what is an audience?
an individual or collective group of people who consume any media text
impact of new technology on audience
old media (TV, printed news, radio) which used to have high numbers of audience now have to work harder to maintain audience numbers
digital technology has also led to an increasing uncertainty over how we define audience, with the general agreement that a large group of people reading the same thing at the same time is outdated and audiences are now ‘fragmented’
FRAGMENTED AUDIENCE - the division of audiences into smaller groups due to the variety of media outlets
how do industries continue making money?
free apps have adverts unless you pay to remove them
websites and search engines work hard to target ads when you consume ‘free’ versions of the product
ads are carefully constructed and selected for the primary audience of each text
newspapers switching to online distribution can reduce production cost and makes it more accessible for people
mass audience
often called broadcast audience
those who consume mainstream or popular text such as soaps or sitcoms
media and communication that targets a very large group of people
EXAMPLES:
friends
heart magazine
the guardian
top gear
niche audience
much smaller but very influential
a niche audience is a small, select group of people with a very unique interest
EXAMPLES:
cricket magazine
bird documentary
angler’s news
psychographics
every advertiser wants to target a particular type of audience, therefore media companies produce texts that target their audience
much of commercial media’s funding is generated by ad revenue - the product needs to appeal to a specific type of audience so that advertisers will pay to promote their product
most media products can define their ‘typical’ audience member often with a psychographic profile
ASPIRERS:
seek status
materialistic, acquisitive
orientated to image and appearance, persona and fashion
typically younger people
RESIGNED:
seek survival
rigid and authoritarian values
interested in past and tradition
typically older
REFORMERS:
seeks enlightenment
freedom of restrictions and personal growth
social awareness and independant judgement
anti-materialistic but aware of good taste
SUCCEEDERS:
seek control
strong goals, confidence, work ethic and organisation
typically higher management or professionals
EXPLORERS:
seek discovery
energy, individualism and experience
value difference and adventure
typically younger (students)
STRUGGLERS:
seeks escape
alienated and disorganised
few resources beyond physical skills
buys alcohol, junk food, lottery tickets
typically low demographic
demographic profiling
A- higher management, bankers, lawyers doctors
B- middle management, teachers, creative and media people
C1- office supervisors, 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
who measures audiences?
ABC - news and magazines
BARB - television
RAJAR - radio
newsagents
BFI
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