Target audience profile

Gender: Both male and female.

Age: 18-35

Professional Status/Educational background:

 If the target audience are in the age bracket of 18-21 then they will most likely be in full time education and possibly have a part time job that helps give them a feeling of independence. They might be studying in collage or at a university with subjects ranging from academic English and History, to more creative subjects like Drama, Art or Media. However if they audience is in the age bracket of 21+ it is expected that they will be in a full time job that they enjoy and are passionate about. Many of them will probably be working class because they have just started their careers at the bottom and are trying to work their way up, whilst others have gotten luckier and have landed the perfect job straight away.

Personality:

The personality of our target audience can be described as friendly, because they enjoy spending time and hanging out with their friends. They also like making new friends and are good at making others feel welcomed. The target audience is happy to lend a hand if they see someone struggling and get easily exited when they hear about new upcoming films or good news in general. They are quite mature but also like to be a bit childish at times so they can relax and just have fun.

Marital/relationship status:

The target audience are made up of those who are single and those who are in a relationship. If they are single, they are happy with their current status and just hanging out with friends. If they are not single, they are most likely in a committed relationship or have been married for a while.

Hobbies/ interests/ favourite pastime:

The females within the target audience adore having nights in on the sofa whilst watching some movies with their girlfriends and order a takeaway to treat themselves, or dig into a bowl of popcorn and sip on some beverages. Other times they may enjoy going out to pubs and restaurants for a nice change of surroundings. The males prefer going out with their mates to pubs and watch sports like football. They also enjoy watching TV and movies at home whist relaxing or playing videogames online. They prefer takeaway foods like pizza because they don’t particularly like cooking; nevertheless they try to eat healthy as often as they possibly can.

Favourite films, books, TV programmes:

Orphan, The Exorcist, Paranormal activity set, also likes violent thriller films such as Taken. These kinds of films are enjoyed by the target audience because it brings them to the edge of their seat and gets their adrenalin pumping. They may also enjoy programmes like ‘Life on Mars’ because they like the mystery and not too complicated but well thought out narratives.

‘24’ is another programme they like to watch occasionally. This tense action packed crime drama almost injects the audience with adrenalin and they can’t stop watching until the ordeals are resolved.

Other films they enjoy include psychological thrillers like ‘Shutter Island’. This film brings them more mystery and the goal of solving it. Being a thriller, it brings about more action and tension and they enjoy this movie in particular, because it features elements of psychological horror; from dark lighting and shadows, to the character doubting his own sanity.

Favourite book recently read, would be novels including drama and unexpected happenings for example:

 The book named ‘15 seconds’ written by Andrew Gross which is novel about a male who gets punished for indirectly supplying a female with a medical drug that caused her to have a car crash and kill a mother and baby. The female then ends up in prison, however years later her dad takes action and causes a long winded horrific plot to get Henry Steadmen (the doctor) put away for murder. The novel therefore concentrates on a long tortuous process that Vance (the female’s father) causes. The target audience thoroughly enjoying novels that take them on adventure and leaving them wondering what will happen next.

For the younger members of the target audience, the book ‘Skulduggery Pleasant’ by Derek Landy would prove to be an exciting read, full of mystery, deception, detectives and a little bit of the paranormal. The novel is about a young girl whose uncle mysteriously dies and she ends up inheriting his estate. Soon after, strange people start to target her and with the help of an; even stranger detective, she has to solve what really happened to her uncle and protect her own life. Whilst not telling anyone else what she’s up to.  The target audience enjoys this book because it offers some lighter reading, but still has their favourite elements of mystery, death and the unknown. This novel, unlike most also offers some humour and clever whit throughout the adventure, giving the target audience a bit of joy while they read.

How often do they watch horror?

They watch horror films possibly at least once a month but watch them more often in the winter times when the dark evenings are back in season and horror films tend to be released in the cinema. They enjoy watching them both at the cinema and in their own home. They may even have a small collection of their favourite horror films or possibly posters of them.

Why do they like the sub-genre of Supernatural?

The supernatural sub-genre; is our target audience’s favourite due to the conventions it features. They find the idea of spirits, demons, black magic and unexplainable paranormal occurrences a lot scarier than the thought of a lose killer that can be caught. They like how supernatural horrors can turn the most innocent thing like a toy, into the centre of fear for the characters; and how the villain or threat can’t always be killed, so the way the characters deal with the villain needs to be a lot more clever or unusual. This is another reason why the target audience find supernatural films more interesting than the other genres.