Audience profiling

1. AUDIENCE
PROFILING
RESEARCH
The Force Awakens has an
extraordinarily broad demographic and
target market which eclipses all of the
sub-markets listed below. It’s this
inclusive production that lies behind the
enormity of the films billion dollar
success, and how the production
manage to dance between introducing
new characters for younger audiences,
and retaining original characters with
their original characteristics.

2. YOUNGER
MALE
-Typically aged 7-15 years.
-Very little spending power as it is based
primarily on their parent’s wealth,
therefore they either do not fit onto the
socio-demographic scale- or are
unemployed and lower class; an E.
-Due to the films broad demographic, the
child-viewers could come from almost
any economic background, however in
general it is likely that they and their
parents are middle class. Subsequently
they probably get given a reasonably
large sum of money/products and
therefore maybe lots of StarWars
merchandise. Additionally the more
expensive StarWars brand-toys would
become status symbols even among
children, which definitely fuels the endless
western consumerism.
-Also, the gratifications theory applies
strongly to The Force Awakens audience
members, especially younger members as
the diversion/escapism aspect is very
appealing for children, considering the sci-
fi/fantasy setting. Additionally it is likely
that the other gratifications will be
satisfied due to stereotypically-masculine-
male representation in the film; Finn, Han,
Po; that reflect the audience in the film.
Also the intimacy present within the text
gratifies the personal relationships maxim,
as audience members often feel they can
be emotionally ‘close’ with fictional
characters, empathising with them,
especially if they can draw similarities
between themselves and the character-
personal identity.

3. YOUNGER
FEMALE
-Typically aged slightly younger than their
male counterpart as parents probably
want to expose their daughters to more
strong female heroines from an early age,
in addition to the fact that by the time they
are teenagers, in general, they begin to
conform more to their gender stereotypes
and therefore don’t want to –or be seen
to- watch traditionally male media:
StarWars.
-Also, the gratifications theory applies
strongly to The Force Awakens audience
members, especially younger members as
the diversion/escapism aspect is very
appealing for children, considering the sci-
fi/fantasy setting. Additionally it is likely
that the other gratifications will be
satisfied due to stereotypically-masculine-
male representation in the film; Finn, Han,
Po; that reflect the audience in the film.
Also the intimacy present within the text
gratifies the personal relationships maxim,
as audience members often feel they can
be emotionally ‘close’ with fictional
characters, empathising with them,
especially if they can draw similarities
between themselves and the character-
personal identity.

4. OLDER
MALE
-This demographic is aged roughly 35-45
as they were children around the release
of the original trilogy, starting in 1977.
Therefore, unlike the younger audience,
they have a much longer relationship with
the saga, drawn over several decades,
-Subsequently they already satisfy both
the personal relationships and identity
gratifications and expect a certain in-world
respect to be given to older characters
such as Han or Luke. As an older male,
they have a significant portion of spending
power in relation to The Force Awakens,
especially considering the enormity of the
movies merchandise. This is also due to
their social class, very wide for this
demographic,
-Yet most likely C1 or C2 as the sage is
very popular among the middle and upper
lower class. Subsequently they have a
lifestyle that allows them to spend
significant amounts of money on their
interests, possibly visiting Comic-Con or
other Force Awakens related experiences.
Also the Diversion gratification is
massively satisfied here as many of the
audience members will work mundane
jobs and therefore enjoy the escapism
posed by The Force Awakens and the
StarWars lore.

5. OLDER
FEMALE
-Similar to the older male demographic
the female target is aged approximately
35-45 and was also a young child during
the originals release.
They may have a different relationship
with the franchise compared with their
younger counterpart, however what they
both share is the childlike-wide-eyed-
wonder felt whenever experiencing one of
the films. This is primarily due to how the
film satisfies the diversion gratification so
brilliantly by presenting the audience with
a seemingly huge world of fantasy planets
and creatures.
Additionally the personal relationship and
identity gratification is fulfilled for this
target, as they’re likely very pleased with
the inclusion of a strong female lead who
fights her own battles in The Force
Awakens. Additionally they may have
children and being on the C1 or C2 social
scale, want to expose their children to
more gender equal media. Akin to their
male reflection they also have a weighty
sum of spending power and may also
enjoy visiting StarWars/Scifi conventions.