Zoe Hickson - 1033 - Primary Research Results Analysis

1. Name: Zoe Hickson
Candidate Number: 1033
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135
Primary Research Evaluation

2. Evidence of someone filling out my survey
This helps me to understand the
type of demographic I will be
using as my target audience,
meaning I should adapt parts of
my soap opera trailer idea in
order to appeal to this target
audience.

3. Question One: What is your age?
These results connote that the random selection of people I asked to fill in my
survey were mostly between the ages of 15 and 24, but one person out of the
sample size of seventeen was between the ages of 25 and 34. These age ranges
are ideal because they are within the target audience range for my new soap
opera.
94%
6%
What is your age?
15-24 25-34

4. Question Two: Have you ever
been influenced to watch a soap
opera after watching the trailer?
65%
35%
Have you ever been influenced to watch a
soap opera after watching the trailer?
Yes No
These results ‘signify’ (De Saussure) that trailers can have a big influence
on whether people watch the soap opera series or not. Around 65% of
people said that they had been influenced to watch a soap opera because
of the trailer, including EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Coronation Street.

5. Question Three: What themes do
you prefer to watch? (You may
select more than one)
25%
19%
17%
13%
6%
9%
11%
What themes do you prefer to
watch?
Romance Thriller Action
Comedy Gender related issues Pregnancy/birth
Death
From these results, it is clear that the majority of
people who filled in my survey enjoy to watch the
romance theme, as 76% of people clicked on this. The
thriller and action themes are also both popular
amongst the sample, with gender related issues and
pregnancy/birth themes being less popular.

6. Question Four: What do soap
operas lack in your opinion?
These results connote that many soap operas lack issues
relating to younger age groups, as well as any appeal for the
male gender and believable events. Based on these results,
we have decided to set our soap opera in a school, meaning
we can touch upon issues relating to younger people.

7. Question Five: What would
encourage you to watch a new
soap opera?
These results ‘signify’ (De Saussure) that many soap
operas are very similar, often lacking in relatable
characters and issues. Based on this, we have decided
to include issues and characters that would be
relatable for a younger audience.

8. Question Six: What age range do
you think soap operas are usually
aimed at?
There was a variety of responses on this question,
but the majority of people said around 16-40,
which is close to the target audience for our soap
opera trailer, meaning hopefully it will appeal to a
wide range of ages.

9. Question Seven: How would you
expect a female character to be
represented in a soap opera?
The majority of people on this
question said that they would
expect a female character to be
represented as strong and
dominant, but some people two
people said that they could be
represented either way
depending on the situation. Some
people also stated that they
would expect a female character
to be weak and helpless, meaning
that females are often
represented differently in
different soap operas.

10. Question Eight: What type of
settings would you expect to see
in a soap opera? (You may select
more than one)
The highest scoring response
on this question was a bar/pub,
which connotes how many
soap operas are set in a bar. A
school and an alleyway were
the lowest scoring responses,
and from this, we have decided
to set our soap opera trailer
mainly around these locations,
meaning that topics covered
may be more relatable to a
younger audience. These
settings may also appeal to a
younger audience as they
would be used to being around
these environments, perhaps
making the soap opera seem
more realistic and believable
for them.

11. Question Nine: What would you
expect from a soap opera in order
for it to appeal to a male
audience?
Stereotypically, females are more likely to watch soap
operas, so I wanted to find out how a soap opera might
appeal to a male audience. Many responses included
issues relating to males or having a strong male character
alongside the stereotypical strong female character. We
will try to use these responses in order to make our trailer
appeal to both the female and the male gender.

12. Question Ten: Please rate these
potential soap opera names from
1 to 3 (1 being the most suitable
for a new soap opera and 3 being
the least suitable)
‘Park Rise’ had the most
amount of 1’s, so we have
decided to call our soap
opera this. We
brainstormed a list of
potential names for our
soap opera and narrowed it
down to these three, and
the responses connote that
Park Rise is the most
suitable for a new soap
opera. Park Rise is also the
name of a road nearby
where we are shooting our
trailer, meaning we will be
able to get some shots of
the road sign and use it
within our trailer.

13. Conclusion
In conclusion, these results that I obtained from my survey monkey questionnaire have
helped me to incorporate certain things into my soap opera trailer in order to tailor it to
the needs and wants of my target audience. I now have a better idea of what to include
in order to make my trailer appealing for my target audience as well as what themes my
target audience prefer to watch. I also gained an insight into how to make my soap
opera trailer appeal to a male audience as well as a female viewership.