The Target Audience
3.02 Understand business
publications.
1
Traits of the
Target Audience
 Once the type of publication is determined, the
next step is to examine the Target Audience.
Knowledge of the Target Audience
is critical to effective communication
through publications.
Slide 2
Traits of the
Target Audience
The identifying characteristics of the
Target Audience provide the
“hooks” for grabbing their attention
by appealing to their
 Age
 Ability
 Special interests, and
 Group Membership
Slide 3
Traits of the
Target Audience
Although a Target Audience can be
characterized by many traits, we will only
cover the following four in this objective:
 Age
 Educational background (ability)
 Interests
 Group membership
Slide 4
Age of the Target Audience
 What is the general
 Elementary
 Preteen
 Teen
 Young adult
 Mature adult
age group ?
1. Is the publication being prepared for
young children to entertain them and
tell a story at a birthday party?
2. Is it for a classroom to inform students
about a topic?
 Senior citizen
3. The age of the Target Audience will
assist in choosing Design Elements that
will be used in the publication.
Slide 5
Age of the Target Audience
Look at the two versions of an elementary
school flyer and discuss which one is more
appropriate. Version A or Version B?
Slide 6
Educational Background
of the Target Audience
What is the general Education Level of
the Target Audience?
 If it can be defined, knowledge of the
Educational Background will determine
the amount of text, word choices, and
amount of graphics used in the publication.
Remember, less is more!
Be concise and get to the point.
Slide 7
Educational Background
of the Target Audience
 If you think back to the previous flyers of the
elementary school, what do you think about the
educational level of the Target Audience?
 Can the audience read well?
 Their vocabulary is probably limited, so
more age appropriate graphics were used
to convey the message than text.
Slide 8
Common Interests
of the Target Audience
Audience (group) as a
whole share Common Interests,
 Does the
such as knitting, doll collecting,
bowling, stamp collecting, kayaking, or
fly fishing?
Slide 9
Group Memberships
Is the Target Audience a member of a
particular group?
Does the Audience share similar
Group Memberships?
 Special Interest Groups
 Boy Scouts
 FBLA
 Gaming
 Gardening
 Harry Potter
 Other Groups
 Religious
 Ethnic
 Political
 Sports
 Sorority or Fraternity
Slide 10
Let’s get to work!
 Use your new knowledge about the
Target Audience along with Design
Principles in the next activities to
develop some publications!
Slide 11
Elementary
School Flyer
Version A
Slide 12
Elementary
School
Flyer
Version B
Slide 13