Audience Research

 

Audience Research

Above is the questionnaire I have created to conduct my audience research. The questions included have a variety of purposes which will allow me to create a positive impression towards the college magazine I am going to create.

 

 

Question 1:

 

What age category do you fall under?
By asking the age of the participant, I can be sure between the differences age can make to the content they wish to see.

 

Question 2:

 

What is your gender?
The gender of the audience can make a massive difference to the amount of people who are interested in the magazine and this information can help make sure the content is not biased towards one gender. A college magazine is aimed at all students.

 

Questions 3, 4 and 10:

 

What is your nationality?

Do you consider yourself religious? Would you mind telling me what your parents do for a living?

Knowing the nationalities of the audience can help give a sense of cultural differences that can be found within a college, then reflected positively in the magazine. This also applies to the religious audience. I do not want to favour a stereotype that  the audience will be British and either christian or atheist, but instead, fairly appeal to the whole population.

 

Generally the results can relate to three psycho graphic profiles including a belonger (the most common profile making up 40% of the population: someone who is family and friend based) and the socially conscious (both types: the ideal of wanting to make the world a better place, whether the world on a whole or their own world).

If they are not religious then it may relate to another profile such as an achiever (someone who wants to be successful, maybe even want power)  and needs driven (someone who is frivolous with money and usually quite gullible).

 

However, there can be a problem with stereotypes, for example, although an achiever is associated with knowledge and reasoning their may be a case where they are also a firm believer in their religion. This can come down to judgement of the overall results to personally target this audience.

 

Parents' jobs are also an excellent indication of the social group the student is most likely to be part of. Maslow's Hierarchy of needs can also be incorporated. For example, one of my participants' mother is a housewife. This can indicate that she is family oriented and focuses on safety and love from her family and friends.

Questions 5 and 6:

 

Which area do you live in?

Which college do you attend?

The different areas where the audience live can give a good indication as to the size of the audience to reach out to. This can also give me an idea of the social classes the magazine would appeal to, for example, Hutton Village would usually include possibly B and up with professions with a higher income as opposed to social classes more commonly found in Middlesbrough which would more likely have a lower income with social classes C and under.

As I attend prior college many of the students I have researched also attend the same college.

 

Question 7:

 

What is your favourite subject?

 

By determining the most commonly liked subject this can give me the knowledge to know which content to include, the path they are likely to take after college and maybe even a sense of the social class they are in now or would like to see themselves in the future.

 

Questions 8 and 9:

 

What topic(s) would you like to see in a college magazine?

 

Any other suggestions?

 

According to the most popular topics I can determine the most desirable in a magazine and how many pages of each section will keep the audience captivated, if any. I can use this information to entice as many people as possible and by allowing them a say in the production I giving them the idea of reliability, freedom of speech and some control on their part which is a growing need in the media nowadays.

 

Questions 11 and 12:

 

Do you receive an allowance?

 

This now allows me to focus not on the whole household but the individual by asking the maximum spend on a magazine which can be linked to the disposable income they have (if they have an allowance or hold a job).

 

Questions 13, 14 and 15:

 

Are you part of any form of group or organisation?

 

Are you currently part of any type of social network/s?

 

I have tried to subtly introduce this question to try and help place the audience into a profile. A lot of media is also based on the Internet, asking the question, would a magazine benefit from operating on line? Many social net workers also tend to be fit into the profiles as a belonger or an emulator/wannabe (someone who likes the idea of becoming an something else and tends to imitate and base themselves on this). For example, brand loyalty is a good indication of a belonger.

 

Question 16:

 

Do you like to take part in any form of charity or voluntary work?

 

Are you interested in current political affairs?

 

This is a very specific question that help to immediately narrow down the options of profiles to the socially conscious or a belonger. The hierarchy of needs could also be compared as someone who wants to help others is likely to concentrate on the essential in life such as food, shelter and love.

 

On the other hand, some one interested in political affairs may strive for more than the essentials as another stereotype is the relation of politics as a "posh" interest.

 

Question 18:

 

When purchasing food items and food, do you like to know here the have come from and how they are made?

 

This can lead to a socially conscious profile because someone interested in this subject are most likely to try and concentrate on improving the world such as using fair trade and ethical employment.

 

Question 19:

 

Do you prefer to save money for later or spend it on what you need at the time?

 

Another very specific profile, if the student is frivolous with money then this can lead to the impression that they may be needs driven and unconscious of the importance of money.

 

Question 20:

 

What plans do you have for the future?

 

Knowing this answer can help me with the content, for example if many students are likely to go to university then this gives me the opportunity to include information about the local opportunities, financing and help to find the right university.

 

More to come...