LFTVD - TARGETING AUDIENCE

AUDIENCE PROFILES

• Within the world of marketing, there is a move away from thinking of audiences as fitting into general demographics to thinking of audience as having a psychographic profile.

What 5 things make up demographics?

• Age
• Gender
• Profession
• Location
• Marital Status

What 5 things make up psychographics?

• Personality
• Values
• Activities
• Interests
• Opinions

STRANGER THINGS

• Predominantly targeted to American audiences
• Also needs to attract a global audience to maximise profit and justify high budget.
• Therefore, ST uses a similar tactics as mainstream Hollywood movies to attract worldwide audience:
• Uses Hollywood star system - Winona Ryder
• High budgets and cinematic quality of production
• Mainstream genres
• Generic hybridity to maximise audience appeal - Sci-fi & Horror
• Development of franchises

TARGET AUDIENCE PROFILES

Demographics

• 18-29
• 54% popularity with men
• 46% popularity with women
• Highest popularity with millennial generation

Regions

• America
• UK
• Western Europe
• Australia
• Canada
• Brazil

Politics

• Liberal (Bernie Sanders and Menzies Campbell were both linked interests on yougov.com)
• The show itself doesn't align with any one political agenda so would not alienate right wing fans.

Professions

• Professionals - teachers, office workers, healthcare, journalists
• Unskilled - bartenders, baristas etc. (linked interests to alcoholic drinks)
• Students - appeals to their age
• N/a - teenagers living with parents

Monthly spare Income

• Enough disposable income to afford subscription fee.

Entertainment preferences

• Interested in horror, sci-fi, geek culture. (David Cronenberg, Tim Curry, Wesley Snipes, Joss Whedon)
• Interested in drama over reality TV. (Sophie Turner, Steve Buscemi, Stephen Graham, Netflix)
• Interested in critically acclaimed cinema. (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Kirsten Dunst)
• They prefer indie/alternative music. (The xx, Paramore, Bear's Den, Bombay Bicycle Club, Vice)
• Aware of culture references from 80s whether through their own experience or through shared cultural nostalgia. (Tim Curry)
• Younger audience actively eager to experience 80s culture.
• Fashion conscious (Cara Delevingne, Depop)

 DEUTSCHLAND 83

• A co-production between RTL (German) and Sundance TV (USA)
• First German-language programme to air on American Network...
• Relatively high risk to pitch a foreign language LFTVD to American audiences but there is precedent in success of dramas like The Killing
• East Germany in the 80s would be an exotic setting for modern American audiences who were brought up on free market capitalism and anti-socialist notions.
• However, the anti-American perspective of both east and West German characters in the drama would appeal to liberal Americans.
• The US 'won' the Cold War
• The programme offers sophisticated cultural, political and historical tourism for Americans and UK audience.
• In the UK, shown on Channel 4 at 9pm on Sunday - 1.5 million watched D83 s1, ep1 live and 2.5 million on catch up.
• This made it the highest-rated foreign language programme.

TARGET AUDIENCE PROFILES

Demographics

• More equal interest between Millennials (33%) and Gerneration X (32%)
• Wider gap between men (66%) and women (34%)

Regions

• Germany
• Western and Eastern
• Europe
• UK
• America

Politics

• More actively interested in politics (The Daily, Bigmouth)
• Left-wing/ Labour/ Socialist (David Lammy, Stephen Pound, Maria Eagle, Jon Trickett, Andy Mcdonald, Lesley Laird, Tony Lloyd, Seema Malhotra).
• Some right-wing conservative politicians too (Matt Hancock)

Professions

• Professionals - teachers, office workers, healthcare, lawyers, journalists
• Higher professionals - due to more generation x viewers

Monthly spare Income 

• Don't need to pay subscription but an interest in history/politics would tend to suggest education and therefore higher earnings.
• Financially responsible (energy and utility companies and digital banking apps)

 Entertainment preferences

• Politics as a form of entertainment.
• Education through entertainment (The Gentlemen's Debate Podcast)
• Sports fans (Football weekly - the guardian, Ryan Lochte, Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts)

TARGETING LFTVD AUDIENCES

• While psychographic audience profiles allow media producers to think more specifically about what their target audience is interested in, they still might need to think about the wider picture that a demographic perspective offers.
• As one of the flagship dramas on Netflix, Stranger Things needs to appeal to a mass audience and therefore, their audience profile better fits a demographic than a psychographic approach.
• Netflix can offer more niche programmes once audience members have been lured into paying the subscription fee to watch Stranger Things.
• Stranger Things appeals to a wide variety of people with generic conventions from sci-fi, horror, romance, teen movies, drama, mystery, action-adventure, social realism, and comedy.
• The show uses 80s culture to attract older audiences looking for nostalgia but also fashion-conscious younger audiences with interest in retro culture.
• As a co-production between commercial broadcasters RTL (Germany) and Sundance TV (USA), the producers of Deutschland 83 still have an interest in making profit.
• However, they can take a more psychographic approach to tailor the show to a specific audience.
• Deutschland 83 is more obviously targeted at men who have an interest in politics, history and sports.
• Predominant focus on spy genre, references to football, anti-American sentiments.

TASK

1. Watch the trailers for our set texts and list 5 things which appeal to the dramas' target audiences.

Stranger Things:

• Throughout the trailer there is iconography of 80s culture - old TV's, costumes, set design
• The rising dynamics of the music paired with the sections of clips that show Will in fear reinforce the genre of horror
• The large amount of children/ teenagers within the trailer - the boys, Nancy, Steve etc. - link to genres of teen movies and draws in younger audiences
• The boys riding on their bikes links to the reference of E.T. and creates nostalgia for the older audiences
• The scene in which Eleven flips a cop car is included within the trailer - this demonstrates the sci-fi genre

Deutschland 83:

• At the beginning of the trailer, we are shown the details of the Cold War - its name and date (1983) - this begins the historical theme of the show
• The obvious divide between the East and West (of Germany) demonstrates the political divide.
• The large amount of action/fighting-based scenes within the trailer could be said to attract the male audience (through the violence) as well as reinforce the spy genre.
• The 'narrator'/voice over of Ronald Reagan throughout the trailer supports the political themes within the show.
• The iconography of war - soldiers, uniforms etc. - could be correlated with sports as it requires the physical strength and activity.

2. Write an answer to this question: How do long form television dramas attract a target audience?

        a. challenge 1: refer to demographics/ psychographics

        b. challenge 2: incorporate the theoretical framework

Within the world of marketing, there is a move away from thinking of audiences as fitting into general demographics to thinking of audience as having a psychographic profile. So, rather than focusing on age, gender, or profession, some media companies will focus on opinions, interests, and personalities. By doing this, they can gain a more specific target audience. When it comes to attracting these target audiences, LFTVDs use their audience profiles as a guide when producing marketing products -  such as trailers, posters etc. 

Stranger Things is one of Netflix's flagship dramas, and so its sole purpose is to appeal to a wide audience. Due to this, their audience profile better fits a demographic than a psychometric. Netflix offers niche programmes in order to lure audiences to pay for the subscription fee. When it comes to Stranger Things, the show can appeal to a wide variety of people with generic conventions from sci-fi, horror, and action. Moreover, the show uses 80s culture to attract older audiences looking for nostalgia but also fashion-conscious younger audiences with interest in retro culture.

Deutschland 83 is pretty much the opposite. Despite it being a product of two commercial broadcasters (RTL and Sundance TV) and their priority still being to make profit, the show can take a more psychographic approach to tailor the show to a specific audience. The show is more targeted at men who have an interest in politics, history and sports, and this is demonstrated through the action-based and historical features within the trailer. Moreover, there is a predominant focus on spy genre, references to football, anti-American sentiments, which are also showcased through the sympathy towards Germany during the Cold War, and the violent scenes played throughout the trailer and show itself.