RESEARCH: Target Audience

TARGET AUDIENCES

TARGET AUDIENCE DEFINITION:

A particular group the film/motion picture is aimed at. 

PRIMARY AUDIENCE:

The primary audience of a film is the main audience the film is targeting. This is who the creators think of when creating the film, and base many decisions in the film on what would appeal to this audience. For example, an action films primary audience is men aged 15-35, fitting into the demographic C1 to E. 

SECONDARY AUDIENCE:

A secondary audience is an audience who will see the film through circumstance or through friends and family. They are not who the film is aimed at, but will most likely watch it. An example is parents, who are a secondary audience to animation. They will end up watching the film as they will take their children to see it, although it is not a film they would choose to watch on their own, nor is the film made for them.

TERTIARY AUDIENCE: 

A tertiary audience is an audience who will become somewhat interested in the film because of something familiar in it. It will probably not be a film they would usually watch, nor are they the primary or secondary audience, however they will be drawn to the film due to an element which appeals to them. An example of this is the upcoming film 'Dunkirk', which has singer Harry Styles in. The film is a war film, and the tertiary audience will be teenage girls. This is because they do not fit the typical audience demographic of this film, but will be familiar with a main actor in the film and so may be inclined to watch it. 

DEMOGRAPHICS AND PSYCHOGRAPHICS:

Demographics: a characteristic used to classify people for statistical purposes, such as age, race, or gender.

Psychographic: a way of dividing the audience in terms of social class, lifestyle and personality characteristics. 

WHY SHOULD FILMS HAVE A TARGET AUDIENCE?

Target audiences allow film-makers to create and base a film off the audience's needs. A film is far more likely to be successful if the creators have thought about what would be received well by an audience. If there is no clear target audience, the film won't have structure and it will be harder to decide what do when shooting and editing the film. Having a target audience is also helpful in advertising and marketing. For example, if a films target audience is teenagers, they will be more successful in advertising their film through social media rather than print media.