The specific group of people most likely to need, value, or respond to a company’s offering.
A clearly defined audience helps shape messaging, channels, creative, and offers.
Short and sweet:
The specific group of people most likely to need, value, or respond to a company’s offering.
A clearly defined audience helps shape messaging, channels, creative, and offers.
See also: Buyer Persona, Market Segmentation, Ideal Customer Profile
A target audience is the specific group of people a particular campaign or piece of content is created for, defined more narrowly than a target market and often shifting from one campaign to the next even within the same overall business. A single company might have one broad target market but several different target audiences depending on the product line, offer, or stage of the buying journey being addressed. Defining it clearly upfront shapes decisions as concrete as which platform to advertise on and which words to use in a headline.
AARP built its entire publication around a target audience of adults over 50, shaping every article, ad, and offer around the concerns of that specific life stage.
An energy drink brand like Red Bull crafts its extreme-sports sponsorships and edgy tone specifically for thrill-seeking young men, a very different approach than a brand courting new parents.
When Peloton first launched, it aimed squarely at busy professionals with disposable income and limited time for the gym, tailoring pricing and messaging around that particular group before expanding further.
