One of the most common ways of identifying a target audience is the social-economic model. Even though this model, used by the NRS (National Readership Survey Ltd), has been used for a long time, it is still a useful way of identifying an audience and deconstructing a text.
The basis for the system is money – AB audiences, for example, are assumed to have more spending power that CDE audiences.
However, it is also presumed AB audiences prefer high culture (e.g. art-cinema, broadsheets and late night art programs on TV). While CDE, who stereotypically like Hollywood commercial films and watch more TV/films makes up a larger proportion of society making this the 'mass audience
Mass Audience
mass audiences are basically large mainstream audiences who consume mainstream or popular culture (Marxist would claim that this audience is largely made up of the ‘working class’), such as Hollywood films, Eastenders, reality TV, Premiership football, simple Hollywood, tabloids etc. High culture, by contrast, is usually associated with broadsheets, opera, ballet and BBC Four.
Niche Audience
A niche audience is smaller than a mass audience but usually very influential e.g. those Marxist would define as upper class/middle class who controlled the media may wish to see ‘high culture’ programs hence the launch of BBC Four for those who wish to hear/see artistic high culture programs. Niche audiences don’t have to be this group, though, they can be any small dedicated group who advertisers feel are worth targeting/marking products for. Examples could include, certain films (e.g. 'adult' movies - which can not really be called ‘high art’), fishing magazines, farming programs.
'Even though some critics still believe that there is some truth to this model (hence why age restrictions exist and some products are banned completely) others felt that this model oversimplifies the situation. For example, David Morley did a nationwide ‘Reception Theory’ study in 1980 to determine how different audiences view the same text (he showed them all the same edition of Nationwide – a local news program shown after BBC One’s main evening news bulletin). He found that the way audiences interpreted a text generally fell under one of the following:
Exam practice question...
"Successful media products depend upon catering for the needs of a specific target audience." To what extent do you agree with this statement within the media area you have studied?
In terms of this quote, Zombieland's target audience is Men aged 15-30 with a nationality of American and sexuality of straight. The class would be a C1-E (lower middle class to lowest grade workers.) As Hall and Holmes said, 'Any media text is created for a particular audience and will usually appeal most to this particular target audience' I could relate this to Zombieland and how they had made it because all throughout the process of making it, they kept in mind that their target audience of men would like all the blood and gore that they were offering.
They also used the casting stage of the production to relate to the target audience because they cast a young(attractive) actor to play the damsel in distress. this links to the theory by laura Mulvey who said women are seen 'as erotic objects of desire.' And Emma Stone fits that description of skinny, attractive and usually the victim. This all helps men to engage with the film.
My other chosen film, Shaun of the Dead, the target audience were 15-30-year-old men who were straight and British who belonged to the classes of C1 to E. This film would have a Niche audience because of the content of the film. it is more of a fan-based film that would have liked zombies and the key actors in the film. in the production process of this film, they would have been thinking about this when they cast it with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Both in the program spaced which was written by Pegg. They even cast the extras from a fandom site of the program spaced. This would strongly relate to their audience.
The film that made the most money was Zombieland because of its mass audience and use of marketing. To link back to the question, I agree with the statement because the Hollywood film catered for all aspect of its target audience, whereas the British film had a niche audience and did not make as much money. It also was made by a smaller production studio than the Hollywood film.
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