Audience Theorists

What, or Who, is an Audience?

An audience is a group of people or an individual that consume events or media texts, for instance, a play, film, concert etc. An audience receives a media text via a media carrier such as a newspaper, magazine, television, DVD, radio or the Internet. Audiences are the Key concept as no production is made without an audience in mind.

Audience research is a major element also, as companies are set up to carry out audience research for the media producers, broadcasters and advertisers.

Demographics

A common method of audience research is known as demographics, demographic is defined as a particular sector of a population. There is one method that defines the adult population largely by the work they do. Breaking them down into 6 groups which are:

A: Higher management, Bankers, Lawyers, Doctors and other professionals

B:Middle management. teachers, Creative and media people eg Graphic Designers 

C1: Office supervisor, junior Managers, nurses, specialist clerical staff-white collar

C2: Skilled Manual Workers, plumbers, builders- Blue collar

D:Semi skilled and unskilled manual workers

E:unemployed, students, pensioners, casual workers.

the idea of this, it so producers understand their demographic and are able to shape their production around them.

Psychographics 

This method is describing the person merely on their behaviour and personality traits, the categories are:

Mainstreamers: SEEK SECURITY, tend to be domestic, conformist, conventional, sentimental, favour value for money. Nearly always the largest group.

Aspirers: SEEK STATUS, Materialistic, acquisitive, orientated to image and appearance,persona and fashion. Attractive packaging more important than contents. Typically younger people, clerical and sale jobs. 

Succeeders: SEEK CONTROL: Strong goal, confidence, work ethic, and organisations. Supports stability. Brand choice based on self reward, and quality. Typically higher management and professionals. 

Resigned: SEEK SURVIVAL, rigid and authoritarian values, interested in the past and tradition. Brand choice stresses safely, familiarity and economy. Typically older people

Explorers:SEEKS DISCOVERY, energy, individualism and experience. Values difference and adventure, Brand choice highlights satisfaction and instant effect. The first to try new bands. Younger demographic - students. 

Strugglers: SEEK ESCAPE, Alienated and disorganized. Few resources beyond physical skills. Brand choice involves impact and sensation. Buys alcohol, junk food, lottery tickets. D and E demographics

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. 

Abraham Maslow 

An american psychologist suggested that we all have different needs in different layers, in a sense of a ladder, that we would have to achieve that need before going a level above. This is know as the Hierarchy of Needs.

The pyramid is below:

year 1970

Research

There are several types of research into audiences and what they watch and want, making companies research further to give more information to the producers. 

Primary- research for audience research is direct investigation of the needs, desires and media habits of an audience, involves direct contact to the audience

Secondary- Research looks at data and other research that has already been undertaken about the audience, mainly carried out by the internet

Quantitative- collecting facts and figures and other data to do with the size of the audience. This can be a breakdown of people 

Qualitative-Investigating why the audience consume a particular text.

Research Alert-a small scale questionnaire about a media product from a limited audience.