It is extremely important to conduct primary and secondary research when targeting your audience. The following research differentiates from statistics regarding alarming results, as well as those that highlight the majority of individuals who are addicted to gambling. 

 

‘Over the past 12 months, 39% of 11-16-year-olds have spent their own money on gambling’

This shocking statistic from the Gambling Commission highlights the harm of the addiction, even at a very young age. The awareness created throughout this short film will help prevent these young individuals from engaging in excessive gambling activity when they grow older. The Gambling Commission continues to state that ‘the majority of 11-16-year-olds agree that gambling is dangerous (59%), with a similarly high level of agreement that they feel well informed about the risks of gambling (62%). In contrast, comparatively few agree that it is OK for someone their age to gamble (14%).’

 

Although a young age, I will be targeting my short film at the niche market of viewers who struggle with their addiction or those who are permanently damaged by it. For people at ages from eleven to sixteen who think it is acceptable to gamble at their age, it will be this selective category of people that I will be additionally targeting my short film at. Their ages do not affect the choice of my target audience, although it is more associated with their behaviour towards the addiction at an extremely young age. If they believe it is acceptable to gamble at their age, then how will they tolerate the addiction when they legally become able to gamble in the future.

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Nevertheless, I simply cannot target my audience at a younger audience because of this statistic alone. I will need to take in other factors as well, such as research showing that the legal age limit to gamble within the United Kingdom is eighteen. Although, this doesn't reveal that eighteen-year-olds are the most likely to gamble. A report from the BBC states that the age bracket who are actively gambling the most are the ages between 25-34. 'Those aged between 25 and 34 are the most likely to gamble, with 40% of that age group having participated in at least one form of gambling in the last month. Men have a higher participation rate too. In the year to December 2018, 37%of men surveyed had gambled, versus 28% of women'. Additionally, it also appears that the male gender is actively engaged within gambling. I will make this a focus within my short film, although gender will not play a factor when choosing a target audience.

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As well as secondary research, primary research has also been extremely helpful in choosing a relevant target audience. The results from the qualitative survey show that the ages who have most contributed were from 18, ranging to the ages of 40/ 50. However, this is an inaccurate representation and is unreliable due to the survey being posted on social media. Because of this, I created a secondary questionnaire that focuses on the addiction of gambling and will only be handed out to people who have gambled throughout their past. These results showed a more accurate representation as the ages most common were between 18-35, as well as the majority of respondents being male. 

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Furthermore, I contacted a third-year animation student who has past experience working within a betting shop. They stated that from his perspective he noticed that the 'groups most affected by gambling addiction were men aged between 18-mid 30s'. These statistics are an accurate representation of my intended target audience, as Ben has seen the addiction first hand whilst working within the betting shop. With primary and secondary research, it is clear that the intended target audience for this short film are individuals between the ages of 18-35.