Post-Production: The Function of Focus Groups

Throughout our production for completing our three products, my group and I are thoroughly engrossed within creating our ancillary outcomes, such as our CD Digipak and website. Although I am only constructing and forming the website for our artist, SIOUX, I am always serving help where needed for both Fran and Harvey. As I understand this is a group effort, we are all constantly opinionating our ideas towards each product, and raising beneficial suggestions or concerns regarding them. For instance, as I appreciate Fran is completing the CD Digipak, I occasionally question some decisions made, for example, regarding the choice of colour for the front of the Digipak or the selection of image on the back. This is beneficial for all members of my group, as I am foreseeing it from an outside view and similarly towards ideas for our music video. This structure and plan works well as all members of my group get on successfully and we all have the same intentions and aims.

However, I understand as we are all captivated within creating our own products to our best standard, constantly viewing them, making altering changes and concluding decisions where necessary, it is sometimes good to allow suggestions and alternatives in which we don’t think about as we are working so close and repetitively to our product. Therefore, I understand the importance of completing a focus group.

A focus group is holds many purposes. For instance, a focus group is a trial to show our products on people who have never seen them before. It helps give an insight into whether we are on the right track, if we are currently communicating the ideas we intend to and if we are meeting our demands. Similarly, a focus group helps to gain observations in which we were unaware of and similarly suggestions about how to potentially refine our intentions further, making them more effective.

Alongside understanding the purpose of a focus group, I carried out further research to gain critical and valuable information. For example, usually people that take part in a focus group are paid, therefore, it is an expensive process to conduct hence why companies place a value on the data received. A focus group simply gathers information on how to make/develop a product more effectively, asking for opinions and thoughts along our journey. Similarly, it is fundamental to understand a focus group is tested during the manufacture process of our products, making it clear to others that the group is directed at a stage before the products are finalised; therefore, if necessary the products can be easily altered. Lastly, it is significant to note, a focus group should require participants that reflect the target audience of our products.

Due to this, as a class we observed a source from ‘The Simpsons’ consisting of a focus group. 

However, immediately we note some potential problems, such as:

• The source only includes closed questions, making it difficult to expand upon answers, therefore the response from the audience was vague and ineffective.
• Secondly, the clip doesn’t reveal a lot of information about the product, preventing the audience from making accurate judgement upon the product. Due to this, the opinions offered were confusing as they were unsure whether they liked the products or disliked them.

Therefore, from evaluating the negatives and problems from this focus group, I now understand the crucial aspects of raising the correct questions and an effective approach. For instance, to receive a qualitative response, we need to include questions that are open, leading, directing and queries that contain a value of judgement.