Section 4 - Profiles of the Target Audience/Segments

In addition to mapping out the broader debate around NGOs, we also needed to build an in-depth profile of the relevant attitudes of our specific target audience. Starting from the segmentation of the population based on a broad range of attitudes surveyed by More in Common over the last 5 years1 , and as this is an immunisation project, we chose to focus on two segments of the population at the ‘hard end’ of the middle who are susceptible to conspiracy thinking, i.e. The Detached (16%) and The Disillusioned (14%).
 

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Figure 6: The Movable Middle in Germany & our target segments (Adapted from More in Common 20192 )
 

While many of the previous surveys done on these segments provide useful a foundation into their attitudes to migration, demographics and general levels of institutional trust, belonging and agency, we needed to add to the following further insights to build functional profiles for this project:

  • Attitudes and levels of trust towards NGOs
  • Attitudes on the Great Replacement and the Pathway narratives on NGOs
  • Levels of conspiracy mentality

 
And so through 2 national surveys in 2023 and 2024 and 4 focus groups in 2023, we put together in-depth profiles of the 2 segments under the following headings:

Attitudes to Great Replacement & pathway narratives on NGOs

Openness to Great Replacement based on attitudes to migration & Muslims

Anxieties on Belonging & Control

 Demographics
Attitudes on NGOs Conspiracy mindedness

Trust in Democracy & Institutions

  

Figure 7: Main elements of segment descriptions
 


The following table provides a short overview of the segments:

The Detached/
Die Abgehängten 

 Disillusioned/
Die Desillusionierten
Summary:
  • conspiracy talkers, 
  • split on many issues, 
  • unsure about NGOs, 
  • see themselves as migration losers, 
  • resist participation/rules, 
  • younger, self-reliant. 
 Summary:
  • corruption-conspiracy thinkers, 
  • anti-migration, 
  • NGO-sceptical, 
  • democracy = welfare state, 
  • angry, lost, poor, 
  • older 

Qualitative Description:
At the core, the Detached believe in a kind of “bootstraps”, economic liberalism, where success and happiness come from independent self-reliance, with low level state intervention. But, they are not nearly libertarians and still expect the state to be there to provide services and security. Nevertheless, their focus is still firmly on how the state can support them as individuals, more than a broader societal view of its role….

 
See full description of the Detached

Qualitative Description:
The most striking thing about meeting this segment in focus groups is their mood – somewhere between lost and angry. They are the segment at the lowest economic and social status level in Germany and have been further hit economically by covid and inflation. The older ones talk nostalgically of times past (“The best days of Germany are behind us”) and lost security (mostly economic) and the younger ones talk of promises undelivered (“I had to put away 90% of my dreams”)….


See full description of the Disillusioned

Figure 8: Segment Summary Descriptions


 
The linked full descriptions we developed comprise a 2-page overview of their attitudes under the headings listed above and also a 1-page qualitative description of the segments.

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Figure 9: Illustration of the Detailed profiles of each segment 


 

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