PowerPoint Presentation

Audience

Audience VERY important conceptAll texts are made with an audience in mind

Producers make money out of that audience (not always)

IMPORTANT to understand what happens when an audience meets a media textAudienceTexts are constructed to appeal to certain audiences through:Codes and conventionsGenreNarrativeRepresentationTexts try to position the audience to make them respond in a particular way.Audience researchDoes it have an audience?

If the answer is NO there is no point going any further.

Serious business (time and money)ascertaining if there is anyone out there whod be interested in their idea

So what things might be producers be interested in knowing about an audience?Are YOU an audience member?In groups.

List the different audiences you are part of on a regular basis? TV programme, radio, websites, video games

Pick one

How much do you know about the audience for theses texts? (size, age, gender, etc.)USE IDENTIFYING TARGET AUDIENCE IN YOUR HANDBOOKS AND SPECIFY!You need to ensure that you understand and can use the following terms and ideas, including the authors of theories:

TARGET AUDIENCE/ SECONDARY AUDIENCESDEMOGRAPHICS (use of CAGER categories); PSYCHOGRAPHICS (Young and Rubicam categories (5); some advertising lifestyle categories e.g. NINJAS)SITUATED CULTUREACTIVE AUDIENCE & PASSIVE AUDIENCEACTIVE AUDIENCE IDEAS: Uses & Gratifications theory (incl. the four types of gratification); Pick n Mix theory; Encoding-Decoding Model; Reception Theory (incl. the three different response positions); Interactive AudiencesPASSIVE AUDIENCE IDEAS: Hypodermic Needle Effect; Copycat Theory; Cultivation Theory

As well as this, you need to understand what each of the following means:How texts define their target audienceHow texts construct their audiencesHow texts target and appeal to their target audiencesHow texts position their target audiencesHow different audiences can respond to the same text differentlyYou should have THREE case study texts that you have explored all FIVE of the above for and should be able to use them as your examples in essays. SEE NEXT SIDETEXT 1: .TEXT 2: TEXT 3: ..

Our Audience Case StudiesTEXT 1: Beyonce - Run the World (Girls)TEXT 2: Dior - Addict advertTEXT 3: Trailer for Topboy (Channel 4) Q2. OF THE EXAM PAPER LOOKS LIKE THIS

Choose one of the magazine covers. Suggest two different audiences for these covers. Give brief reasons for your choice. (6)

(b) Using the same magazine cover chosen for 2 (a), explain how the main audience has been targeted. (9)

(c) In what ways do different audiences respond differently to the same media text? Refer to your own detailed examples. THIS WILL BE YOU CASE STUDIES(15)

SO. we need to know about.Categorising AudiencesDemographic data (objective):AgeGenderIncomeEducationFamilyGeographyDemographic data is used to sell advertising space.

Social Grade classification...

One common way of describing audiences is to use a letter code to show their income bracket:

A Top management, bankers, lawyers, doctors and other highly salaried professionalsB Middle management, teachers, many 'creatives' eg graphic designers etcC1 Office supervisors, junior managers, nurses, specialist clerical staff etcC2 Skilled workers, tradespersons (white collar)D Semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers (blue collar)E Unemployed, students, pensioners, casual workers

Social GradeAHigher managerial, administrative and professionalBIntermediate managerial, administrative and professionalC1 Supervisory, clerical and junior managerial, administrative and professionalC2Skilled manual workerDSemi-skilled and unskilled manual workerEState pensioners, casual and lowest grade workers, unemployed with state benefitsHow useful is this type of information?Task - What social grade am I?DoctorNurseTeacherGraphic designerTelesales/ market researcherPlumberStudent

Other ClassificationsYoung and Rubicams - ConsumersAs the concept of class became less fashionable, advertisers started thinking about audiences in different ways. One of the best-known was devised by the advertising agency Young and Rubicam.MainstreamersMake up 40% of the population. They like security, and belonging to a group.AspirersWant status and the esteem of others. Like status symbols, designer labels etc. Live off credit and cash.Succeeders People who have already got status and control.Reformers Define themselves by their self-esteem and self-fulfilment.

Values Attitudes and Lifestyles this approach is similar to Young and Rubicam's but offers a more sophisticated range of descriptors for audiences.

Actualisers: successful, sophisticated, take charge people with high self-esteem Fulfilleds: Thinkers are motivated by ideals. mature, satisfied, comfortable, and reflective people who value order, knowledge and responsibility Achievers: Motivated by the desire for achievement. achievers have goal-oriented lifestyles and a deep commitment to career and family. Experiencers: motivated by self-expression. Believers: Like thinkers motivated by ideals. Strivers: trendy and fun loving. motivated by achievement and are concerned about the opinions and approval of others. Makers: motivated by self-expression. Survivors: Live narrowly focused lives.The Lifestyle CategoriesThis classifies audiences according to a their beliefs and attitudes towards life. Many media texts will be consumed multiple lifestyle categories. Cowboys People who want to make money quickly and easily.Cynics People who always have something to complain about.Drifters People who arent at all sure what they want.Drop-outs People who do not want to get committed in any way.Egoists People who are mainly concerned to get the most for themselves out of life.Groupies People who want to be accepted by those around them.Innovators People who want to make their mark on the world.Puritans People who want to feel they have done their duty.Rebels People who want the world to fit in with their idea of how it should beTraditionalists People who want everything to remain the same.Trendies People who are desperate to have the admiration of their peer group.Utopians People who want to make the world a better place.Using the information you have learnt

TaskSuggest two audiences for this text. Give brief reasons

Question 2 The majority of candidates were awarded 3 or 4 marks for this question 2a)

Relevant suggestions of audiences includedyoung black audienceyoung male audienceyounger female audiencegeneral music fansfans of Hip Hopfans of RapTo access the 4 marks available, there needed to be some additional information beyond 'fans' and 'young men'. What could you add?Main observations from candidates' responsesWeaker candidates could not develop their examples fully enough for the 4marks awarded and just named two basic examples.The best responses were closely linked to evidence from the text.It was of some concern that some candidates wrote far too much for this section and had not taken note of the mark allocation. In some cases more was written here than for 2 b). This would have an obvious impact on timing

Good answer NME magazine has a primary and a secondary target audience. The primary target audience would be younger fans of indie music, 16-25, B, C1, predominantly white, male skew, urban/city living individualists. The reasons for this relates to the fact that traditionally independent music (specifically guitar based indie music that NME specialises in) is consumed by younger audiences who see themselves as standing out from the crowd the anti establishment tone of the front cover confirms this and references to bands who have pushed boundaries over years, including the intelligent bad boy reputation of Tyler the Creator. The desire for more individuality suggests a more educated, stereotypically middle class background.

REMEMBER TO GIVE a secondary audience if it asks for 2.