Audience Research

 For any media product, the main idea and reason for an institution is to make a profit. To make a profit the product must fulfill the needs of the audience so that they would buy it. Hall and Homes said in 1988 'Any media text is created for a particular audience and will usually appeal most to this particular target audience' This shows that, to get the interest of my target audience, it must first be formatted to the interests of the chosen audience. For me to make my own product, I must first understand the needs and wants of the target audience which I have chosen. 

There are two different groups which my product could be targeted at. These are the mass market and the niche market. The mass market would be targeting mainstream and popular products which would be popular for a very wide range of people. This will mean that the product would have the potential to make a lot of profit. Large conglomerate companies, such as IPC Media and Bauer Media would be targeting the mass market allowing them to make the most profit across all types. A niche market however, is targeting products that not most people would enjoy but will be by an audience that is not applied to by the mass market. If a product was targeted at a niche market it would allow everybody in the potential audience to be covered making it feel much more personal and intimate for the reader to the product. Targeting a niche market would mean you are more likely to have a lot more regular readers than the mass market allows for. Independent companies will normally target the niche market as it allows them to have a better understanding of their readers than a large company would have. 

To allow me to understand my own target audience I have created a survey, which can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XV35YJ6. This allows me to learn what my audience likes and who they are allowing me to create a product around that which would fulfill all their needs. 

This is what I have found from conducting my survey: 

This shows me that my audience will include both males and females, however, the majority of it will be males. This will make the males my primary target audience and females would be more of a secondary target audience. 

These results show that there will be a range of ages reading my magazine, from ages 11 to 34. However the majority will be around 18 to 24 meaning the product will have to be aimed at a younger audience. The older  readers would therefore become part of my secondary target audience. 

These results show me that most of the readers will have a lower income, which is expected from having younger readers, rather than older ones. This will mean the magazine would have to be worth the money and so probably need lots of quality content packed into a cheaper price. It would also mean the use of simpler language would also be required, so that everyone would understand the content. 

These results show me that a range of ethnicity types will be reading my magazine, however the majority is British white and so my magazine would have to represent these people most. However, having a range of people would allow me to gain a larger readership if they are represented in the right way, and mostly positively.  

These results show me that there will be a range of people with different sexuality reading, however most of them are heterosexual and so these people would become my primary target audience, meaning they would have to be the people who are represented most. 

These results show me that most people will be regularly reading magazines, however not all of the time. This means that my magazines would always be attractive to the target audience and will probably need a wide range of content. 

These results show that most of my audience would enjoy rock music, meaning that my content should reflect this. This means that my primary genre for the music would be rock, however maybe some content on other popular genres, like indie of hip hop, should be included.

These results show me that people want lots of quality in the magazine, like the photography. It also shows that it should have interesting looking things like my masthead. Having a lot of these things would allow the magazine easily attract the target audience meaning I would gain greater readership. 

This cover from the magazine Q supports the theory of Mulvey and of the male gaze. Mulvey said that women are used: "As erotic objects of erotic desire for the spectator." This cover has an image of Cheryl Cole in a suggestive pose. This is used to attract men as they will find this attractive and so this would appeal to the target audience for Q. Although the image is a mid-close up shot in which she is fully clothed, however, in the image it is raining and so her face and hair is wet. This would attract the target audience as it adds to this sexual desire. In the image she also has bright red lipstick which appeals to the target audience as red would suggest this idea of love and sexual desire, this therefore adds to Mulvey's theory of male gaze. On my own cover I may use a woman in a suggestive pose, however, I will be more likely to use someone who would be better to represent someone of my target audience, such as a younger male.

This Kerrang cover shows, well, the theories of youth. Mainly it shows Hall's 1904 theory of youth being rebellious and criminal as it shows a group of younger people with tattoos and longer hair and look and poses which would connote their rebellious and possible criminal nature. This follows Hall's theory that youth are rebellious and it also follows Hall's idea that their common mood is depression as they are in the style commonly associated with this and do not appear happy and look slightly like they could be depressed. This would attract and appeal to the audience as it would be youths who want to appear to be edgy and so would buy this magazine to appear so.