Audience Analysis

Know your audience!

Definition of Audience Analysis

• A characterization of the audience and the situation in which members find themselves

Types of Audiences

• Pedestrian– People who have no obvious connection

with either the communicator or one another

• Passive– The group that will read of hear a message

but that has a low level of motivation (Communicator must sustain interest.)

Types, cont’d.

• Selected audience– Communicator and audience share a

common and known purpose, but they do not agree on the best way to achieve their shared goals

• Concerted audience– A friendly audience that shares the goals of

the communicator but may need education (the “choir”)

Types, cont’d.

• Organized audience– People gathered for a non-controversial

cause (e.g., for entertainment)

Reference Groups

• Demographic reference groups are dictated by:– Age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc.

• Voluntary reference groups are chosen according to:– Religious beliefs, social values, political

beliefs, etc.

Audience Analysis Methods

• Primary research– A research project to identify audience

characteristics specifically for the project at hand (usually a survey)

• This task is frequently hired-out by organizations to marketing research firms

– Methods:• Focus groups• Surveys: Telephone, face-to-face, mail

Methods, cont’d.

• Secondary research– Data collected previously by other

communicators (marketing firms, for example) that relate to the project at hand

– Sources (available at most libraries and/or on the Web):

• American Statistics Index• Study of Media and Markets

Persuading an Audience

• All forms of communication involve persuasion

• Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) proposed three modes of persuasive appeals– Appeals to Ethos (Ethics)– Appeals to Logos (Logic)– Appeals to Pathos (Emotion)

Persuasive Routes

• Peripheral– Audience lacks ability, motivation– Audience is persuaded by elements other than the

central logical argument– Appearance, perceived credibility, aesthetics,

elocution, perceived ethics

• Central– Audience has motivation and ability– Audience is persuaded by logical arguments/facts

Writing/Thinking Exercise

• Make a list of reference groups of which you are a member

• Differentiate between those that are voluntary and those that are demographic

• Note which affiliations you probably do not share with the class.

Writing/Thinking Exercise II

• When you are compelled to make a decision about an issue that you haven’t truly studied carefully, what persuasive cues do you use?