Audiences

Audience Classification 

The Mainstream are the people who believe that a daily routine is essential to their everyday lives and their core need in life is for security and familiarity. They are the mainstream of society meaning they're life choices are 'we' rather than 'me' and would rather stick to what everyone else is doing. A media text that I think would be suitable for a mainstream audience would be Britain's Got Talent because a wide spread of people across Britain will talk about it and discuss in their day to day lives. Social networking is also heavily involved as you'd find thousands of tweets or statuses dedicated to the show which also attracts many more viewers in the mainstream category as they want to fit in with society. As an immensely popular TV show, it gives the mainstream audience an opportunity to fit in with the majority and other mainstreamers.

The Succeeders tend to occupy positions of responsibility in society and will often seek out the best, because that is what they feel they deserve. I think the media text 'The Apprentice' is suitable for this category because it features aspiring business people who compete to work with Lord Sugar, they compete to be the best. This would appeal to a succeeder because they'll be able to relate to their strong goal orientation and enjoy seeing the range of business themed tasks. Also because their core need in life is control, they would be able to judge whether they believe these contestants are able enough for the job.

The Aspirers tend to be materialistic, acquisitive people who respond to what others perceive as being superficial. They're driven by other people's perception of them therefore their core in life is status. Due to this, media texts that would be suitable for this type of audience would be magazines such as Elle or Glamour which focus on fashion and looking good which means a lot to them. Both magazines feature high-end fashion articles and represent an imposing image which to an aspirer means everything. Overall an attractive pack is very important to an aspirer therefore magazines such as these contain everything that they would want.

Explorers are those who are driven by discovery, challenge and exploring new things which perhaps the people around them aren't familiar with. A media text that would be suitable for an Explorer would be Bombay Bicycle Club's 'So Long, Se You Tomorrow' due to it's use of synth swirls and layered harmonies along side a 'tornado of looped vocals' and numerous crescendos. This album would appear to be something different to some people therefore it's perfect for an explorer as difference is what they seek out. The album is described as 'dazzling, euphoric electronic-pop' and seeing as an explorer's core need in life is discovery, why not give this album a listen.

I think that these categories can be quite useful to help define audience types because it easily places us into the different categories. For example, many people in society will find themselves falling into the mainstream category as they tend to want to follow the crowd and not stand out or be any different from others. However some people may feel that they fit into more than one category along side perhaps the most common category, the mainstreamers. An example of this would be a mainstreamer who also desires to look good making them an aspirer. Aspirers are driven by other peoples perceptions of them so perhaps they also don't like being too different. Overall these categories are useful to point of which people fall into more than one category and texts need to consider this when targeting audiences.

A popular TV show which has been on recently is The X Factor which searches across the country for 'the next big thing'. I feel this show is targeted at middle lower class families due to it having no explicit moments and also the audience at home being able to discuss whether the judges made the right decision or not. A typical audience member may include a teenage girl around the age of fourteen who tends to sit at home watching it with her family of an evening. I'd imagine that she's white British with no real religious beliefs or even any interest in politics because of her age. As well as this I think she'd see herself as quite a fun loving person when it comes to spending time with family but also quite independent due to being in high school. Her other media intakes would mostly be social networking, other reality TV shows and perhaps some films.

The programme Britain's Got Talent would mostly appeal to people in the category of 'groupies' because they want to be accepted by those around them. By watching this popular TV show, they can talk about and relate with friends and people on social networking sites. The programme The Apprentice would most likely appeal to 'cowboys' and also 'egoists' because if they're people interest in business they'll want to be able to make money quickly but also they'll want to get the most for themselves out of life. Being able to see other people's ideas will allow them to judge and share opinion. I think that Elle or Glamour magazine will appeal to 'groupies' and 'trendies' because as well as wanting to feel accepted, they want the admiration of their peers. By reading these magazines they will keep up with the latest fashion trends allowing them to maybe feel this admiration. The album So Long, See You Tomorrow would perhaps appeal to 'egoists' or maybe even 'innovators'. I think this because as well as being concerned about getting the most out of life, they want to make their mark on the world which this album has done due to it being something different. Finally the TV show The X Factor would most likely appeal to 'groupies' again due to them wanting to be accepted by their friends and everyone else around them. I also think that 'cynics' may find this show particularly amusing since they always have something to complain about, and I can say that they'll probably find a lot to complain about when coming to this show.