Chapter 3: The Business of Media

Throughout this chapter, the idea regarding defining and constructing a target audience played a major role in the business of media. Media professionals must have a broad knowledge of the media marketplace in order to get their product/service across. Companies try to appeal to a certain audience and because of this, research is a must. In doing so, executives use three ways in which they form their audience.

The first way in which an audience is constructed is through the use of demographics. Demographics is defined by characteristics that actually separate people into social groups. Media executives use demographics and indicators to focus on certain elements that explain why people use their mediums.

The use of Psychographics is another way for creating a target audience in the world of mass media. By categorizing people according to their personality or motivations in life, media organizations can determine how to change their product/service to attract the audience personnel their precursor searches for.

The third and final way in which media executives construct their audience is by using lifestyle categories. These categories are activities that possible audiences are involved in that differentiate them from the rest of society. However, despite all of this, information learned by media experts is only significant if it compares to making money.

After reading this chapter, I got an improved sense of the business activities that go on relating to mass media. I learned that finding a target audience for a specific product and or service takes a great deal of time. In fact, it takes a number of ways to even help construct an audience: With the use of demographics, psychographics and lifestyle categories. The business behind mass media is not simple and due to this chapter, I have become more aware about what goes on behind the scenes of everyday advertisement.

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