3. Why We Group Audiences
In media we might group or classify audiences in this manner because it allows us to
discern what group of people a product should be aimed at. For instance, viewers of “The
X Factor” are more likely to be attracted to a talent show than viewers of “Antiques
Roadshow”. A TV show about the unemployed would be more likely to be a hit with
audiences in the Grade E where there is the largest concentration of this group of people.
4. How Audience Research is Used in Relation to New
Media Products
There are many ways of researching audiences including: BARB, focus
groups, questionnaires and ratings).
Audience research is used in relation to new media products to establish what time a
product should be shown and which channel it should be shown on. For example, a new
children’s show would be shown before the watershed and would be shown on children’s
channel e.g. CBBC. This also tells TV producers what their target audience is before they
have invested money in the programme. It would also tell advertisers which programmes
to attach adverts to and when their target audience will be watching TV.
5. My Target Audience (1)
Our would be most popular with Grades C2 –B because that is the aesthetic we aimed it
at. From studying the times of popular shows, I would show my advert from 6:00pm –
8:00pm on Channel 4. This is the time my target audience would be watching TV and the
channel they are most likely watching it on. I would show this advert before and during
The Simpsons and Hollyoaks because these programmes are very popular and have a
wide following among the chosen grades.
6. Rules and Regulations
If this programme is shown before the watershed (21:00), it must not have any allusions
to or depictions of graphic violence or sex scenes or any allusion to or depiction of the
consumption and/or sale of illegal drugs. Offensive language also has to be omitted. The
content cannot also contain footage that could be considered frightening to children. This
includes violence against children and animals. It must follow OFCOM’s code of practice
and be submitted to them prior to broadcast to a mainstream audience.
7. My Target Audience (2)
This is my depiction of my target audience.
His hair is
black because
my target is in
his 20s – 30s
and so his hair
is not grey yet.He is male
because my
product is mainly
aimed at a male
audience.
I chose his clothes based
on the fact that people in
grades C2-B spend most of
their time in uniform and
so would spend their
downtime in casual
clothes. Unlike people in
class A, it is not custom to
dress smartly, so his
clothes are not suits or
anything that would be too
expensive.
The headphones
represent his
affinity with
technology and
his integration
with the Internet
and the media
industries. This
shows that he is a
consumer that is
ripe to be sold our
product.
His beer bottle is to show
that he is mature and is
more experienced. This is to
perpetuate the notion that
our product is for adults.
8. How My Product is Aimed at My Target Audience
Content: To make the content appealing to my target audience I had a young cast to make look
like it was cool and fresh. We also used the song “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons because it
was popular at the time and portrayed the right image as well as the lyrics tying in to our prison
aesthetic.
Genre: To appeal to my target audience , I made the advert into an action advert. To do this, I
set it in a prison and made the focus of the action a prison break. I also included several other
hallmarks of the action genre including: a scene in which a guard is killed, a scene in which the
protagonist picks up trademark clothing that is worn throughout the rest of the advert and a
scene in which the protagonist uses a tool to perform an otherwise impossible feat; in this case
using chewing gum to jump an extremely high fence.
Language: I didn’t use any language because I wanted it to be understandable for everyone in
my intended demographic and because the song was the perfect soundtrack and wouldn’t have
worked if there was dialogue played over it.
Narrative: Because it is an advert the narrative was created solely to be a frame to necessitate
the use of my gum. The story is set in a prison and revolves around a prison break. This was
done to mirror normal life with the prison representing our boring, uninteresting lives and the
gum as the method of escape. I chose a prison because I thought that an underdog story would
fit with my audience, as most of them are oppressed and want to break out of the routine.
Graphics/Fonts/Colours: I used the font I did because it was easy to read and because it
looked cool. I used the colour scheme because the blacks and greens conjured up images of the
abyss and because green is the colour of mint (the flavour of my chewing gum). Black is also a
mysterious colour and is considered to be a dangerous and cool colour that evokes danger
which fit with our advert and the overall aesthetic we were trying to achieve.
