You may have heard me mention before that I’ve been helping with the Audio Verse Awards doing their social media. This has gotten me introduced to a lot of new shows and one major thing stuck out to me. Most of them do NOT know their target audience. If you are producing an audio drama and don’t know who your audience is, then you won’t know how to market your show and you will constantly be battling to reach new ears.
WHAT IS THE “FOUR QUADRANTS”?
The “Four Quadrant” model is used in TV and film for pitching new ideas. It lets the studio know who you think your show will most likely appeal to. Works just the same in audio drama. The four parts are broken down into “Males Under 25” “Females Under 25” “Males Over 25” “Females Over 25.” This is not a discussion about gender identity. It’s very simply, the type of entertainment that traditionally appeals to those 4 groups. Of course, the goal of most entertainment is to have a product that appeals to more than one quadrant. So maybe you are just looking at age-range. I would say “Madison on the Air” is a two quadrant “Males and Females Over 25.” Take a moment to think of your own show. Who do you think yours is more likely to appeal to?
WHY DOES THIS MATTER?
Simply: marketing. If you know who is more likely to enjoy your content, you have focus. You can research where those audience members are to reach them and what kind of images and other marketing tools will resonate with them. Think of it as going fishing. You want to make sure you set up your fishing rod where the the fish you want to catch are located, and you want to use the most attractive bait to catch them. And if you’re thinking your show appeals to more than one of these quadrants, you can equally research all of the potential audience and gear your materials towards each one.
MY SHOW APPEALS TO ALL AUDIENCES
Does it, though? I mean, the crown jewel of films is having a “Four Quadrant” show so you can get kids and adults alike into the theater. But really think on this. Does your show actually appeal to children and adults equally? This is why I’m writing this article. I listened to a show that said it was “An adventure for all ages!” That is a very different claim than “Appropriate for all ages.” If they’d said they were “appropriate” for all ages, then you know it’s safe for kids. But to say the material is engaging for all ages… that’s a very big task. I’ll use the example of Pixar movies. I would say that the majority of their catalogue (especially before joining with Disney) are absolutely Four Quadrant, appealing to all ages. Now let’s look at a movie like “Paw Patrol.” Yes, this material is appropriate for all ages. Bring the kiddies, totally safe. But step back a moment. Would any adults be buying tickets to see “Paw Patrol” if they didn’t have a child in tow? Can anyone over 25 truly find the stories, themes and dialogue engaging? It’s not just age, either. Another audio drama I listened to was a Dungeons and Dragons saga. It was run by four men who doubled for any female characters. And since these series are usually done as “actual play” (kind of like improv, they’re making it up as they record) they were very chauvanistic in portrayal of the female characters, and in their characters referencing the females (and their appearance). That is a single quadrant, males over 25 show. Period.
RATINGS: “PG”, “PG-13”, “R” etc.
Do not claim a “rating” like these on your show. Those rating are determined by people working with the Motion Picture Academy and have very specific guidelines. You are purely guessing when you label your show with one. But if you feel you want to give some sort of content guideline warning, just spell it out. “Not appropriate for children under 12” or what-have-you. In addition, that does not describe your target audience. I listened to a self-labeled “PG-13.” I’ve enjoyed many a movie that was rated PG-13. But this audio drama was clearly a “Females Under 25” quadrant. I was not their audience for the coming-of-age fantasy. So who the content was safe for was vastly different from who the content was engaging for. In addition, the show I heard that claimed “PG-13” was very much appropriate for pre-teens (and the subject matter very much geared towards them). But by saying “PG-13” they actually cut off access to potential audience.
Of course there are always audience who are outside of your target quadrant who will like your work. People really can’t be shoehorned into any one particular broad category. It’s more of a guideline than a rule. But the main take away is to have a base-point to focus your marketing reach. And to remind you that you do not need to be everything to every audience. Embrace your niche audience if that’s who you appeal to. And celebrate the people who love your work. Don’t worry about pleasing everyone. You never will!
Chrisi (aka Madison)
