Case Study Essay: Audience 'Consumers VS Producers'

"Audiences are no longer just consumers of texts, but producers too"
To what extent is this true of the media products in your case study?

You will need to carry out further detailed research on your case study texts so that you can provide a number of specific examples across all 3 platforms

The statement above ‘audiences are no longer just consumers of texts, but producers too’ is somewhat true which will be discussed using my three primary texts which are all in the genre of music. The artists include JLS, Pixie Lott and Jay Sean and how they all operate on the three platforms: E-Media, Print and Broadcast. These texts all appeal to a variety of audiences and use the three platforms to interact and promote each other. In my opinion, this statement is true mostly in the music business as the audiences control the future and success of a music artist and how the consumers produce the artist as a whole.

Firstly, JLS who are a new boy band in the music industry originated from the broadcast reality TV show X Factor which is possibly the biggest and most watched show in the UK. The consumers of this text played a big part in how successful they could become by voting every week to try and keep them in the competition. This eventually led them to finishing 2^nd place and securing a record deal with Epic Records. Through this example, the consumers were the clear producers to ‘producing’ the future success of this band. Through the success of this band, a recent special show on ITV2 was broadcasted on the interaction with their fans and exclusive performances. In this sense, the band were independent and in control of how their show was produced compared to the consumers, therefore the statement can be disagreed with in this example.

Moving onto E-media which is more and more accessible through the younger generation, more music artists use this platform to interact with their fans. On JLS’ website, audiences are able to create an account and post their opinions and videos on their website in response to any activity JLS upload on the website. This website wouldn’t be successful without the consumers posting comments because these comments make the website more interactive, so in some respect you could say that they are partially a secondary producer of the website.

To disagree with the statement above, JLS has produced two books, a recent one named ‘Our Story so Far’ where all the information was independently written and produced by themselves. Of course within the book, the mention of fans would be present to achieve their success but ultimately, JLS as the band were the main producers of this book, and to my knowledge it was quite successful.

The next music artist, Pixie Lott, is a new female singer songwriter in the music business. She started at the age of 18 and has been very successful in competing with top artists in the British music industry. You could disagree with this statement above because through the platform of E-Media she produces her own line of fashion in which sells online, mostly on her website. As she is the main ‘producer’ of the new innovative fashion ranger, she is ultimately the main producer, where then her fans, the consumers then buy those items. This completely disagrees with the statement above.

Secondly, recently her song ‘Broken Arrow’ is now part of a new film trailer called ‘Beastly’. This shows that her music has entered other platforms which are known as synergy. This is relevant for her target audiences which could be females ages 16 to 25 alongside male mostly teenagers as they can experience a new way of keeping in touch with the artist. As the song was so successful due to the downloading by her target audience, it allowed the song to be synergised. In this respect, the interaction between the song and fans enabled the song to be produced in another platform hence concluding that the consumers were the main producers for the continuing success of the song. 

The third artist has been around in the music business for several years and went against all dominant ideologies. Jay Sean an Indian artist who came from an ethnic minority produced himself with the support of his fans, but mostly his hard work to achieve the status he has today. He is recognised in many European countries and the USA where he currently has a record deal with ‘Cash Money Records’. In my opinion, due to this hard work, dedication and successful music produced he has been a key producer of his music with the help and support of his fans, the consumers therefore the statement above can be disagreed with.

Secondly, Jay Sean operates on many social networking sites such as Face book and Twitter where he has a lot of audience interaction. His target audience is possibly females ages 16- 25 which is where most of them use such sites as a means of connecting with people and following various music artists. From my knowledge there is a lot of popularity on his profile pages, this allows the content to be user generated as the appearance as a whole is merely created by the consumers. From this you can suggest that Jay Sean relies on the interest of his consumers to create his popular profile pages, hence making the consumers the main producers.

In conclusion, I believe that ultimately, music artists cannot become successful without the input and interest through their websites and social networking which therefore makes them the producers of the media. However, you could also conclude, that the primary initial idea comes from the music artists themselves where then the consumers ‘consume’ the material, post opinions and videos as a means of feedback for the artist. From this perspective the consumers consume the media to enhance the production of the music artist. Both consumers and producers aret he main audience all tied into one.

Textual Analysis - 'Baby Drives Car' Hyundai

Media Forms:
Which advertising techniques being used?

The Hyundai advert is represented in a different humorous way with the use of two little, blue eyes, blonde white skinned children who act grown up by driving the car confidently. This was evident through the facial expressions and posture for example when the kid waves to an old man out the window. The child seems confident and comfortable which can represent what you would expect when you buy this car. 

Another aspect for the audience which they could experience is shock tactics because a young child is sneaking out of the house and taking the car for a ride. In reality that would be very dangerous however the use of humour alongside the shocks creates a ‘feel good’ factor in the way other aspects contribute towards it. For example, the fun and adventurous music enables the advert to be happy, innocent and simple relating again to what the car portrays.   

The use of the main protagonist as male and the woman narrator and singer creates an appeal of the advert to genders, male and females but in my opinion the primary audience is male. More importantly, the use of setting for example the beach, open wide roads and town centres reflects the flexibility of where and how easily the car can drive which is a positive characteristic to advertise to the audience.   

Representation:
How is gender represented in this advertisement?

In this advert the male seems to be dominant character throughout for example, driving the car and taking charge, being ‘flirty’ with the girl that he picks up on the road and last showing off with his surfing skills. All these are examples of dominant stereotypes in the advert which can reflect the type of audience this car appeals to.

The female seems to be a dominant ideology of all women for example, being feminine, flirting with guys and being soft and calm. This is most evident when the boy picks her up in the car and each other giving looks and laughing.

Both genders interact with each other and this could be classified as a sex appeal tactic which is implicit and makes the advert more memorable. It also brings a friendly and soft environment as well as fun which allows the audiences to feel at ease and draw them more into potentially what the car can bring you if you by this car. In both uses of gender, a man who buys this car can impress women and feel confident. On the other hand if a woman was a passenger in this car, they could experience joy and a chance to relax on any type of journey.

Institution:
What is communicated about the Hyundai brand and the experience it offers?

Hyundai is potentially a well known reliable brand through the previous cars that have been made.  The connoted message through this advert which is evident is the fact the kids represent fun, comfort and new experiences. This car also represents safety for any road as it has been shown through the city, country roads and near the beach which reflects the flexibility and capability of what the car can achieve.

Also, another aspect which you could take from the children driving it, is that any driver with any type of experience, old or new will be able to easily adjust to the simple settings and features of the car making the ride overall enjoyable.

Lastly, the slogan at the end’ young generation’ could connote that the car is new, fresh and modern for any age or more specifically to the upcoming generation like 18 year olds. Also you could suggest that the slogan represents the band to have forward thinking and are potentially futuristic but still offering simplicity.

Audience:
Who is target audience and how does the advert attempt to persuade this audience to buy the product?

This advert is mostly appealing to the young male generation of 21 to 35 because of the way it is portrayed but more importantly Hyundai’s slogan which is ‘the next generation’. From this you could connote that the car is within a new generation or a new generation of itself. Either way, the new modern looking car would appeal to a more young male audience.

Looking at socio economic groups, this would also be more applicable for the ABC1 target audience due to Hyundai as a brand and its reputation.  From the advert i realised that they didn’t mention the price, but instead glamorised and expressed the key characteristics of the car. From this you could gather it would be slightly pricey and didn’t want to distract their audience from taking that on board. Hence a more expensive price would appeal to a higher working class as they are more likely to afford it. 

Lastly, looking at psychographics you could interpret that this car would aim to explorers as they like to take on board new experiences with lots of energy, generally they appeal to more of the younger audiences. Also aspirers could potentially be a target audiences for Hyundai as it offers them to create a new and improved status in the car as it is flexible to any surroundings the may visit. Lastly relating to the higher working class, succeeders would also be interested because it allows them to be confident and take on board a new opportunity.