Your Audience
In the media business, whether it is print, online, tv, video, film, you really have to know your core audience and understand the dynamics behind what drives their interests. So many in the business seem to get lost in what they want to read, watch or hear that they begin to loose sight of their audience and why they are there. It is not about you, so much as it is about your audience. Give them what they want, not what you want. And remember one important concept, quality content is not free. It cost money to produce and distribute.
At Full Throttle Media, we are in the business of selling experience through moving images. It is the experience of living, learning and sharing the adventure of life that motivates us. With that in mind, our primary focus is on producing projects that we enjoy, but that have large niche enthusiast followings and thus eager audiences. Eager for what, you might ask? Niche audiences have a thirst for knowledge, a keen interest in learning as much as possible about their field of passion and being entertained.
The creative team I work with has a broad range of interests, but we seem to focus on a few core segments. Adventure travel, sport fishing, boating, diving, automotive and motorsports, a lot of lifestyle components that have huge followings. Now, within each segment we will drill down to find to a specific enthusiast group with the most favorable demographics. Once we know our target audience, the team sets about to create an entertainment product that will appeal to them specifically. Of course, the production will have broad appeal outside the target audience. In the same way most people will never go mountian climbing on Mt. Everest, but they are still drawn to the grand adventure and majestic beauty found in the Himalayas.
One area of particular interest to us is the sport fishing world. This happens to be the largest outdoor sport in the world generating billions in revenue. People all over the planet go fishing. So there is endless opportunity to produce films for this audience segment. In order to narrow the focus of our productions, we look at a specifc species and or a geographic region that will have genuine appeal to our chosen audience. For instance, anglers all over the world like to pursue blue or black marlin. This is the Mt. Everest of sport fishing, so there is a large audience out there interested in knowing more about how, where and when to catch this species even if they never get a chance to fish for one.
If I am going to produce a film about blue marlin fishing, I have to be able to put that film in front of consumers. So, where can the audience be found and why are they there. More than likely, the audience for this type of production is either reading sport fishing magazines or on a related website. Because of my background in online community development, I look to the internet for points of audience aggregation first. Forums, social media sites and blogs are where I start.
Fishermen just love to share their experiences. And, there is no better way to do that than online. Like many other enthusiast groups, anglers have migrated online to learn and share as much as they can about the sport they love. From a marketing perspective, fishing sites are the best and least expensive way for fishermen and related product manufacturers to communicate with each other and position their brands, operations and products.
The sport fishing visual media world is starved for fresh ideas and new means of delivering those ideas. It seems that year in and year out the audience gets that same tired concepts from the same old destinations. Talk about taking the audience for granted. Damn, what ever happened to fighting to keep or build your audience. You only build trust with your viewership by representing their interests and giving them the high quality entertainment they deserve. All fishermen really want is to learn more about the best fishing holes around the world, tactics and techniques, gear that is being used and see big 'ole fish dancing on the surface. Know your audience and realize there is so much more that can be offered. Get rid of the boring blow hard that is hosting your show and visit some destinations outside the norm. Give the audience more.
Go Full Throttle Media! Share the experience, sell the dream...
FTM
Seth Horne
At Full Throttle Media, we are in the business of selling experience through moving images. It is the experience of living, learning and sharing the adventure of life that motivates us. With that in mind, our primary focus is on producing projects that we enjoy, but that have large niche enthusiast followings and thus eager audiences. Eager for what, you might ask? Niche audiences have a thirst for knowledge, a keen interest in learning as much as possible about their field of passion and being entertained.
The creative team I work with has a broad range of interests, but we seem to focus on a few core segments. Adventure travel, sport fishing, boating, diving, automotive and motorsports, a lot of lifestyle components that have huge followings. Now, within each segment we will drill down to find to a specific enthusiast group with the most favorable demographics. Once we know our target audience, the team sets about to create an entertainment product that will appeal to them specifically. Of course, the production will have broad appeal outside the target audience. In the same way most people will never go mountian climbing on Mt. Everest, but they are still drawn to the grand adventure and majestic beauty found in the Himalayas.
One area of particular interest to us is the sport fishing world. This happens to be the largest outdoor sport in the world generating billions in revenue. People all over the planet go fishing. So there is endless opportunity to produce films for this audience segment. In order to narrow the focus of our productions, we look at a specifc species and or a geographic region that will have genuine appeal to our chosen audience. For instance, anglers all over the world like to pursue blue or black marlin. This is the Mt. Everest of sport fishing, so there is a large audience out there interested in knowing more about how, where and when to catch this species even if they never get a chance to fish for one.
If I am going to produce a film about blue marlin fishing, I have to be able to put that film in front of consumers. So, where can the audience be found and why are they there. More than likely, the audience for this type of production is either reading sport fishing magazines or on a related website. Because of my background in online community development, I look to the internet for points of audience aggregation first. Forums, social media sites and blogs are where I start.
Fishermen just love to share their experiences. And, there is no better way to do that than online. Like many other enthusiast groups, anglers have migrated online to learn and share as much as they can about the sport they love. From a marketing perspective, fishing sites are the best and least expensive way for fishermen and related product manufacturers to communicate with each other and position their brands, operations and products.
The sport fishing visual media world is starved for fresh ideas and new means of delivering those ideas. It seems that year in and year out the audience gets that same tired concepts from the same old destinations. Talk about taking the audience for granted. Damn, what ever happened to fighting to keep or build your audience. You only build trust with your viewership by representing their interests and giving them the high quality entertainment they deserve. All fishermen really want is to learn more about the best fishing holes around the world, tactics and techniques, gear that is being used and see big 'ole fish dancing on the surface. Know your audience and realize there is so much more that can be offered. Get rid of the boring blow hard that is hosting your show and visit some destinations outside the norm. Give the audience more.
Go Full Throttle Media! Share the experience, sell the dream...
FTM
Seth Horne
