What do audience studies explore

A complete audience analysis looks at:. An audience analysis informs the design of materials, messages, media selection and activities of a SBCC strategy. It establishes a clear, detailed and realistic picture of the audience. As a result, messages and activities are more likely to resonate with the audience and lead to the desired change in behaviors. A small, focused team should conduct the audience analysis. Stakeholders should also be involved throughout the process.

Consider effective ways to engage stakeholders to gain feedback and input, including: in-depth interviews , focus group discussions , community dialogue, small group meetings, taskforce engagement and participatory stakeholder workshops. An audience analysis should be conducted at the beginning of a program or project, in conjunction with a situation analysis and program analysis.

The team should start thinking about the audience during the desk review and fill in any gaps during the stakeholder workshop. It is part of the Inquiry phase of the P Process. Completing an audience analysis can take up to three to four weeks. When estimating time, consider the existing audience-related data, what gaps need to be filled and whether additional stakeholder or audience input is needed.

Allow for additional time if formative research is needed to fill in any gaps that may exist in the literature. To address the problem statement and achieve the vision decided upon during the situation analysis , brainstorm and list all potential audiences that are affected by or have control over the health or social problem.

For example, if the problem is high unmet need for family planning , potential audiences may be:. An effective SBCC strategy must focus on the most important audience. The priority audience is not always the most affected audience, but is the group of people whose behavior must change in order to improve the health situation. The number of priority audiences depends mainly on the number of audiences whose practice of the behavior will significantly impact the problem.

For example, priority audiences may be:. To identify the priority audience s , keep in mind the vision and health or social problem. Then consider:. Identify the socio-demographic , geographic and psychographic characteristics of each priority audience. Include their communication preferences and other opportunities to reach them.

Organize priority audience information in a table see Audience Characteristics and Behavioral Factors Template under templates. The situation analysis , stakeholder workshop and any additional quantitative or qualitative research will indicate what the priority audience currently does in reference to the problem and what the audience knows, thinks and feels about the problem or desired behavior.

Keeping in mind the ideational factors , examine that research to understand each priority audience. Ask questions such as:. Add this information to the table see Audience Characteristics and Behavioral Factors Template under templates. It is crucial to know what prevents or encourages the priority audience to practice the desired behavior. Identify barriers and facilitators of change in the literature and list them in the table see Audience Characteristics and Behavioral Factors Template under templates.

If the desk review does not adequately identify behavioral factors, conduct additional qualitative research interviews, focus groups with members of the priority audience. Some important barriers to consider include:. Audience segmentation is the process of dividing the priority audience into sub groups according to at least one similar characteristic that will affect the success of the SBCC effort.

Look at the selected priority audience and decide if it is similar enough that it can be effectively reached by the same set of channels , messages and interventions. Ask the following questions about the priority audience to decide if segmentation is necessary:. If yes, the audience may need to be segmented further. See the audience segmentation guide for more information on how to identify and prioritize audiences so that messages and interventions can be most effectively targeted.

Some urban women of reproductive age may have different concerns or views about family planning. Before communications professionals such as technical writers, public relations specialists, and others within the field launch a campaign or strategy, they often need to assess the target audience to make sure that all information provided is appropriate, appealing, and at the correct level.

In order to achieve this goal, many communications professionals will use research methods for audience analysis. There are several commonly used methods; each offers its own insights into your target audience. Read on for four examples:.

The first step when beginning audience analysis is gathering as much information as possible. If you have preconceived notions or ideas about your audience, avoid them and focus on the actual research performed instead.

You should eliminate any information that has already been found by other researchers as part of your primary research phase, since this will allow you to start from scratch. You might choose to use qualitative or quantitative research methods during this process, but all information should come from your own work and findings.

Qualitative research focuses on the feelings and opinions of a consumer or member of the target audience. When performing this type of research, you should try to get into and understand the mindset of a customer to see which areas of the product or campaign are most appealing and which areas are lacking. Examples include interviews and focus groups. Face-to-face or telephone interviews can provide a lot of insight into your target audience.

This method of research can fall into either qualitative or quantitative, although most believe that it provides more information in the former category. An interview involves interaction between a single respondent and the moderator, or person asking the questions. Instead, some researchers choose to make the interview process more comfortable and informal by simply engaging in a conversation with audience members.

One of the most common methods of qualitative research is hosting a focus group. In this method, you will organize a group of people and share information about your product or service, campaign and marketing ideas, and development.

As the participants of the focus group view the information presented, you can gauge their reactions through body language, facial expressions, and actual feedback that they provide. Hosting focus groups in virtual settings is becoming more popular, thanks to technological advancements, but doing so can make it harder to see facial expressions and read body language.

C1: Film Production. C1: Print Production. C3: Poster Design. C3: Website Design. C3: Music Package. C3: Short Film. VFX Case Studies. Keying Case Studies. A: Evaluation of Production Skills.

B: Media and Collective Identity. Reading Images. Analysing Advertisements. Deconstructing Ads. Print: Assessment. Story Ideas. Creative Planning. Film Making. Film School. Tech Tools. Learning Objective:. Success Criteria:. In media studies, the audience is any group of people who receive a media text, and not just people who are together in the same place.

They receive the text via a media carrier such as a newspaper or magazine, television, DVD, radio or the internet. It can also be a mobile phone, iPod or any other device that stores or receives media messages. Audience is part of the media equation — a product is produced and an audience receives it.

This is where audience research becomes important.