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audience targeting & profiling

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4 detailed 50-minute lessons with teaching scripts, worked examples, parent guides, and assessment criteria.

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Lesson Overview

Total Lessons: 4
Tier: Foundation and Higher
Duration: 50 minutes per lesson (200 minutes total)
Exam Boards: AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas, CCEA

Learning Objectives

Prerequisites

Materials & Equipment

Lesson 1: Introduction: audience targeting & profiling

Duration: 50 minutes

Starter Activity (5 minutes)

Quick Recall

Write down everything you already know about audience targeting & profiling. Then check against the key terms: key terms from audience targeting & profiling. Use a mini-whiteboard or paper.

Main Content (35 minutes)

Parent/Teacher Guide:
Before lesson: Read the script below. Pre-teach key vocab: key terms from audience targeting & profiling.
If stuck: Re-read the revision notes (link above), then break the content into smaller steps.
Extension: See the Stretch & Challenge ideas in Lesson 4.
Teaching Script (35 mins):
Mins 0-5 - Hook: "Today: audience targeting & profiling. By the end you will be able to answer exam questions on it unaided. It connects to the rest of Media Studies because the ideas here recur across the spec."
Mins 5-20 - Direct Instruction: Work through the core ideas below one at a time; after each, ask your student to explain it back in their own words.
Mins 20-30 - Guided Practice: Model the worked example together, then let your student attempt the first practice question with guidance.
Mins 30-35 - Independent Practice: 2-3 practice questions from Lesson 3 below, with immediate feedback.
First Look

Start with the revision notes summary, then attempt: explain the key ideas of audience targeting & profiling

Plenary (5 minutes)

Check Out

Your student states one thing they learned and one question they still have about audience targeting & profiling.

Lesson 2: Core Concepts: audience targeting & profiling

Duration: 50 minutes

Starter Activity (5 minutes)

Review Previous Lesson

Quick recap: write 3 key points from Lesson 1 on audience targeting & profiling. Check them against the notes below.

Main Content (35 minutes)

Key Fact: Audience targeting is how media producers identify, reach, and appeal to specific groups of consumers. It is central to media marketing and commercial success.
Key Fact: Demographics classify audiences by objective, measurable characteristics: age, gender, income, occupation, education, ethnicity, and location.
Key Fact: Socio-economic grading (ABC1/C2DE): A (upper middle), B (middle), C1 (lower middle), C2 (skilled working), D (working), E (non-working). Used by advertisers to target by income and class.
Key Fact: Psychographics classify audiences by personality, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyle. Young and Rubicam's 4Cs: Mainstreamers (security), Aspirers (status), Explorers (discovery), Reformers (social change).
Key Fact: Audience segmentation: dividing audiences into subgroups based on shared characteristics, then targeting each segment with tailored content and marketing.
Key Fact: Data-driven targeting: digital platforms collect behavioural data (what you watch, click, share) to build detailed profiles for personalised content and advertising.

Practice (10 minutes)

Q: explain the key ideas of audience targeting & profiling

Answer:

Plenary (5 minutes)

Explain Back

Your student teaches the key points back to you without looking. Fill any gaps immediately.

Lesson 3: Application: audience targeting & profiling

Duration: 50 minutes

Starter Activity (5 minutes)

Quick Recall

Recall the key terms: key terms from audience targeting & profiling. Define each in one sentence.

Main Content (35 minutes)

Parent/Teacher Guide: Let your student attempt each question alone first, then compare with the model answer. Award method marks for correct working even if the final answer is wrong.

Work through the practice questions on the revision notes page for this topic.

Plenary (5 minutes)

Error Review

Review any questions answered incorrectly. Identify whether the error was knowledge, method, or reading the question.

Lesson 4: Exam Practice: audience targeting & profiling

Duration: 50 minutes

Starter Activity (5 minutes)

Command Words

Review what these command words require: state (one point), describe (say what happens), explain (say why), compare (both sides), evaluate (judgement).

Main Content (35 minutes)

Extended Answer

Extended question: Full-Mark Response Analyse how one of your CSPs targets a specific audience. [12 marks] <div class="

Media products target specific audiences through deliberate choices of content, language, visual style, and distribution channels, informed by demographic and psychographic profiling. The target audience is identified through demographic and psychographic analysis. Demographics define who the audience is — age, gender, income, location. Psychographics define what motivates them — their values, interests, and lifestyle choices. Together, these profiles guide every production and marketing decision. Content is designed to appeal to the target audience's psychographic profile. If the audience values authenticity and social justice (Reformers), the product will feature realistic representations and progressive themes. If the audience values status and image (Aspirers), the product will feature aspirational lifestyles and success imagery. Visual codes further target the audience. Colour palettes, typography, and imagery are chosen to resonate with the target demographic — bright, bold colours for younger audiences; sophisticated, muted tones for affluent audiences. Distribution channels are selected based on where the target audience consumes media. Young audiences are reached through T

Exam Tips: Apply specific demographic and psychographic categories to CSP audiences | Always discuss both the commercial benefits AND ethical concerns of targeting | Use the correct terminology: demographics (measurable), psychographics (motivational)
Common Errors: ✗ Demographics and psychographics are the same thing. ✓ Demographics are objective and measurable (age, income, gender). Psychographics are subjective and motivational (values, attitudes, interests). They are complementary profiling methods that reveal different things about audiences. ✗ Audience targeting is always manipulative. ✓ Targeting helps audiences find content they'll enjoy and helps producers reach people who want their products. It becomes problematic when it involves deception, exploitation of vulnerable groups, or use of personal data without consent. The ethics depend on how targeting is done. ✗ Mass audiences are more valuable than niche audiences. ✓ Niche audiences can be hi
Stretch & Challenge (Grade 8-9):
  • Synoptic links: explain how audience targeting & profiling connects to another Media Studies topic you have studied
  • Real-world: research one real-world use or example of audience targeting & profiling
  • Critical: "What are the limitations of the models used in audience targeting & profiling?"

Plenary (5 minutes)

Assessment Criteria
  • Got it: Confident explanation + correct worked examples
  • Getting there: Main points OK, needs support with detail
  • Not yet: Confused on key concepts - re-run Lesson 2

Homework & Consolidation

Recommended Resources

🎓 Smart Lesson (Guided)