Introduces key concpets of studying audience including four different methods of how to classify an audience that we will use throughout the course.

1. QUESTION: List all the different types of media you
encountered this weekend…

2. To develop an understanding
of what constitutes an
audience.
Learning Objectives
To know and understand key
ways to define an audience.

3. Introduction to audience
List all the different
types of media you
have encountered so
far today…

4. Before you get
to school, from
the moment you
wake up…

5. Introduction to audience
What constitutes an audience?
Discuss with a partner what you think a good
definition of an audience is.

6. The audience as mass
• The media are often experienced by people
alone. (Some critics have talked about media
audiences as atomised – cut off from other
people like separate atoms).
• Wherever they are in the world the audience
for a media text are all receiving exactly the
same thing.
How much of your
Are there ways in which you
media experience
share your experiences of the
occurs when you are
media with other people who
on your own and how
weren’t around when you
much when you are
experienced the text?
with others?

7. The audience as mass
• It’s membership may come from all walks of
life, and from all distinguishable social strata;
it may include people of different class
position, of different vocation, of different
cultural attainment and of different wealth…
• Secondly, the mass is an anonymous group, or
more exactly is composed of anonymous
individuals.
• Third, there exists little interaction or
Herbert Blumer
exchange of experience between members of
1950
the mass. They are usually physically separated
Sociologist
from one another.
Pipe Smoker
• Fourth, the mass is very loosely organised and
is not able to act with the unity of a crowd.
This theory is more than 50 years old. What is still true? What ideas
seem dated? (apart from the pipe smoking)

8. To develop an understanding
of what constitutes an
audience.
Learning Objectives
To know and understand key
ways to define an audience.

9. Defining the audience
Media producers and institutions like to consider
audiences in groups. This is particularly true of
advertisers who have led the way in targeting
groups of consumers.
Why?

10. Defining the Audience
$$$$ ££ $$ ££££££££££ t define a a £££££££££$
W is itimpora $$ ££££££ udience?
hy t nt o n $$
Type of Publication % from advertising % from sales
National Quality Dailies (e.g.
The Telegraph) 75 25
National Popular Dailies (e.g.
The Sun) 46 54
National Quality Sundays
(e.g. Sunday Times) 76 24
National Popular Sundays
(e.g. Mail on Sunday)
53 47
Regional Dailies & Sundays
(Liverpool Echo) 73 27
Regional Paid for weeklies
(e.g. Bootle Times)
85 15
Consumer Magazines
38 62
Proportions of income from Advertising and Sales

11. Your starter for ten…
Think of fifteen questions you
Come on! could ask.
Hurry up!!!
You’ve been given the
job of finding out as
much as you can about
someone’s life and
lifestyle. Without
meeting them.
You can only ask 15
questions to build a
profile of them.

12. 15-20 really quite good questions!

13. Income / Status 1.
One way to classify audiences is by their class, which is normally judged on the
kind of job the main wage-earner of the householder has.
A Upper middle class
Top management, bankers, lawyers, doctors and other professionals
B Middle class
Middle management, teachers, many 'creatives' eg graphic designers
etc
C1 Lower middle class
Office supervisors, junior managers, nurses, specialist clerical staff etc
C2 Skilled working class
Skilled workers, tradespersons (white collar)
D Working class
Semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers (blue collar)
E People at lowest level of income
Unemployed, students, pensioners, casual workers
What are the problems with this model for media producers / other industries?

14. Defining an Audience 2.
At
lhough t pr
he oducer ofmediav a
s iew udiences a a‘ma r t t n asetofindiv l t w loft
s ss’ aher ha iduas, hey il en
The a‘t l a The Big Issue The Daily Politics
ha e Bill ’ udience memberin mind w cr t t t .
v ypica hen eaing he ext
Newsround Emmerdale
Loose Women Smallville
Dad’s Army X-Menha r
In t 198 s, mediat ist ident t of‘subj iv ies’ t tae used bymediapr
he 0 heor s ified ypes ect it oducer t hel
so p
James Bond
define t socia posit oft indiv The Sunday a t enga w h him orher
he l ion he idua a l udience member nd o ge it .
FHM magazine Telegraph
Sex and the City
• gender
Choose a text from the
• age-group • educ ation list above. Define the
‘typical’ audience
• family • religion member of your given Ext.
text using the
• s elf image • politic s subjectivities.
Compare your
audience member
• c las s • loc ation with that of the
• nation person next to you
(geographical and local)
Give them a name
• ethnic ity - Fis ke (1987)
What are their likes
- Hartley (1982) and dislikes?

15. Maslow’s: ‘Hierarchy of Needs’
One humanist
(1943)
psychologist who is
constantly referred to in
the study of
Communication is
Abraham Maslow
He believed that human
Decide
actions and emotional
which
behaviours are governed
needs are
by ‘motivation’.
mos t
This involves fulfilling our bas ic,
needs. whic h are
Maslow believed that you the
have to satisfy basic needs highes t,
before you can be aware of J us tify your
and fulfil higher ones
ans wers and give
examples .

16. Maslow’s: ‘Hierarchy of Needs’
(1943)
S afety Needs
E s teem Needs
Phys iological / S urvival
Needs
S elf
A ctualis ation
Love and
B elonging
S ocial Needs

17. Maslow’s: ‘Hierarchy of Needs’
(1943)

18. KS5 NSD
Maslow’s: ‘Hierarchy of Needs’
(1943)
Where do you
think you are
S elf
pos itioned?
A ctualis ation
E s teem Needs
S ocial Needs
Love and
B elonging
S afety Needs
Phys iological / S urvival
Needs

19. Young and Rubicam 3.
Young and Rubicam are a Complete Y&R’s questionnaire
world leading marketing to find out what motivation is
most important in your life:
company that divided the entire
http://www.4cs.yr.com/uk/
consumer basis of the planet
into seven segments, this is
known as the 4Cs. Discov y
er
St t
aus
Y&R's Cross Cultural
Consumer Characterisation E ight
nl enment
(4Cs for short) is a consumer
segmentation that 'characterises'
Contol
r
people into recognisable Secur y
it
stereotypes that reflect the
operation of each of a set of
Sur iv l
va
well-known human motivations. E pe
sca
Y a R m ba t w hin M sl ’s ‘Hier r ofneeds’.
oung nd ubica se hese it a ow achy

20. Maslow compared with 4Cs
Character Type:
E ight
nl enment The Reformer
Discov y
er The Explorer
S elf
A ctualis ation
Self-esteem
Cont ol
r The Succeeder
E s teem Needs From others
St t
aus The Aspirer
S ocial Needs
Love and Secur y
it The Mainstream
B elonging
S afety Needs E pe
sca The Struggler
Phys iological / S urvival Sur iv l
va The Resigned
Needs

21. Lifestyle categories
Can you group
people according to
their lifestyles?
Make a list of five different ‘types’ of people, based on their
attitudes towards life and the way that they live...
e.g. People who want to make the world a better place.
or
People who want to be accepted by those around them.

22. Lifestyle categories 4.
Cowboys: People who want to make money quickly and easily.
Cynics: People who always have something to complain about
Drifters: People who aren’t at all sure what they want.
Drop-outs: People who do not want to get committed in any way.
Egoists: People who are mainly concerned to get the most for
themselves out of life.
Groupies: People who want to be accepted by those around them
Innovators: People who want to make their mark on the world.
Puritans: People who want to feel they have done their duty
Rebels: People who want the world to fit in with their idea of how it
should be.
Traditionalists: People who want everything to remain the same.
Trendies: People who are desperate to have the admiration of their
peer group.
Utopians: People who want to make the world a better place.

23. Defining the Audience
Summarise all the different ways audiences can
be classified.

24. To develop an understanding
of what constitutes an
audience.
Learning Objectives
To know and understand key
ways to define an audience.