Classifying Audiences

1.(a) The Mainstream is the largest group of society, its basically people who's life choices are 'we' rather than 'me', and their core need in life is for security, they want to fit in with the crowd and follow media texts that are popular so they dont fit in with everyone, a media text that i think would be a good example of this is 'X Factor' everyone talks about it in whatever audience class your in, it doesnt matter if your in the audience class a or e, this would make you fit in with everyone else if their talking about it which is more than likely to happen. Also, because security is their core need in life, they know that they can relate to people who do watch the show and they wont feel left out.

The Succeeder tends to be very organised and possess self-confidence, their core need in life is for control, they are also likely to occupy positions of responsibility in society. A media text that i think would be a good example of this is 'The Apprentice' because it is a programme where businessmen strive to show their skills and determination to Lord Sugar and to be better than their opposition in whatever tasks they are given to do. Also, because control their core need in life, i believe that they have an aggressive attitude to life just by wanting to beat anyone that would get in their way of achieving things, they need to relax occasionally.

For the Explorers, these people are driven by a need for discovery, challenge and new frontiers, they tend to try out new ideas and experiences. A media text that i think would be an example of this is if a new phone come out that isnt your typical iPhone or Blackberry, it may not be big the time the phone comes out but it could be big in the future so this is the type of thing they would like to try out.

The Aspirer is all about appearance, persona, charisma and fashion, attractiveness is important to them, so their core need in life is for status. A media text that i think would be a good example of this is 'Mens Health' magazine, this magazine makes men who read the magazine strive to have a body like them to make them feel good about themselves, this is everything the aspirer would want them to be especially men in this category, image is everything and this is what the magazine is all about.

1.(b) These categories are very helpful because we can easily tell the difference between different people to a certain extent. I think that the Mainstream category is very accurate because it tells easily that these people follow the crowd and if everyone they are surrounded by are talking about something or have something similar they will have to get it just to get involved or to follow the norm. A mainstreamer for example could be a bit of both, they could have well-known established brands, they could also be under the Succeeder, but also a Succeeder could also go under a Mainstreamer aswell.

1.(c) A programme which is currently on television is 'Loose Women' which is a show where four women on a panel who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip. This programme is mostly televised at midday, therefore i think that the majority of the viewers would be unemployed/part time workers. I would also say that middle aged women would watch this because the panel are mainly around that age, and i do not believe that the show would appeal to teenagers. I think that middle aged women would watch this because they could share interest with the panel and follow with their views whereas a man may not agree with their views.

1.(d) I think that the programme the 'X Factor' would appeal to people in the category of 'groupies' as they desire to be accepted by people around them, and watching this programme would allow them to interact with friends who more than likely would of watched it too. The programme 'The Apprentice' would likely appeal to 'egoists', as they only seek things to give them the most in life, therefore they would like the fact that they are being judged on the selling skills in the tasks given by Lord Sugar. I think that people who would get a new phone that isnt the likes of iPhone and Blackberry and people would give it a chance because they wouldnt want to a person who would assocaiate themselves in the mainstream category, i think this would appeal to 'drop-outs'. I think that the men health magazine would appeal to people in the category 'trendies' and 'groupies' as they seek admiration and acceptance of their piers, they would want to be seen as attractive by other people. Finally i think that 'Loose Women' would appeal to 'cynics' because they could join in with the debate that the panel are having about the particular topics that they are talking about, and would give the cynics something to criticize about.