target audience

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   The particular group of people a product, message, show or piece of writing is designed to reach.

   Grammar: Takes a singular or plural verb depending on the speaker: the target audience is young adults.

   Patterns

   • aimed at a target audience
   • reach a target audience
   • the target audience for something

   Our target audience is parents of children under five.

   The magazine's target audience is mostly retired readers who enjoy gardening.

   Before writing the ad, the team studied its target audience carefully.

2. 2nouncountable

   In education and public speaking, the group of listeners or readers a speaker or writer has in mind when choosing tone and level of detail.

   Grammar: Often used with 'know' or 'consider': know your target audience.

   Patterns

   • write for a target audience
   • know your target audience

   A good speaker always considers the target audience before choosing examples.

   The essay's target audience is non-specialists, so it avoids technical terms.

   Her presentation missed its target audience because it assumed too much background knowledge.

Word forms

Common combinations

reach a target audience

Social media helped the charity reach its target audience cheaply.

identify the target audience

The first step in planning is to identify the target audience.

appeal to the target audience

The bright cover is meant to appeal to the target audience of teenagers.

intended target audience

The book's intended target audience is first-year students.

core target audience

Young families are the shop's core target audience.

broaden the target audience

They added subtitles to broaden the target audience for the show.

Synonyms and how they differ

intended audience

This means almost the same but sounds more neutral and is common in writing and film, where 'target' can feel commercial.

target market

This is about potential buyers of a product, whereas a target audience can include viewers or readers who never buy anything.

demographic

This names a group defined by age, income or similar traits, and is narrower than the whole audience a message is aimed at.

readership

This refers only to readers of printed or online text, while a target audience can watch, listen or attend.

Word family

target verb

to aim something at a particular group

audience noun

people who watch, listen or read

targeted adjective

aimed at a specific group

untargeted adjective

not aimed at any specific group

Commonly confused: target audience or target market?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “target audience”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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