Audience Profile Research Task - Take That

An audience profile of a performer/band can sometimes be constructed based on what the band's traits are and what can be assumed from their audience.

Assumed Audience:

• Female because they would have been male icons in their most popular days and many females would have seen them and still see them as attractive.
• 25-45 years old as they were most popular when this age group were teenagers and young adults.
• Interested in their family, friends, work, politics, current affairs, entertainment, music and other more mature activities. 
• I feel that the fashion that Take That's audience mostly wear will be comfortable, practical and predominantly casual. Male fans may style their appearance on the band members so they replicate their casual yet stylish image. 
• Obviously their music taste would be other bands and artists that sound similar to Take That - an example might be Coldplay or Michael Buble. 

Young and Rubicam's 4Cs

Young and Rubicam's Cross Cultural Consumer Characterisation categorises people into recognisable stereotypes that reflect their motivations. The 7 categories are: Security, Control, Status, Individuality, Freedom, Survival and Escape.
I took the questionnaire to establish what characteristics would be chosen to reflect my motivations:

The main value that I was given was control which I feel possibly suits my motivations. The questions were fairly specific and based on the motivations of the 7 categories. Although I feel that control might be suited to me I feel that I'm not solely motivated by it; I believe discovery and escape could both also be used to describe me but the questionnaire results were conclusive that these were two of the lowest characteristics. Interestingly, I think the fact that the status characteristic is low is a good reflection of my motives.

The website allowed you to read further into your main and secondary values - I found these very insightful. The control characteristic is fairly matched to my motives which I was surprised at because control is generally deemed as quite a negative characteristic to hold. The statements "you are powered by a strong goal orientation" and "socially you feel most at ease with individuals who share your Control priority" describe me quite well. The overall characterisation that I was given is the "succeeder" and my secondary one was a "mainstreamer". I feel that these are the two that best describe my personality.

In order to gather evidence on the characteristics of a Take That fan I got someone who enjoys their music to do the survey so I could get an accurate reading of their characteristics. Following this I can compare their results to my assumed audience characteristics to identify areas that were correctly guessed.

 As seen to the left, the audience characteristics for a Take That fan are "Security" and "Survival". I expected to see these two characteristics because my initial assumptions lead me to believe that Take That fans would be slightly older people and therefore concerned about more serious matters. It's probable that they might have a family and a home that's important to them - just like the "security" characteristic. They might have a set routine that they follow which is "familiar". In all it could be assumed that they are fairly comfortable with their lives and they enjoy how they currently live. Much like the "survival" characteristic, it could be assumed that the fan likes "order and structure" and perhaps prefers a more "quiet life". Again, this could be due to them being more mature and having a clearer idea about their morals and beliefs.

As a supplement to Young and Rubicam's 4Cs I constructed a survey to gain further knowledge on Take That's audience. I asked questions that would match them to my previous assumptions and confirm that they are correct (making them facts and building an audience profile).  I posted my survey onto Take That forums in order to target the specific audience that I was attempting to gain information from. Interestingly, my initial results conveyed that 100% of responders were female. The most common age group I received a response from was 26-35 with 33.3% of people. Thus far my assumptions have been correct in estimating the gender and age of Take That's fans.

As the graph to the right depicts, the fans feel that the two most important things to them are their family and friends. These are two aspects of their life that I assumed they were interested in. Also, the "survival" characteristic in Rubicam and Young's questionnaire states that they might enjoy "a chat with friends, a visit with family" - further proving that these must be crucial aspects to a fan's life.
60% of fans stated that their preferred fashion was "casual- jeans and a top". One responder said they prefer to dress "smart for work, but no jacket! Stylish for casual". Not only does this link with the "security" characteristic because they're "not trying to draw attention to themselves" but it also can be connected with the fact that they "like order and structure" because they plan what they like to wear - referenced in the earlier response.
In terms of music, the responders stated that they attend concerts/gigs/festivals more than once a year - meaning they must be interested in a wide range of music.

 As well as music I asked what else they were interested in. 83.3% of people all said music, reading and going out  with 50% of people saying sport and shopping too. Additionally, in terms of how people download Take That's music, 100% of people buy or download their CD, 83% listen to it via Spotify or YouTube and 66% listen to it through the radio. This conveys to one that although the audience base for Take That is a slightly older generation, they are still technologically literate.
Finally, to find out a bit more about the fans I asked some qualitative questions about why they like Take That. While some people thought they simply have "good music" and their "lyrics make sense", others gave more insightful answers. One responder talked about how they were men of "integrity". This is imperative in linking the audience assumptions and my survey results; the 4Cs test conveyed that the audience members would seek "well defined rules about what is right and what is wrong" and if the band has integrity then they will stand by their morals and therefore understand what is right and wrong for them. Of course there were some responders who talked of how "sexy" the band members were and that attracted them to support their music.
Significantly, much like the band member's integrity their audience demonstrate integrity towards their music. When I asked if they had always liked Take That many of them had declared that they had been a fan since the early 90s when they first became a hit. One responder spoke of how her mum inspired her which additionally conveys their affect on newer generations and not just the original Take That fan generation.