Backstory to FECI Segmentation & the Fan Map

FECI is an acronym based upon the names of 4 broad archetypes found in a lot of consumer-facing sectors - Fanatics, Enthusiasts, Casuals and Indifferents. It's a market segmentation method that positions consumers on an intuitive Fan Map to predict how much time, effort and money a potential customer is likely to invest within a specific market or field of interest.

FECI Segmentation was originally developed in 2003 by Jason Brownlee (Founder of Colourtext) when he was Head of Audience Insight at Emap (now Bauer Media). Emap used FECI Segmentation (known as Project Phoenix at the time) to successfully develop and expand the audiences for youth media brands like Kiss FM, Kerrang! and Smash Hits across a growing range of media platforms. FECI's data modelling technique quickly found a role in other brand categories like food, financial services, sport, technology and television.

After Jason Brownlee left Emap he was approached in 2008 by Mark Uttley, Head of Insight at Sony Music, to undertake a market segmentation for the company. Jason proposed a FECI Segmentation approach, which was accepted and implemented using quantitative survey data collected by Kantar. The FECI audience segments were then taken up by Matt Hart (of Innovation Pipeline) and Dan Hall (Research Manager, Sony Music) who helped Sony introduce and socialise the segmentation into the company.

Sony firmly embraced the FECI segmentation of music consumers and rolled it out across their entire global organisation. Now operating in 42 markets, Sony Music’s FECI segmentation model has been incredibly successful and is probably the world’s biggest and longest running market segmentation of music fans. The great video at the top of the page tells the story of that process.

We can create a FECI Segmentation Fan Map for your brand and market - contact us n ow.

Mark Uttley

Group Strategy Director, AKQA, San Francisco, US

"Colourtext always take a fresh approach to discovering hidden patterns in data. Whether you want to conduct segmentation or mine your CRM for deep insights, they will help you see your customers , and what they are seeing , in new ways."

Joaquim Bretcha

International Director of Netquest and President of ESOMAR, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

"Colourtext and Netquest have partnered on different occasions to showcase the power of the digital behavioural data extracted from Netquest’s consumer panel. Colourtext has not only the expertise of dealing with big datasets but also has brilliant creativity to make the most sense out of them. Working with Colourtext is a rich, agreeable and easy going experience"

Mark Barber MBE

Planning Director, RadioCentre, London, UK

"More than a decade of success for Radiog auge across the world is a testament to Colourtext’s experience and perseverance. There are many obstacles to creating a global currency for measuring radio advertising effectiveness - Colourtext has managed to tackle all of them."

"It’s rare to find research companies that really understand the unique radio / listener relationship and what makes radio advertising work. With experience of researching the medium on both sides of the fence, Colourtext is one of those rare companies."

Simone Lawrence

Director of Insights, Canadian Broadcast Sales, Toronto, Canada

Colourtext has an agile approach to research that ensures a successful outcome to every challenge CBS gives them. The depth of experience and understanding the Colourtext team brings to each study demonstrates their value in the audio space. We have a very positive nine year working relationship behind us that has created significant value for CBS and our clients. We remain committed to working with Colourtext in the coming years.

Jon Puleston

Vice President of Innovation, Kantar Profiles, London, UK

It's rare to find a partner with the mix of analytical, technological and creative skills offered by Colourtext. Jason and his team seem to roam around freely in data, find the stories that matter and bring a distinctive aesthetic vision to the presentation of information.