Target Audience

 

For this assignment, I conducted primary market research to better understand the preferences and behaviors of horror film audiences. The goal was to gather data on why people watch horror, what specific sub-genres they prefer, and how they discover new content. This information is crucial for identifying a specific target audience and tailoring a film's marketing and narrative style to meet their expectations.

To get this data, I put together a 10-question survey on Google Forms. I wanted to make sure I covered all the bases, so I split the questions into three main sections, who the viewers are, how they actually watch movies, and what they like seeing on screen like their favorite tropes, pacing, and those all-important endings.

  • Strategy: I focused on creating questions that offered clear distinctions between sub-genres to see where the strongest interest lay.

  • Distribution: I distributed the survey through social media links and passed out QR code links that take you to the survey throughout my classes.

  • Reach: I successfully gathered 58 responses.

  • Targeting: While the survey was open to all, I primarily targeted the 15–25 age range, as they represent a highly active segment of the modern horror movie-going audience.



    Looking through the 58 responses, a few things really jumped out at me. It turns out that horror fans today aren't necessarily looking for what you’d expect:

  • Age and Gender: Most of the people who took my survey (81%) are between 15 and 18, and I saw a bit more participation from female respondents (56.1%).

  • Marketing and Discovery: If you want to reach this crowd, you have to go to social media. Over half the group (51.7%) finds their next scare through TikTok or Instagram, which completely blew away traditional trailers or even "Recommended" tabs on Netflix.

  • Sub-genre Preferences: I was surprised to see that Psychological Horror was the top pick (39.7%). People seem to prefer "mind games" and tension over the classic Slasher vibe, which came in second.

  • Narrative and Characters: When it comes to the story, people are over the "happily ever after." About 36% said they live for twists or ambiguous endings. They also really liked "Anti-Hero" protagonists flawed characters you can't quite trust more than the traditional "Final Girl" or "Final Boy."

  • Viewing Motivation: Why do they watch? It’s a tie. Half the group is there for the adrenaline rush and jump scares, while the other half just wants something to watch with friends.







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