Joseph Connell

Unit 6 learning outcome 1

Critical Approaches to creative media products

BND Games Design - 8288

Understanding how media producers define audience for their products

Quantitative Audience Research
This method of research aims to grasp peoples opinions by asking for them in a structured manner to produce hard facts over walls of text. These are usually done in large numbers to get a good and varied scope of your targeted audience. The most common forms of this research are customer surveys and questionnaires and these can be done in a variety of ways: face to face, over the telephone, post, online (emails or other websites). Since these often cover large amounts of people, each question needs to be carefully considered so they provide meaningful and relevant data. The questions are often closed so someone has to fill in specific selection answers that do not allow the person to elaborate or answer in detail. For example: a cinema might use this kind of survey to found out what are the most watched type of films, what product people buy, how many people accompany them to the cinema (etc) through data like this, they can affect their business accordingly and get the most of their customers. There are also several organizations that are made to gather information in specific industries such as BARB, RAJAR, ABC etc.

http://customercentri candcenter.org/wpcontent/uploads/201 1/01/Satisfiedcustomers-are-anextension-of-yoursales-force..jpg

http://www.t oolsforbusin ess.info/succ ess/images/s urvey.jpg

Qualitative Audience Research

This type of research refers to more worded and opinionated research and is generally gotten from a much smaller number than Quantitative research due to the increased amount of time it takes to collect this kind of research and then to analyze it. This research gives us a closer look into the why people do things and the deeper meanings behind it rather than the quantities counterpart which looks at more numeric and straight factual data. Whilst it is harder to gather this information (questionnaires and other simpler forms of research dont always go into the detail required for this type of research) there are various methods in which to do so: Research Interviews i.e. face to face chats with people, large case studies that take time to go into depth, observations, etc. For example for quantative research I could ask how my class mate would rate the college out of 10, but for qualitative I would ask something more like how would you describe the college or for what reasons are you impressed or upset with the college.

Audience Profiling
Sources http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/ marketing/market-research/whatis-quantitative-researchhttp://www.cio.noaa.gov/itmanage ment/praquest.pdf http://www.edu.plymouth.ac.uk/res ined/Quantitative/quanthme.htm

Characteristics / views / beliefs (etc) of an audience. This profile is found through research so companies know where to aim there product. This profiling also companies to focus their products on a specific consumer or find certain traits that different audiences follow and use that as a target for their product. For example Nintendo and the Wii; there was a massive gap in the gaming market, the profiled audience for many years was mainly men from their teens into thirties (with some women and others of variety age, though not in a majority). With that in mind they targeted their product (the Wii) at an audience normally unassociated with the medium, and in doing so made a huge profit on the console and created a much larger audience profile a much more diverse one in gaming as a whole. Without profiling this wouldnt have occurred as they wouldnt have been watching their customers the same can be said of individual games that are released with each going through a similar process with developers focusing on a very specific audience, or attempting to incorporate them all in some way.

http://www.firstdigital.com.au/wp-content/themes/wpremix3/images/Network_audience.png

MONTH YEAR

VOL. # ONE ISSUE #1#1 VOL. # ONE ISSUE

Types of Research

Secondary Research: This refers to research that is not from a direct source (i.e. you havent found out yourself) Examples: Books (library) books have recorded information for centuries that people of all professions use. websites (internet) in this modern age most research and information can be found on the web, and is often collected and put together through various sites, many of these known as wikis which are hubs for information. the news (TV and newspaper) delivering research and knowledge on a daily basis, this can be used as secondary research when properly referenced. Podcasts and radio usually others analysing other secondary research and possibly creating more secondary research for the listener Magazines Bring the reader lots of secondary information (depending on the magazine, but the majority do) on a regular basis. Basically research you find and can refer too, that is not of your own finding and creation.
Primary Research: This kind of research is research you have done yourself, such as surveys and questionnaires; research that could be gathered by focus groups or an audience panel, just research you have conducted and found yourself (not just going on the internet and finding someone elses work, therefore can tailor research to your own wants Surveys / questionnaires making your own of these, to your own needs (i.e. depending what you are researching) allow you to get primary research from people in close proximity and get some of the research you need. Focus Group - people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging (etc). Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other group members.

Data Gathering Agencys

These companies collect research for various purposes, usually monitor views, sales (etc) to analyse what can be do for the purpose in question. Two of the largest agencies are: BARB: BARB (Broadcasters' Audience Research Board) is the primary provider of television audience measurement in the UK. It covers all channels broadcasting across all platforms - terrestrial, satellite and cable in both analogue and digital. BARB audience measurement data underpins the trading currency for broadcasters, advertisers and their agencies. BARB is a non-profit making limited company, funded by the major players in the industry it supports - BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, BSkyB and the IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising). Other broadcasters and a variety of businesses, for example research specialists, publishers and advertisers also contribute to the cost of running BARB by subscribing to the service. RAJAR: RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research Limited) was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry - BBC and UK licensed commercial stations. The company is wholly owned by the RadioCentre (the trade body representing the Commercial Radio stations in the UK, formerly known as Commercial Radio Companies Association or CRCA) and by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). RAJAR is structured as a 'deadlocked' company; Board decisions require the agreement of both parties. Whilst the Board debates and ratifies important decisions of policy and principle, more detailed discussion, and where relevant, decision-making, takes place in the Technical Management Group (TMG). In addition to BBC and the RadioCentre representation, membership of the Board and TMG recognises the interests of the advertising community, which is represented by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA). In addition a representative of the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA) attends Board meetings.