Target Audiences.

What is an audience?
An audience is usually a group of people that watch/ listen to an event (a play, film, concert etc). An audience can also be people who you're attempting to sell something to as well.

Why are audiences important?
In terms of selling a product to an audience, it is very important that you have the correct audience for this. To do this you have to find your target audience by getting an audience of the right age group, right gender and an audience that is actually going to be interested in this product.

What is the impact of new technology on audiences?
Technology has advanced a huge amount over the past few years and this has had an enormous impact on audiences. For example, films are a lot easier and cheaper to make now which means cinemas are able to improve the viewing of the films for the audiences and make them more exciting (4D effects used in some countries cinemas now). Also, people are now able to advertise their films and products in a much more exciting way by using flashing billboards and having their films and products being advertised on television programmes in the background as well which makes this more intreuging for the audience.

Quantitive Audience Research-
BARB- Many households are chosen to be on the barb panel to then represent an overall average of house in the uk. Once chosen on the barb panel, the media will set up to sets with a metre into each of the homes then each person in the house (over the age of four) have to press a button on the remote to indicate they have entered the room when the tv is on and then press it again when they leave the room to indicate they they are no longer watching the tv. There is an audio matching process as well which helps them tone able to know what programs people are watching.

RAJAR- Rajar uses the method of basically using a continous diary survey which takes a measurement of 100,00 adults (children aged 15+) listening time a year. The diary takes a quarter hour of one weeks listening, drawn from a representative sample of each radio station and the nation as a whole.


Qualitative Audience Research-
Focus Group- A focus group is a group of people giving their views, opinions and beliefs on a product. These people will be in a situation where they are able to talk to other group members.

Questionnaires- Questionnaires are usually a piece of paper with different questions about the product on it and will be given to people through the post or in the streets etc. and they will answer the questions in their own opinion.

Face-to-face interviews- Face-to-face interviews are where the owner of the product will usually ask the people questions from their own questions and will get the people to answer them.

Social Classes:
Social class is important when promoting a product because you will want the right class for your product.
AB- Higher class, high occupations and professional occupations.
C1- Supervisory and junior occupations.
C2- Skilled manual occupations.
DE- Semi skilled and unskilled occupations, unemployed and lowest grade occupations.