1. Audience Research
When analysing my results I have been provided with 23 responses from a
range of demographics such as age, gender, lifestyle and spending power. The
most popular gender which answered my questionnaire
was male, however there was an almost even split
between my audiences which represents the wide
range of audience that now enjoy Star Wars. This could
be potentially due to the new main character Rey. The
use of Rey may providean increase in female watchers due to a highly male
population in main charcaters, with only princess Leia
being a main character in previous Star Wars. I could
infer this due to when asking whatpart of the film
appealed to my audience there was a large amount of
replies stating that Reys appearancewas a significant
factor. Furthermorethe age of Rey and Finn also have
provided a reason behind why this would appeal to the
secondary targetaudience. When answering my
questionairrethe audiences prodominant age was
around 15-25, this represents thatthis may be a new
type of audience and providing reasons for the
secondary audienceto watch the new Star Wars. Dueto the fact that Rey and
Finn are around similar ages it can potentially mean that the younger audience
see her as a type of role model, or furthermoremay be able to relate to her
situation. According to the psychographicsand the 4C’s scalethis secondary
audience would be ‘The Explorer’ due to the fact that
they are probably new to the Star Wars scenebecause
they respond to brands that offer new sensations, which
can be relateable to the new character of Rey and Finn.
Whilst the secondary audience are able to relate to the
newer charcaters in Rey and Fin the primary audience are also interested in
Star Wars The ForceAwakens dueto the return of an iconic charcater Han Solo
and the return of an iconic item in the Milleniulm Falcon. Through the use of
the data gathered I can see this due to some of the reasons behind why the
primary audience have returned to watch Star Wars. Thereturn of Han Solo
and the Milleniulm Falcon, which appeared in the very firstStar Wars, means
the primary audience havesomething to relate to similar to the primary
2. audience with Finn and Rey, providing the primary audience with excitement
and anticipation of what the future will hold. Accoriding to the psychographics
and the 4C’s scale the primary audience are ‘The Resgined’, this means that
they are predominantley older with constant, unchanging values built over
time, relating to the fact they get enjoymentout of the seeing iconic
characters.
The return of this iconic relastionship can providethe audience with a feeling
of warmth and relif about the fact that they will be able to see their favourite
characters in a Star Wars movieagain together. Furthermoreduring the trailer
when Han Solo is in association with the new characters Rey
and Fin it enables both primary and secondary audiences to
have something to relate to for both representing different
angels of the characters personallity and role in the film.
Also the use of the new characters Finn and Rey were further reasons in which
why the trailer appeals to the audience. I am able to infer this because the
when asking what characters areyou able to relate to there was an high
amount of votes for Finn and Rey. The fact that Rey and Finn were relatable to
the target audience through the trailer it means that it provides further and
extra excitement and anticipation for the audience.
The primary and secondary targetaudiences will have
different levels and ways of using their spending
power. Although when conducting my survey, when
asking how often the audience would go to the
cinema, many decided they would go very often. For
example 39% of responses said theyd go once every fortnight and 30% would
go once every week. This represents the fact that the potenial audiences of
Star Wars areregullar film watchers and are willing to
spend money on the films release showing that some
of their spending power is used
in watching films. This can
further be supported because when asking if the
audience would buy Star Wars merchandise, 78% of
people answered yes they would. Potentially thi could be becauseStar Wars
have expanded their range of merchandisethrough the new charcaters of Rey
and Finn, also with the return of Han Solo reuniting the character with the
primary older audience. The spending power of the audience was futher
explauned when asking how much would they spend on merchandisefor Star
3. Wars. With 35% of people answering that they would
spend around £10-£50 on merchandise, representing
that the audience would havea large spending power
meaning they are able to promote their products
higher priced and to a wider audience. The fact that the audience would spend
money on merchandise for the film represents the fact that they haveenjoyed
the film and will most likely watch the new one.
In conclusion I havefound that Star Wars is a very popular film with a highly
engaged fan base. As this fans base is highly engaged then they return to
watch the next franchiseof Star Wars which will increase the engagement film
after film. Furthermorethe fact that the high proportion of viewers are15-25
means that they are more likely to re-watch and watch the new films on
release dates as they are more likely to have moretime to watch it than the
primary audience.
• What aspects of the film would appeal to the target audience?
Through my reaserch I belive that one aspectof the film that would appeal to
the target audience is the scenes including iconic characters Han Solo and
Chewbacca. Within the film a scene of Han Solo and Chewbacca is when they
are coming into battle with Han Solo’s son Kylo Ren this is a representitiveof
the iconic freindship between them as they are fighting together. Another
scene in which you are ble to see the friendship is when they visitMaz’s club to
go back and see old friends until they are attacked by Storm Troopers, once
again reuniting old scenes as in previous Star Wars.
• Which aspects of the trailer would influence the target audience?
During my questionairrewhen asking what partof the trailer increased the
interest in the full film and would intise them to watch it, many answers were
through the useof iconic characters such as Han Solo meaning the
relastionship such as Han Solo and Chewbacca. Oneexample of when you are
able to see Han Solo and Chewbacca in the trailer is when Han Solo says
‘Chewy we’rehome’ this reminds the audience of their relastionship and
shows thefact that they wil be returning. Then after this weare able to see
them both with Han Solo talking over the top of it to representthem both.
