Audience Analysis (Part - A)

Communication is complete only when the receiver understands the message in the same sense and spirit that sender intends to convey. However, communication does not take place completely because of the illusion that it has been accomplished. The great cause of illusion is sender's inability to understand the audience. Without analysing audience, the chances of effectiveness of the communication decrease.

Understanding the audience is fundamental to the success of any message. The sender needs to analyse the audience and then adapt the message to their goals, interests and needs. Audience like to listen the message that suits their interests, familiar with their level of knowledge and understanding, and seems true and credible.

Types of Audience:

1. Primary Audience 
2. Secondary Audience
3. Initial Audience
4. Gatekeeper Audience 
5. Watch dog Audience

• Primary Audience:  The primary audience is the audience who have to decide whether to accept the sender's message and his recommendations and to act on the basis of that message. For example - in case of advertisement campaign of interior decoration, the primary audience is prospective customers.
• Secondary Audience: The secondary audience consists of people who may be asked to comment on the message after it has been approved. For example - in case of advertisement campaign of interior decoration, the existing users are the secondary audience as the potential buyers ask them about their opinion.
• Initial Audience: is the audience that receives the message first and routs it to oter audiences. Sometimes, the initial audience guides the sender regarding designing of the message. For example,

1. Censor Board which has to permit to broadcasting of films act as the initial audience.
2. The editors of the newspapers also act as the initial audience as they edit the message before publishing in the newspaper. 

• Gatekeeper Audience: has power to stop the message before it reaches the primary audience. For example - the secretary to the minister acts as gatekeeper audience as he scrutinizes the letters before minister's approval.
• Watch dog Audience: is the audience that has political, social and economic power to influence the primary audience's decision to act upon the sender's message. Though such type of audience has power to stop the message yet they influence a lot on primary audience's action. For example,

1. The Industrial reviewers, who read the reports and comment upon them, act as Watch dog audience.
2. The Auditor, who attests the authenticity and accuracy of financial statements, act as Watch dog audience when he gives his expert opinions.

Importance of Audience Analysis:
Audience is center to the communication process. The purpose of communication is to transfer the message with transmission of understanding among the audience. Therefore good communication is always audience-centered. It is the audience that determines how one achieves the objectives of communication.

If the communicator fails to analyse the attitude, interests and knowledge of the audience, he is likely to be failure. Why certain why certain politicians with bad records can grab the votes? it is because their message strict to the waves of that time as well as wavelength of the public and consequently they can manage to manipulate public sentiments to their advantage.

Therefore, audience analyses is essential before designing the message. Communication can take place only when the message is received in the same sense and spirit that sender intends to carry. Therefore, the sender has to devise some common ground between him and the audience. He has to choose the information that audience needs and finds interesting. He should encode the message in words and other symbols that audience will understand easily. Lastly, he should transmit the message along a channel that the audience will attend to.

"Understanding your audience is fundamental to the success of any message. You need to adapt your message to fit the audience's goals, interests and needs." ~ Kitty O. Locker and Stephen Kyo Kaczmark