Market research is a large collection of data that is recorded from the general public. If a company wanted to branch out at a new demographic they would use this type of research to find what their needs where and by the strongest means; meet the specified requirements with the greatest potential. Market research is a very common strategic advancement that not only creates a larger profit in the companies pocket but full-fills the needs of previously over-looked people.
After the market research has been undertaken the next stage would be to alter the product to match the designated requirements. An example of this would be 'Coca-Cola', this company has been around for over a century and is sill going as strong as ever. This is mainly due to the fact that they produce products for different markets; 'Coke Zero' - which mainly for the diabetic market. Before this product was released diabetic people could not drink Coke due to the high sugar content but 'Coca-Cola' noticed this by conducting market research and so-forth released 'Coke-Zero' which contains no sugar.
For this assignment we were given the option to research one of three;
The Simpsons; Pokémon or Star Wars. My decision was to go ahead with the Simpsons mainly because it was the one topic that I had the greatest amount of knowledge about.
From this I can detail on how Matt Groening (The creator of The Simpsons) used market research to promote the Simpsons, and the answer is - He didn't. At least for the first 2 series. When Matt Groening's 'The Simpsons' first appeared on the Tracey Ullman show on April 19th, 1987 every Simpsons family character was based on his own. His father - 'Homer', mother - 'Margaret' (Marge), three sisters - 'Lisa' and 'Maggie' and 'Patty', and 'Bart' - which is an anagram for 'Brat' is told to be based on Matt Groening and his sibling brother 'Mark'.
In the early days of the Simpsons people have always enjoyed the crude humor and shenanigans of Bart Simpson, but in the more recent series the episode have been based solely around Homer due the face that the target audience has developed considerably with families and older generations watching it. In spite of this the controversies have developed - a few that stand out are the homosexuality and religious views. In one episode, Colonel Saunders is God and many characters in Springfield are against Catholics. Thus causing a debate on what message the Simpsons is trying to present. But what most people do not realise is that they speak both sides of the story, instead of being completely biased towards one side of the argument.
Many people believe that the hypodermic needle theory effects children the most. Mainly because they have a small of perception of the world and are easily influenced. Having a role model like Bart Simpson has a possibility of giving the wrong idea to young people giving them the belief that skating naked through town is a good idea. Although the media says that they cannot influence people directly due to the face that kids like to be kids and the only influence they receive is from peer pressure from friends etc.
The reception theory has had it's deals with the Simpsons in the past, yet again with the religious views. One critical view that has stood out from the rest is the point made by Pakistani viewers. Apu nahasapeemapetilon is the owner of a 'Kwik-E-Mart' and has been known to alter dates and sell products at an extortionate price. Even though this just seems like a typical character from Matt Groening's sketchbook, people have raised criticism claiming that he is targeting Asian people working in '7/11's'. In fact - in the media's defense they have stated that this is not the case as he is based on a completely legitimate shop owner who was not Asian but American so therefore cannot be in anyway be related to a racist attempt.
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