• February 18, 2009

Consumers who are willing to spring for a daily fix of coffeehouse java may crave the experience of novelty as much as the caffeine, according to a profile developed by Mindset Media through studies conducted using Nielsen's online panel.

Mindset, an Internet ad-technology and market research company, uses a proprietary psychographic standard and research products to help online advertisers and media target prospects by tying personality profiles to consumption of specific products and brands.

Consumers who drink premium coffee every day at a coffeehouse such as Starbucks or Caribou turn out to be 114% more likely than the general population to be "highly open"--defined as seeking "rich, varied and novel experiences" and "believing that imagination and intellectual curiosity contribute to a life well-lived."

Given the coffeehouse chains' emphasis on continually offering new drink, food and music selections, it makes sense that their most diehard customers would thrive on the novel, notes Mindset spokesperson Lauren Hudson.

Premium coffee drinkers are also 70% more likely than consumers at large to score at the highest level on leadership--meaning that they have "ideas and vision," and their style with others is "both inclusive and decisive."

At the same time, these coffee drinkers are 55% more likely than other consumers to rank at the highest psychographic "superiority" level. That is, they are unusually likely to think of themselves as "extraordinary people," and prefer to direct others rather than being directed.

Finally, the premium coffee bunch is 48% more likely to be at the highest creativity level, defined as being "inventive, imaginative, emotionally sensitive and intellectually curious."--Karlene Lukovitz