Unit 3 Task 1: Research
To research something is to gather data and statistics in order to promote products or lifestyles, or to attain specific information on certain topics. Research is essential to finding a gap in the market as this will increase a company’s chances of making a good profit compared to releasing products that are already around and risking copyright issues coming up due to not having gained any information on similar products. There are more traditional ways to research such as reading books or visiting historical sites for historical research, or questionnaires and free samples for companies trying to promote new products or brands which is known as market research. Audience research is when companies or brands try to gather more information on their target audience by using advertising to get their name out through other well known brands e.g. when someone using youtube gets to a certain number of hits, brands and companies that may relate to them, will send them a free product for them to test and review which the many subscribers will then notice (for example, YouTube Gamers such as TheRadBrad, will be sent a free or an early release game for them to test out, play and review). I found out about a game which I then went on to buy due to the fact TheRadBrad had reviewed it and showed his gameplay on the same video and I only heard of this game because I subscribed to his channel. Other audience research is when tv and film companies try to find out how many people watch or talk about certain shows and movies to see how well they are doing in terms of popularity. Some companies online will show you related products based on what you've been searching and viewing on their websites, like how Youtube will show you related videos used on the videos you've viewed and liked, and on channels you've subscribed to.