How do media texts appeal to a target audience?
Some media textAny media product such as a TV programme, film, magazine, video game, newspaper, music track or album created for an audience. aim to attract a broad audience, like Radio Times, while others are for niche audienceA small, narrow audience interested in a specific topic or theme - the opposite of a mass market audience. with a specific interest, such as the 大象传媒 Gardeners World magazine or Classic Land Rover.
When a media text targets a small very specific audience it is narrow castingWhen a media text targets a small very specific audience..
When a media producer has established a target audienceThe specific audience group a media text is aimed at. for their media text they use certain methods to appeal to this group.
These methods include:
Technical and Audio Codes
- A movie trailerA short piece of media which advertises a media text - this can be for a film, TV programme or video game. for an action-adventure film will have fast editing and a stirring music track which builds excitement. It will often be shown before a film from a similar genreA type or category of media text; TV, film, magazines, newspapers, websites and video games are all examples of genres. so that the appropriate audience is targeted.
- The bright colours and varied fontStyle applied to text, eg Times New Roman, Arial and Verdana are all types of font. that feature on lifestyle magazine front covers make them eye-catching and more appealing to buy.
- The range of camera angles, shots and movement used in a TV programme or film all help to make it more interesting to watch.
Language
- Hospital dramas use medical language to make the action and dialogue feel more realistic.
- Computer gaming magazines use a subject specific lexisWords or expressions used by a particular group, such as gamers, that might be difficult for others outside that world to understand. featuring gaming words like 鈥榖oss鈥 (highest level of enemy), 鈥楾winking鈥 (helping out a less advanced player) or 鈥榥erf鈥 (when an update reduces the power of a certain weapon or character) that will appeal to their gamer audience but may not be understood by people who aren鈥檛 gamers.
Mode of Address
- Some magazines like gossip or chat magazines will use an informal mode of addressThe ways in which a media text uses language to speak to its target audience - for example, formal or informal., which appeals to their target readership and suits the content of the magazines.
- Newspapers and television news programmes use a formal mode of address, which suits the serious nature of the content and is what their audience would expect.
Construction
- A moving image text can use enigma codeEnigma codes are common in thriller narratives as they entice the audience to watch through to the end by withholding key information until the climax., star actors, or multi-stranded narratives to help it appeal to its target audience.
- A print text layoutThe way that a page or document is set out with specific places for pieces of text or images. and design will attract its audience with sell lineA line of text on a magazine front cover designed to be eye catching and encourage someone to buy., cover lineLines of text on the front cover of a magazine that describe the contents of the articles inside. and an eyecatching cover image.
Magazine front cover elements
Context
- Placing an advertisement for beer in a half time advert break during a live football game is likely to attract the target audienceThe specific audience group a media text is aimed at. of adult males.
- Placing a film trailer for a romantic comedy in an advert break during another romantic comedy being broadcast on TV will mean that it is likely to be seen by the film's target audience.