Targeted marketing works because people are different and respond to different products and messages.

That's why every carmaker offers so many different models of cars in so many different colors. Carmakers realized long ago that the best way to get more people to buy cars was to build cars that catered to different tastes and needs. As far back as 1930, Fortune magazine summarized General Motors' lineup as: "Chevrolet [is] for the hoi polloi, Pontiac for the poor but proud, Oldsmobile for the comfortable but discreet, Buick for the striving and Cadillac for the rich."

Today, it may seem odd to take marketing lessons from Detroit, but carmakers' historic ability to segment the market and cater to different values and tastes is one big reason for America's love affair with cars. Cars would not have come to dominate our economy, culture, and national imagination if all carmakers only made black sedans.

Targeted marketing is effective because it is specific and personal. It creates specific programs and materials that directly tap the imagination and values of different types of people. Targeted marketing has been successfully applied to many social issues, such as smoking, recycling, and seat belt use. These successes show that marketing campaigns change people's behavior as well as their perceptions about acceptable behavior. They often pave the way for tighter regulations that further reinforce behavior change.

Just like black sedans, generic, undifferentiated efforts are unlikely to appeal to the majority of landowners and spur them to take action. It is better to create specific programs and materials that speak to the needs and values of different types of landowners.