This document discusses how to define and research a target audience for a media product. It explains that producers must first determine if an audience exists for their idea by conducting questionnaires, focus groups and market research. Demographic and psychographic data can help categorize audiences based on factors like age, gender, interests and lifestyle habits. Stereotypes also play a role in appealing to certain audience segments. The author discusses conducting their own survey and how they will use this research on viewing preferences and technology usage to effectively distribute and market their film to their target demographic.

1. Target Audience
Phebe Seaward

2. Every single media product is
aimed at a specific target audience.
Tertiary Audience
Secondary Audience
Target Audience

3. Constructing an Audience
When a media text is being planned, perhaps the most important question the
producers consider is “Does it have an audience?”. If the answer to this is ‘no’,
then there is no point in going any further. If no one is going to
watch/read/play/buy the text, the producers aren’t going to make any money
or get their message across. They use questionnaires, focus groups, and
comparisons to existing media texts, and spend a great deal of time and
money finding out if there is anyone out there who might be interested in their
idea.

4. Demographics
Studies of a population based on factors such as age, race, gender, economic
status, level of education, income level and employment, among others. Used
by institutions to learn more about a population’s characteristics for many
purposes, including market research.
Demographics can be useful, only if you begin to group categories.
Example: Age, Gender, Occupation

5. NRS Social Grade Classification Scale
Social Grade Social Status Occupation
A Upper Middle Class Higher managerial, administrative
or professional
B Middle Class Intermediate managerial,
administrative or professional
C1 Lower Middle Class Supervisory or clerical, junior
managerial, administrative or
professional
C2 Skilled Working Class Skilled manual workers
D Working Class Semi and unskilled manual
workers
E Those at the lowest level of
subsistence
State pensioners or widows (no
other earner) casual or lowest
grade workers
ISSUES WITH THE NRS
SCALE:
1. Broad categories
2. Divisive
3. Doesn’t take account
of income
4. Some jobs are hard
to categorize (Vicar,
professional
footballers)
5. E- Too broad and out
of date.
6. When this scale was
created there were
far fewer jobs, where
do we place modern
jobs? (e.g. youtube
stars)

6. Psychographics
Mainstreamers SEEK SECURITY. Tend to be domestic, conformist, conventional, sentimental- favour
value for money family brands. Nearly always the largest group.
Aspirers SEEK STATUS. Materialistic, acquisitive, oriented to image and appearance, persona
and fashion. Attractive packaging more important than contents. Typically younger
people, clerical and sales jobs.
Succeeders SEEK CONTROL. Strong goals, confidence, work ethic and organisation. Supports
stability. Brand choice based on self-reward and quality. Typically higher management
and professionals.
Resigned SEEKS SURVIVAL. Rigid and authoritarian values. Interested in the past and
tradition. Brand choice stresses safety, familiarity and economy. Typically older
people.

7. Explorers SEEKS DISCOVERY. Energy, individualism
and experience. Values difference and
adventure. Brand choice highlights
satisfaction, and instant effect. The first to
try new brands. Younger demographic-
students.
Strugglers SEEKS ESCAPE. Alienated and
disorganised. Few resources beyond
physical skills. Brand choice involves impact
and sensation. Buys alcohol, junk
food,lottery tickets. D and E demographic.
Reformers SEEKS ENLIGHTENMENT. Freedom of
restrictions and personal growth. Social
awareness and independent judgement.
Anti-materialistic but aware of good taste.
Has attended higher education and selects
products for quality.
ISSUES OF PSYCHOGRAPHIC
SCALE
1. People might fit more than
one category
2. Still need demographic
information
3. Lots of time and money to
find out information of
people's likes and dislikes

8. DEMOGRAPHIC+PSYCHOGRAPHIC=TARGET AUDIENCE
To be successful, any media must reach the widest possible
audience and to do this that potential audience must be
targeted. Potential audiences should be exposed to the media
product through their normal lifestyle habits: through the
magazines and newspapers they read, websites and social
media they engage with and places they visit. In order to
target a audience in this way it is important to understand the
interests and lifestyle habits of that group of people.

9. Stereotypes
Definition: A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a
particular type of person or thing.
Stereotypes play a large part in the planning for a film, assisting in creating a
piece of media that will automatically appeal to an audience and therefore
should be taken into consideration. Some examples of stereotypes within film
are; young girls are more drawn to fairy tales and boys to films such as ‘Cars’.
Whereas women are drawn to romantic comedies and men to action films.

10. My Survey
I have created a survey in order to discover the viewing habits
of my target audience, this would be helpful when deciding
how to advertise the film, and the best timings for showings.
I have included screenshots of this and results will be
demonstrated in a later blog post.

12. The changing ways in which people access film.
Since the evolution of the internet the way in which audiences access films has
changed dramatically, due to piracy and online sites such as Netflix and Amazon
Prime. This also affects the way in which audiences should be marketed, for
example: YouTube trailers and social media adverts are more effective than ever,
whereas trailers shown through TV are decreasing in effectiveness.
In a recent study carried out by the Independent, it is demonstrated that over
80% of people would now opt to watch films in the comfort of their own home
oppose to the big screen. The majority of this percentage were in the age group
18-30 years, some the reasons given were; cinemas are too expensive, too far
away, too loud and inconvenience.

13. I intend to use technology to my advantage when in the
marketing and distributing process of my film.
A main way in which technology has changed in recent years
is the evolution of the smartphone. Although many people
may see smartphones as a burden to modern day society, I see
it as yet another way to reach my target audience, this opens
the possibility of apps and the ability to constantly be in
contact with your target audience.

14. I will consider what I have discovered in this area of my
research when considering the different methods and
strategies in distributing my film, taking into account age,
gender, psychographics, demographics and preferences of my
target audience as well as, viewing habits. This will allow me
to distribute and advertise my film in the most effective way
possible, reaching the widest target audience.
How this research will effect my
project?