Primary Research Results

Name: Patrick CollCandidate Number: 1102Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic SchoolCenter Number: 64135

When asked the suitable name for a Soap Opera my audience responded with the most popular being The Rising Sun. The reasoning behind this name is that it is the name of the pub we are likely to be filming by and the verbal codes “Rising Sun” connote how the events of the Soap Opera are metaphorically heating up, implying the tone of the series.

When asked which names are most representative of the Soap Opera genre, the responses were very mixed, the most popular being ‘Stacey’. Due to the uncertainty within the results it is likely that we will use all of the names for characters in our Soap Opera.

When asked to rank the multi-stranded plot issues from most important to least the most important was adultery and relationships and the least being domestic violence. As a result of this we will most likely focus heavily on the relationships between characters however due to the uncertainty in relationships we will try and touch on each topic/

When asked what would make a Soap Opera stand out for a younger audience there was a very mixed response. A lot of responses how they would like to expose more common problems among young people such as failing exams, social life, young relationships, the plot based around young people, music bands, family issues. Whereas some people thought the Soap Opera’s should include more action sequences and violence as well as a shocking cliff-hanger and more death of characters. From this we will most likely try to include some plot elements that young people can relate to and try and move away from realism as this is what really engages younger people.

When asked what topics would appeal to a male audience, the responses were very mixed with results such as action sequences, death, attractive women, dominant male characters, cars, sport, scenes set in the gym and a villainous male character. When creating the Soap Opera we will try to incorporate these elements however it is important that we keep within the guidelines of a stereotypical Soap Opera. We will try and implement a scene where two men fall into conflict as a result of cheating on a women to satisfy these results.

When looking at the results for the best marketing strategy for a brand new Soap Opera the most popular result is a television trailer and the second being social media and a poster. To market our Soap Opera it is likely that we will create a Soap Opera trailer as well as a Poster and magazine poster as an ancillary project however it is unlikely we will take to Social Media as we are not promoting an actual Soap Opera.

In respect to the Hypodermic Needle theory I asked whether people believed Soap Opera’s to be an accurate representation of real life. Surprisingly 37% of people said yes which could imply that they have been brainwashed by the content within Soap Opera texts. For the people that said ‘no’ they said that a lot of Soap Opera’s are over exaggerated and unrealistic, which isn’t reflective of real life. Since a lot of people don’t see Soap Opera’s as real life I think it is justified to make our Soap Opera over dramatic and quite unrealistic.

To analyse the effectiveness of Soap Opera’s I asked the question ‘Have you ever been persuaded to watch a Soap Opera based on the trailer for it?’ and the ‘no’ option is slightly more popular than the ‘Yes’. This explores how many Soap Opera trailers are not very gripping apart form EastEnders which a lot of people said they thought was persuasive. For my trailer to be successful I think I should maybe focus on focusing my Soap Opera around the style of the EastEnders trailer.

I additionally asked which setting is best for the Soap Opera genre and the most popular result was a ‘Local Pub’ which was expected considering that most Soap Opera’s are set in this place. However some people suggested the town square, a graveyard or a Local Park as other possible places, which we will try and incorporate within the trailer somehow.

ConclusionIn conclusion, we as a group have decided that the name ‘The Rising Sun’ is the most effective name for our Soap Opera based off of the feedback given. We will attempt to touch on as many themes possible in our trailer as from feedback each one of the themes plays a significant role in the storylines of many other Soap Operas. We will aim to make a trailer that is over dramatic and unreflective of real life as based on the feedback this is how most people view Soap Operas. According to our feedback the most effective method of marketing is a television trailer which is why it is important that we make the trailer engaging for a potential audience by creating cliff-hangers and not giving too much of the plot away. To appeal to a male audience as well we may experiment with different locations such as gyms and football stadiums that might have a greater appeal to the male gender.

Evidence