The Me, Myself & Identity Project

Introduced in Fall 2023, Smarty Pants’ Me, Myself & Identity Project aims to provide marketers with a deeper understanding of how people truly see themselves. The project will introduce authentic frameworks for the creation of consumer cohorts to guide product and content development and marketing decisions.  

The multi-phase and mixed-method inquiry launched in the U.S. with an online study of 1,300 people who answered one open-ended question: “Who are you, as a person?” Participants – ranging from 6 to 80 years old and representative of U.S. region, race and ethnicity, gender, income, education and household composition – provided more than 26,000 words to this “simple” query. Each response was analyzed and hand-coded by a multidisciplinary team of Smarty Pants research professionals.

Me, Myself & Identity results expose fascinating new truths about identity and provide rich insight into psychographic, demographic, economic and lifestyle dimensions of self. Early findings reveal 12 core dimensions of identity - which vary most dramatically by lifestage. The study also debunks many mainstream myths related to identity and points to new frameworks for segmentation and targeting.  

To register to receive updates about findings and events related to Smarty Pants’ Me, Myself & Identity Project, please submit the following form.