Audience (last assessment 2023) GapFill

Zoomer Magazine © Zoomer Media Ltd. 2003

In order to explore media products effectively, it is important that you are able to analyse existing texts and identify which audiences they are designed for. Pictured above is the front page for Zoomer magazine.

By looking closely at this product, we can create  an audience surveyan audience profilean audience marketan audience statistic for the magazine without even researching the publication in detail.

The cover of Zoomer magazine contains phrases such as “in praise of older women” and “ageism, what’s in a name?”, which suggests an older  primary audiencesecondary audiencetarget audiencesupport group. The appearance of Maggie Smith, as well as the focus on popular television show Downton Abbey, suggests that Zoomer is targeting audiences in the  over 60s35–50under 10s40–55 age bracket. When trying to determine the gender of a product’s target audience, it is useful to look at the magazine’s  authorcover starbackerproducer, as this person will usually be positioned as  a controllingan aliena dominatingan aspirational figure for the audience. Zoomer delves into Smith’s career and promises the audience ways in which they can style themselves like Smith’s popular television character – this is more likely to appeal to women. There is   a cover linea pluga mastheada tag that reads “Gentlemen! Lose the weight for good”. Since this is the only article that appears to address men directly, we might say that older women are the  opposedprimarysecondaryleast likely audience for Zoomer and that older men make up the  least likelysecondaryprimarymass audience.

The advice on how to make the style of Downton Abbey “your own” could suggest Zoomer is targeting people of a higher  experience levelagesocial gradeeducation, i.e. upper middle class or middle class. This is because the characters on the show, Smith’s character in particular, are financially well off. This is evident from the way Smith is dressed. In terms of the target audience’s  philosophicalpsychographicdemographiceconomic qualities, i.e. likes, dislikes, interests and media  creationproductionviewingconsumption habits, there is a clear emphasis on health, well-being and culture. Core readers are likely to eat well, exercise and maintain a relatively good knowledge of  popular culturehistorysocial mediareligion, particularly shows such as Downton Abbey.

From the information we have collected, it is clear that the magazine is targeting   a secondary marketa niche marketa primary marketan indie crowd of people with specialist interests. It is typical for magazines to target this kind of market. On the other hand, products such as television dramas and  hair and make-up vlogsspecialist podcastsviolent video gamesblockbuster films tend to target the mass market.