Mosaic (geodemography)

Mosaic UK is Experian’s system for classification of UK households. It is one of a number of commercially available geodemographic segmentation systems, applying the principles of geodemography to consumer household and individual data collated from a number of governmental and commercial sources. The statistical development of the system was led by Professor Richard Webber in association with Experian in the 1980s and it has gone through a number of refreshes and reclassifications since then, each based on more recent data from national censuses and numerous other sources. Since its initial development in the UK, the Mosaic brand name has also been used to market separate products which classify other national consumers, now including most of Western Europe, USA, the Far East and Australia.

The initial UK version was based at the postcode level, which would cover an average of 20 properties with the same code. More recent versions have been developed at the individual household level and offer more accurate classification based on specific characteristics of each household. The current version, Mosaic UK 2009, classifies the UK population into 15 main socio-economic groups and, within this, 67 different types.

Professor Webber also developed the competing ACORN system with CACI. Both Mosaic and ACORN have found application outside their original purpose of direct marketing, including governmental estimates and forecasts and it is regularly employed by life insurance companies and pension funds in the UK to assess longevity for pricing and reserving.^[1]

Classification Groups and Types

• Source - Mosaic Geodemographics Summary

Mosaic classifies Britain into 11 Main Groups and 61 distinct types. detailed description

Group	Distinct types[2]; for descriptions and full info see here[3]	Percentage of UK Households	Typical names	Social Groups	Description	Media
Symbols of Success (A)	A01 Global Connections A02 Cultural Leadership A03 Corporate Chieftains A04 Golden Empty Nesters A05 Provincial Privilege A06 High Technologists A07 Semi-Rural Seclusion	9.62%	Rupert and Felicity	Upper Middle and Middle Middle class	This group represents the wealthiest 10% of people in Britain, set in their careers and with substantial equity and net worth. These people tend to be white British but with some Jewish, Indian and Chinese Minorities. Tends to contain older people advanced in their careers.	Internet, some TV
Happy Families	B08 Just Moving In B09 Fledgling Nurseries B10 Upscale New Owners B11 Families Making Good Middle Rung Families	10.76%	Darren and Joanne	Lower middle class and Middle middle class	Families from Middle England, focussed on children, home and career. tends to be in new suburbs in more prosperous areas of the UK, Mostly white with few minorities	Sky TV and internet
Suburban Comfort	C20 Asian Enterprise	15.10 %	Geoffrey and Valerie	Lower Middle Class	People in comfortable homes in mature suburbs built between 1918 & 1970, moderate incomes. Includes Middle class Asian Enterprise	Internet, Daily Mail
Ties of Community	D25 Town Centre Refuge	16.04 %	Lee and Norreen	Lower middle class and Skilled working class	People focussed on local communities, families concentrated near Industrial areas, Includes lower income Asians	The Mirror, The Sun
Urban Intelligence		7.19 %	Ben and Chloe	Mixture of Middle classes	Young educated people in urban areas starting out in life, Includes significant minority presence and students	The Guardian, The Times, and internet
Welfare Borderline		6.43 %	Joseph and Agnes	Working class and Poor	Poorest people in the UK, Urban with significant ethnic minority presence	The Sun, and high TV viewing
Municipal Dependency		6.71%	Wayne and Leanne	Working class and Poor	Poor people in council houses and dependent on benefits, Mostly white British with few immigrants	The Sun, and high TV viewing
Blue Collar Enterprise		11.01%	Dean and Mandy	Skilled Working Class	Enterprising rather than well educated, includes White Van Man, Few Ethnic minorities	The Sun, and high TV viewing
Twilight Subsistence		3.88 %	Percy and Ada	Working class pensioners	Poorer pensioners in council houses, few ethnic minorities	The Sun, and high TV viewing
Grey Perspectives		7.88%	Edgar and Constance	Middle Class pensioners	Pensioners in comfortable retirement and traditional values	Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail
Rural Isolation (K)	...last one is K61 Upland Hill Farmers	5.39%	Huw and Gwenda	Mixed	Rural People with relatively low incomes but high non liquid assets, traditional values, very few ethnic minorities	Internet, Radio 4

References

1. ^ Richards, S. J. Applying survival models to pensioner mortality data, British Actuarial Journal
2. ^ http://www.nomadplus.org.uk/mapsxml_new.asp?map=MOSAIC&id=9
3. ^ http://www.nomadplus.org.uk/newreportsxml.asp?report=Community%20and%20Living&sub=Mosaic

External links

• Guardian article referencing Mosaic
• http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1227910,00.html
• http://technology.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,,1428612,00.html
• http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/buying_and_selling/article1390447.ece
• http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=181549
• http://education.guardian.co.uk/primaryeducation/story/0,,1719385,00.html
• http://www.channel4.com/news/microsites/E/election2005_features/new_feature.html
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/uk_politics/vote_2005/frontpage/4485507.stm
• http://society.guardian.co.uk/e-public/story/0,13927,1420204,00.html