Secondary Audience Research

In order to gain inspiration for my products, I have attempted to research the target audience of three different styles of horror films in order to outline if there are any similarities and differences in terms of their age and socioeconomic backgrounds.

The fist film I researched was Paranormal Activity 3, a horror film which is part of a trilogy and is generally a mainstream horror film. According to pearlanddean.com the film does not appeal to those under 15 whatsoever as it states that 0% watched this film, this due to the age restrictions of horror films. The film clearly proves to be most popular amongst those who are aged 15-24 making up 79% of the target audience. Which in contrast to the rest of the age groups, it is significantly larger with 12% of 25-34 year olds viewing the film and only 3% of 35-44 and 6% of 45+. This clearly signifies that paranormal activity is targeted to a younger audience, an audience who seek an adrenaline rush through watching others terror and discomfort. In terms of gender and the target audience, there is generally an even split with a of 53% males and 47% females. Therefore the film generally appeals to both genders. In terms of the socio-economic class, it appears that the film appeals DE (working class) with 35% and C1 (lower - middle class) with 33%.

The next film 'Fright Night' which is a fusion film of horror and comedy, again is a slightly mainstream horror film, but the target audience in which it appeals to differs ever so slightly. Again, due to age restrictions, 0% of people from ages 4 - 14 will pay to see this film. Similar to Paranormal Activity 3, the dominating age range of the target audience is 15 - 24 which makes up 65% of the target audience, however this is slightly smaller than the 15 - 24 group who see Paranormal Activity 3 (79%). This means that for fright night, the percentage of the next age group that are expected to view this film is notably higher than paranormal activity with 23% of 25-34 year olds viewing this film. The percentage may be slightly higher because Fright Night is a remake and this age group may have went to see the original film when they fell in the 15-24 group. Additionally, Fright Night may appeal to a slightly older audience too because it is a fusion of Horror and Comedy, meaning that there is an element of humour behind terror in which a slightly older audience may enjoy more. Furthermore, the actors used are slightly older too, such as David Tennant, and a slightly older audience may be able to relate to the slightly older actors. However, the film still has very little appeal to those who fall in the categories of 35 -44 and 45+. In terms of gender, again the there is generally an even split between genders, however in this case the female target audience is slightly more dominant with them making up 52% of the target audience. When looking at the socioeconomic class, it is evident that the film appeals the most to lower middle classes.

The film Red State, which appears to be a niche Horror film, due to its estimated box office of £500 000 appears to appeal, to slightly wider range of people. Again likewise with Paranormal Activity 3 and Fright Night, 0% of 4 - 14 year olds will not see this movie due to age restrictions. Again, the target audience is dominated by the 15 - 24 age range who make up 48% of the target audience. However this is notably smaller compared to the 79% of 15 - 24 year olds who watched Paranormal Activity 3, and 65% who watched Fright Night. Therefore Red State appears to have the highest range of target audiences. Red State appears to appeal highly to the age category of 25 - 34 (31%). The film also appears to have a ever so slightly high appeal to 35 - 44 year olds too who make up 15% of the target audience. The film has very little appeal to 45+ age category (6%). In terms of gender, the film appears to appeal to males slightly more as they make up 60% of the target audience. It appears that the film is marketed towards lower-middle and working class. 

In conclusion, this research has influenced me in the following ways: 

• I should aim to create a teaser trailer which appeals the most to 15 - 24 year olds, however I should ensure that my teaser trailer appeals to a slightly older audience too, in particular 25 - 33 year olds
• Furthermore the teaser trailer that I aim to produce should appeal to both genders
• The teaser trailer should also appeal to those who are of lower-middle class 

Magazine Reader Profiles:

Empire Magazine is a magazine targeted towards the "Die hard" film fans. The majority of the target audience is predominantly male, aged between 18-39 year olds. According to Bauer Media, the target audience is 76% male. Therefore unlike my film trailer which I aim to market towards both genders equally. Therefore if I want to use similar forms and conventions of Empire magazine, I should market my magazine towards predominantly male audience. For example the posters featured inside this magazine are of iconic films which would appeal to males, they are not of male actors who have "Sex appeal" that would generally appeal towards women. 

The target audience are also media savvy and are up to date with technology. This is evident through the fact that Empire Magazine now have an iPad app, in which the audience can purchase and read the magazine on their iPad. Furthermore, the audience of Empire Magazine are more likely to read the magazine through page to page as it was found that 90% of the audience of Empire Magazine are likely to keep there magazine in a safe place for future reference. 

On average, Empire Magazine readers are likely to spend 50% more on IT products. This suggests that the target audience falls within the AB sociodemographic model. This further suggests that the majority of Empire Magazine's target audience either are studying for a degree or have a diploma. Therefore it's likely that the majority of the target audience work within professional roles. 

Readership Profile:

• Total Film readers watch an average of three films per week and bought an average of 28 DVDs 12 months prior to this survey
• More than 60% have bought a product or service as a result of advertising or articles in the magazine. 26% visit the cinema at least once a week

Similar to Empire Magazine. This clearly suggests that the target audience of Total Film are die hard movie fans. They are also expected to be media savvy by frequently purchasing modern technologies such as iPads, Kindles and so forth. Although the readership profile does not state their target audiences socio-economic class. The reader profile suggests that they fall in the AB socio-economic class as their behaviours appear to be similar to Empire Magazine.

Overall Conclusion
It is noticeable that the target audience of the films and magazines vary greatly. The target audience of the magazines is very male orientated whereas there is generally an even split of the target audience in horror films. As my target audience is very up to date with modern technologies, I may consider using modern technologies in my trailer such as iPods and so forth.