Chipotle’s Segmentation and Target Marketing: Millennials

Segmentation is the process of dividing the market into different segments or groups. The market can be divided into demographics, behaviors or even geographic groups through segmentation. A company uses target marketing or targeting, when it knows a group of people to market to. Both marketing segmentation and targeting go hand in hand to ensure the success of a company.

Chipotle is a company that prides itself on serving “foot with integrity.” I have a friend who visits Chipotle restaurants on a weekly basis. The company has picked up popularity among a variety of people. Chipotle has recently found a primary customer segment in millennials. Millennials are the generation born between 1982 and sometime in the early 2000s. The main strategy for Chipotle’s marketing team is to win over millennials by offering a fresh healthy meal and target them based on their personality and characteristics. To gain a good reputation from the young generation, Chipotle does not use traditional media. Traditional media is less authentic in the perception of millennials. Chipotle’s advertising outlets revolve around a big online and social media presence.

The company uses non-traditional marketing by focusing on the message of food sourcing and organic farming. Chipotle positions itself as a restaurant that cares about the food it makes and its consumers. The strategy resonates with a generation that is interested in the environment and the way food is developed from different companies. Millennials are known to challenge structure and to not go with the flow. The young generation is hungry to understand how the world works and in this case, the food they are going to consume and the way it is prepared. Lastly, millennials expect to have fun while they interact with a brand. Fun is part of the millennial personality. Chipotle’s only TV commercial was an animation that featured a farmer whose business grows massive. The farmer’s conscience then reverts him to a more humane, sustainable operation. The commercial features cartoon and a catchy song. Chipotle uploaded the commercial to its Youtube platform and the video has over eight million views.

Chipotle’s marketing strategy towards millennials has been so far spot on. The result of Chipotle’s non-traditional marketing campaign has been an increase of customers who visit the restaurant based on a friend or family member recommendation.

References:

Schoultz. M (2014). A story about Chipotle’s non-traditional marketing strategy. Digital Spark Marketing. Retrieved from http://www.digitalsparkmarketing.com/creative-marketing/non-traditional-marketing/

Ganapathy, S. (2014). 10 millennial personality traits that HR managers can’t ignore. Mind Tickle. Retrieved from http://www.mindtickle.com/blog/10-millennial-personality-traits-hr-managers-cant-ignore/

Loretto, P. (2015). Characteristic of Generation Y. About Careers, Retrieved from http://internships.about.com/od/internshiptip1/qt/Characteristics-Of-Generation-Y.htm

• Diego Aguilar