Identification of Target Audience

There are a number of theories which relate to constructing an audience or the make-up of the audience. If we identify the make-up, more than just focusing on age, we are able to target them specifically through our use of image design technique.

Graeme Burton: 

• identifies the difference between socially grouped audiences (gender, age, place in society - class etc.) and media grouped audiences (grouped by relationship with the media such as computer users, film goers, newspaper readers etc.) 
• In relation to our film package, our audience will gain enjoyment from the entertainment of film as a media product. They will enjoy frequent visits to the cinema, perhaps as part of a social gathering. Their interests will lie in watching genres such as supernatural horrors and the suspense and mystery that can be drawn from these. 
• For my music magazine, my audience will be media grouped by their liking of magazines, particularly of the pop music genre. 

John Hartley: 

• expands upon Burton's classification of socially grouped audiences. 
• He identifies 7 subjectives: 

1. Self - grouped by aspirations, ambitions 
2. Gender - associated motives depending on gender - different ways of representing each gender, targeting them and different gains to a gender specific audience. 
3. Age Group - different age groups, stereotypically have different priorities, needs and aims in life, different methods for different age ranges.
4. Family - place in the family, for example a parent or the child, a different way of presenting to target specific members. 
5. Class - Different social classes have distinct priorities from one another. 
6. Nation - The country a group comes from and its style. Western societies (Britain, North America, Canada, France, Germany, Italy etc) follow common ideals (capitalism - consumerism, cultural hegemony, classes) such as hard work to achieve their aims. Cultural Imperialism refers to the influence of American Media values on the world e.g. beautiful = slim and sexy. Other cultures follow different values. 
7. Ethnicity - ethnic grouping of an audience.

Our audience can be divided into most of these categories. The gender our film trailer primarily aims at is females, with the secondary audience being males. We have targeted our audience through the use of female actors portraying the protagonists (Morgan, Evie) and antagonists (Supernatural Entity).We have challenged typical stereotypes associating with the genre of our film such as the passivity and helper roles females are commonly portrayed as. Our hero, Morgan, is a female, opposing a stereotype of a strong male figure saving the day. Morgan faces twists and turns in the trailer but within our synopsis she is the character that triumphs. Typically in supernatural horrors, the malicious entity is a female from the past with a tragic historical background as to why they're so traumatised and causing havoc as a result. We have matched this type with our supernatural entity figure, the idea of a female at the reigns of control is something that our primary audience may feel they can relate to.

The age range of our audience is 15-24 years. A young audience may class social activities as a priority and therefore wish to go to the cinema fulfilling this need. One of their aims may also be to maintain social relations, by watching our film they will be able to do this if watching with a friend or family member. Our audience may also have the need for excitement, due to being quite energised  and enthusiastic about watching the latest films. The suspense and enigma of our trailer and package will provide our audience with the excitement they may require.

Towards the younger age of our bracket our audience may take the role of the child or teenager of the family. Some teenagers may be associated with the characteristic of being rebellious, and therefore enjoy being entertained by the terrors and chaos in our supernatural horror trailer. The older age within the bracket may be considered young adults and may simply enjoy the thrill of our film through our promotional tools.

The socio-economic grouping of our audience is B, C1 and C2. This may be due to our audience relying on their parents or family for financial support in order to frequently go to the cinema.

John Fiske: 

• adds a further 5 factors to be considered when identifying features of audiences

1. Education - level received by audience, different ways of targeting them according to this. E.g. Uni students aged 24 will need a different reason to follow a media message than 24 year olds who left school at the age of 16. 

2. Religion - specific group? all? - importance of families, friendship. 

3. Political Allegiance - different political groups present different priorities in life. Labour - equality, Conservative - ability for individuals to succeed if they work hard. 

4. Region - different places have distinct values.
5. Urban vs Rural - town vs country. For people who live in a town there may be a focus on image and the aesthetics of life.


Many of our audience members may still be in education; whether compulsory or higher. Our older audience members may just be leaving or have left higher eduction or could even be in a full-time job. The majority of our audience toward the end of our age bracket will be able to financially support themselves and therefore able to frequently visit the cinema as a social activity.

Most of our audience would live in a town or city and therefore have access to a cinema or highly advanced technologies to be able to view our trailer. Our film poster could also be placed in city centres reaching out to a wider and mainstream audience.