Personas Exercise

I have been thinking a lot about the target audience for my event. I have my own inklings, but they will be clarified next week when I meet with the Presidio Trust. I'm interested to see what their target audience is as it compares to their actual audience. My guess is that they target a younger audience than they get, but that's just my assumption. Either way, I have developed some examples of personas below:

Davis Peabody - The 18 yr old Indie Kid from Chicago 
Since we live in San Francisco, this shouldn't be too hard to visualize...

Davis is a few years out of school and works a decent job at a coffee shop in the Mission. He lives in an apartment with two roommates and rarely travels outside the city. He doesn't have a TV, and often criticizes those that do. Most of his free time is spent catching up with friends in Dolores Park, or shopping for second hand books. He has very specific tastes that are always changing and very hard to predict. One day he might be obsessed 70's down tempo electronica, the next it's fixed gear bicycles from Mexico. He enjoys doing things that aren't popular, sometimes just for that reason alone, and doesn't discriminate based on quality unless it's extreme. Weekend nights are always spent at the Rickshaw Stop, smoking fair trade cigarettes and listening to his friend's friend the DJ. He is very in touch with the pulse of his community, but has little interest with what is going on outside his bubble. He knew who Vampire Weekend was before you did.

Jackson Graft - The twentysomething professional.

Right out of college and working some big money job downtown, most likely for a bank or a consultancy. Jackson takes advantage of what the city has to offer and explores every opportunity. He lives in the Marina and likes to spend his weekends down on Chrissy Field playing Frisbee or watching the kite surfers go out. He isn't limited by financial restraints, so dinner is usually out, in SOMA, but it wouldn't be unusual to find him at the Slanted Door. He travels a lot and has a large network of friends. Decisions for the weekends plans are often made via email and are subject to change at a moments notice. Last weekend he visited his friend's winery in Napa. He is very accepting of new experiences, but usually only if they have been vetted by an acquaintance. He likes what he likes, but is very aware of how his choices are perceived. If something isn't popular with other people, he will view it suspiciously. That said, he shops at Gap, goes out in the Triangle, and listens to Dave Matthews.







Dolores Marks - A family focused woman from the suburbs

Dolores is always home from work before dinner and spends all of her free time with her family. She works hard, but never too much as to be a detriment to her home life. She hopes one day to send her children to a good college, like hers, and always encourages learning outside the classroom. She is well off and is able to live in a safe and desirable part of the city. On the weekends, she likes to visit museums or galleries, if she's not already playing tennis with her husband. She shops at Whole Foods, maybe Trader Joe's if it's closer, but always makes sure to go organic for the kids.