Fraternal twins: the difference between end user and target audience
You'll love this
A few days ago I was bedridden. Sick as a puppy before, during and after my birthday so I thought of doing a little studying on YouTube because my brain hurts whenever I open a PDF on my phone or laptop. In one of the videos, I saw Julian Cole do a dissection of a certain document which is called a “brief” and in that brief, he did two things:
He listed target audience and then
He listed end users
My face squeezed a bit. I asked myself “is this guy kidding? Why’d he split them in two?”. Since I’m not an award winning strategist with 100+ awards or a 10+ year career to my name, I did what any junior would do--I paused the video, left the document where I was reading the mock brief and proceeded to do some research.
Turns out, a lot of people have been confusing both terms their entire careers too! Ha ha, not to be a cynic but there was relief knowing I wasn’t the only one who had missed it though, at the same time I felt the need to write about it--ditto this article.
So what is a target audience?
Actually the qualifying word there is “who”. While I would’ve loved to give you a Wikipedia / Investopedia / Forbes type of definition, I’m pretty sure you know how to use Google and that’s not why you’re here, you don’t want to be told what you already know so how about a story? No? Okay pop quiz then.
Would you say the target audience for Apple is creators and tech bros?
Who do you think the guys at Disney defined their target audience as?
Louis Vuitton, do you think as you are, that you are their target audience?
Bali is a very sought after tourist destination. Who’s their target audience?
That man who sells street food around you, are you his target audience?
You see, a target audience is a set of people who are meant to hear or see communication about a product or service.
They are the ones you’re talking to. They are the ones who need to hear it; who need to see it; who should talk to their friends, family, colleagues and neighbors about it; who are meant to be provoked by it; to be enraged or struck in awe; to die from jealousy or beam with admiration.
Your target audience is someone who notices or ignores you at every point you want to talk to them; they’re the ones who will say “don’t these guys ever stop?” or “oh yeah I should do this now, these guys are interesting”.
Another context about the target audience people fail to grasp is that depending on the product, service or industry and sometimes the desired outcome you’re looking at, your target audience is meant to be enraged. It’s all part of the plan. For example, everything Kanye West did right before he released DONDA.
The job of a target audience isn’t in a straight line. They play different roles at different times and it can be stretched across periods, long or short. But they play a role nonetheless. A vital one at that:
To see or hear a particular message.
To assess if they need it or not.
To be provoked negatively or positively by it.
To spread the message: good or bad, it’s all PR. (I’ll write about that in another article) and most importantly,
To remember it. (Nobody likes a dead message. What are they going to brag or troll about?)
These are the functions of a target audience and they are quite distinct from what makes an End User. Before that, let’s answer the five questions above first.
Would you say the target audience for Apple is creators and tech bros?
No, it’s the average Joe who wants a costly phone with a fancy camera and a really noticeable mirror selfie. (The emotion here is a sense of vanity)
Who do you think the guys at Disney defined their target audience as?
Everyone who has a childhood. Simple right? No. (The emotion here is the thrill of imagination)
Louis Vuitton, do you think as you are, that you are their target audience?
Yes, you are. Though you may not afford it. (The emotion here is a sense of elitism)
Bali is a very sought after tourist destination. Who’s their target audience?
Once again, you may not afford it but it’s you. (The emotion here is the intrigue of adventure)
That man who sells street food around you, are you his target audience?
Yes, you are. (The emotion here is hunger. No mental gymnastics.)
Who is an End User?
Picture the five examples you have seen above then picture the people who actually USE those products, services and experiences. You see they are called consumers and they are the end users. People who may or may not have come in contact with a message or, a particular piece of communication about it, but still they consume that product, or service, or experience.
Yes, yes and yes. An end user CAN be in the target audience. Though this doesn’t take away the fact that
an end user is one who consumes a product, service or experience and is in fact able to afford it.
When you see “afford” you think of money right? Ha ha well you’re not wrong but picture this: how would you feel if someone sponsored for you a trip to the LV store and then to Bali, versus you and your best people storming both places with your own money…?
Right.
So, taking the five questions from earlier before, let’s take a look at the end users:
Would you say the end users for Apple are creators and tech bros?
End users are anyone who can afford Apple products (software and hardware)
Who do you think the guys at Disney defined their end user as?
End users are people who can afford to watch Disney/Marvel movies and buy their merch
Louis Vuitton, do you think as you are, that you are their end user?
End users are people who can afford to buy and wear LV
Bali is a very sought after tourist destination. Who’s their end user?
End users are people who visit and get a taste of the Bali experience
That man who sells street food around you, are you his target audience?
End users are people who buy the man’s food
It’s easier to see an end user for who they are now because we have attached the prerogative of being able to AFFORD it.
Case in point: everyone who wants to travel and travel fast, is a target audience for airlines but the end users are those who can afford to fly.
Last words
While there is a visible place where end users and the target audience can coexist, it is evidently clear that they are not one and the same. Oh and as for my YouTube video of Julian Cole, I finished it.
I’m open to projects that require marketing, digital and PR for your products and/or services.
I do hope you enjoyed this piece.
Cheers!
Very good read. Finally, I can see someone who agrees with me that TA is not always the “End User”
Really interesting, I hadn't thought about it that way, but this is something interesting to think about.
Would you say then, that the job of marketing is to focus on that target audience, while the job of sales and design is to focus on the end user?