Models of audience segmentation

There has been a proliferation of audience segmentation, allowing different audiences to be targeted more specifically. There are several prominent models which can be used to segment audiences.


Demographic measurements

Socioeconomic scale

Audiences can be categorised by demographic measurements such as their age, gender and socioeconomic status. A strength of this model is that it is driven by hard data which is measurable. A merit of using the socioeconomic scale in particular is that disposable income often directly links to audiences' consumption habits. However, these measurements are too simplistic to judge an individual's tastes and interests - they assume homogeneity.

Tribe/ subculture model

UK Tribes' main categories

UK Tribes (a research project by Channel 4) provides information about a variety of youth subcultures. A strength of this model is that it considers aspects of lifestyle, which creates a more personalised impression of individual consumers. This is especially useful in relation to modern audiences because of the proliferation of lifestyle cultures.

Psychographic model
Young and Rubicam are an advertising agency who created the '4 Cs' model (Cross-Cultural Consumer Characterisation model) which divides audiences into 7 different types: the aspirer, the reformer, the explorer, the succeeder, the resigned, the struggler and the mainstream. A weakness of this model is that these categories are slightly ambiguous; it could be difficult to assign these descriptions to specific audiences, and more than one of these labels would apply to certain audience members.


Habits and lifestyle

YouGov Profiles Lite example profile

YouGov Profiles describes itself as a 'media planning and audience segmentation tool'. It provides demographic information about the average consumers of particular brands and products, including their typical gender, age, social grade, region, political leaning, profession and monthly spare income. The website also shows the audience's favoured entertainment, including their favourite movies, TV shows, music artists and celebrities. A strength of this model is that it combines information about audiences demographics and lifestyles to create a well-rounded profile. However, some of the profiles are based on limited data which means that the information is not very reliable.

(Edited 08/12/17) Narrative Case Study

   The music video for 'Desencuentro' by Residente and Soko is a closed text which employs a linear narrative structure; this can be examined using Todorov's narrative concept of the three act structure. The first act of the video begins at equilibrium with the man sat writing, until the woman enters the restaurant - this is the inciting incident which introduces the disequilibrium of the second act, as the man clumsily tries to get her attention. This disequilibrium is demonstrated by the man's ensuing comical errors (such as drinking from the flower vase and knocking the basket of croissants to the floor). However, as the consequences of these accidents culminate in chaos, the third act reaches a climax with the man and woman's gaze meeting and them eventually kissing. In this new equilibrium, the couple are united despite the mess surrounding them. This romanticised 'happy ending' provides the audience with an uplifting ideological closure. The sense of finality is reinforced by the closing aerial shot which presents an idyllic view of Paris, emphasising the romance of the story due to the capital's connotations as the 'city of love'.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

   Using Roland Barthes' theory of narrative codes, the music video can be seen to contain mostly proairetic codes; these progress the narrative and includes events such as the woman entering the cafe (see figure 1), the man noticing the woman (figure 2), and the two finally seeing each other (figure 3). The dominant use of proairetic codes, rather than more ambiguous enigma and symbolic codes, fits with the closed nature of this text and its simplistic ideology of 'love at first sight'.

   As well as by the use of proairetic codes, the narrative progresses through the use of the narrative driver of camerawork. For example, at the beginning of the video the camera pans across the cafe to introduce the video's protagonist. Camera movement is similarly used at the end of the video, leading the audience out of the restaurant, hence acting as a framing device. The framing device, an example of a narrative device, enhances the sense of closure in this video's resolution by neatly encapsulating the narrative. Another narrative device used in this video is a clock/signifier of time (figure 4). However, in this video the clock is broken - its hands turn uncontrollably at great speed - possibly conveying the timelessness of this moment.

Figure 4

Mise-en-Scene