Monday, October 25, 2010

Who's Your Audience?

If your answer is "everyone," that's an indication that your idea is not focused. 'Everyone' will not like your work (see my previous post on that subject). Remember, everyone does not watch the Super Bowl.

Any media company that's interested in your work will want you to answer that question. You need to know. At Golf Channel we built a successful business aiming our programs at the core golfer, an adult male with a large annual income. Advertisers were willing to pay a premium to reach that audience, even when our overall numbers were low compared to other networks. We knew our audience. Do you know yours?

Knowing your audience does not mean pandering to them. It does mean shaping your work so they can relate to it. It might mean putting music from the early eighties in a work intended to reach 35-45 year-olds. If you were 10 in 1980, you're 40 this year. It will inform the type of vocabulary you use, the camera angles you choose, and the references your characters make.

It's a truism of creating content that the more specific you are, the more universal your appeal can be. Sesame Street is aimed at pre-school children, but its humor even amuses adults. The Harry Potter books were aimed at tweens, but then parents discovered how good they were. The recent Paranormal Activity was aimed at horror fans, but found a much larger audience.

Keep your audience in mind while creating content. Picture them if possible. It's a great way to keep you focused on the spine of the piece.

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