Chapter 07: Audience Industry Perspective

Key idea of Chapter 07?

Mass media divide people into marketing niches and create specialized content to attract each niche, selling access to those audience to advertisers. 

What caused the shift from a mass to a niche audience perspective?

Industrialization, social change, and recognition that people have diverse needs and interest—media cannot appeal equally to everyone.

What defines a “mass audience”?

The entire population viewed as having the same needs and reacting uniformly to media messages.

What were the four traits of a mass society (Blumer, 1946)?

(1) One standardized lifestyle, (2) audience anonymity, (3) no interaction among members, (4) no social structure or shared rules

Why did scholars reject the mass audience idea? 

People discuss and interpret media socially, leading to different reactions; audiences are interconnected, not isolated. 

Example disproving the mass audience theory?

The “War of the Worlds” panic—only some listeners believed it, showing varying reactions

What is a niche audience?

A small, specialized audience sharing a common interest, lifestyle, or value.

How do media create and use niche audiences? 

They design targeted content to attract specific groups, then sell access to those group to advertisers 

Give an example of niche targeting.

A golf website attracting educated professionals; advertisers like luxury cards or travel brands target that group

Similarities between Mass vs. Niche Audiences

Both used by marketers to attract and retain viewers.

Differences between Mass vs. Niche Audiences 

Mass: one large, uniform audience; outdated factory model. Niche: many smaller, specific groups; current personalized model recognizing individual differences. 

What are the 5 segmentation types?

(1) geographic, (2) demographic, (3) social class, (4) geodemographic, (5) psychographic

What is geographic segmentation?

Dividing audiences by location—most used by local media (newspapers, radio). Less useful due to national/global distribution.

What does demographic segmentation focus on? 

Stable traits like gender, age, ethnicity, income, education. Less effective today due to social change and overlap among groups. 

What’s the difference between income and social class?

Income = money level; social class = worldviews and values. Lower class: group-oriented, interdependent. Middle/upper class: independent, control-focused.

What is geodemographic segmentation? 

Blends geography + demographics; assumes similar people cluster in neighborhoods. 

What is psychographic segmentation?

Uses demographics, lifestyles, and product usage to define audience personality and values.

What are Well’s 12 American lifestyles?

Personas like Joe the factory worker or Phyllis the career woman, showing how lifestyles shapes media and product preferences.

What does VALS stand for and measure? 

Values and lifestyles—classifies people by values, attitudes, and spending habits. 

Examples of VALS application?

Timex targeted “Societally Conscious” and “Achievers” for home-health tech ads (“Technology where it does the most good.”)

2 main tactics to attract audiences? 

(1) appeal to existing needs/interests, (2) use cross-media and cross-vehicle promotion 

What is the “attention economy”?

Attention = most valuable currency; managing it determines business success

How do media discover audience needs?

Research what content already gets attentions and replicate similar formats

What is cross-media vs. cross-vehicle promotion? 

Cross-media = promoting a message across different media. Cross-vehicle = promoting similar messages within the same medium. 

Why do companies brand messages instead of vehicles?

Media convergence blurs channels—branding the message maximizes reach across all platforms.

What is audience conditioning?

Encouraging repeat exposure so habits form; reduces future advertising costs and builds loyalty

Example of audience conditioning? 

YouTube autoplays and recommendations keeps users returning, creating habitual use 

How can conditioning lead to addiction?

Over-reinforcement can create compulsive use—behavioral addiction similar to chemical dependency

How can people regain control over media conditioning?

Track actual vs. estimated media exposure and increase media literacy to use media intentionally.

Main takeaway of Chapter 07 (Audience Industry Perspective) 

Be aware that media construct and condition audience for profit—staying media literate helps you use media as a tool instead of being used by it.