Advice for audience research on the G321 AS Media spec

1. Key Concepts - Audience
L.O learn concepts and
terminology connected with
Media Audiences
Starter: How can applying the theories of audience to our surveys benefit our results
on this A2 course?
Synthesize the theories into a survey to find
out more about how to categorize your
audience.
Learn about different
audience reception
models

2. The concept of audience
The measure of audience is something that
happens in two ways:
Quantitative – how many of what kind of people
consume what media products?
Qualitative – what kinds of people, in terms of
lifestyle, desires and outlook on life, use what
media products for what.

3. Basic demographics - The traditional
segmentation model
This is a standard quantitative measure of audience. It comes from advertising,
because it works on the basis of how much disposal income each group has got –
no point advertising Gucci watches and Prada handbags during a programme
watched by grade D or E people

4. How do quantitative measures work?
So you know the sex, age, status and income of the possible
target audience for your media product – how do you know they
will consume it?
This kind of audience measure comes from a traditional theory
about audience and media – the hypodermic needle model:
Audiences are passive
Easily led, influenced & manipulated
Gullible, sheep-like fashion-followers
Media consumption influences
the attitudes and behaviour of
audiences
Linked to a theory of psychology called
behaviourism
Which types of media
texts might show this
model in action?

5. The Uses & Gratifications Model
Audiences are active in
choosing media for their own
‘gratifications’ (pleasure)
Main reasons for using media:
Personal Identity – to define who we are
(sometimes called self-surveillance)
Information
Entertainment – includes escape, distraction
Social Interaction – to help us socialise with
like-minded people
What about qualitative measures?
Since the 1990s, but especially in the age of Netflix and YouTube,
media producers have recognised that audiences do not
passively consume media texts according to their intended
meaning; the actively seek them out and make what meaning of
them the will, according to their own needs. One example of a
way of modelling this is:

6. Working with Uses and Gratifications
Read the document, which provides a full walk-
through of the theory applied to television.
Using the different aspects, as applied to
different forms of television, write a list of all the
uses and gratifications associated with:
• Watching films at the cinema
• Watching a streaming service such as Netflix
The next model goes even further into the lifestyle and behaviours
of consumers (all consumers, not just media consumers) in order to
try and predict what uses they will make of media texts.

7. (Young & Rubicam’s 4Cs model) cross cultural consumer characterization model

8. Making sense of it. . .
Complete the worksheet – see if you can predict
which one of Young and Rubicam’s 7 consumer
types would go for which mode of transport.
It is the explanation of why a survey about
someone’s film choices might ask them what
supermarket they go to and what their favourite
newspaper is. . . Why?
The final model delves into the psychology of media
consumption. See if you can predict where it links to
the previous two active audience models.

9. MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
Information
Social
Integration
Personal
Identity
Entertainment

10. 10
Maslow compared with Young and Rubicam

11. Applying to textual research
You would find it useful to go back to the textual
research and, for selected poster and opening
scene analyses, explain how you could apply one
or two audience models.
This way, when you have to make choices for
your thriller, based on your audience research,
you will already have an idea of how to make
the link between audience and content.
Practice in groups by applying at least two linked
models to the poster you have been given.