10. What is a target audience?

What is a audience?

The dictionary definition;
 the assembled spectators or listeners at a public event such as a play, film, concert, or meeting.
An audience is also a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or academics in any medium. Audience members participate in different ways in different kinds of art; some events invite overt audience participation and others allowing only modest clapping and criticism and reception.

How do we define target audiences?
We can define target audiences by using something called audience profiling. Audience profiling allows media businesses to narrow down their audience/customers to find their target audience. It is always best for a media business to find their target audience before they market a new product so they can get the best results and profit. A target audience is an audience that is most relevant and connected to the media product that a company is trying to sell hence the name 'target audience'. The following things can define target audiences; Age, Religion, Gender, Race, Sexuality, Education, Occupation, Annual income, Buying habits, Media interests, etc.

Why is it useful for a film to have a target audience?
It is useful that films have a target audience so the producers and writers know who they are making the film for and if what they are creating is relevant to their writing. If they create a film for a small target audience they will obviously not make as much money through the film or any synergy used. This is why it is useful they know the target audience beforehand so it can give them an idea whether the movie should go ahead. Also, knowing their target audience helps sell their product better. For example if the target audience is children, the film must also attract to parents as it is the parents who will pay money for the children to watch the film or pay for any future merchandise such as games, clothes, lunchboxes etc.

Which audiences do you think teen dramas appeal to?
I think teenagers from 13-19 will appeal to teen dramas the most because of  their age and that they may be able to relate to some of the characters with themselves or people they know. Teen dramas are mostly attracted to the female audience with teen dramas such as 90210 and Glee but some teen dramas can also appeal to males too like The Inbetweeners. Majority of teen drama audiences may have interests of drama and enjoy comedy or a love story. As most of the target audience are teenagers I believe that this target audience will not have many professions. The target audience age of 9-12 may also enjoy teen dramas. They will be close to teenager age and may be attracted to teen dramas but not as much as 13-19 year olds. The most popular location for this target audience may be London as its the capital and there are lots of teenager residing in London.