E-mail reply back from Radio Norwich about audience demographics.

A few days ago, i sent an e-mail to Radio Norwich asking about the demographics of their target audiences, and result! I got an e-mail back! Here is a copy of the e-mail i was sent:

I'm sure that if it cant be read, then you could just click on it and get an enlarged picture. I have taken into account that their audience is not really what I'm aiming for. Their average listener is mainly female, whereas i would prefer both genders - i have kept in mind though that it will not be exactly symmetrical between both genders. There are 51,000 listeners tuning in on a weekly basis which is the sort of audience I'm expecting.

Hopefully i get a reply back from the third and final radio station - BBC Radio Norfolk very soon!

Facebook Questionnaire.

I have decided to do a facebook online version of the first draft of my questionnaire. Even though i cannot get feedback about the structure of the questionnaire itself, i can get a rough idea of what people's views are about newspapers. The questions are exactly the same as the printed-off version.

There are some advantages and disadvantages with using online polls and questionnaires:

Advantages:

- Easy and quicker to answer and analyse.
- The layout is more formal, like a real, professional questionnaire.

Disadvantages:

- I am not getting a wide range of people. I am getting people who only go on facebook.
- These people are my friends so they may be less likely to tell the complete truth.

Here are some print-screens of me making the questionnaire:

Overall, it was a very easy app to use as it guided you through everything. Once i get the results, they will be uploaded in a post!

The Results

After a few days of sending out my poll via Facebook, i got 6 participants' questionnaires back. I sent out around 12 of them. But i think that realistically not everyone is going to reply. I have also kept in mind that i have limited myself with the answers back as the participants are people who obviously know technology and are my friends. Here is the link to the questions and answers of my poll.

http://apps.facebook.com/my-polls/view/9xu9jub3

Analysis:

• I found that nobody i asked bought a newspaper themselves.
• The people i asked preferred national, tabloid papers.
• Everybody i asked would buy a newspaper solely based on the headline.
• Most of the people i asked walked to school or work listened to the radio on the way there.

Overall

The people i asked were all of the same ethnicity and age range, i didn't know this specifically, but this made my results very straight forward and predictable, and probably not reliable.
The results do not support my aim of my market of 'educated adults'.

Questionnaire Results and Analysis

I need to analyse my questionnaire results, so i decided im going to create a powerpoint which i then put on slideshare to then put on this post. This is only the results and analysis of the printed questionnaire i did and handed out, not my Facebook questionnaire. Here is the powerpoint:

Questionnaire Results Charts and Analysis

View more presentations from osmithas.

Overall, from my research analysis i have decided that i am going to stay with my idea of aiming towards 'educated adults', as i believe that this isnt common in local newspapers as they try to aim to the normal, everyday person, but i want to create something new and different with my newspaper but still keep some tradition - in order to hook the more mature audience. I found that older people do like to keep some tradition but are interested in what is new because as they have their careers just about sorted, can afford modern technologies.

I dont really need to write a conclusion as i wrote about what i found out about males and females and their interestions with radio, newspapers and posters at the end of my powerpoint.

Questionnaire: Draft 1.

Here is the first version of my questionnaire to find out the demographics and information about my target audience. This questionnaire will help me to determine who i should aim my newspaper, the radio ad and the poster at in order to gain the biggest and most secure market. It will help me to find out things like when my target audience are most likely to listen to the radio and where they would most likely buy a newspaper. I am handing the questionnaire out to everybody, no matter what characteristics they have to make sure i have made the right desition aiming at educated adults:

 When i have had all of the 16 questionnaires filled out, i will make them into charts and general data.

There are already some improvements i have to make to it before i have even had anybody fill it out:

- I could ask what section of the newspaper most people read. E.g: sports, general, politics, entertainment, puzzles etc.

- I should ask if they have any children!

- When i say "go to school, i should say if the adults have to take their children to school etc.

Planning my questionnaire lesson 27/09/2011.

I have to make a questionnaire to give out to people so i can find out about my target audience. Firstly though, i have to do some planning.

In the design of the questionnaire, there are two types of data i need:

• Qualitative - Quality based
• Quantitative - Quantity based

I have some experience with these two terms as i did sociology for a year. I made a short slide show on quantitative and qualitative data. There needs to be a balance between both datas:

ss_9447448"> href="http://www.slideshare.net/osmithas/qualitative-9447448" title="Qualitative" target="_blank">Qualitative <iframe src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/9447448" width="425" height="355" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no">iframe>

View more href="http://www.slideshare.net/" target="_blank">presentations from href="http://www.slideshare.net/osmithas" target="_blank">osmithas

I am planning to do a few drafts of the questionnaires so that people can write some improvement notes on it. I am not only going to give the questionnaire to my target audience as this would mean i am narrowing the possibilities - this questionnaire is to find out my target audience. I will also ask people outside school as well as inside - to broaden my horizons.

What defines an 'educated person'?

My target audience is educated adults, however, i am struggling to put it into words what being educated means. Does it means you've completed A-levels, GCSEs, Degree? I have found a few definitions of the word:
http://www.wikipedia.com/ - Education (also called learning, teaching or schooling) in the general sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character, or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills, and values from one generation to another.

Dictionary -

1. Having an education, especially one above the average.

2.
a. Showing evidence of schooling, training, or experience.
b. Having or exhibiting cultivation; cultured

3.Based on a certain amount of experience or factual knowledge.

Another dictionary -

1. having undergone education: educated people.

2. characterised by or displaying qualities of culture and learning.

3. based on some information or experience.




I was given the link of a file which helps me to uncover the type of lifestyle or 'Sybols of Success' that an educated individual has.Looking at this fgile, I can see that my target market would fit into the group 2 - happy families. I would like to make this more specific but the types of groups coming off this main group 2 could all be suitable for the newspaper I want to create. Eventhough they are slightly different with the way they live that are all quite well off financially, have nice houses and live around city areas and most commonly they are all families. Here is the link i was given which states the groups:

http://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/docs/business/mosaic_groups_and_types_key.pdf

Overall
Through research, i have learnt that being educated isn't just about the extent of schooling a person has has, it also includes their knowledge, experience, and the values they have. Stereotypically, more middle class people have these factors. As i havent decided what my newspaper will include, i have to make sure that it is intelligent but not patronising.

Planning Questionnaire about Target Audiences.

In a previous lesson, I did a drawing of a map which states different characteristics and lifestyle choices that my target audience may have.  Here is the map which i took on my ipod then transferred to my computer:

I attempted to maket a questionnaire on google documents, but my computer froze and i had to delete evereything. I am doing more research into my target audience because i need to find out :

• Where is the best place to sell my newspaper. Stand, newsagents, vending machines - all of these? Would my target audience go to these places?
• What type of articles and ads should be in my newspaper which realate to my audience.
• What radio station my ad should be heard on (i will choose this by finding out the audiences of the radio stations and how much they fit to my target audience)
• What time my ads should be heard on the radio. Would my target audience be in the car, or listen to the radio at that time? Depends on their lifestyle.
• Where and how should my newspaper poster be shown. Typically outside the newsagent where it is sold?

I can find these out with the help of my questionnaire, getting in contact with radio stations via e-mail or looking on their websites, and having a look around my city because that is where i am planning for my newspaper to be sold and advertised (its a local newspaper).

Demographics of Radio Stations.

For my brief i have to write and perform a radio advert which advertises the newspaper i am planning to create. In order to do this, i need to research the demographics of the audiences of these stations.  This ad has to reach my target audience (educated adults, aged 18+ and who probably go to work (professionals)) and researching the audience will help me to define what time it would be best to play the ad and which station is more likely to do this.

I was going to write the radio stations and e-mail each but i found out that they have the demographics on their websites often. Here i have listed what the demographics are for each radio station:

Radio Heart  http://www.heart.co.uk/about-us/

The information and facts that i have gathered from this page is that this commercial radio now has 33 stations across the UK, with around 7.7 million listeners every week. There main audience is aged around 22-44. Their audiences are married professionals who have children (the audience i am looking at!) and they are sociable people.

Sources: RAJAR Heart Network (UK) TSA 6 months, ended June 2011


For the other two radio stations which do not state their audience demographics online - Radio Norwich and BBC Radio Norfolk, i have sent the an e-mail:

I will write a post as soon as i get a reply, which will hopefully be soon. However, at least i definatley know what the audience demographics of one radio station is.

Second Presentation Prezi

Here i have embeded my second presentation. It shows the overall brief of what i am planning to do:

Presentation 2: Year Brief on Prezi