Our AS media presentation about target audiences in the film industry.

1. Joey Carabini, Charlie Smith, Tom Glasgow,
Simeron Singh

2. 
 A target audience is the specific group at which a product is aimed.
The company trying to sell the product will attempt to achieve this in
many ways, such as using particular marketing techniques which will
appeal to their target audience.
 In the film industry, the target audience is the specific group of people
who the film producers think will want to see the film.
 Film producers will research the viewing figures, sales figures, profits,
etc. of existing films when deciding on the genres, themes, actors, and
so on for their film.
What is a target audience?

3.  The marketing is highly dependent on the nature of the film’s production, e.g.
niche or mass market film? Independent or mainstream?
 A niche market film will target a smaller, more specific target audience and this
means that marketing techniques and placement is vital.
 A mass market film will target a broader audience and so marketing must be
done on a larger scale to make to consumers aware.
 Independently produced films tend to have much smaller budget than a
mainstream film and, therefore, cannot afford large scale marketing. This is
why many independent films are targeted at a more niche market. For this
reason, many independent producers market their films at film festivals and
rely on word of mouth to promote the film. An example of this happening
successfully is Paranormal Activity, which was produced on a budget of
$15,000 and generated over $200m after promoting at a free film festival.
 Mainstream films are usually provided with a large budget by a conglomerate
such as Walt Disney or Paramount Pictures. This funding allows for large scale
advertising to reach a mass audience.
Marketing for a target audience

4. 
 Different sub-genres of horror will appeal to different audiences but the
majority of horror films are targeted towards a niche audience.
 The target audience for a slasher/killer film is people who want a fast-
paced action horror.
 Paranormal films target an audience of people who are intrigued and
scared by unexplained happenings.
 The target audience for monster and zombie films are people with a belief
that such a scenario is possible. Zombie films have become more common
in modern cinema due to an evident increase in demand. Producers have
spotted this trend due to research and begun marketing zombie films to a
more mass market.
 Psychological horrors are perhaps the most niche horror films as they
appeal to a very specific audience.
 Most gore and disturbing horror films must have a wider target audience
because they require a large budget to produce due to special effects and
so on. This means they must be marketed on a large scale to accommodate
a vast target audience. An example of this is the popular Saw films.
Target audiences in the horror genre