Elixir Strings had disrupted the guitar-string market 25 years ago with its innovative polymer-coated strings, but was facing a slew of copycat competitors. The company needed to know which consumers to target with marketing and what messages would most appeal to them and drive sales.

Campos led a multi-phase research initiative combining a large-scale market survey and deep-dive focus groups to create a custom segmentation of the guitar-player market. We constructed rich, nuanced profiles of 6 player segments, going beyond mere demographics to encompass each group’s guitar- and string-related attitudes and behaviors. We also identified the most promising target segments and visualized their typical journeys of engagement with the brand.

Our work enabled Elixir to launch a segmented marketing strategy for the first time in its history. Among other actions, the company is now partnering with a retailer to pilot a targeted free-sample program, and soon plans to launch an initiative to appeal to the target segments through their favored retail channels.