Who is my target audience?
This blog post will help you understand who your target audience is by using a very simple product to demonstrate how it can appeal to very different people.
In the beginning
You have a product. Imagine someone using it. How old are they? Are they a man or a woman? Which age-range would they fit into? What are the benefits they would gain from using your product? What would they like about it?
A picture might start forming in your mind. This is good. Imagine your character using the product. Multiply your characters - you now have an audience, your target audience. This is how you find your target audience.
Case study: Mugs
I’m choosing mugs to help you work out who your target audience is, because they are a very basic product that can some in multiple shapes and sizes. They are also a product which we all need in some shape or form.
To appeal to your target audience, you might start shaping the design around the above points and creating features that appeal to your target audience and who they are.
For example, the mug can look very different if your target audience is a mum.
This manufacturer has made a simple amendment to the humble mug to appeal to a target audience who is likely a young(ish) mum of probably 25-35 years old. The design is simple, the font is fun and the mention of the children (the tiny humans) leans more strongly to a maternal audience than a paternal audience based on current demographics.
Let’s take the example of a mug that has been designed to appeal to the opposite target audience:
The producer of this mug above is likely appealing to a target audience who is male and aged 20-45. He is someone who is a fan of science fiction, probably Star Wars because the design of the mug references Star Wars in a fun, "Starbucks” style, and he might be someone who is partial to a takeaway coffee from Starbucks or an establishment like it. This second preference is a secondary one because you can enjoy a joke about Starbucks even if you don’t go there.
Then there is the mug below that has been designed for a younger target audience:
The pinkish facade and vibrantly coloured rainbow would appeal to a target audience aged about 3-12 years old, and if the background was whiter it would appeal pretty equally to boys and girls. The rainbow is simple and drawn in a similar way to how a child might draw a rainbow, so it is very suited to this target audience.
Mugs are a product which give us the same benefits regardless of who uses them. They allow us to drink, which is one of the most fundemental things that we need to do to live. Their handle makes them easier to hold and whether they are made of china, porcelin or plastic they broaden our options by allowing us to drink both hot and cold drinks. But as you can see above, such a simple product can be designed quite differently in order to appeal to a different target audience.