IDENTIFYING 68 distinct LIFESTYLES IN CANADA
AND ANNOUNCES 2015 DATA UPDATE

TORONTO, MARCH 30, 2015 – Environics Analytics (EA) today announced the launch of the third generation of its popular segmentation system, PRIZM5, reflecting the latest evolution in Canada’s lifestyles and values. The new system classifies Canadians into 68 distinct lifestyle types with names like Boomerang City (upscale, multi-generational urban households), Asian New Wave (younger, well-educated Asian singles and families) and Jeunes d’Esprit (“Young at Heart”, home to older, lower-middle-income rural couples in Quebec).

Nearly a year in the making, PRIZM5 has been updated to include demographic estimates and projections from EA’s 2015 DemoStats database, just-released Social Values data from Environics Research and the latest figures from StatsCan’s 2011 Census. Integrating data from nearly a dozen demographic, marketing and media sources, PRIZM5 provides insights into a wide range of topics—from new and traditional media usage to retail, finance, technology and travel behaviours. Marketers, government agencies and not-for-profits use segmentation for everything from marketing campaigns and site location analysis to merchandising and media planning.

“In order to engage consumers, brands really have to get to know them. That’s not easy to do in this complicated world,” says Jan Kestle, founder and president of EA, from Toronto. “PRIZM5 helps today’s organizations better understand who their customers are and how they can build more meaningful relationships with them. The system identifies Canada’s dominant population segments, reveals their behaviour and mindset, and provides insights into how marketers can reach them.”

With the population increasingly fragmented, PRIZM5 captures important changes in Canadian demographics, lifestyles, behaviour and values. The 68 segments reflect the increasing variety in how Canadians live today. Among the emerging lifestyles are segments that highlight the movement of Canadians to urban centres (Urban Digerati, Striving Startups), an aging population (Second City Retirees, Aging in Suburbia) and increasing cultural diversity (New World Symphony, Metro Multiculturals). The new edition of PRIZM features 16 predominantly francophone segments, another 16 with large numbers of immigrants, visible minorities or members who speak a non-official language at home and one—Enclave Multiethniques—with a significant presence of francophones and diverse groups.

In tandem with the PRIZM5 release, EA also announced the 2015 update of more than 25 of its authoritative databases, including HouseholdSpend and DemoStats, with current-year estimates and projections for three, five and ten years into the future. These databases are integral to the strategic planning and forecasting that many organizations undertake to understand their changing users, members, customers and markets. Updates to these databases are delivered separately or in ENVISION5, EA’s powerful yet easy-to-use web-based micromarketing tool.

Also included in the update are detailed 2015 profiles of media, lifestyle and consumer behaviour based on sources such as NADbank-PMB, Numeris, Equifax, Canadian Financial Monitor, IHS Automotive and AskingCanadians™. This comprehensive database offers users access to more than 16,000 variables across a wide range of topics, including media usage, marketplace behaviours, leisure activities and finances. EA’s annual data updates provide users with the most comprehensive and up-to-date set of marketing-related data and software available in Canada.

About Environics Analytics

Environics Analytics is the premier marketing and analytical services company in Canada. Specializing in proprietary data, purpose-built software and industry-focused consulting, it provides data-driven analytics to help organizations of all sizes better understand customers and markets—no matter where they are. Its team of quantitative marketers, veteran modellers and geographic experts are industry leaders in customer insight, sales forecasting, developing demographic and spending projections, and site location modelling. EA is a member of the Environics group, a unique alliance of companies dedicated to providing intelligent research, analytics and communications. To learn more about Environics Analytics, please visit our website at environicsanalytics.ca.