What is an audience?
An audience can be an individual or collective group of people who red or consume media text. Examples of these can include
Why are audiences important?
Without the audience there will ben no profit so no media will be created. Media is very competitive so it will attract more audiences and be more profitable.
Impact of new technology of audiences
More traditional media platforms like TV, print and radio used to have high audience numbers but due to new digital technologies has led to fragmented audiences and now traditional media platforms are becoming out-dated and are working harder to maintain audience numbers.
Types of audience
There are two main groups of audience, mass and niche. A mass audience is those who consume mainstream or popular media such as pop TV-X factor Coronation Street and print-the daily mail. A niche audience is much smaller but very influential audience with a unique interest. Because of the small consumer base, the prices of niche media tend to be more expensive than media consumed by the mass.
Audience segmentation
Audiences can be divided into segments or categories based on demographic and psychographic profiling. Media produces rely on audience segmentation to have an idea of who they’re typical readers or viewers are. They gather information on their audience by using a range of audience research methods. Many media producers get funding via advertising revenue. Their product needs to appeal to a specific type of audience so that advertisers will pay to promote their product.
Democratic & Physiographic profiling
Most media products can define their audience members, often with a demographic and psychographic profile.
Demographic profile: A description of the target audience can be grouped into 5 main groups; age groups, gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status and geographical location.
Demographics;
The socio-economic status of a person can be described using the JICNARS scale:
A-Upper middle class, successful business or professional, or considerable private means
B-Middle class, quite well off but not at the top of there business or profession
C1-‘White Collar’, lower middle class. Small tradespeople, administrative, supervisory, clerical jobs.
C2-‘Blue collar”, skilled working class.
D-semiskilled or unskilled manual workers
E-Casual workers or those dependent on social security schemes. (Also students)
Psychographics
Psychographics is classifying people in groups according to their lifestyle, this could include there values, beliefs, opinions and interests. Market research firms and advertising agencies are constantly devising new categories for lifestyle because there is no one standardised lifestyle segmentation model. One example of the lifestyle classification model is the Young & Rubican, which are called ‘Cross Cultural Consumer Characterisation’ or 4C’s for short.
The 4C’s categorise people in terms of there personal aspirations;
Mainstreamers-These is the largest group. They are concerned with stability and security, mainly buying well-recognised brands and consuming mainstream texts.
Aspirers-Aspirers are seeking to improve themselves. They tend to define themselves by the high status brand names, which they own and consume, absorbing ideologies of the products as there own and believing that there status is established by this conspicuous consumption.
Succeeders-These are people who feel secure and in control-generally, they are in positions of power, although they may not be. They buy brands, which reinforce their feelings of control and power.
Reformers-These people are idealist who actively consume eco-friendly products and buy brands, which are environmentally supportive and healthy. They buy products, which establish this ‘caring and responsible’ ideology.
The individual-The individual is an addition to these four basic groups-The individual is highly media-literate, expects high-production advertising and buys product image, not product, requiring high-profile, sophisticated.
The Selby & Cowdery (1995)
Trendies-Those who crave the attention of there peers and follow trends in fashion, technology etc.
Innovators-Those who whish to make there mark and aspire to being successful.
Rebels-Those who are non-conformists, unconventional and don’t want to follow rules.
Drop-outs- Those who shun responsibility
Traditionalists-Those who want things to stay as they are, don’t embrace change easily and avoid adopting new ideas.
Utopians-Those who want the world to be a better place.
Cowboys- Those who want to earn easy money.
Virgin trains advert demographic profile;
Advert 1-Female, British, young (20’s), C1-E on the JICNRS scale.
- The age group for this advert is 18-30yo because of; texting, love, boyfriend, make up, fashion, heart on window, says ‘snog on a sofa’ at the train station which is something a young person would say, the music is young, cant be younger than 18 because it features alcohol.
- The gender is definitely female because of; the colours (pink), heart, flirtation with the men, make up, fashion, the music is very romantic girly music, a romantic narrative, heart tunnel, it features a female main character and a female attendant to reassure women that women work on the train too and its safe for them to travel alone.
- The geographical location is England because; its spoken in English, its set in England, the song is English, the company is English, the green fields are English, it featured Manchester city in the advert, it had a sign for Stoke-on-Trent which was changed to ‘snog-on-sofa’.
- The socio-economic status is E because the main character is a student based on her clothing and age. The adverts socio-economic status can go up to C1 because any higher and they would get first class or other forms of transport.
Advert 2-Male, British, middle aged, B-C1 on the JICNRS scale.
- The age group for this advert is 30-50 because of The age of the main character (about 32) the age of the other people (ranging from 30-50), his job is a businessman so the age of that would be 30+, the music isn’t young and modern, the main character is using modern technology, he has brown source which young people don’t tend to have.
- The gender is definitely male, this is because; the main character is male, the other characters are male, it’s about a businessman, which is a male dominated businessman, the music is confident and empowering and very male.
- The socio-economic status is C1 but could possibly be B on the JICNARS scale. This is because; he’s a business man so he’s high up on the scale but he’s not the boss because he got a phone call from his boss so he’s not A, he’s in first class, he dresses smart.
- The geographical location is England because Virgin trains is an British company, it’s set in England, the ticket says he’s traveling from London to Glasgow, there speaking English, the song is English, he’s eating an English breakfast.
How have I targeted my audience in my production?
Henry Rees 
Recent Comments