Quantitative AudienceResearch

By Ava

Introduction

The quantitative data shown in this slideshow has been collected with the use ofQuestionPro, an online survey software tool. It allows people to upload aquestionnaire and then provides a link which my group and I posted to socialmedia and sent to as many of our peers as we could. These participants thencompleted the survey and through QuestionPro we were able to see everyone’sanonymous answers and graphs corresponding to this data. We had a final totalof 50 completed questionnaires which is not a huge amount but still managed togive us enough data to make decisions about our horror film - which is the reasonfor collecting the data - and decide which factors would most appeal to those whocompleted our survey (the target demographic)

Primary Data

What gender are you?

The answer to this question was mainly female but only by a slight percentage. From these result we know that half our answers will be male oriented and will be helpful in choosing some factors of our film i.e. location, choice of weapon as our trailer is planned to be aimed at the male audience. It will also help to have some of our trailer filmed in line with the male gaze to appeal to the male demographic yet relatable female characters to still encourage a female audience to view our trailer.

How old are you?

The majority of people who completed the survey are aged 17-19 which is an extremely helpful result as the certificate for our Slasherfilm will be an 18. This means that those most likely to view our film will be male teenagers over 18 years old. Our survey will thus give us very accurate and informative results as they are our core demographic.

What is your favourite sub-genre of horror?

The most common sub-genre of horror selected by participants was Slasher which is again a good answer as it means that most of the results will be geared to male teenagers who are fans of Slasher films which is our target demographic.

What if your favourite Slasher film?

The most popular Slasher films chosen by our participants were Final Destination, Halloween, Friday 13th, Prom Night and Scream. This answer indicates that our audience prefer very formulaic Slasher films that follow the conventions and generally have a definitive villain. However, the presence of Final Destination as one of the preferred films indicate that a formulaic film that occasionally subverts conventions would be ideal.Also, the answers to this question shows what films should be referenced within our film for super fans of Slasher films to recognise.

Where do you think the best location for a horror film is?

The answer to this question revealed that the most popular setting is a neighbourhood. This location is in fact a common one in Slasher films as there is nothing more frightening than a violent atrocity taking place in a similar suburban neighbour to where the audience lives because it alludes to the idea that danger is always lurking around the corner and allows the audience to draw parallels between themselves and the characters in the film helping them to identify with the plot. Other than a neighbourhood, my group and I decided to use two other settings in our trailer; one being school and the other not necessarily an abandoned house but an empty one.

How do you access films?Our audience’s answer to this question showed that the dominant format of watching films is via streaming. This is unsurprising as we live in a digital age and 17-19 year old are a group that spend a lot of time online and have a good, solid understanding of how to use the internet successfully. Netflix is another popular way of accessing films and is also an online platform. Having our film on Netflix would prove wise as it would prevent illegal streaming. From these results it seems that online promotions and adverts would be the most efficient way to market our film and establish interest within our audience.

Who is your favourite horror film villain?

The majority of people who completed the survey chose their preferred horror villain to be Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street. This particular villain was a vengeful, mass murdering ghost who killed people through their dreams. Given that this is our target audience’s favourite villain, my group should attempt to base our anti-hero on the character of Freddy Krugeur. Other than this, the villain Michael Myers from Halloween is a popular choice indicating that our audience favour films in which the ‘bad’ characters actions are completed in an attempt to bring about revenge.

When would you preferably go and see a Slasher film?

Given that the common season in which 17-19 year olds go and see Slasher films is around winter (and obviously as Halloween is a major time for horror films) it makes more sense to release a low budget, independent horror film in the spring time in order to avoid serious competition and give our film the best advantage to make a good profit at the box office.

What weapon would you most like to see in a Slasher film?

Our audience’s general weapon of choice is machete, axe, chainsaw and knife. As the first three are relatively hard to get hold of, we chose to use a knife in our trailer. The knife, as well as being an iconic symbol within Slasherfilms is also a masculine, phallic symbol as it is a weapon thrust into a victim’s body by a normally male villain.

Most people who completed our survey watch horror films with their friends who would most likely be their peers and thus the same age as the people who completed out survey (17-19). This would not affect much of the choices we make in our trailer as our Slasher film still only has to appeal to this age group especially given that the second most popular answer for this question is to watch horror films alone.

Who do you watch horror films with?

Secondary Data

Highest ranked films at the box office 2013

This table shows the number of releases and box office profits of each genre within the year of 2013. The top performing title for the horror genre was World War Z thus in an attempt to put my film on par with this release I will take elements from the trailer and transpose them as suitable to my plot, locations and characters.

All films, UK films and UK independent films box office

ratingsThese figures show the profits made at the box office comparing UK films and UK independent films. The horror genre has the most profits from the UK film category and a very low level concerning the independent films meaning that UK horror films are not popular at all. However, UK horror films are more popular than American imports so it could be argued that there is a gap in the market whereas trying to compete with UK independent comedy films might be harder as there are so many.

Audience Profile

Audience Profile – Key Statistics

• The majority of the participants in our survey will fall into the C1 or C2 social grade in terms of the ABC1 demographic categories. Given that most (if not all) of our sample were students their parents most likely have supervisory, clerical, junior managerial, administrative or professional jobs or are skilled manual workers. Most people fall into the A, B and C1 categories and these people also spend the most in the current economy. This means that any marketing conducted for my Slasher film must be specifically tailored to the taste of these people.

• Young and Rubicam’s characterisation model divides the audience into seven distinct types of consumers. The three that apply most to the questionnaire results I have received are aspirers, reformers and explorers. Aspirers crave status and aregenerally quite materialistic. They tend to be viewed as superficial and are more concerned with other’s values and opinionsrather than their own. This is typical of teenagers as most of them are constantly wanting to fit in, so change their opinions swiftly to allow easier association with their peers. Reformers vary drastically from aspirers as they value their own judgement more than others and often seek out to be different rather than mainstream. The seek enlightenment and are generally the most intelligent of the characterisation types. The last category I am concerned with are explorers; these types of people seek out something new and authentic and are the first to sample new brands. They are constantly trying to discover something novel and experience new challenges. Most young people normally identify themselves as explorers.

• These needs for status individuality and freedom can all also be linked to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow was a psychologist who contemplated the motivations behind people’s needs. All manner of things that aspirers, reformers and explorers need are also known as self-actualisation. This is known as a person’s need to achieve their full potential and accomplish everything they could possibly do.

• All decisions made for my horror film will be decided to ensure that the choices appeal to both genders, students, and those who already have a great appreciation for the horror film franchise and are constantly seeking out new films to provide them with entertainment.