Why is a target audience necessary?

A target audience is the general group (s) that you are aiming a certain product or service at, this allows someone creating the product to know who will be consuming their product. Without a specific target audience there will be no guidelines and parameters people can work in. For example if a producer wants to release a rap music video, they will need to know what kind of props/location to feature so they need to see who will watch the music video.

If there is no target audience, there will be no way to see how well the music video is doing if everyone is aimed at, there would be no specific features that appeal to a certain group. This would mean that either everyone or no one would watch the video as there is no theme.

My target audience will help me market and advertise as well as allow me to add certain features such as props or editing techniques. If I have a specific target audience, carrying out research such as surveys and conducting focus groups will be much easier as well as more effective.

Enjoys sport, music, TV, games, socialising, movies and shopping

Usually Wears jeans, t shirts and hoodies primarily, as well as smart attire for education

In a part time job such as retail

Spends money on music, movies, food, clothes and travel. No major expenses.

Studies AS/A2 at 6th form Like Pop, R’n’B music

16- 18 Years Old

Is in Full time education or apprenticeship

Lives at home with parents

Has a girlfriend/boyfriend

Aspiring to go to university and a get a job after

This mood board consists of the main objects that the target audience would be interested

in stereotypically.

Target Audience (Individual) Interview: To help me better understand

my target audience, I chose a random participant from my school and interviewed them to gain useful qualitative information.

As part of my target audience, I am picking an individual at random to carry out an extensive interview to find out a profile of the target audience. This will provide me with vital qualitative data which is useful when making decisions during production.

Question 1: Do you think music videos are interesting to watch?Answer: Not all the time, some music videos have dull and boring storylines with no real special effects which, to me, isn't very interesting. However, some of the music videos from artists such as Niki Minaj, Lil Wayne and Kay Z are interesting to watch because the locations are set in nice places. The props like the cars are also really cool.

Question 2: What kind of genre of music videos are the most entertaining?Answer: Usually Genres such as pop/Dance and Hip hop have the most entertaining videos as the special effects make the entire storyline more upbeat and fun to follow.

Question 3: Are there any features of a music video that you feel should be elaborated? Answer: I think that the dancers in some videos seem like they are just as a small feature, the camera should center them more as well as the celebrity. The lyrics is also something that is hardly shown in music videos as it is vital in a song, I think that for the chorus the lyrics should be shown.

Question 4: What makes you want to watch a music video? Answer: I usually watch music videos when I hear a song on the radio and if my friends tell me a video is good I would check it out. I also watch music videos when I am on YouTube and want to hear the song so I end up watching the video anyway. Another thing that makes me watch a music video is Facebook; the artists pages I like show the music video on their page.

Question 5: Do you think music videos have become a waste of money recently? Answer: I wouldn't’t say a complete waste of money but I do think that the record labels spend a little too much as the videos are usually 2-4 minutes long so spending £100,000s on such a short video makes it a little extravagant, as all around the world there are causes such as poverty, cancer research, animal aid and water shortages that would infinitely benefit from the money. Some musicians have low budget videos such as just a single camera shot of them performing which is also very effective as it is simple and allows the audience to see the actual musicians perform.

Demographics research: Target Audience

• Age: The age of my target audience would be between 16-18 Years old

• Income: The income of my target audience would be less than £400 as they would usually get pocket money from their family or have a part time retails job in places such as Tesco, TK Maxx or Sainsbury’s.

• Location: The target audience would usually be living within the United Kingdom, Mainly south London at home with their parents.

• Profession: The target audience would usually be students , in full time education such as As levels/university or working as an apprentice is their desired field or work.

• Marital Status: This group would not be married however they would be looking for a relationship such as a boy/girl friend.

Psychographics research

• Lifestyle: My target audience would be interested in school as they would be in A levels or University which is the main stepping stone before getting a job. They would also be socialising with their friends/partners in places such as shopping centers, restaurants, movies and at the gym. This age group would also be the primary consumers of the mass media from TV (shows/movies) , Internet such as shopping websites, social networking websites and streaming. This group would also have portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, IPods, Tablets and laptops.

• Aspirations: This group would aspire to getting a degree from their universityand getting a good job. They would also look forward to meeting and making new friends. They would be interested in relationships and wanting a girlfriend/boyfriend. Making money is also a primary aspiration as they would want money to spend on items such as clothes, shoes, travel costs, driving lessons, movies, food and entertainment (games, streaming etc.)

• Values: This group would value things such as Friendship, wanting to grow personally, gaining in terms of finance, Reputation and Freedom.

• Hobbies/Interests: They would have a large interest in things such as Socialising, Social networking, Traveling, Sports and consuming mass media such as music and TV.

How demographics and psychographics affects production?

The demographics and psychographics of a given population affects production of my video because I need to have an outline of my target audience in order to add or subtract certain features and styles to my music video. For example; if I wanted to have props such as alcohol or gangs and found out that my target audiences’ values include not drinking or getting involved in crime it would deteriorate them from wanting to watch the video.

However if I find out the main likes and dislikes (generally) of the target audience I can tailor the music video accordingly maximising the view ability of my product. This will also help me when I am during the editing stage and need to make decision such as when to cut a scene, how fast the scenes should cut and what overlay effects should be added.

I can also market my music video in places where I know the audience would be, whether it is online (social networking, gaming or shopping websites) or in physical places such as bus stops, street billboards or restaurants.