The current focus in our AICE Media Studies class is creating a survey to build our magazine’s target audience. The questionnaire must have at least 15 questions, and these questions will determine the readers of our magazine and what they are most interested in; I used Google Forms as my survey platform.
I shared my Target Audience Questionnaire with family, friends, and classmates, resulting in 31 responses. Regarding my family and friends, I sent out my questionnaire via a link on Gmail, iMessage, and Snapchat. The following is my link and a few screenshots of my conversations:
Gmail
iMessage
Snapchat
The other respondents—my Media Studies class and various other classmates—filled out my questionnaire through the following QR code I created:
My Google Forms questionnaire consisted of 19 questions, all multiple choice; my survey is solely multiple choice to receive concise and easy-to-analyze data:
What age range do you fall under?
What is your gender?
What is your level of education?
What magazine genre interests you the most?
How do you usually read magazines?
What content do you prefer in a magazine?
What colors would you be most drawn to in a magazine cover?
Do you enjoy trying new things?
Do you tend to take the easy way out or put your full effort into tasks?
Do you usually have a lot of downtime?
Do you consider yourself more of a visual or reading/writing learner?
How likely are you to purchase a baking magazine?
Do you consider $5.99 a reasonable price for a baking magazine?
Do you usually eat out or cook your own food?
Would you consider baking a hobby of yours?
How much baking experience do you have?
What type of food do/would you most enjoy baking?
What baked goods do you prefer to eat?
Do you have any food allergies/dietary restrictions?
The following images display the qualitative and quantitative results for each question:
The three images above constitute the demographic portion of my survey results. The results of the first question displayed that most of my respondents fall under the 11-21 age range, with the others in the 44-54 age range. The chart in the second question displays that slightly less than two-thirds of my respondents were females, and around one-third were males; I anticipated these results, hence my magazine’s predominantly pink color palette. As for the third question, the data indicates that the respondents are primarily in high school or lower-level education. In general, these demographic questions are necessary to understand the statistical makeup of my target audience.
According to my survey’s results, five of the 31 respondents are most interested in the Cooking, Food, & Beverage magazine genre; my surveyed group was most interested in the Fashion & Style genre, the second being the Science & Nature genre, and the third being the Cooking, Food, & Beverage genre. With this data in mind, I can better understand my audience and what fascinates them most. Although I can’t change my genre based on these results, I can use this knowledge to appeal to their interests in other ways.
Disregarding the percentage of people who don’t read magazines, most read hard copies. Knowing that most of my respondents don’t read magazines, considering their preferences—such as the layout and color scheme they prefer in magazines—in the results of this survey is necessary for attracting their attention.
The significance of this question is to determine the layout of my magazine. Due to almost half of the participants preferring a mix of visuals and text, I will most likely choose this format.
I included this question to help me determine the color scheme that entices people the most. Based on the results, I can choose a color palette that appeals to my audience and is appropriate for my content. This chart displays that cool colors (blue and green) and pastel colors attract people the most. I expected these results, hence the pastel pink color in my magazine.
30 of the 31 respondents in my questionnaire answered this question with “Yes,” meaning they enjoy trying new things. I added this question to know if my audience is willing to try foods outside their comfort zone, giving me insight into the baked goods my magazine should feature.
Almost two-thirds of the respondents answered that they put their full effort into tasks, while about a third don’t. This quantitative data is applicable when deciding how in-depth my magazine’s recipes will be. Since the difference in results between the two answer choices is marginal, my magazine should have recipes varying in level.
The previous question on whether my respondents tend to take the easy way out or put their full effort into tasks corresponds to this question. As displayed in the chart, most people have a busy lifestyle. Therefore, I should consider featuring recipes that differ in level and effort to accommodate those that want homemade baked goods but don’t have the time to bake something extravagant.
This question relates to question six of my questionnaire, “What content do you prefer in a magazine?”; whether someone is a visual or reading/writing learner is necessary for determining how people learn best and the layout I should consider formatting my magazine. 27 of the 31 respondents are visual learners. For this reason, my magazine should have a combination of information and images to fulfill the learning style best for everyone and engage as much of my target audience as possible.
The key takeaways from this chart are that about 50 percent of the respondents are somewhat likely to purchase a baking magazine, and none are very likely. As a result of the skepticism towards buying a magazine in this genre, I must deeply consider the results of my questionnaire to intrigue my audience.
The price of my magazine is currently 5.99 U.S. dollars. Despite baking magazines usually being more pricey, I wanted a price that most people can afford; I will most likely have a successful magazine with inexpensive pricing. Nevertheless, I included this question to understand the price my target audience is most willing to pay.
This question asks how often people cook in their kitchens, allowing me to understand whether my audience would be interested in baking recipes from scratch. The chart indicates that around two-thirds of the respondents cook their food. Consequently, it is logical for my magazine article to be about baking recipes from scratch—rather than making restaurant leftovers gourmet, for example.
I included this question in my questionnaire to understand how much my respondents enjoy baking. I expected more of the respondents to consider baking as a hobby of theirs. Regardless, this data influenced me to consider how I can effectively target my audience to hold interest in my baking magazine. As such, this chart validated my aim in creating a magazine with an uplifting mood, with fun recipes fit for anyone’s taste and level of baking experience; these factors may intrigue them into being open about a new hobby, considering 30 of the 31 respondents enjoy trying new things (question 8).
Due to the responses in this chart having a wide variation in results, my magazine should reflect such—that is, featuring recipes with varying difficulty—to appeal to a larger audience and receive more positive feedback; if my recipes are too challenging for my audience, my magazine won’t be successful since people would be displeased with the outcome of the baked goods.
Considering more than half of the respondents prefer baking sweet food, my recipes should predominantly be sweet. However, my recipes should also include a few savory and healthy baked goods to please those—such as the 13 respondents who chose these answer choices—that prefer such food categories more.
To create my magazine’s table of contents, I need to know what baked goods my target audience would be most interested in baking and eating, hence the addition of this question. Based on the chart, around two-fifths of the respondents prefer to eat cakes and brownies, followed by pastries and cookies; my table of contents should have mostly cake and brownie recipes and fewer of the other options since the majority of my respondents have a greater preference towards eating these foods. Of these answer choices, none of the respondents prefer eating bread. Nevertheless, I may include a few bread recipes in my magazine to have diversity and interest them in trying something new—relating to question 8, where 96.8 percent, or 30, of the 31 respondents said they enjoy trying new things.
I added this question to determine whether I should add substitutions and allergy-friendly recipes to my magazine. Due to around one-fourth of the respondents having allergies/dietary restrictions, I should consider including recipes to accommodate their needs. I plan on dedicating one of my magazine articles to a how-to recipe for baking a gourmet version of the classic oreo cheesecake. According to these results, it would also be appropriate to feature oreo cheesecake recipes that are allergy-friendly and fit certain dietary restrictions—such as gluten-free, keto, or vegan—in this magazine article. Featuring a no-bake oreo cheesecake would be another sensible possibility as most of my respondents have a busy lifestyle, as displayed in the chart in question 10. I can also feature a bakery known for its cheesecake, appealing to those who prefer eating out (question 14). I can then compare these recipes in terms of time, ingredients, difficulty, taste, price, and more to make choosing recipes simpler for my audience.
The question on gender supports my initial ideas about my target audience profile; my magazine cover sketch has a predominantly pink color palette, corresponding to the mainly female audience my questionnaire displays. I also aim to feature mostly dessert recipes, varying in steps, difficulty, and ingredients. Consequently, the following questions also support my first thoughts about my audience: the category of food (such as sweet or salty) people enjoy most, the amount of downtime and baking experience people have, and how many people have allergies/dietary restrictions. On the contrary, the questions on the genre that people are most interested in, how likely they are to purchase a baking magazine, and if they would consider baking a hobby of theirs changed by initial ideas about my target audience profile; fewer people were interested in baking magazines than I expected, and thus, I must create my magazine accordingly to interest them. In summary, I anticipated the demographic results of my survey, yet some aspects of the psychographic results surprised me.
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