When the market reveals itself, believe it.

DURING CASTING for a commercial, I told the auditioning actors, “Our market is middle aged men.” Bristling, one actor said, “Women need this product, too.”

Absolutely correct.

But repeated tests targeting men and women alike had shown that women didn’t want the product. Neither, for that matter, did younger or older men. Smart marketers drop hooks where fish are, not where they wish them to be. Once our client spotted the trend, they focused media spending on middle–aged men, and sales–per–dollar–spent went up.

Equity matters. But targeting people who have made it clear that they don’t want your product isn’t being equity–minded. It’s being wasteful.