Unit 4 Media Audiences and Products

Media Audiences and Products

Know how a media industry identifies audiences for its products.

There are various ways that the Media Industry identifies audiences for its products. One example can be, within the backgrounds and interests that the audience have that can be reflected over the Internet including web browsers.

Another way of identifying the audience is using audience research such as qualitative, quantitive and measurement organisations including:

• NRS - National Readership Survey
• BARB - Broadcasters' Audience Research Board
• RADJAR
• ONS - Office for National Statistics
• ABC - American Broadcasting Company

The Media industry identify their specific audience by categorising the different types of audiences. This helps them to discover the interests that each individual audience have.

By dividing the audience's up to find their certain audience, they use sectors which include:

• Age
• Gender
• Nationality
• Sexual Preference
• Address - Post code/District
• SOC- Standard Occupational Classification (work placement)
•  Disposable Income - Currency that can be spent on Luxury items.

Other sectors that the Media Industry use to identify their audience can be more detailed. These sectored systems are more detailed to expose one individual, to enable to view the different interests the one individual has within the one audience. This sector's layout involves; Age group and Classification by Occupation.

This was the UK registrar General  for the 1911 Census that includes the six socio-economic classes.

Since 2001 the 1911 socio-economic classification was replaced by the new classification   of 2001. The new socio-economic classification now portraits these Standard Occupational Classifications which are:


National Readership Survey





















Demographic groups

The Demographic groups are sectored into different areas. These are  age, gender, income, lifestyle, children and interests. When doing marketing research it helps to look at the different demographic groups to target a certain audience. e.g. If I was to advertise a sports watch I would research on a certain audience reflecting on the specific preferences. The preferences could be the design, quality, brand, age, gender, lifestyle and price. Also working out where, when and how the product will be advertised.

The advertisement for this product could be poster's advertised in gyms and sport centres. The product could also be advertised in an advert on a sports channel such as 'sky sports' and could be advertised at a reasonable time maybe in the middle of a sports game.