Friday, 19 September 2014

Target Audience

Demographics
Class
My target audience will not be aimed at a particular social class. This is because throughout the different classes (working, middle and upper) their free time differs depending on their work time/ schooling time so they may not be able to watch the programme. My target audience is predominately aimed at students (still in education) therefore social class is irrelevant as class considers how much the individual is earning. 
Age
The age of my target audience will be between 12 and 16. I have decided these ages because the programme is going to be based on the struggles throughout teenage life therefore the target audience may be able to relate to the characters problems and form a relationship with them.
Gender
Both genders will be able to relate to the programme and seek advice from it also therefore my target audience will include both genders.
Ethnicity
This programme will be aired on British TV and due to Britain being a multicultural country it will be aimed at all ethnicities.

Psychographics
Personality
A typical personality trait of my target audience will be that they commonly follow the crowd and want to be like everyone else, for example in school peers may be talking about a programme they saw and because they do not want to feel left out they may begin to watch it also. However, there will be confident people who will enjoy standing out and gaining attention therefore they may watch a totally different programme to see who follows. 



Niche or Mass audience?
My product will be specifically focused at teenagers (the minority of the population) therefore my target audience is a niche audience. This is because my product features conventions that will satisfy my target audience, for example teenagers can relate to the lifestyle in which the characters live. Furthermore my magazine and DVD, in which I will be designing the front cover to, will be at a price that my target audience will be able to afford in order to purchase these products.   

Target audience vs Actual audience
As previously stated my target audience is teenagers between the ages of 12 and 16 however it is possible that people above or below these ages are able to watch it. This is because the programme would be hammocked two successful and popular TV programmes, at around the time of 6:30pm, because people who watch the programme before may not turn it over straight away and my programme may gain popularity from this. Furthermore, it will be aired at prime time because at this time many people will be free to watch the programme, for example pupils will have finished school/ extra-curricular activities and the older generation may have finished work. 

An example of Target Audience vs Actual Audience
Target audience is a particular group out of the population at which the media product is aimed at whereas the actual audience is the population of people who actually use/ watch the media product. Waterloo Road’s target audience is approximately from the age of 12 to 18 however the actual audience is very different. Because the programme focuses on a fictional school and the problems involved within, the audience may include older generations if they are teachers or head teachers or simply just parents wanting to see what the public stereotype secondary schools as. Furthermore as Waterloo Road is broadcasted at 8pm it is likely that children do not have control of the TV at this time. 

Uses and Gratifications
For socialising
Due to my target population it is common that pupils will talk about programmes they watched the night before therefore my product may gain popularity if peers decide to follow the crowd and also watch my product.
The conversations may include the narratives, the time it was on and how long it was on for and this will get people interested and want to find out about it for themselves so they can join in the talks.
To educate
My product will educate my target audience in the sense that they will be able to learn about the different struggles teenagers go through on a daily basis, this may raise awareness which can lead to peers not being as judgemental and realising that everyone is different therefore bullying isn’t appropriate.
To entertain
I hope to think my product will be entertaining. A stereotypical characteristic of a teenager is that they enjoy gossiping and they may think that by watching my programme it will seem as though they are getting the gossip on the characters in the programme.
To identify
I believe the audience will be able to form a relationship with some of not several of the characters due to the fact they may portray the same issue(s) that they are dealing with in real life.
  

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