Audience Research: Target Audience Summary

Target Audience- A primarily 16–25-year-old middle market audience that likes to be entertained.

Defining The Audience: 

Age (16–25-year-old)

In relation to the brief, it states that my target audience is primarily a mature adolescent and young adult audience. This generation of media consumers have been labelled as ‘digital natives’ as they have been raised during the era of social media and precedence in the digital world. Research shows that nearly all (99%) of 16-24 year olds had used social networking sites in the last 12 months meaning this audience will have a higher level of engagement and involvement with contemporary digital platforms. Due to this exposure to the online world and access to social networking, the target demographic has an understanding of the concepts of idealisation and romanticisation that can be curated by the media. Social media has been found to have a psychological effect on users where certain aspects of life have been glorified, providing a fantastical presentation that differs heavily from reality. The acknowledgment of this notion through the medium of a music video can be sincerely relatable for a 16–25-year-old audience who most likely have the cultural competency to understand this social commentary. This age group's engagement with social media typically is found on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, applications where it can be described as most effective for advertising up and coming artists and music.  

Class (Middle Market) 

A middle market audience refers to a segment of customers that are targeted by media that is not budget or high-end, but rather a place in between. A middle market induvial is conventionally well-educated and can be categorised as a member of the BC1 demographic which makes up 51% of the UK population.  

Interests (“Likes to be entertained”) 

An audience that “likes to be entertained” can be described as media consumers that find the appeal in narrative-based products and provide an interesting storyline. It also most likely would mean that they would typically dislike products that appear to be dismal and pessimistic. In relation to music videos, the most entertaining products have been described as upbeat, accessible in style and themes and agreeable in mass market appeal. However, it can also be suggested that an audience that “likes to be entertained” engages with a variety of other media products such as films and literature meaning intertextual references throughout a music video would provide further gratification. Entertainment can also be found in interesting uses of genre formats and iconic graphical features.