Audiences

Critical Approaches 2014

In media terms the audience is any group of people who receive a media text, and not just people who are together in the same place.

Radio listeners, Television viewers, Newspaper and magazine readers, Web traffic on web sites.

Audiences

All media texts are produced with an audience in mind – that is to say a group of people who will receive the text and make some sort of sense out of it.

Audiences

A media producer has to know who is the potential audience, and as much about them as possible.The three main methods of Audience Research that you should be aware of are:

1. Demographics2. Psychographics3. Research Organisations

Audience Research

A common and traditional method of audience research is known as demographics.

This defines the adult population largely by the work that they do. It breaks the population down into 6 groups, and labels them by using a letter code to describe the income and status of the members of each group.

Demographics

• A- Higher managerial, administrative, professional e.g. Chief executive, senior civil servant, surgeon

• B - Intermediate managerial, administrative, professional e.g. bank manager, teacher

• C1- Supervisory, clerical, junior managerial e.g. shop floor supervisor, bank clerk, sales person

• C2 - Skilled manual workers e.g. electrician, carpenter• D- Semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers e.g.

assembly line worker, refuse collector, messenger• E - Casual labourers, pensioners, unemployed e.g.

pensioners without private pensions and anyone living on basic benefits

NRS ClassificationsSocioeconomic Grades

Analyse your household’s current social economic status

 Which category would they fall into?

 Which media products do they

consume?

Which SEC category(s) are your target audience?

AB

C1C2DE

It does not tell the media producers some things they would like to know, such as how much money each group has to spend each week. Some skilled manual workers, like electricians, earn more money each week than say a teacher, but they probably do not spend it in the same way.Also demographics is only about the main earner in a household so young people at home – for example, are not included.

Criticisms

An alternative demographic measure of a person may include information such as:

– Area of Residence (Rural/City)– Mobility– Age– Gender– Sexual Orientation– Place of Origin (Ethnicity)– Religion– Disabilities/Health– Languages

Demographics

This is a way of describing an audience by looking at the behaviour and personality traits of its members.

Psychographics labels a particular type of person and makes an assessment about their viewing and spending habits.

Psychographics

Young and Rubicam created a theory that looked at the brands people brought and how people felt about them.

4Cs is an acronym - short for Cross Cultural Consumer Characterisation.

They put the audience into groups with labels that suggest their position in society.

Young and Rubicam

Resigned. Rigid, strict, authoritarian and chauvinist values, oriented to the past and to Resigned roles. Brand choice stresses safety, familiarity and economy. (Older)

Struggler. Alienated, Struggler, disorganised - with few resources apart from physical/mechanical skills (eg car repair). Heavy consumers of alcohol, junk food and lotteries, also trainers. Brand choice involves impact and sensation.

Mainstream. Domestic, conformist, conventional, sentimental, passive, habitual. Part of the mass, favouring big and well-known value for money ‘family’ brands. Almost invariably the largest 4Cs group. (Average demos)

Aspirer. Materialistic, acquisitive, affiliative, oriented to extrinsics ... image, appearance, charisma, persona and fashion. Attractive pack more important than quality of contents. (Younger, clerical/sales type occupation)

The 4Cs

Succeeder. Strong goal orientation, confidence, work ethic, organisation ... support status quo, stability. Brand choice based on reward, prestige - the very best . Also attracted to ‘caring’ and protective brands ... stress relief. (Top management)

Explorer. Energy - autonomy, experience, challenge, new frontiers. Brand choice highlights difference, sensation, adventure, indulgence and instant effect - the first to try new brands. (Younger - student)

Reformer. Freedom from restriction, personal growth, social awareness, value for time, independent judgement, tolerance of complexity, anti-materialistic but intolerant of bad taste. Curious and enquiring, support growth of new product categories. Select brands for intrinsic quality, favouring natural simplicity, small is beautiful.(High education)

The 4Cs cont…

DISCOVERY

ENLIGHTENMENT

Struggler. Alienated, aimless, disorganised – with few resources apart from physical/mechanical skills Heavy consumers of alcohol, junk food and lotteries, also trainers. Brand choice involves impact and sensation.

Aspirer. Materialistic, acquisitive, affiliative, oriented to extrinsics ... image, appearance, charisma, persona and fashion. Attractive pack more important than quality of contents. (Younger, clerical/sales type occupation)

Mainstream. Domestic, conformist, conventional, sentimental, passive, habitual.Part of the mass, favouring big and well-knownvalue for money ‘family’ brands. Almost invariably the largest 4Cs group. Average demos

SECURITY

Resigned. Rigid, strict,authoritarian and chauvinist values, oriented to the past and to traditional roles. Brand choice stresses safety, familiarity and economy. Older

SURVIVAL

ESCAPE

Reformer. Freedom from restriction, personal growth, social awareness, value for time, independent judgement, tolerance of complexity, anti-materialistic but aware of ‘good taste’. Curious and enquiring, support growth of new product categories. Select brands for intrinsic quality, favouring natural simplicity. ( High education)

STATUS

Succeeder. Strong goal orientation,confidence, work ethic, organisation ... support status quo, stability. Brand choice based on reward, prestige - the very best . Also attracted to ‘caring’ and protective brands ... stress relief. Top mngmnt

CONTROL

Explorer. Energy - autonomy, experience, challenge, new frontiers. Brand choice highlights difference, sensation, adventure, indulgence, instant effect. The first to try new brands. Younger - student

Which are you?

SucceederMainstream

ResignedReformerExplorerAspirer

Struggler

Hierarchy of Needs

An American psychologist, Abraham Maslow, suggested that we all have different layers of needs.

We have to achieve certain needs before going on to the next layer.

His Hierarchy of Needs suggests that once people have their basic needs met like housing, food, safety, shopping, technology, and a job they can then go on to satisfy successively ‘higher needs’ that occupy a set hierarchy or system of ranking.

An alternative psychographic measure of a person might include:

– Interests– Activities– Opinions– Behavioural Patterns– Habits– Lifestyle– Perceptions– Hobbies

Psychographics

There are many different research organisations that produce audience reports for the media industries. Some of these are:• RAJA (Radio)• BARB (Broadcast, TV)• ABC (Magazines, Newspapers, Journals)• CAA (Cinemas)• ELSPA (Gaming)• ChartTrack (Music, Video, Software)• MCV (Games)

Research Organisations

BARB Research Task

Find out the latest research facts and figures

Write a short report Post onto your Blog

Original information, gathered by the researcher.Such as:• Observations• Interviews• Questionnaires or Surveys

Primary Research

Primary

Research

Your own photograp

hs

Visits to galleries,

exhibitions or

museums

Sketches

Observations

Drawings

Questions (Surveys)

Summary, collection or gathering of existing information.Such as:Newspapers, Magazines and BooksAudio-Visual Products, Audio Products, Visual ProductsThe Internet, Websites

Secondary Research

Secondary

Research

Libraries

Websites

Photocopies

Prints

Collected Items

Clippings

Books

Magazines

Leaflets

TV and other

formats