MEDIA AUDIENCES L/O To identify the ways the Media targets audiences within their products  L/O To distinguish media audiences within Media products. Â
RECAP
What is a Target Audience? A target audience is who the product is aimed for the ‘main’ audience who they are selling it to. Therefore all and every media is meant for one audience bracket.
How can we tell what the Target Audience is?
A
G
L
AGE
GENDER
LIFESTYLE
<15
Male
Mainstreamers
15-24
Female
Reformers
24-35
Succeeders
35-55
Aspirers
55>
USES AND GRATIFICATION THEORY
This is a theory that suggests that some of things we need in life are provided by Media Products. i.e. that we have uses (needs) for the
media & get pleasure (graAficaAon) from the media.
What are PRIMARY and SECONDARY audiences? Primary audience is the main audience who will watch a product e.g. Children is the audience for Sesame Street
Secondary audience is the audience who should be considered because they consume the media product, but won’t intenAonally watch it e.g. Parents of children who watch Sesame Street will end up watching it because their children are.
Your task In pairs, pick a film poster, any you like, and write about it in terms of; • Target audience: Age, Gender, Lifestyle, Uses and Gra;fica;on, Primary and Secondary audiences remembering to reference and give examples of Media Language: Genres, Language, Shot type, Colour, Mise en scene, Iconography, Font and NVC
Exemplar Target audience: Age: 15 – 35 Gender: Males I believe males between 15-‐35 are most likely to watch this film. Older viewers are more likely to understand issues in the film like geYng married and celebraAng a stag duo, whereas younger viewers will enjoy the comedy around geYng drunk and having a hangover, and its ridiculousness. Lifestyle: Mainstreamers – poplar actors, mainstream comedy will appeal to most people. Aspirers – younger viewers may want to go on to have parAes like these characters. Primary audience: Males between the ages of 18/35 are the primary audience, who the film is aimed at. Secondary audience: The secondary audience can be females between 18-‐35 who will also understand the film ‘issues’. 35 -‐55 may relate to the film, as they may have had experience like the characters but may also not be able to relate to what they do anymore.
Exemplar Uses and Gra;fica;ons: Escapism – men will go to see this film to escape their lives, perhaps feel trapped in relaAonship so will enjoy the over the top comedy in this film. Personal Iden;ty – May relate to the feelings of the characters of growing up, like having to commit to a relaAonship and feeling old, feeling excluded because they sAll feel too young to sAll not have fun etc. Some men watching the film may decide to live more like the characters on the film. Rela;onships – Men may aspire to look like Bradley Cooper, good looking, fun etc. They aspire to be like Zach Galifianakis because his character is reckless, fun, caring, but a li`le inept. People might feel like they should be more reckless like he is and learn to have more fun in their lives. Learning/Informa;on – Not to make the same mistakes as these guys do but also learn to enjoy their lives more.