Herald Sun article on Australia’s leading data companies (focus on Roy Morgan)

Julie Cross and Ben Butler

Roy Morgan featured in the Herald Sun (February 18, 2024)

Roy Morgan’s Helix Personas profiles people under headings such as “young and platinum”. This group love their mobile devices and are “always on the hunt for the shiny, new and cool” and “making the rent”. Their income is around the $64,000 a year mark and they can often be found “living a conventional life centred around family”.

OUR DIGITAL PERSONAS

SMART MONEY

Population: 357k

Population percentage: 1.5%

Average household income: $170k

Likes: Theatre, Holidays Overseas, Galleries & Museums

High income, highly educated, cultured and success focused, consumers in the Smart Money Persona enjoy sophisticated city living to the max. From eating out and catching live theatre and sporting events, through to shopping and regular international travel, Smart Money is living the good life.

YOUNG AND PLATINUM

Population: 266k

Population percentage: 1.1%

Average household income: $124k

Likes: Restaurants, Fashion & Beauty, Nightlife

Predominantly young singles and couples, Young and Platinum are also highly social, big spenders and always on the hunt for the shiny, new and cool – be it the hottest new restaurant or cult beauty buy.

 WORKING HARD

Population: 838k

Population percentage: 3.5%

Average household income: $97k

Likes: TV Soaps, Pay TV, Technology

Working Hard are young families making their way in life, focused on the kids and home life. Juggling a mortgage and the financial demands of the family household, people belonging to this persona are clustered most significantly in Queensland, on the Gold Coast and Brisbane, and New South Wales in the Outer West and South-West.

CAUTIOUS CONSERVATIVES

Population: 534k

Population percentage: 2.2%

Average household income: $72k

Likes: Australian Made, Dieting, Gardening

Despite living off limited retirement incomes, Cautious Conservatives enjoy a strong sense of financial security, owing to a very high proportion of outright home ownership. They are likely to feel overwhelmed by too much change, on both a social and personal level, and to lament society’s shifting values.

FAIR GO

Population: 3977k

Population percentage: 16.5%

Average household income: $57k

Likes: Smoking, Commercial TV, Frozen Meals, Special Offers, Video Games, Takeaway Food

People belonging to this persona face challenging circumstances presented by low incomes, low employment and low education. They can sometimes feel resentful about the lack of opportunities in their lives and are seeking a better future.

RAW DEAL

Population: 639k

Population percentage: 2.6%

Average household income: $40k

Likes: Gambling, RSLs, Frozen Meals

The difficulties presented by very low incomes and low employment have a significant impact on the mindset of the Raw Deal Persona. They are much more likely than their peers to be resentful of their circumstances and lack of opportunities – many believe that they get a raw deal out of life.

Source: Helix Personas, Roy Morgan Research

Both Roy Morgan and RDA said their market segments were based on statistical information, not data from individual people.

“It’s totally ethical,” Roy Morgan’s chief executive, Michele Levine, said.

“Unlike Facebook or any of these things, it’s not any particular individual.”

ROY MORGAN

Run by long-time pollster and well-known Melbourne business identity Gary Morgan, who has run for city mayor three times, and his chief executive, Michele Levine. Company accounts show it reaped $6m in revenue in 2022 from its profiling business, Helix Personas, which divides the population up into categories based on their interests, finances and family situation. Roy Morgan insists the personas are based on statistical data, not the personal information of real people.

Full article (Pay-walled)