Springtime means sports for millions of Americans. Whether it’s business-league softball, playground hoops, country-club golf, or country-road biking, weekend warriors are out in force while their kids chase dreams in Little League and youth soccer.

And they all come home with their fair share of aches, bruises, and sprains. So ice and heat packs are in demand. Households with parents 35 to 54 and teenage kids in suburban and affluent urban locations are the heaviest consumers. This is an active, health-conscious (significantly lower-than-average smokers), cultured bunch who are more likely than the masses to play most sports, listen to “adult” radio (news, jazz, classical), take a vacation abroad, or watch televised golf tournaments. They’re most likely white or Asian, college- and grad-school degree holders who earn more than $100,000 annually in executive posts. When they aren’t reading magazines or newspapers, they’re surfing the Internet or passing a billboard. (If you’re thinking TV, stick to the news and entertainment specials.)

That’s the ice and heat packs consumer profile synthesized by Spectra, Chicago, using ACNielsen, MRI, and Simmons data.

AGE AND DEMO

Rug Cleaner Consumer Profile

Television mirrors life — at least in rug cleaner commercials. You’ve seen the scenario: Toddler topples everything in his path, Dad takes out the spray ’n vac, and — presto — all’s clean and clear by the time Mom gets home.

Households with young children (whether in the city, the suburbs, or rural areas) are by far the leading consumers of rug cleaners. And they’re many a marketer’s dream because they’re affluent, active, high-consumption machines. They’re most likely white or Asian, extremely likely to have college or post-graduate degrees, and are significantly more likely than average to earn more than $100,000 annually. You’ll find them surfing the Internet with a radio playing in the background more than you’ll find them gazing at the TV, and outdoor ads get their attention.

Lip Remedies Winter is tough on lips – and therefore prime time for balms, coatings, and other remedies. Upscale suburban and working class/rural adults with kids at home buy the most lip remedies. That’s because they’re skiing, hunting, hiking, and otherwise more often outdoors in cold weather – that is, when they’re not shuttling in the minivan to dance performances, hockey matches, or basketball games, with camcorder in tow and rock ‘n roll on the radio. On the way, they’re noting lots of billboards. And while they play the waiting game, these mostly executive types are reading baby, sports, and science/technology magazines – or the classifieds or movie review sections of the local paper. That’s the lip remedies consumer profile synthesized by Spectra, Chicago, using ACNielsen, MRI, and Simmons data. Keep the event outdoors and the music rocking, and you’ll lick your lips at the results.

Breakfast Barkeeps Working professionals grab a granola bar in a dash out the door, while families munch waffles or cereal at the kitchen table, right?

So much for stereotypes. Big families are far and away the heaviest consumers of breakfast bars, as parents answer time compression with some assurance everyone will start the day with basic nutrients. These on-the-go munchers are educated, executive, and affluent, both white and Hispanic. They drive minivans and SUVs, own the latest electronic equipment, surf the Net, and play interactive and videogames. When they’re not shuttling to baseball, soccer, or hockey games, they’re running, hiking, doing aerobics – they’re non-stop action. Pop and rock music radio plays as they leaf through business, technology, and car magazines.

That’s the breakfast bar consumer profile synthesized by Spectra, Chicago, using ACNielsen, MRI, and Simmons data.