UT: Audience Development and Engagement
Course Description
Traditionally, audiences for content were broken up into four simple quadrants – male, female, young and old – but now it’s possible to develop much more nuanced audience models based on the users’ intention, expectation, interaction and relationship to the space. Rather than the “blunt instrument” of who is accessing the content, content producers and advertisers can now gain a better understanding of why people are accessing and participating in content that is experiential and offer better opportunities to deepen the users’ engagement.
In this course, students will be introduced to the latest thinking on better understanding audiences wants, needs, emotions and motivations, practice new approaches and tools through hands-on activities to energize your brain and mobilize creativity in understanding audiences in different spaces and develop engagement strategies in ways that prove valuable to content creators, marketers and audiences.
Course Objectives
Main skills and attitudes to be developed:
• Positive attitude
• Team collaboration
• Thinking skills (develop observation skills, convergent and divergent thinking and new ways to identify patterns)
• Self-management
Learning Outcomes
1. Expose students to real-world challenges facing the media industries
2. Introduce students to different models to leverage engagement
3. Encourage students to use ethnographic research methods to measure and collect data
4. Understand audience’s intention, expectation, interaction and relationship to space in developing immersive experiences.
5. Design immersive spaces related to audience engagement
How will students learn?
• Writing Assignments
• Lectures
• Demos & Discussions
• Field Trip
• Hands-on Activities
• Final Team Projects
Traditionally, audiences for content were broken up into four simple quadrants – male, female, young and old – but now it’s possible to develop much more nuanced audience models based on the users’ intention, expectation, interaction and relationship to the space. Rather than the “blunt instrument” of who is accessing the content, content producers and advertisers can now gain a better understanding of why people are accessing and participating in content that is experiential and offer better opportunities to deepen the users’ engagement.
In this course, students will be introduced to the latest thinking on better understanding audiences wants, needs, emotions and motivations, practice new approaches and tools through hands-on activities to energize your brain and mobilize creativity in understanding audiences in different spaces and develop engagement strategies in ways that prove valuable to content creators, marketers and audiences.
Course Objectives
Main skills and attitudes to be developed:
• Positive attitude
• Team collaboration
• Thinking skills (develop observation skills, convergent and divergent thinking and new ways to identify patterns)
• Self-management
Learning Outcomes
1. Expose students to real-world challenges facing the media industries
2. Introduce students to different models to leverage engagement
3. Encourage students to use ethnographic research methods to measure and collect data
4. Understand audience’s intention, expectation, interaction and relationship to space in developing immersive experiences.
5. Design immersive spaces related to audience engagement
How will students learn?
• Writing Assignments
• Lectures
• Demos & Discussions
• Field Trip
• Hands-on Activities
• Final Team Projects
Completed Projects
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Understanding Intention of Audience Profile
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Understanding Expectation & Interaction Case Study
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Summary: Students conducted qualitative research on their Type of Space to develop audience profiles and develop engagement strategies for further projects.
Based on student's qualitative research, they developed a PDF an Empathy map and a 3-page report defining their audience’s intentions in the space in relation to a particular emerging technology. Along with referencing published case studies, students also included appendices with location photos and 6 transcribed and coded interviews with individuals observed in their space of study. 
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Summary: Students are to identify, research and explore an emerging technology that could impact their team’s Type of Space. This research culminates in a case study that expresses a unique discovery to apply for the final project.
In their research, students answer questions related to their chosen innovation: what is it? what does it do? what doesn’t it do? are their ethical concerns? in what ways will this serve a purpose to my audience’s needs, wants, emotions, motivations? Students are encouraged to play with their tech, discover how it works, including immersing themselves within the experiences available to them from the Imagine Lab. 
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Designed Guest Experience
Although students transitioned to online learning due to COVID-19, they continued to work virtually in teams to develop an audience experience that leveraged audience participation, agency, personalization, and digital currency. Even better, projects submitted by 3 of our teams were finalists for the USC #ZoomJam challenge! From cooperative adventure to murder mysteries, students successfully collaborated and presented unique Zoom experiences that are on display and playable for all to enjoy:
If you are interested in seeing more from this project and Texas Immersive,
check out our hiretexasimmersive website.
check out our hiretexasimmersive website.
