Hi! And
welcome back to Learn Media Direct. In
this video you will be learning about media theories, uses and gratifications
and marketing theory. I know this sound
long and boring but we’re going ensure you get your head around this – the fun
way!
All the way back in 1987, media theorist John Hartley,
suggested that media producers must enter into a relationship with their
consumers. In context to Hallam FM,
this means that they must engage with the listeners to ensure that they feel
connected to the station and the presenters.
In
1991, Ien Ang said that producers should create invisible fictions or imaginary
entities before creating a media product. With this in mind, we’ve created a
dream audience profile of Big John @ Breakfast to help you understand these
theories in depth.
Firstly, we thought about what type of people tune into Big
John @ Breakfast. Using our own
knowledge and Bauer’s listener profile, we have discovered that mum’s are the
number one listeners to the show as 51% of female aged 25 to 45 have the
largest demographic target age.
We’ve
created a mood board with all of the things an average listener of the
Breakfast show would stereotypically enjoy.
Things like TV soaps, Iceland Frozen Foods, Michael Buble and 50 Shades
of Grey are of interest to these types of people. The average mum watches the soaps because
they can relate to it and it provides an alternative reality. This is a voyeuristic value of soaps. This simply means to take pleasure out of
watching them. People enjoy the problems
and issues in these programmes without it affecting their lives. Soaps are also the stimulus to social
conversations. Iceland Frozen Foods have targeted mums via their
advertising. The shop is notorious for
it’s cheap, affordable food, which benefits working class/underclass
families. Michael Buble is known amongst
all older women as a ‘sex symbol’ as they find him highly attractive and a
ladies man. Mums love the 50 Shades book
series by E.L James because, like the voyeurism of soaps, this provides them
with an intimate alternative reality.
In
1987, Denis McQuail did some research and suggested that there are 4 main
reasons why people use media products.
Number
1. Personal Identity
This means to mould their own behaviour, style and personality
around products they consume.
Big John @ Breakfast creates a personal identity for their
listeners by advertising which shops their listeners should buy clothes at,
which restaurants they should eat at and even what music they should listen to.
Number
2. Personal Relationship.
This means to create a basis for conversation in social
situations.
Big John does this by discussing the local news, gossip and
TV biz.
Number
3. Surveillance
This means to find out information about something.
In relation to Hallam FM, Big John @ Breakfast uses this by broadcasting
the local traffic updates, school closures and local news. It also announces the local events in the
local area such as who is playing at the Arena and whom each football team are
playing at the weekend.
Finally,
number 4. Escapism.
This means to use media to ‘get away’ from reality and to
enjoy the entertainment.
Big
John @ Breakfast gives their listeners escapism by having all different types
of competitions where their audience can get involved. For example, Big John Pays Your Bills! This
competition allows their listeners to ring in and win a chance for their bills
to be paid up to the value of £250.
It is sponsored by Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield. This competition is very thoughtful to their
audience as they are aware that everyone may be struggling for money following
the expenses of Christmas and New Year.
In
1983, media theorist Jeremy Tunstall did some research and came up with the
Media Consumption theory. He said that media is consumed in 3 ways.
1.
Primary.
This means that the consumer really concentrates on the
medium.
2.
Secondary.
This means that the consumer is
doing other things whilst the medium is on.
3.
Tertiary.
This means that the consumer is paying subliminal attention to the
medium and it is playing in the background.
Now that times have changed, due to new technologies, radio
is now a primary media as you can broadcast it whilst sat on the bus, whilst
doing some revision and even whilst laid in the bath. In terms of Big John @ Breakfast, new
technologies have helped the show interact with the audience more. Listeners can now text in, ring in and even
tweet the show to request their favourite song, update the traffic news and get
involved with the competitions.
Media producers use the marketing theory in order to be
successful. This theory is called
AIDA. It stands for Attention, Interest,
Desire and Action but we’ll go through in order to tell you what each piece of
it means and how it is used in Hallam FM.
A –
Attention and also awareness.
This
basically means to attract the attention of the customer. Big John does this by
being very friendly, upbeat and down to earth.
His exciting tone of voice engages the listener, making them enjoy the
show.
I - Interest.
This means to raise the customers interest by focusing on and
demonstrating advantages and benefits (rather than focusing on features, as in
traditional advertising) Hallam FM do
this by advertising local businesses, promoting themselves on busses,
sponsoring local football teams and broadcasting local events.
D –
Desire.
This
means to convince customers that they want and desire the product or service
and that it will satisfy their needs.
Big
John @ Breakfast creates a financial desire with their listeners as he has
competitions where the listener can win huge amounts of money.
A- Action.
This means to lead customers towards taking action and/or
purchasing. Hallam FM does this by
encouraging their listeners to get involved by requesting songs.
Aida applies not only to adverts
but also to Hallam FM as a whole via shows and the Bauer brand in order to
connect with their audience efficiently.
It is important for media producers to target A,B and C1 readers as this covers 55% of the population and they are the biggest audiences which attracts advertises to buy/listen to these products.
It is important for media producers to target A,B and C1 readers as this covers 55% of the population and they are the biggest audiences which attracts advertises to buy/listen to these products.
We are sadly at the end of
another blog. I hope you’ve learned a
lot about marketing, uses and gratifications and how Hallam FM uses these. Thanks for watching from Learn Media Direct.
