Channel 4 and Kantar Swap ABC1 for 'Proactives'

UK TV broadcaster Channel 4 has identified a new demographic it calls the 'Proactives', an audience segment said to have more money, more influence and a higher propensity to trial.

New research conducted by Kantar Media on behalf of the broadcaster claims that the ABC1 audience definition widely used by the UK media industry is now largely outdated. Channel 4 says that representing 54% of the UK adult population, the ABC1 definition no longer describes an upmarket 'High Capital' audience with both the economic means and progressive attitude many advertisers want to reach, and that a fifth of those in this 'High Capital' bracket would not be classified as ABC1 using the current definition.

Through the new classification, Channel 4 says media agencies will be able to identify and reach the 'Proactives' among their audiences. This group has now been added to Kantar's Target Group Index (TGI) and coded onto Target Group Ratings to allow schedules to be optimized against it.

Jonathan Allan (pictured), Channel 4 Sales Director, comments: 'We knew the ABC1 definition was a pretty blunt trading audience so we asked Kantar to look harder at this important audience and they discovered the Proactives - the secret ingredient that makes our ABC1s more valuable than our competitors.'

Web site: www.channel4.co.uk .