Audience

The way my media products will be interpreted and viewed depend entirely upon the particular area of the market I aim it. Not only this, but within this market share there are different types of engaging with media ranging from passively consuming to making up your own meanings.

In order to categorise swathes of people there are several methods at my disposal. First is the National Readership Survey (NRS). Which divides the market into 6 categories based upon income.

Grade A: upper middle class

Higher managerial, administrative or professional

Grade B: middle class

Intermediate managerial, administrative or professional

Grade C1: lower middle class

Supervisory or clerical and junior managerial, administrative or professional

Grade C2: skilled working class

Skilled manual workers

Grade D: working class

Semi and unskilled manual workers

Grade E: Those at the lowest levels of subsistence

Casual or lowest grade workers, pensioners and others who depend on the welfare state for their income

In addition to this, there is the National Statistic of Socio-economic Classification. (NS-SEC). The difference with this is that it doesn't classify people based upon skill, it only takes into account employment. The categories can number up to 18, however for analytical use it is broken down into only 8:

1. Higher managerial and professional occupations
2. Lower managerial and professional occupations
3. Intermediate occupations (clerical, sales, service)
4. Small employers and own account workers
5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations
6. Semi-routine occupations
7. Routine occupations
8. Never worked and long-term unemployed

Finally a system that takes into account only household earning, is the ACORN system.

Band A: Wealthy Achievers

Large amounts of disposable income and typically in high-end administration, managerial or professional jobs. These are the people who tend to like luxury goods and important brands. Aproximate income of £50,000 or over.

Band B: Urban Prosperity

lots of disposable income but the jobs change from high level to a more intermediate level. Aproximate income of between £35,000 and £50,000

Band C1: Comfortably Off

Disposable incoming is significantly less than the above, although life would still be comfortable. Income roughly between £25,000 and £35,000.

Band C2: Moderate Means

Manual labourers such as tradesmen who do not generate a massive income and will not be able to afford luxuries on a regular basis. Most likely to have a young family and roughly earns around £15,000 to £25,000 a year.

Band D: Hard Pressed

Very low income and not likely to be able to afford luxuries like going to the cinema regularly and may not have the opportunities to buy DVD's.

As well as classifying audiences in this way, it's important to take into account how the audience will engage with the media, as I eluded to above. There are several models used for this.

The Hypodermic Needle Model

This is what the majority of audiences are. Essentially passive, they take in the media presented as it is forming no conclusions of their own, much like a Baudrillard theory that we accept the micronarratives given to us. Media aimed at this audience is typically formulaic and predictable.

Two-Step-Flow
Media is passed on my people of influence. For example, your friend with a taste in movies will reccomend one to you and as a group you will all go out and view it. This system relies entirely on working out the tastes of the opinion leaders and aiming at them, and hoping that it is propegated out via them. Thus, two step flow.

Uses & Gratifications
This suggests people will view media for specific purposes. To get what they want from it, for example the adrenaline rush that comes from a horror flick, or the emotional responses to a romantic comedy. Quite often influenced by external factors that change their mood, the availability of wealth and the career they are in play a factor in what gratitfication they will seek from a media text. Someone who has low income is unlikely to want to see a film about the rich getting richer, as opposed to an aspirational film.

Obstinate Audience Theory
This suggests that people will only interpret what they want from a media text rather than being told. Media targetted at this audience will need to have sufficient depth to enable the audience to pick it apart, a formulaic system will leave this portion of the audience unfulfilled and possibly bored.

My Target Audience
Having researched this, I think I am able to classify my audience for my media products. I am going to be aiming them at Grade B-C1 markets based upon skills, these will be the typical users of technology and gadgetry as a commodity value rather than purely a tool. It's also highly likely that if they have children they will be older, as to rise to such a skill level over a period of time, and thus they will be more likely to have such devices and interests. Using the ACORN system, this would be classified as Bands A, B and C1 as they have the disposable income neccassary to purchase such devices. The skills and education neccassary to be in an occupation with such disposable income also suggests being educated, and the factual nature of the channel will appeal to them.