Target audience analysis task

1. Soap Opera Genre –
Target Audience
Name: Shaune Hazlehurst
Candidate Number: 3065
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135
OCR Media Studies – A2 Level
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

2. Stereotypical Target Audience
YOU MUST fill this slide (or a following slide) with a detailed overview of WHO the stereotypical target
audience is going to be for a Soap Opera according to the following theories:
• Hartley’s 7 Subjectivities - Age? Gender? Ethnicity?
• Socio-Economic Needs – A B C1 C2 D or E? WHY?
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – ‘Survivors’? ‘Caregivers’?
• Psychographics - What lifestyle choices do the viewers usually follow? RESEARCH and APPLY
• Katz’ Uses & Graticiations theory - ‘Personal Identification’, ‘Surveillance’, ‘Diversion’?
You need to support your opinions (x1 box per. Theory) with evidence from a range
(x2-3 Soap Opera Trailers/sequences) of examples – Screen shots!
Further research:
• Look at other secondary sources to establish WHO the target audience are
• Scheduling of Soaps during prime time hours (7pm – 11pm) WHY? WHAT does this say about the
needs of the viewer?

3. Hartley’s 7 Subjectivities
In accordance with Hartley’s 7 Subjectivities, the target age of the demographic who watch Soap Opera’s would be 16+,
of both genders and all ethnicities. This is due to the fact that in the most popular Soap Opera’s there is no preferable
gender or ethnicity in the characters as they all come from different backgrounds, primarily working class backgrounds.
Also the most relevant character story arc’s are of characters who are believed to be 16 years of age or older.
Furthermore Soap Opera’s tend to to have an older audience of 16+ as they address issues which may not be suitable or
relevant to a younger audience.
Socio-Economic Needs
With respect to the socio-economic needs, the target demographic who watch Soap Operas would be from the socio-
economic groups; C1, C2 D and E. These groups denote people from the middle class and lower down to unemployed.
People of these lower classes are stereotypically visualised to not be that financially stable and so they consume the
Soap Opera in attempt to ‘personally Identify’ (Katz) with the media text. This is represented in most Soap Opera’s as the
highest status characters are those that own small firms and offices, down to the lowest status characters that go to
school. Through this link people from these socio-economic groups will be attracted to watching Soap Opera’s.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
After considering trailer’s for different Soap Opera’s I can see how the audience will primarily represent themselves as
‘Caregivers’ (Maslow). This is due to the fact that characters within the Soap Opera’s will go through many trials and
tribulations, this will allow the audience to feel sympathy towards these characters and find themselves already having
experienced those situations in real life. The portrayal of characters within Soap Opera’s are very realistic to a certain
degree which engages the audience and makes situations relatable to the audiences lives. Some members of the
audience may feel best represented as a ‘Survivor’ as Soaps are a long form drama, which the audience can get
emotionally attached to the plot and the characters within them allowing the media text to become a part of their media
consumption routine. The plots however change and other plots naturally begin to take the spotlight over others which
keeps the audience guessing over what will happen in the next episode, keeping them emotionally invested in the Soap.

4. Psychographics
The consumers of this text would most likely to be in some form of education, in the world of work or retired as an elderly citizen. Through watching the program,
they may feel pressured to live up to the standard’s of the character’s lives within the Soap. For example violence within the Soap may conjure violent emotions
within some emotionally unstable members of the audience towards other people. Alternatively it may cause the audience to have a positive outlook on life when
a character has had a streak of luck or are in a good place emotionally. Due to the nature of some event’s in the series the Soaps are scheduled late in the evening
so younger audiences are not influenced to do bad things. The consumer of this text would most likely be a struggler, this is due to most of the characters within
Katz’ Uses & Gratifications Theory:
The audience may look at a Soap Opera as a ‘Diversion’ as a way to relax and enjoy themselves at home. However some
members of the audience who relate to the lives of the characters may not be able to find a diversion as it is not an
escape from everyday life. Those who cannot relate will be more likely to see it as a diversion as the Soap is less
relatable to them so it has no relation to their daily lives.
The audience may also ‘personally identify’ with some characters as some characters are in the same situations as the
audience who are watching the Soap and so they will relate to their feelings and issues that some characters go
through.