Building an Audience Profile
In 1943 Dr Abraham Maslow presented a theory about human
needs and motivations in a paper titled A Theory of Human Motivation. The
theory now titled Maslow's hierarchy of needs was adopted by Young and Rubicam,
an American marketing company which designed a research tool which allowed
Young and Rubicam to understand what type of brand people bought into and how
they felt about them.
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| The Hierarchy of needs |
This research tool also allowed for a deeper understanding
of the appeal of these brands. The tool also recognised that people from
different countries were influenced by differing cultural backgrounds therefore
such an effect was removed to make the results from this tool more fair and balanced.
As a result of this the tool or system was named the Cross Cultural Consumer
Characterisation or 4C's for short. The 4C's divides people into seven
categories based on their motivations however sometimes people may fit into two
categories one main priority and one secondary.
Below is a list of the 7 types of people presented by the 4C's
The Explorer
"These people are driven by a need
for discovery, challenge and new frontiers.
Young in nature, if not in reality, Explorers are often the first
to try out new ideas and experiences. They respond to brands that offer new
sensations, indulgence and instant effects. In short, difference is what they
seek out. Their core need in life is for discovery."
The Succeeder
"Succeeders possess self-confidence, have a strong goal orientation and tend to be very organised. As a result, they tend to occupy positions of responsibility in society. Their investment in the status quo means they tend to support it.
When it comes to brands, they seek reward and prestige, and will often seek out the best, because that is what they feel they deserve. On the other hand, they also seek out caring and protective brands – their aggressive attitude to life means they need to relax occasionally. Their core need in life is for control."
"Succeeders possess self-confidence, have a strong goal orientation and tend to be very organised. As a result, they tend to occupy positions of responsibility in society. Their investment in the status quo means they tend to support it.
When it comes to brands, they seek reward and prestige, and will often seek out the best, because that is what they feel they deserve. On the other hand, they also seek out caring and protective brands – their aggressive attitude to life means they need to relax occasionally. Their core need in life is for control."
The aspirer
"Materialistic, acquisitive people, who
are driven by others’ perceptions of them rather than by their own values. As a result, they respond to what others perceive as being superficial: image, appearance, persona, charisma and fashion. An attractive pack is as important to them as its contents .Their core need in life is for status."
The reformer
“Don’t tell me what to do or what
to think” says the Reformer, valuing their own independent
judgement. Reformers are the most anti-materialistic of the seven groups, and are often perceived as intellectual. They are socially aware, and pride themselves on tolerance Reformers seek out the authentic and the harmonious, and are often at the leading edge of society. However, unlike Explorers, they will not buy things just because they are new. Their core need in life is for enlightenment."
The mainstream
"These are people who live in the
world of the domestic and the everyday. A daily routine is fundamental to the way they live their lives. Their life choices are ‘we’rather than ‘me’.
As their name implies, they are the mainstream of society. They are the largest group of people within 4Cs across the world. They respond to big established brands, to ‘family’ brands and to offers of value for money. Their core need in life is for security."
The struggler
"Strugglers live for today, and make
few plans for tomorrow. Others often see them as victims, losers and wasters - aimless, disorganised people with few resources apart from their own physical skills. If they get on in life, it will depend more on a winning lottery ticket than anything they do themselves. They are heavy consumers of alcohol and junk food. Visual impact and physical sensation are an important element of their brand choices.In essence, they seek escape."
The resigned
"These are predominantly older
people with constant,unchanging values built up over time.For them, the past is bathed in a warm nostalgic glow.They respect institutions and enjoy acting in traditional roles. Their brand choices are driven by a need for safety and for economy. They choose above all what is familiar to them. In life, their aim is basic: it is to survive."
To find out what type of person I am according to the 4C's I took a questionnaire on the 4C's site below is an image and description of my results.
Main Priority: Control
Characterisation: Succeeder
You are powered by a strong goal orientation; your long term growth plans backed up by the confidence of high self-worth. The underlying aim of your drive is duration and stability, a desire for lasting personal achievement. It’s possible that you have a forward plan of your life worked out, and think in terms of strategic moves towards willed outcomes.
Your creativity works in a process of simplifying complexity – cutting through ambiguity and extraneous complication, organising solutions. And in finding ways to express your conclusions in down-to-earth examples from personal experience.
You do need to be the captain of your ship, separate from the mass of people - and to enjoy the rewards of success as well as the symbols of prestige that inspire the achievement of life goals. You may feel an attraction to things that have lasted for a long time – well-aged single-malt whiskey can be one example, a tendency to align yourself with the local political and social establishment another.
You are particularly aware of the importance of inter-personal communications. Socially you feel most at ease with individuals who share your Control priority, but on some level you may need a more caring and protective antidote to the stress and suppression involved in your drive toward success.
You are powered by a strong goal orientation; your long term growth plans backed up by the confidence of high self-worth. The underlying aim of your drive is duration and stability, a desire for lasting personal achievement. It’s possible that you have a forward plan of your life worked out, and think in terms of strategic moves towards willed outcomes.
Your creativity works in a process of simplifying complexity – cutting through ambiguity and extraneous complication, organising solutions. And in finding ways to express your conclusions in down-to-earth examples from personal experience.
You do need to be the captain of your ship, separate from the mass of people - and to enjoy the rewards of success as well as the symbols of prestige that inspire the achievement of life goals. You may feel an attraction to things that have lasted for a long time – well-aged single-malt whiskey can be one example, a tendency to align yourself with the local political and social establishment another.
You are particularly aware of the importance of inter-personal communications. Socially you feel most at ease with individuals who share your Control priority, but on some level you may need a more caring and protective antidote to the stress and suppression involved in your drive toward success.
Secondary Priority: Enlightenment
Characterisation: Reformer
Independence is your way, you make up your own mind and, ideally, manage your own time. In every way you need room to stretch and grow and move about. Freedom is not just an ideal. It’s a basic necessity. All rigid restrictions are irksome to you, be they hierarchies and bureaucracies, accepted ideas, roles, rules and routines – or tight collars and small windows.
Luckily you are sufficiently inventive and versatile to overcome these restrictions and find the freedoms that you need. What about those who are powerless to do so ? You may feel yourself drawn to active involvement on their behalf - your search for enlightenment naturally includes the desire to set the whole world free.
More than others you are aware of personality in the world around you, which connects with a feeling for relationships ... for instance of colours, shapes, or tastes. The result is a very personal expression, whether it happens in the kitchen, the garden, at work or at play. Generally open to experience., you are attracted to intelligence, to people and things that exhibit unique, authentic and unexpected facets.
Independence is your way, you make up your own mind and, ideally, manage your own time. In every way you need room to stretch and grow and move about. Freedom is not just an ideal. It’s a basic necessity. All rigid restrictions are irksome to you, be they hierarchies and bureaucracies, accepted ideas, roles, rules and routines – or tight collars and small windows.
Luckily you are sufficiently inventive and versatile to overcome these restrictions and find the freedoms that you need. What about those who are powerless to do so ? You may feel yourself drawn to active involvement on their behalf - your search for enlightenment naturally includes the desire to set the whole world free.
More than others you are aware of personality in the world around you, which connects with a feeling for relationships ... for instance of colours, shapes, or tastes. The result is a very personal expression, whether it happens in the kitchen, the garden, at work or at play. Generally open to experience., you are attracted to intelligence, to people and things that exhibit unique, authentic and unexpected facets.
According to this the results I seem to fit into two categories Succedder/Control and Reformer/Enlightenment. Both priorities claim that I am very independent and very driven towards my goals as well as consuming information. I would like to think of myself as this type of person as I find that I try to push myself to achieve more but also I find that I prefer to work in situations with more freedom to allow myself not to be so constricted.
Using the 4C's model and a survey monkey questionnaire I plan to build an audience profile on Daft Punk fan. Liking Daft Punk's music myself I predict that fans of Daft Punk may fit into the Reformer or Succedder category of the 4C's model since this was the categories given to me and according to the model Daft Punk may appeal to me for a reason which reflects the motivations described in these categories.
My assumption of a Daft Punk fan
When considering a stereotypical Daft punk fan or listener my best guess would be that of someone born in the late 80's to the late 90's, possibly 15-24 year old. There interest would include science fiction and fantasy based Daft Punk's visual motifs. They would also be interested in technology or very "tech savvy" as well as displaying an interest in the media such as journalism or filming or producing music as well as the arts including, graphics, photography or fine art based on daft punks artistic and tech based look. Other interests or hobbies may include watching films, attending gigs, clubs or festivals, video games, cartoons, comic books, anime and manga based on daft punk's use of the anime visual style as well as many video games like graphics in their work.In terms of fashion sense this particular audience may wear retro,scene or vintage fashion styles or hipster styles to reflect sometimes retro sounds of Daft Punk as well as the vibrant lighting look that is seen in both Daft Punk's performances and in scene fashion.
My predictions for some of these interests are interests which all have a learning curve to them such as filming, video games, producing content or an interest in the arts. They are interests which all require skill and motivation to do them. This motivation and drive for skill is something that is reflected in the enlightenment category of the 4C's. This is my reasoning for why someone who is in the enlightenment may also like Daft Punk because of Daft Punk's artistic and different visual style which may encourage listeners to produce or take an interest in similar content.
However, the description above is a personal assumption of a
typical Daft Punk fan informed by visual styles of the artist. To really gain
an understanding of a Daft Punk fan I have devised a questionnaire around my
assumptions of Daft Punk fans and have posted the questionnaire onto a Daft
Punk forum in order to attract said specific demographic.
Below are the results from the questionnaire.
1. How old are you ?
3. Whats your favorite genres of film or television
5. Do you produce your own music,videos or
journalistic writing such as reviews, interviews or just posting about the news?
If so please specify what activity by answering yes and commenting either
producing music,videos or journalistic writing or just writing.
The purpose of this question was to gain a better understanding of specific interests Daft Punk fans may have by looking into sites which they visit or contribute to. Of course large social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram came on top due to their variety of non-specialised content and ease of access however for this question I was really looking at the more specialised sites said demographic visits. According to this graph it appears the most rated specialised site was IMBD featuring a 37.9% of votes. Unlike my previous questions when film related subjects or options were less popular it seems that other than the big social networking sites it seems that my chosen demographic visit's a film site possibly suggesting that there may be some interest in film but not as strong as I originally thought of. Another point of interest is that site Deviantart was second on the specialised website list in terms of popularity. Deviantart is a website which specialises in showcasing user generated artwork. One may suggest that unlike previous question "What type of magazine do you read?" in which the art option was received with less popularity it seems that there may be an interest in the arts with the Deviantart option receiving 31% of votes. Perhaps just like the popularity of IMBD hinting towards an interest in film, this information may provide evidence for Daft Punk fans having an interest in the arts however not as large as I thought they would. Finally specialist site Fanfiction.net received 17.2% of votes making it the 3rd popular specialist site. Fanfiction.net allows its users to self-publish written works of fiction. From this information it may seem that instead of journalism Daft Punk fans may find more interest in producing fiction as evidenced by this graph as Fanfiction.net was more popular than blogger a site which allows users to participate in citizen journalism among other things.
7. What type of books do you read?
However, in terms of the popularity of Manga
books according to my survey with only 31% of people saying that they like
Manga coming 5th out seven choices it may seem that my assumption that Daft
Punk fans love Manga may be incorrect.
10. What is your typical dress sense or fashion style i.e what types of clothes do you wear?
"Because they value maintaining their creative freedom so much more than making money and this of course! It seems that nearly every current artist I listen to has somehow received inspiration from them. "
"I like them because they don't give a **** about commercialism and they do what they want to.
They do something different each time.
Oh, and they can just sit on chairs and still look awesome."
" I love their Music, their robot style and also how influential they are to other artists!
"
"because they are robots, duh and because of their music, their "way of living" (if I may say so), their style, because they are so passionate about what they're doing and they love it which is inspiring as hell"
"I second the "everything" response! More specifically, their music makes me happy. I like how they compose and produce their songs. There's something unique about it that I can't quite define. I love the whimsy and mystery of the robot personas and it's a lot if fun to buy into the fantasy of it."
"For me, specifically, I like Daft Punk because:
1. They're French. I have had a fascination w/ France's art/music since I was a kid.
2. They are obviously very thoughtful in their artistic process, and very passionate about what they do. Because of this, the music they produce evokes the kind of emotion you would expect from a labor of love.
3. I'm an artist and I look up to other artists, no matter what medium they use to create, who challenge themselves to push the status quo and create things that inspire others to push themselves, too. I like many bands/musicians and other types of artists as well, be it writers, painters, cartoonists, etc. The one who matter most to me are the ones who think outside the box. Thomas and Guy-Man clearly think outside the box!"
Conclusion
According to the various feedback and information gained from my survey a Daft Punk may be best described as someone who:
Other interests that where expressed by Punk fans which could be adapted into my video were there liking of video games and comic books. To adopt and play on there liking on video games should prove easy in terms of featuring pixelated graphics /visuals in my video to communicate that retro video game aesthetic which hopefully should really engage Punk fans if my research is accurate making an intertextual reference to almost the heritage of video games. In terms of linking to comic books this may be difficult as sci-fi and video games tropes and visuals can overlap easier than comic books as sci-fi and video games can focus of computers and technology. If I were to adopt comic book themes in my video one could suggest having a comic book like visual style with objects featured within shots having a thick stroke around them to suggest a drawn effect. However these features depend on the type of song I choose and if said theme would work well with the sound of the song.
One of the answers to the question "What is it about Daft Punk do you like?" mentioned that they quite enjoyed the whimsy and mystery behind the robot persona of Daft Punk. This would help in terms of constructing a character that would appeal to this particular audience for my music video. According to said answer said constructed character should be mysterious but shouldn't have a dark mysterious tone to them but rather a more eccentric one.
So to summarise if I were to appeal to said audience I would need to include sci-fi,video game and comic book tropes and may possibly need to develop a character for audiences to follow who reflects similar attitudes to daft punk.
Demographic profile of potential target audience
When asked about their age 79.3% of people asked were
between the ages of 15-24 years old, 17.2 % were under the age of 15 and the
remaining 3.4% were around 25 - 34 years of age. This perhaps evidences my
claim that an audience between the ages of 15 -24 years old would serve as Daft
Punk's mass audience. The reason why I chose this specific audience is that
said demographic grew up in a time of great technological innovations as things
such as the wide spread of the internet and products such as computers and
laptops becoming more common and advanced. This technological change I feel
fits in well with Daft Punks robotic and computer styles.
Also those who are 24
would've grown up with Daft Punk in some ways, as in 1993 the duo would've
formed and those born would be around 5 interacting with Daft Punk's sounds at
an early age. Not only may this but those 15 and slightly older have been
exposed to Daft Punk by means of their animated film, Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem which was released in
2003. Around this age said listeners would be around 5 - 10 years old and may
have attracted by the cartoon visual styles of the film.
On the other hand some may criticise the reason why I did
not receive any feedback from older audience may possibly be due to the fact
that it is believed that older audiences may not have an idea as to how to
access a forum or have any interested in forums in the first place.
2. How much do you you enjoy watching films?
When asked about their interest in film
only 20.7% of people answered very positively with a "great deal being
selected by only 6 people whereas a sort casual liking of film was favoured
with 41.4% of people ticking a moderate amount as their choice. From the
information gathered from this graph my theory that Daft Punk fans love film
may have been disproven as majority of those asked answered with a casual
response. As a result of this my other idea of Daft Punk fan's producing their
own film products may have been disproven as well since those who tend to
produce their own films would normally have a passion for film and may like
watching films as well as producing them. However that said a the two positive
responses "A great deal" and "A lot" received altogether
51.7% of vote's which some may argue may in a way evidence that Daft Punk fans
may have a passion for film but not as strong as I previously assumed.
When I produced this question my
assumption of the mostly picked genres of film or TV included Sci-fi, Animated
film and Anime based on Daft Punk’s Sci-fi and robotic styles as well as the
duo’s involvement with animated film and Japanese cartoons. However, the top
voted genre was comedy with a 51.7% audience vote and then the Sci-fi genre
coming in second with 44.8% of people ticking the Sci-fi section. Finally the 3rd
most popular genre was the action genre with 27.6% people selecting said genre.
In some ways one of my assumptions of Daft Punk fans also liking Sci-fi may be
evidenced by the results of the table however for my other 2 assumptions i.e.
Daft Punk fans enjoying cartoons, anime and possibly manga may have been proven
wrong with only 13.8% of people saying they liked animated shows and only 10.3%
of people saying that they like anime. My idea of Daft Punk fans liking Manga
may have been proven wrong on the basis that Manga shares many visual styles
and story conventions with anime; since anime received such a low vote this may
also show that Manga is not as popular among this demographic as I used to
believe.
4. What type of magazine do you read?
The intention of
asking this particular question was to gain an understanding of what certain
areas and subjects my chosen demographic are interested in. My assumptions were
that Magazines that focused on video games, technology, the arts and Music would
be the more popular choices based on my previous idea that Daft Punk fans play
video games because of the groups use of video game like graphics and computer
generated imagery in their performances. Moreover I believed that Technology
magazines would be popular because I believe that Daft Punk fans would be
interested in technology as a result of the robot motifs of the duo. In
addition Music magazines would be popular since my chosen demographic are just consuming
the music medium but also this assumption stems from the fact that unlike other
genres of music the type of music Daft Punk produced can be produced by
resources such as computers which are quite widespread and common for people to
own or have access to. The idea being that my chosen demographic use these
magazines as inspiration as well as a learning resource to teach themselves how
to produce similar music. Finally I believe that art based magazines may be a
popular choice as I believe that the Daft Punk fanbase may have an interest in
the arts which has stemmed from the duo’s artistic style.
After collecting
the results from the survey similar to how I predicted the choices the music
magazine received the most votes receiving 50% of votes showing some evidence
to Daft Punk fan’s having a passion for Music and have a passion for possibly
producing their own music. Second to that was gaming magazine with 39.3% of
people saying that they read gaming magazines possibly proving the idea that
Daft Punk fans like video games. In third place was rated technology magazine’s
which may provide evidence that Daft Punk fans also like technology however according
to this graph not as much as I thought with gaming and music magazines being
much more popular. What was quite interesting was the fact that Art magazines
was rated quite low with only 2 people saying that they consume this type of text.
This piece of information may disprove my previous idea that Daft Punk fans
enjoy the Arts or even contribute that much to it. Additionally the idea that
Daft punk fans love film is further disproven as evidenced by the graph, with
film magazines only receiving 14.3% of votes.
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| Only 2 people who were enthusiastic about producing there own content or were attempting to |
The
intention of the question was to really understand if my chosen demographic is
passionate about or produces their own content in the field of the media, the
arts or music. From the responses gained out of 29 people asked only 14 people
said that they produce content or have shown interest in producing content
meaning that around 51.7% of people who were asked do not produce their own
content or have shown any enthusiasm about producing content.
 |
| 10 out of 29 people produced their own music |
Only two
people said that they produce as videos, only ten people said
that they produce their own music and the remaining two were enthusiastic about producing their own content.
From results gained from this question it appear that my previous idea that Daft Punk fans would have an interest in the media in terms of journalism or produce films or video's has been proven wrong as no one claimed that they produced any form of journalism and only a niche part of my chosen demographic admitted to producing videos of there own. However the idea that Daft Punk fans produce their own music and content is still up to debate in someways with nearly 50% of my chosen demographic saying that they do or are enthusiastic about it. One may argue because of how close the figures are between people saying answering with either yes or no, it seems that the idea of Daft Punk fans completely just obsessed with producing their own content is wrong but rather there is a mix of those who produce and those who don't possibly due to the fact that it may have never crossed their minds or that they lack the resources or environment to produce said content.
 |
| Only two people asked produce videos |
From results gained from this question it appear that my previous idea that Daft Punk fans would have an interest in the media in terms of journalism or produce films or video's has been proven wrong as no one claimed that they produced any form of journalism and only a niche part of my chosen demographic admitted to producing videos of there own. However the idea that Daft Punk fans produce their own music and content is still up to debate in someways with nearly 50% of my chosen demographic saying that they do or are enthusiastic about it. One may argue because of how close the figures are between people saying answering with either yes or no, it seems that the idea of Daft Punk fans completely just obsessed with producing their own content is wrong but rather there is a mix of those who produce and those who don't possibly due to the fact that it may have never crossed their minds or that they lack the resources or environment to produce said content.
6. Which websites do you visit and or contribute to?
The purpose of this question was to gain a better understanding of specific interests Daft Punk fans may have by looking into sites which they visit or contribute to. Of course large social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram came on top due to their variety of non-specialised content and ease of access however for this question I was really looking at the more specialised sites said demographic visits. According to this graph it appears the most rated specialised site was IMBD featuring a 37.9% of votes. Unlike my previous questions when film related subjects or options were less popular it seems that other than the big social networking sites it seems that my chosen demographic visit's a film site possibly suggesting that there may be some interest in film but not as strong as I originally thought of. Another point of interest is that site Deviantart was second on the specialised website list in terms of popularity. Deviantart is a website which specialises in showcasing user generated artwork. One may suggest that unlike previous question "What type of magazine do you read?" in which the art option was received with less popularity it seems that there may be an interest in the arts with the Deviantart option receiving 31% of votes. Perhaps just like the popularity of IMBD hinting towards an interest in film, this information may provide evidence for Daft Punk fans having an interest in the arts however not as large as I thought they would. Finally specialist site Fanfiction.net received 17.2% of votes making it the 3rd popular specialist site. Fanfiction.net allows its users to self-publish written works of fiction. From this information it may seem that instead of journalism Daft Punk fans may find more interest in producing fiction as evidenced by this graph as Fanfiction.net was more popular than blogger a site which allows users to participate in citizen journalism among other things.
7. What type of books do you read?
When producing this question my main goal was to
find out whether my idea of Daft Punk fans liking comic books as well as
possibly Manga was true.
My original prediction for the results of the
question were originally that comic
books and the manga type of book or text would be the most popular choice among
Daft Punk fans due to Daft Punk's involvement with the Manga/anime style in
their film Interstella 5555. In
addition, Daft Punk's performances feature colourful and bright styles, which
can be also found in some that of comic books. Not only this but the robot
persona seen in their work which conveys a fantasy like atmosphere to their
work which said fantasy atmosphere can also be found in comic books as well.
However, previously I had found that anime films according to my research
conducted was not very popular among my chosen demographic therefore I started
to speculate if the Manga book genre would follow a similar trend due to similarities
in both genres.
After receiving the results from the questionnaire,
it appears that Modern literature such as Harry Potter seems to be the most
popular choice with Daft Punk fans receiving around 65.5% of votes. This may be
a result of my chosen demographic growing up with these novels at the height of
their popularity; novels including harry potter, which were produced in 1997 in
which the oldest of my chosen demographic would be around eight, which is also
the age in which books such as Harry potter was marketed towards.
The second most popular choice was the comic
book/graphic novel with 55.2% of people's votes. One may suggest that this
evidences my claim that Daft Punk fans enjoy comic books but not as much as I initially
thought as the comic book, text is still second to modern literature. On the other
hand, the choice "Modern literature" may be too broad in comparison
to the choice of comic books since I do not specify enough what type of book
falls under this category therefore one has to reconsider the popularity of
this choice.
8 and 9. Have you attended a Gig, festival or club? If so how often do you attend these events?
Originally, when building an idea of a
stereotypical Daft Punk fan one of my claims included that Daft Punk fans enjoy
attending gigs, festivals or clubs on the basis that Daft Punk's music tends to
have a party atmosphere to it, encouraging informal gatherings or featuring
sounds that would be suitable for such events. This idea of the duo's music
fitting well with parties is derived from evidence of the one more time music video,
which features a range of colourful characters celebrating and dancing against
a bright world depicted with vibrant colours and flashing lights. Therefore with this in mind I predicted that the choices "yes" and "extremely often" would serve as popular choices among my chosen demographic however according to these graphs my claims may be wrong. Although a high percentage of those asked said yes they have attended a gig, festival or club with around 69% share in votes majority of those asked said that they do not actually attend this events on a regular basis, with 62.1% of those asked answered with "not at all often". Perhaps this may hint that unlike my assumption Daft Punk fans do attend these events but not as much as if its a personal hobby but possibly more as a one off.
10. What is your typical dress sense or fashion style i.e what types of clothes do you wear?
When producing this question I was interested in the typical
fashion sense or style of a Daft Punk fan. My Assumption was that Daft Punk
fans tend to wear scene
like clothing due to its bright and vibrant colours and accessories. I felt
this fashion style best reflects Daft
Punk's visual motifs of bright neon lights as well as the groups "out
of this world" style. Another fashion style I felt would be popular among
my chosen demographic would be the vintage or hipster styles and geek chic. My
reasoning behind this is that the hipster subculture is a very contemporary one
starting around the 1990’s meaning that my chosen demographic may have grown up
with this fashion trend. Furthermore the hipster fashion style conveys a young
and life like mood or feeling as seen in
this example. One may notice how there is something whimsical about this
fashion style with its use of throwbacks to previous fashion trends such as the
60's which was all about having fun and loving others. This whimsical style and
feeling can also be seen in Daft Punk's performances as they are not too
serious evidenced by the fact they portray themselves as colourful
robots.
My choice behind vintage
clothing was similar to my choice of hipster fashion; they both show whimsy
which in some ways reflects Daft Punk's style. I also felt that Vintage styles
best reflect Daft Punk's sometimes vintage sounds when the duo sample songs
from the 70's and 80's.
Finally I felt that Geek chic would be popular among this
group informed by my previous assumptions of the hobbies said demographic would
enjoy i.e. comic books, sci-fi, cartoons etc. which are considered as very
"geeky".
However after receiving my results It appears that my assumptions are off once again as according to my graph it appears that Hipster fashion styles are not very popular among my chosen audience with no one claiming that they were hipster or scene clothing. Only one person said that that they wear vintage clothing and only 2 people said that they wear geek chic. According to this graph the most popular clothing style was the casual style holding 65.5% of the votes. From this one may conclude that Daft Punk fans may not have as a definitive fashion style as I thought; it appears that from this survey said demographic wear just casual t-shirt and jeans or other types of conventional clothing. Unlike other genres of music such as grunge or rock there seems to be no defined look for a daft punk fan.
11. What is it about Daft Punk do you like?"Because they value maintaining their creative freedom so much more than making money and this of course! It seems that nearly every current artist I listen to has somehow received inspiration from them. "
"I like them because they don't give a **** about commercialism and they do what they want to.
They do something different each time.
Oh, and they can just sit on chairs and still look awesome."
" I love their Music, their robot style and also how influential they are to other artists!
""because they are robots, duh and because of their music, their "way of living" (if I may say so), their style, because they are so passionate about what they're doing and they love it which is inspiring as hell"
"I second the "everything" response! More specifically, their music makes me happy. I like how they compose and produce their songs. There's something unique about it that I can't quite define. I love the whimsy and mystery of the robot personas and it's a lot if fun to buy into the fantasy of it."
"For me, specifically, I like Daft Punk because:
1. They're French. I have had a fascination w/ France's art/music since I was a kid.
2. They are obviously very thoughtful in their artistic process, and very passionate about what they do. Because of this, the music they produce evokes the kind of emotion you would expect from a labor of love.
3. I'm an artist and I look up to other artists, no matter what medium they use to create, who challenge themselves to push the status quo and create things that inspire others to push themselves, too. I like many bands/musicians and other types of artists as well, be it writers, painters, cartoonists, etc. The one who matter most to me are the ones who think outside the box. Thomas and Guy-Man clearly think outside the box!"
Above are
quotations from my chosen demographic commenting on why they like Daft Punk.
The purpose of this question was to really understand which of the seven types
of people Daft Punk fans would fall under. After collecting a range of
responses these were the responses I felt were serious enough and gave the most
information as to why they like Daft Punk. Answers tend to range from liking
the duo because of their independence and passion for music, liking them
because they challenge themselves rather than giving into just making money and their unique robot style or how
inspiring they are. One may notice a
trend in these responses; they all focus on the idea of pushing oneself and
striving to do something different and not to conform. These values can be
found in the Reformer/Enlightenment category. Those classed as the reformer are
described as "often at the leading edge of society." or as independent
and thinking of freedom as a "basic
necessity."
Being different and pushing themselves rather than doing what seems to work
with other artists was one of the appealing things to daft punk fans according
to these results as evidenced by the quotes below.
"Because
they value maintaining their creative freedom so much more than making money
and this of course !"
"I
like them because they don't give a **** about commercialism and they do what
they want to.
They do something different each time."
They do something different each time."
"There's something unique about it that I can't
quite define."
Furthermore, according to 4C's system those
classed as Reformers also have the desire to "set the whole world free."
in their search for enlightenment. In other words one may interpret that
statement as those who are Reformers have the desire to or are inspiring those
around them; an aspect which was appealing to daft punk fans i.e. how inspiring
they are.
According to the various feedback and information gained from my survey a Daft Punk may be best described as someone who:
- Is a Reformer and strives for enlightenment
- Aged between 15-24 years of age
- Casually watches film
- Likes comedy and sci-fi
- Interested in Music and video games
- Has a casual interest in producing their own music
- Very social network savy
- Likes modern texts as well as comic books
- Not very interested in attending gigs or musical events
- Wears casual clothing
Other interests that where expressed by Punk fans which could be adapted into my video were there liking of video games and comic books. To adopt and play on there liking on video games should prove easy in terms of featuring pixelated graphics /visuals in my video to communicate that retro video game aesthetic which hopefully should really engage Punk fans if my research is accurate making an intertextual reference to almost the heritage of video games. In terms of linking to comic books this may be difficult as sci-fi and video games tropes and visuals can overlap easier than comic books as sci-fi and video games can focus of computers and technology. If I were to adopt comic book themes in my video one could suggest having a comic book like visual style with objects featured within shots having a thick stroke around them to suggest a drawn effect. However these features depend on the type of song I choose and if said theme would work well with the sound of the song.
One of the answers to the question "What is it about Daft Punk do you like?" mentioned that they quite enjoyed the whimsy and mystery behind the robot persona of Daft Punk. This would help in terms of constructing a character that would appeal to this particular audience for my music video. According to said answer said constructed character should be mysterious but shouldn't have a dark mysterious tone to them but rather a more eccentric one.
So to summarise if I were to appeal to said audience I would need to include sci-fi,video game and comic book tropes and may possibly need to develop a character for audiences to follow who reflects similar attitudes to daft punk.
Demographic profile of potential target audience
Based
on my research on Daft punk fans, when thinking about this audience as a
potential audience I have constructed a demographic profile to appeal to and
further investigate as to what appeals to them.
My potential
target audience will be aged around 15-24 years of age, unfortunately Gender
based questions were not asked in my research so in the mean time I will
currently assume my audience is a balanced mix of male and female, this will be
rectified in later quantitative research. My potential audience are very "social
network savvy" and may be mass consumers of the internet. When thinking
about work roles and possible social class, two classes seem to be appropriate
based on my age range and my potential audience's interests. Based on the age
range of 15-24 year olds one would have to assume that according to audience
categories my chosen target audience would be classed as E since they are most
likely students within high school or higher education. Another class my TA
might fit into would be class B however; this may not be so likely since those
older in my age category could be newly graduates and wouldn't be earning such
high wages straight away. On the other hand based on my audience feedback that
14 of the 29 people asked were already producing content or interested in doing
so may represent some within this demographic as 'creatives'. One could assume
that some producing this content may also work within the creative industry as
a career, which according to the demographic class puts them at class B.
Furthermore
based on my Daft Punk audience research I had found that said audience and my
potential audience might be classed as reformers according to the 4c's meaning
they always strive for more knowledge. When applying Maslow's hierarchy of
needs, one has to consider how the concept states that to achieve certain
things on higher up on the hierarchy such as self-actualisation, i.e.
enlightenment one has to achieve things lower on the list such as a secure and
stable environment. This would mean according to their "reformer"
class and Maslow's list my potential audience would have to be higher than
class D on the demographic category and possibly higher than C2 in order to
pursue such enlightenment with ease.
Other
media products my target audience outside of music would consume are video
games, sci-fi and comedy films as well as an interest in fantasy based texts
such as comic books, and modern literature such as Harry Potter and the Game of
Throne's books. Moreover, one can assume that my target audience may have an
interest into the music industry based on results that 50% of those asked said
they consume music magazines. Music magazines can offer a source of information
on what is currently happening within the music industry via interviews with
artists and other such articles. Depending on the type of magazine, this could
mean that half of my TA have expressed an interest into the music industry.
When
thinking whether my audience would be mainstream, niche, alternative or art
house looking back at Daft Punk, one could assume my audience would consist of
a share both of art house and mainstream. Daft Punk are well known artists receiving
many awards such as the Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album as well as
being signed to Columbia records which is owned by one of the largest media conglomerates,
Sony. Hence the duo has always attracted a large audience which and have been
part of the mainstream partly due to the fact that their marketers have the
budget to expose them to mass audiences. However when looking at some of their
videos such as Da Funk
and technologic which
features abstract imagery such as animatronics babies and "Dog men"
one may consider that this type of imagery could appeal to art house fans as
well due to the artistic value behind the video such as the "openness"
of interpretation about these videos. This could also be applied to Punks Robot
personas, which offers something different to the artists compared to other
electronic artists. Therefore if Daft Punk fans are to make up my potential
audience it would be appropriate to think about them as a mix of mainstream
audiences and art house audiences.
This is fantastic, Chris. Your use of surveys and predictions set out using Maslow & 4Cs has helped you to clearly define Daft Punk's audience. Well done.
ReplyDeleteT: Perhaps you could mood board images associated with a 'typical' Daft Punk fan.
T: Check the font and picture size of the post. Some parts were a little difficult to read in places.
T: Link this to your own production - how will it help you construct a product that this audience would enjoy?