Models of Audience Segmentation

Models of segmentation help to single out types of people and potential audience for products, using interests, personalities and demographic categories. 

Socioeconomic Grades

The demographic measurements model segments age groups, gender and socioeconomic status, which are categorised into grades A, B, C1 and C2, D, and E. This method of segmentation is useful as it is measurable and little interpretation is involved, it provides hard data. In addition, the socioeconomic status links to disposable income, as people in the AB socioeconomic segment are more likely to have more disposable income due to the higher paying professions characterising this segment, compared to people in the DE segment, who work lower paying jobs, therefore have less disposable income. However, the model is arguably too simple, as it doesn't account of lifestyle and interests which may affect an individual's decision to consume a product. The model also promotes homogeneity, as it assumes that people within a certain age, gender, or socioeconomic group like the same things, which is often found to be false as people have individual identities and interests.

UK Tribes

Tribe or subculture segmentation considers identity. UK tribes, created by channel 4, provides information on the look, interests and lifestyle of different tribes and subcultures. Some examples being 'creatives', 'new casuals' and 'skaters'. This method of segmentation considers interests and lifestyle, meaning that it is more personal and includes more individual choices and interests which is useful to know about as people can no longer just be categorised into age, gender and socioeconomic groups. However, a problem with this model of segmentation is that some people may not fit into any of the tribes listed, which means that if only this model is used to segment audiences to find a target audience, some people may not be included as they don't fit into any of the tribes.

Psychographic Types

Young and Rubicam, an advertising company, created the psychographic model for audience segmentation, which looks at personality and lifestyle. The model segments audiences into groups such as 'The Aspirer' and 'The Reformer', based on personality characteristics. This model of segmentation is useful for identifying different people with specific personalities, which helps to target a piece of media more specifically. However, this model doesn't consider that people change and adjust, as well as that people might overlap as they may have characteristics of more than one of the segments. 

YouGov Profiles Lite

YouGov profiles segment people by habits and lifestyle, including age, gender, socioeconomic status, location, professions, political leaning and interests. This provides a detailed profile about the types of people who are interested in certain things such as people, music, films and TV, it also combines aspects of some of the other models, by including demographics as well as interests. Also, common interests for groups of people can be found as the site links interests together and takes into account all the aspects of the person listed above. However, a problem with this method is that it may not give an accurate representation of the people who are actually interested in the people, music, films and TV because some of the profiles have very little data to accurately provide information on the types of people who are interested in certain things on the site. 

Shape of You - Narrative Structure

Shape of You – Ed Sheeran 

Ed Sheeran's music video for 'Shape of You' is a closed text narrative which uses a mostly linear narrative structure, and can be examined using Todorov's concept of the three-act structure. The music video has three clear acts, the first one involving an equilibrium where then character (and singer) meets the girl and falls in love. The second act starts after the inciting incident, and the girl leaves the main character of the music video, which leads to disequilibrium and a search for resolution. The resolution comes quite close to the end, after struggle and unbalance through the second act, a new equilibrium is created after the resolution, when the girl appears to watch his fight, and help him at the end, and they are reunited. In this video, the narrative structure creates anticipation and expectation of the narrative using the three-act structure which make audiences seek closure at the end and satisfaction that the narrative has been resolved. This video uses this structure to make the audience care about the story between the characters, then cause a conflict or problem which will make the audience want to keep watching to see it resolved in a 'happy ending', typical of a closed text, which is a text that resolves conflict and closes meanings, with no significant loose ends, as in this video the girl returns, resolving the events of the second act and tying up the end, not leaving any questions about the main narrative as the characters are reunited.

Proairetic event, first interaction 

Roland Barthes' ideas of narrative codes can be applied to this music video, as proairetic and symbolic codes are used in the narrative of the video. Proairetic codes used, which are events or moments which drive the narrative, such as the first interaction between characters, which drives the narrative forwards as they go out together after and then fall in love, the first proairetic event influences the story of the whole music video. After the first proairetic event, the girl in the video leaves the main character, leading on to the second act, which is another proairetic event as it drives the narrative, it forces the character to react and move on to seek equilibrium. The mouth guard she leaves him could be seen as either a symbolic device, or a proairetic device, as it could represent the aspect of the character associated with it, or it could be the item which moves the narrative on and signals the end of the first act in the video, as after the main character finds it, it seems to motivate him to train and go to a fight. 

A narrative device used in the music video for 'Shape of You' are ellipses, which are jumps in time. They are used to jump forward in time to locations in the first act with the characters together, implying that the characters have been to many places together and that they have a good relationship. Also, an ellipsis is used at the start of the second act and the initial conflict, when the girl leaves him some symbolic devices in the narrative and then leaves him. Through the second act to the resolution ellipses during the montage of the character running and training, as he seeks a new equilibrium and resolution to the imbalance created by the girl leaving. The ellipses suggest that, in the story, he has spent a lot of time working through the disequilibrium in search for a resolution, possibly earning sympathy from the audience, as they want the character to find new equilibrium and for the narrative to close, from implying a long passage of time rather than showing it.

Mise en Scene

Treatment

We will be making a music video for the indie pop-rock song 'He Never Shows' by Pom Pom Squad. Our video will combine both elements of narrative and performance. 

The lyrics of the song are suggestive of unrequited love and we will try to convey these feelings of longing and disappointment in our narrative, which follows a teenage girl who gets stood up. The protagonist in our narrative receives a text from her boyfriend asking to meet up – she is especially eager to see him because their relationship has recently been conflicted and she is hoping for reconciliation. In her bedroom, where props such as photographs will signify their relationship and suggest that the character is romantic and sentimental, she gets ready to go out. She travels to the location where he suggested that they meet, passing locations which remind her of happier times with him and seeing affectionate couples who she envies. However, after waiting for him, he doesn't turn up; this links to the lyrics, specifically the chorus of the song. We will cross-cut to performance throughout our video, fulfilling a convention of indie rock music videos and creating a sense of authenticity to appeal to the band's audience. We will especially use lots of close-up shots and fast-paced editing in the performance parts of our video to make our video more dynamic. 

We are influenced by many music videos of the same genre, which use performance and lip sync to create a sense of authenticity and promote the band's live gigs. This includes bands such as Cherry Glazerr, an indie-rock band, and Pale Honey, an indie band with riot grrrl influences. Cherry Glazerr also has narrative in several of their videos such as 'Nuclear Bomb' and 'White's Not My Color This Evening', which follow similarly young female characters. 

Moodboard

What are the uses and implications of genre for producers and audiences?

Producers use genre to cater to and meet the demands of pre-existing audiences. Christine Gledhill said that 'differences between genres meant different audiences could be identified and catered to...' meaning that there are audiences for each genre, and the conventions of the genres are used to cater to or meet the demands of the audiences in products. Following on from that, she says '... This made it easier to standardise and stabilise production' which means that producers can use genre to make products consistent and similar, using formulas within genres to meet the demands and expectations of the audiences. This leads audiences to want the same formulas, which could mean that creativity in production is suppressed or stifled as conventions are not developed or challenged by sticking to formulas, which doesn't allow for much creative freedom in products.

 Another way producers use genres and genre conventions to merge and create hybrid genres, as said by Nicholas Abercrombie, who stated that 'the boundaries between genres are shifting and becoming more permeable' which I saying that there are less pure genres, as they are being merged and combined. Which is used to widen audiences as they can target pre-existing audiences of the genres being combined which is achieved by products using conventions or features of other genres. In addition, another reason for this increasing shift and permeability of genre into hybrid genres offer more variety by mixing conventions. For example, many films use conventions of many different genres, which as well as creating hybrid genres, may develop genres as well, possibly allowing for more variety and creative freedom within genres.

 In addition, audiences use genre as a way of defining their identity. Christine Gledhill also says that 'genres permit the creation and maintenance of a loyal audience", which could imply that audiences use genre to form community, and from that, identity. As genres form loyal audiences and community, they also create communities against specific genres, as with people who define themselves to a genre, there are people who choose to define themselves against a genre. But either way they form their identity because of the genre, or possibly because of the audience associated with the genre, which may help continue to create and maintain an audience for the genre, of those who are interested in the genre.

In relation to our production, the song we have chosen to produce a music video for is a mix of genres, as it borrows elements from genres such as rock, pop and indie and merges them together to form a hybrid genre. The song mostly includes elements of rock than any of the other genres, with the typical rock instruments such as electric guitars, drums, and a bass guitar. As the song is a hybrid genre helps with marketing, as ways of appealing to audiences associated with rock, pop and indie can be reached with music video conventions and marketing conventions.

Sounds similar to the song we have chosen include artists such as Mitski and Cherry Glazerr. Mitski's 'Your Best American Girl' is a mix between rock and indie, with the acoustic elements mixed with rock instruments, as well as performance in the music video, which is an important convention of the rock genre. Cherry Glazerr mostly uses rock elements in their songs with the typical rock instruments, and in their video of the song 'Told You I'd be With The Guys' they use the common feature of rock music videos of band performance, which is used to promote the band's concerts and live performances. That is a feature we will use for our music video as the song takes a lot of elements from rock and indie, which conventionally use performance in music videos, and lip-sync for pop, with close ups of the singer. This will allow us to cater to pre-existing audiences by following the conventions of the genres.

What can we learn from 'The Pretender'?