Audience Profiling – Demographic.

Socio-economic status: is basically the breakdown of a person’s personal work

experience or a family’s collective work experience or social position in comparison
to others and the people around them. This will be based on their income their
education and their current occupation.

The socio economic system is generally broken down into 3 categories: Low, Middle
& High. When putting a family into one of these categories the any of the variables
or all of the variables will be taken into account and analysed before they are put
into either lower, middle or a higher ‘class.’

Stereotypically a person from a lower level with a low income and a lower level of
education are more likely to experience more mental health issues than a higher
class person this could be due to their surroundings. Following stereotypes someone
from a lower class in terms of consuming media would be more likely to read a
paper like ‘The Sun’ rather than a high paid doctor would be.

A person from a higher level with a higher level of education and income are
generally a lot more stressed due to strain and pressure coming from their job and
their social situation. A person with a higher socio-economic status would be more
inclined to by a newspaper like the Guardian this is a more ‘Intellectual’ way of
sourcing the news as it will generally include the news that is generally more
worldwide and informative about the current world events in terms of things like our
government etc… Rather than ‘The Sun’ which follows more of the social and
celebrity trends and news. [Accessed 4 Jul. 2017].

Ref: En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Socioeconomic status. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/

wiki/Socioeconomic_status [Accessed 4 Jul. 2017].

Geodemographic: This is the process of estimating a person’s characteristics based

on the geographical location. (En.wikipedia.org, 2017)

For example, Bollywood films stereotypically would appeal to those that live in
places such as India where the codes and conventions of Bollywood films would
most likely be relatable. Not to say that a person in the UK wouldn’t be interested in
a Bollywood film but it would be less likely for them to watch it as nothing on screen
could really be relatable to them. Those that put the effort in to educate themselves
on different cultures may be more inclined to watch a Bollywood film, but for the
average British person it would be a lot more effort to follow the plot and understand
what’s in front of them which isn’t usually the aim of sitting back and watching a
movie. For this reason producers and distributers would be more likely to go along
with what their demographic enjoys as this would be more cost effective when it
comes to marketing.

Ref: En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Geodemography. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Geodemography [Accessed 4 Jul. 2017].

Age: Age is a very important aspect when it comes to audience profiling and how
target audiences are determined. A target audience of a product or some sort will
be decided on based on age when thinking about who they are appealing to so it
is a cost effective move. For example when a film like ‘Bad Neighbours’ came out
featuring Zac Efron most likely their target audience will be primarily females aged
15-25 as that is primarily Zac Efron’s fan base meaning that will be the Primary
audience to appeal to the marketing campaign. For the Bad Neighbours 2
campaign the posters showed a fence post with a red pair of women’s underwear
with a 2 on them. This was a hint towards the plot of the film as the first one was
primarily about a ‘frat’ house and this one is about a ‘Sorority’ hence the women’s
underwear. So not only will the campaign appeal to the 15-25 age range of women
because of Zac Efron but it will also be more appealing as the viewer will be able to
relate to the situation as most of the audience will be in education and will either be
in or thinking about going to ‘college’ (Uni.) The secondary audience for this film
would be the straight young males as likely the underwear would be appealing to
them. When producers are putting an age range on a film they will be strategic
when doing so as they wouldn’t want to cut out the younger market as they can be
the post impactful in terms of marketing and profit. For example when The Dark
Knight was released the film was categorised under a crime/drama and was
definitely based around themes of violence and crime however when these scenes
were happening instead of showing the actual action they would just suggest it, this
could be done through soviet montage. By doing this they are able to keep their
younger market as the film was labelled as a 12A. After this film was released the
BBFC re-evaluated how films are rated as although the film didn’t technically show
anything out of line it was still suggested. When thinning about ratings they have
started to take into account the tone when these violent scenes are being
suggested as it could potentially be traumatising for a younger viewer.

Ref: Bbfc.co.uk. (2017). The Dark Knight | British Board of Film Classification. [online] Available at:
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/case-studies/dark-knight [Accessed 10 Jul. 2017].

Gender: Marketing will always follow a lot of stereotypes that are backed up by
some form of statistic. When it comes to Gender there are a lot of stereotypes that
follow which are good for marketing guidelines however gender can be a sensitive
topic when it comes to certain people.

When it comes down to marketing, producers will try and tailor advertisement to the
gender of the films primary target audience. For example in the newest rendition of
Ghost busters the cast was primarily women in complete contrast to the first film in
which the cast was heavily male dominant. By doing this it will bring the original
target audience of men and make the secondary audience for this new film. By
making the film predominantly female it will bring in a female audience which
means they are including both genders in their primary and secondary target
audience.

Sexual Orientation: Sexual Orientation generally falls under the secondary audience
as it’s not to say that Gay people do/don’t like certain films or media formats but
following stereotypes which are more of an old fashion way of looking at things in
today’s society it would be seen that The homosexual more ‘flamboyant’ male
would be more inclined to watch a film like Bridget Jones Diary rather than a
homosexual female with more ‘Butch’ characteristics as it most likely wouldn’t
interest them much like the straight male.
Regional Identity: Regional identity is what stereotypes and characteristics a country
usually this is based on its culture, traditions, language and politics.

It can be based on geographical location like North London/ South London but this
could also be on a much broader scale like from country to country.

Stereotypes heavily suggest a lot from those born in the North and those born in the
south south are stereotypes
Bbc.co.uk. (2017). BBC Bitesize - GCSE Media Studies - Ethnic, national and regional identity -
Revision 3. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zwpx39q/revision/3 [Accessed
11 Jul. 2017].

Religion: This is the belief in a higher power when a group of people will worship a
god with said higher power. There are many types of religions some examples are
Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Sikhism and Hinduism.

The BBC have to produce a certain amount of religious content per week this is a
statutory requirement of the BBC as they are a public broadcaster. Examples of this
are the Songs of Praise and The Thought for Today slot on BBC Radio 4s Today
programme. This is a place where people of faith can go to listen to tailored content
for them. The target audience for these shows would primarily be people of faith
and secondarily be those that are just interested in educating themselves on what
others belief in, this could be because they are looking to start following a religion or
purely just for educational purposes.

Ethnicity: Ethnicity groups are people who identify with each other through either
ancestral, language, social, cultural or national experiences. Ethnicity groups is very
much based on where someone lives and the society they are surrounded by.

The largest ethnic group is known as Han Chinese which is made up of hundreds of
thousands of people. (En.wikipedia.org, 2017)

An example of one of the first TV programme that represents different ethnic groups
is a TV show called Desmond’s which started in 1989. This show was one of the first to
represent those of a different ethnic group as equals rather than their stereotypes,
this was a way of mildly mocking those who never understood so.

Ref: En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Ethnic group. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Ethnic_group [Accessed 13 Jul. 2017].

Mainstream, alternative, niche.

Those that follow mainstream media are those that are most likely to be keeping an
eye on the cinema listings and the big Hollywood blockbuster films. They will most
likely be the ones paying attention to the big budget marketing. Films like Harry
potter which are films that are loved worldwide and have been a worldwide
success will be appealing to the mainstream enthusiast as it’ll be something that
everyone will be talking about and those that consume mainstream media will be
more intrigued if there is a buzz around it.
The media has created these audience profiles to they are aware of the type of
person they are targeting by doing this it helps them to understand how to
approach advertising and how it’ll be received. For example if a company was
advertising to teenage girls aged 15-16 generally speaking they would likely use
slightly less formal language however still PG. Adverts for teenage girls will likely be
advertised during day time hours on tv in in more ‘gossip’ style tabloid magazines.

Those that are consume more alternative media will most likely be looking to avoid
the big budget Hollywood films that are considered popular in the industry.

More likely use movie sites like Netflix and look under more specific tags like
‘Alternative’ to find the kind of film/ tv show that might interest them.

Niche is similar to alternative in the fact that it focuses on a more specific type of
media however niche is an ever more specific type so this might be that someone
only wishes to watch foreign films and nothing else.

This might be where the “long tail theory” might come into play: companies like
Amazon have shown that, although the release of a new Harry Potter book will
make a huge profit, they actually make more money from selling a few copies of a
multitude of items.

Primary research: Primary research is the process of collecting information that has
not been sourced before. They will be out looking for new information wHEther that
is through collecting data from questionnaires, surveys, focus groups etc… (Bbc.co.uk,
2017). Primary research comes straight from the source and is therefore reliable, first
hand, up to date, and it is specific and relevant as the questions/information
gathering can be tailored to a specific product. A disadvantage of primary
research is that it is more labour intensive and therefore more expensive.

Ref: Bbc.co.uk. (2017). BBC - GCSE Bitesize: Collecting market research. [online] Available at: http://
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/business/marketing/marketresearchrev3.shtml [Accessed 14 Jul.
2017].

Secondary research: Secondary research is the process of gathering information

that has already be sourced and already exists so this would be gathered by looking
online and in newspapers and company reports. (Bbc.co.uk, 2017) Secondary research
is cheaper as it is easily accessible and ready sourced, but it may not always be
accurate, up to date, or of exact relevance to the person conducting the research.

Ref: Bbc.co.uk. (2017). BBC - GCSE Bitesize: Collecting market research. [online] Available at: http://
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/business/marketing/marketresearchrev3.shtml [Accessed 14 Jul.
2017].

Qualitative research:

On the snap surveys website they have said “Qualitative Research is primarily
exploratory research. It is used to gain an understanding of underlying reasons,
opinions, and motivations. It provides insights into the problem or helps to develop
ideas or hypotheses for potential quantitative research. Qualitative Research is also
used to uncover trends in thought and opinions, and dive deeper into the problem.
Qualitative data collection methods vary using unstructured or semi-structured
techniques. Some common methods include focus groups (group discussions),
individual interviews, and participation/observations. The sample size is typically
small, and respondents are selected to fulfil a given quota.”
Wyse, S. (2017). Difference between Qualitative Research vs. Quantitative Research. [online] Snap
Surveys Blog. Available at: https://www.snapsurveys.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-
qualitative-research-and-quantitative-research/ [Accessed 14 Jul. 2017].

Quantative research:

Again on the snap surveys website they have given the definition for Quantative
research “Quantitative Research is used to quantify the problem by way of
generating numerical data or data that can be transformed into useable statistics. It
is used to quantify attitudes, opinions, behaviours, and other defined variables – and
generalize results from a larger sample population. Quantitative Research uses
measurable data to formulate facts and uncover patterns in research. Quantitative
data collection methods are much more structured than Qualitative data collection
methods. ”

BARB-
Who are they?

Barb are an organisation that monitors and compiles TV ratings. This allows
broadcasters to have an insight as to what is doing well and what isn’t. This is give
the television companies opportunity to see if their broadcast is successful and if not
they can work on it to improve.

What do they do?

Since 1981, we at the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (BARB) have been
delivering the official viewing figures for UK television audiences. We commission research
companies Ipsos MORI, Kantar Media and RSMB to collect data that represent the viewing
behaviour of the UK’s 26 million TV households.

BARB viewing data offer clients, such as broadcasters and advertisers, a minute-by-minute
breakdown of viewing at regional and national levels. This information is vital for assessing
how programmes, channels or advertising campaigns have performed and provides the
basis for airtime advertising trading. (Bbc.co.uk, 2017)

Barb.co.uk. (2017). How we do what we do | BARB. [online] Available at: http://www.barb.co.uk/about-

us/how-we-do-what-we-do/ [Accessed 14 Jul. 2017].

Who could use them?

TV companies will use BARB to monitor and review who the ratings of the shows they
are broadcasting. Barb as an organisation is useful to TV companies as it gives them
an insight on what is doing well and what isn’t, which allows them to more
effectively allocate resources and funds based on popular demand. Shows which
are not popular can be cut and free up more money for more popular products.

Heart FM:
Primary Audience: Heart FM radio show is a family friendly radio show that provides
a wide variety of different pop music. The show is suitable for all ages however
primarily the Heart target audience from looking at hearts website they have said
their target audience is “25-44” Through looking at the statistics that heart FM have
provided on their website their audience is made up of 59% women and 41% men so
it is a fairly even split however as you can see it is predominantly female.

Identifying primary and secondary audiences is a vital move when owning any kind
of company, this will help the company with their marketing strategies as they will
know for one who they are targeting and by knowing this they will be able to
research on how to do so effectively. The media have constructed these profiles
that people will be put into depending on their age group, working class and social
profile. By doing this and identifying what kind of person they are targeting they can
identify how to approach them.

Ref: Heart. (2017). About Us. [online] Available at: http://www.heart.co.uk/about-us/

#QgQPpIzFLrLIDk5k.97 [Accessed 14 Jul. 2017].

Their competition: Heart FM being a pop radio station have a long line of
competition examples being ‘Capital FM’ and ‘KISS FM’ both popular radio stations
that stream pop music and have their well-known hosts who talk between songs and
host different competitions for tickets and events as such.
Their mission statement:

“Your feel good radio station” This is Heart FM’s mission statement they say they aim
to supply ‘More Music Variety’ across the UK this has clearly been a success as they
are a widely well-known across the UK.

Heart have tailored they show to provide different moods for different parts of the
day which is a great way of providing appropriate content 24/7. They are doing this
to give their listeners a constant reason to keep listening. By making sure that their
content is suitable throughout every hour of the day this is less likely to give the
listener a reason to switch stations. This is a way of making their ad revenue for
consistent.

Their revenue rated by advertising:

Between songs and radio interviews Heart FM stream advertisements for a few
minutes at a time from various companies that are promoting either their product of
their brand. This will be how the organisation will fund the station each day.

The Products they offer beyond the radio station: Often radio stations will hold
competitions for concert tickets / holidays for listeners each day this is a way of
gaining listeners. The competitions advertised will be tailored to appeal to their
demographic. For example they would give away concert tickets for an artist that is
popularly played on the station within their pop music genre. This is a feature that
has proven successful on the radio station and something they introduced as they
believed it would be successful with their listeners and clientele.

For example with hearts 25-40 year old target audience a competition currently
being advertised is “Win VIP tickets to Wimbledon” Wimbledon is a very
quintessentially British event often visited by those between the ages of 25-40 which
matches up with hearts target audience.