The Film IndustryPart 1 – Audience and Products

How do film producers target their audiences?

Task 1: DemographicsResearch online to find what the definition of the word ‘demographic’ is and write it in your own words here:

Demographic means…

Key demographic: Teenage girls.Appeal of film:…

Key demographic: Retirement-age people.Appeal of film:…

Key demographic: 30-40 year old men and women.Appeal of film:…

Key demographic: Teenage boys.Appeal of film:…

Task 1: Drag the right demographic under the right film and type a description of why that particular film appeals to that particular demographic.

4 Ways to Split an Audience into GroupsThere are many ways to split audiences into groups – this lesson we will specifically look at these four:

CAGE

LASS

GE

ENDER

THNICITY

How to construct a demographic1 - Class

This is the basic set of groups that producers use to split audiences into class-based demographics. Movie producers will often choose from these groups when working out what sort of audience they are marketing their movie at.

A B C1 C2 D E

Favorite genre:Adaptations of novels.Social activities: Golf, opera, museums.

Favorite genre:HorrorSocial activities:…

Favorite genre:Spy thrillersSocial activities: …

Favorite genre:Doesn’t go to the cinema.Social activities:…

Favorite genre:DramaSocial activities: …

Favorite genre:Big-budget actionSocial activities: …

Task 2: Move the genre underneath the demographic that you think goes with it and fill in what other social activities you think that group does.

How to construct a demographic2 - Age

Youngest Oldest

Task 3: Arrange these potential advertising venues in order of how old you think their main audience is.

Task 4: Imagine that you were going to advertise an action film which was intended to be enjoyed by teenage boys, mid-twenties men and mid-twenties women. Which three places could you advertise this movie in order to make sure it reached its target audience?

• Place 1:• Place 2:• Place 3:

How to construct a demographic3 - Gender

Target Audience:

Image:

Tagline:

Colours:

Target Audience:

Image:

Tagline:

Colours:

Task 5: Next to these two posters, write whether you think the target audience is male or female, and write how the image, tagline and colours appeal to this target audience.

How to construct a demographic4 - Ethnicity

Non-white movie-goers are a massive part of the paying cinema audience, and film companies are always thinking about ways to attract people of all ethnicities to their films.

Task 6: Imagine that you are producing an action film and you want to try to attract a black audience. What would you do in each of the following areas to make sure that this audience came to see your movie:

Casting (who would you cast?):

Advert placement (where would you advertise?):

Soundtrack (what artists might you include?):

Storyline (what things happen in your movie?):

Re-cap…Don’t cheat… what are four ways that producers classify audience demographics?

C…A…G…E…

Trailers and Advertising Placement

Task 7: Imagine that you had to advertise this movie. Fill in the following information:

Who is your target audience?

What films would you place the trailer for this film next to?

What TV shows would you place the trailer during?

What time of day would you run radio advertisements, and why?

Test ScreeningsTask 8:1. What is a test screening?

2. How does it help a film to reach its ideal audience?

3. What type of questions would you ask after a film to make sure you were marketing it to the right audience?

Social MediaTask 9

What different ways can Facebook be used to make a film reach its target audience?…

What different ways can Twitter be used to make a film reach its target audience?…

What different ways can Spotify be used to make a film reach its target audience?…

National Research Group

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/the_hollywood_economist/2005/07/hidden_persuaders.html

A massively powerful organisation that helps movie companies make money by:

1. Hosting test-screenings2. Making sure movies that are appealing to the same

audience don’t get released at the same time3. Buying advertising space to make sure that movies are

advertised in the right places to reach their ideal audience