Spiritugraphics: The Influence of Faith on Consumption and Why It Matters to Your Brand

Copyright 2022 by Brad Benbow and Phil Daniels

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided by USA copyright law.

No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

Published by Forefront Books.

ISBN: 978-1-63763-091-4 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-63763-092-1 (eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022909302

Cover Design by Casey Harwood

Interior Design by Bill Kersey, KerseyGraphics

Over the past forty years Ive enjoyed the loving support of a family like none other, putting up with the travel and late nights associated with the work we do. I dedicate my role in this book to my incredible wife and partner, Julie, my very best advisor and friend. We live a blessed life together.

As well, our three boys, Ty, Chance, and Bradley, grew up in this business and have learned to translate this experience into their roles in the world. My pride in them and my love for them is immeasurable.

I also dedicate this effort to the boys wives, my daughters, Riley, Kyler, and Natalia. Incredible women who live out Spiritugraphics every day.

And finally, the little loves of my life, my grandkids, Berkeley, Decker, Zane, Bruno, Tucker, Fletcher, and Emilia. They are pure joy to me.

Brad Benbow

To my mentors, advisors, clients, and business partners: Youve taught me that influence is often disguised as impact. Youve influenced me beyond measure and your impact is evident in this workyour love, guidance, and candor cant be overstated.

And to my family: Youve endured the work-life integration that accompanies the chasing of dreams and big ideas. Lauren, youre the partner who makes life and everything in it better. Noah and Samuel, lets chase your dreams together.

Phil Daniels

CHAPTER 1 The Missing Data: Spiritugraphics

I ask you to forgive me for oversimplifying some complicated subjects, and for the dogmatism of my stylethe dogmatism of brevity. We are both in a hurry.

DAVID OGILVY

What we do flows from who we are.

CHUCK COLSON

W hat we believe determines how we behave. So much of what we think is good or right or beautiful is determined by what we believe. For those of us engaged in a life spent using various forms of communication to influence consumers to do things our clients want them to do, it is impossible to escape the dance of evaluating human behavior.

Why do we do the things we do? Why do we buy the things we buy? What causes us to take action? We all know these are complicated questions with far more complicated answers. Billions of dollars are spent each year trying to determine such answers and then cause engagement that leads to competitive advantage. Those of us who communicate for a living engage in attempts to influence what people within a given market think, believe, and do. Some of the smartest people Ive ever met are the masters of this very thing. While medical- and tech-related trades are considered tougher, it is fair to argue that advertising and marketing are by far the most challenging of the occupations because we are dealing in entirely competitive environments, and there are no rules. This world is not for the timid.

A friend of mine, who is a very successful entrepreneur from Vancouver, talks about how the best marketers are inherently cowards. Obviously, marketing is a career that requires a great deal of courage and is subject to significant risk. Much of that risk is outside the control of even CMOs within most organizations. The accurate irony of my friends comment is that great marketers leave as little to chance as possible. We are obsessive about data and information that provide insight into the actions and makeup of users.

How old are they? What is their level of education? Where do they live? Do they have kids? Do they work? If so, what do they do? How much do they make? What is their ethnicity? How much time do they spend on social media? Who are their friends? What kind of car do they drive? Do they rent or own their house? Is that house in an inner-city location, in the suburbs, in a rural location, in a small town? What do the users read? What books, what magazines, what blogs? The list goes on and on and on. Why?

Because we all get paid to be right.

Clients and brands rely on their marketing teams and their advisors to provide insights and approaches that eventually cause revenue and market share gains. CEOs, and in particular CMOs, often see their own fortunes as leaders determined by such recommendations and the subsequent results. Anytime there appears to be missing data in the decision-making process, the efforts become far more high risk. Is it possible that for decades brands have failed to make market share gains due to missing data about consumers? It is not possible.