Worldview Toolkit
Exploring Irish attitudes to overseas development aid
Empathisers
Empathisers are more likely to be female, with a Centrist political outlook. These individuals are more rural than average, with higher representation among family stage cohorts. This segment also skews slightly towards the blue collar working C2DE socio-economic group.
Socio Cultural Profile
Empathetisers view their individual identity in equal part as citizens of their own country, as well as their local community. Personally quite worried about the economy and job security, these individuals are quite strong proponents of a tax less, spend less regime. Less likely than average to view Ireland’s move to a multi-cultural society as a positive shift, Empathetisers are a little more likely than others to profess concern around education, healthcare, etc. in developing countries.
Overseas Aid Profile
While generally concerned about poverty in developing countries, Empathetisers are more likely to be motivated to help such countries due to a sense of empathy, charity and sympathy, as well as a belief that such countries are entitled to help as a basic human right. With regard to the perceived root causes of poverty in these countries, Empathetisers are more inclined to identify factors which are arguably difficult to address – such as war and conflict, high prevalence of disease, and insufficient spend on services by local Governments.
How do we reach them?
Representing the youngest segment of all, it is not surprising that Empathetisers are firm believers in the efficacy of social media in bringing about social change, and also informing them in relation to news and information. This is not to under-estimate the amount of TV these individuals consume – most likely dominated by VOD and catch-up platforms.
A typical Empathiser profile: Meet Michelle
This indepth look at a typical Empathiser, Michelle, was developed by Alice PR based on the Worldview Wave 4 Empathiser data for a workshop aimed at understanding how we target the Empathiser in our work. The workshop looked at what tactics could be used to reach the segment, what resonates with them, how do they get their news and information and brainstormed bespoke and creative ways to engage them in our work.
Meet Michelle, a Typical ‘Empathiser’…
Michelle lives in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, and is a busy mum of three. She is married to John, and they are both from the local area originally.
Their eldest daughter started secondary school this year; their other daughter is nine; and their youngest – a boy – is seven.
The family lives in a housing estate on the outskirts of Clonmel.
Before having children, Michelle worked fulltime as a primary-school teacher. She took a career break when her kids were younger but, now that they’re all in school themselves, she has started doing some substitute teaching, working approximately two days per week, on average.
On the days when she’s not working, Michelle picks the two younger kids up from school and brings them to a local playground. While they run around, she chats with the other parents (mostly mothers!).
At weekends, she and John have a hectic schedule, driving all three children around to various sports activities. The whole family are heavily involved in their local GAA Club and they all take part in the Club’s annual ‘Fun Run’ fundraiser. They are also ardent supporters of the Tipp hurling and football teams, and travel to watch the teams play whenever they can.
Both Michelle’s and John’s parents are elderly, and live locally. Michelle spends a considerable amount of time each week checking on them and running errands for them. Once a month, she attends her Book Club, which is comprised of women of a similar age and profile to Michelle herself.
Michelle and John go out together a couple of times each month – to their local pub or a restaurant in Clonmel. She also goes for a weekly walk with her two best friends.
The family buy their local newspaper, The Nationalist, every week because the kids often feature in photographs and reports of local sporting events. Michelle can’t remember when she last bought a national paper. When she’s driving, she has the radio on in the background, flicking between Newstalk, RTÉ Radio One and Today FM. In her parents’ house and John’s parents’ house, the radios are always on, and usually tuned to Tipp FM.
Michelle is on Facebook and uses the platform to keep in touch with her brother and his family, who live in Australia. She is on Instagram too, but posts very little herself. She follows lots of celebrities, fashion brands, and people who share parenting advice. She wants to do up her kitchen, so is also following lots of interiors-focused accounts.
When they were in their early 20s, Michelle and John spent a year working in Australia. On their way back to Ireland, they travelled for a couple of months, visiting countries across South-East Asia. She would love to do more ‘exciting’ international travel but, for now, they usually choose family-friendly holidays in Portugal or Spain.
Michelle sometimes donates to international development charities, particularly in response to catastrophic events, such as earthquakes or floods. Most recently, she donated €50 to help children in Gaza. She feels she has no time to get more involved in international development or other volunteering activities, and – while relatively comfortable – she does not have a lot of money to donate to charitable organisations.