Lesson 23 — Activity 3: Target Audiences

All types of media work to identify how they can appeal to specific groups of people. These specific groups are called target audiences.

In this activity, you will learn more about target audiences.

Target audiences are groups of people who are most likely to be interested in a particular type of program, movie, article, idea, genre, etc. Target audiences often share characteristics such as profession, age, race, income, or environment.

 It is important for media to determine the target audience of their program or advertisement so they can ensure that the program or advertisement appeals to who it is supposed to.

 It is often said that "if you don't like an advertisement, then you are not the target audience." Can you think of any particular attributes of certain advertisements that would not appeal to certain audiences?

Here are some examples of how advertising varies depending on the target audience. The television commercials found during Saturday morning cartoons will typically be for toys and sweet food, because the target audience of these shows is children. Commercials seen during nightly newscasts will typically be for cars, investment programs, or adult products, because adults are the main viewers of the news. When watching MTV or TEENick, popular channels for teenagers, you will likely see advertisements for clothes, cosmetics, and electronics.