Trailers are used by media institutes to advertise their product to their target audience, to provoke interest in the film, or programme being advertised.
A lot of well established soap operas use trailers, even though they already have stable, and high, viewing numbers. New soap operas also use trailers to promote themselves to a new audience and gain viewing figures.
The well established soaps usually use trailers to advertise an upcoming event within the soap such as the return of a character or a murder. Although a lot of their viewers watch the programme pretty religiously, there are some who pop in and out of watching it. The trailers are intended to reach these viewers who don't always watch the programme and make them want to see what happens in this big event within the soap.
Soap Opera Trailer Showings
To gain further understanding into soap operas, I have looked out for trailers on TV. This gives an idea of what sort of target audiences these soaps are aimed at.
After watching out for soaps, I found that prime time soaps like Eastenders are shown during the evening at similar times to when the actual programmes are aired. For example, I observed that trailers advertising Peggy leaving Eatenders were shown during the breaks on BBC at 8PM and 9PM. This is probably because this is around the time the target audience are expected to be watching TV.
I also saw an advert for Coronation Street during a break on ITV just before Emmerdale, at around 7PM. This is also probably because the target audience of Coronation Street will be watching TV around this time and are probably into Emmerdale if they are soap fans.
Soap Opera Trailer Target Audiences
The target audience of soap opera trailers tend to be the same as the target audience for the actual soap. This is especially true for new soaps who are trying to appeal to the target audience they're created to appeal to.
In the case of established soaps, the target audience for their trailers are on and off viewers who don't always watch the soap and so may not be aware of upcoming events within the soap.
Conventions in Soap Trailers
- They outline an episodes plot
- They tease the audience
- They tend to hint towards how the plot line ends
- Music is used for irony
- They introduce the characters involved in the plot
- The leave the audience in suspense
The conventions in soap trailers are very similar to those in actual soaps. This is probably to make the trailers feel like the actual soap and give the new audience a way to get a feel for the soap before watching it. The way soaps are made also keep the audience hooked for the next episode, so this can work well for advertising too.
The target audience of soap opera trailers tend to be the same as the target audience for the actual soap. This is especially true for new soaps who are trying to appeal to the target audience they're created to appeal to.
In the case of established soaps, the target audience for their trailers are on and off viewers who don't always watch the soap and so may not be aware of upcoming events within the soap.
Conventions in Soap Trailers
- They outline an episodes plot
- They tease the audience
- They tend to hint towards how the plot line ends
- Music is used for irony
- They introduce the characters involved in the plot
- The leave the audience in suspense
The conventions in soap trailers are very similar to those in actual soaps. This is probably to make the trailers feel like the actual soap and give the new audience a way to get a feel for the soap before watching it. The way soaps are made also keep the audience hooked for the next episode, so this can work well for advertising too.
