Niche vs Mainstream Audiences

A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focusing; therefore the market niche defines the specific product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that is intended to impact.

Niche products have smaller target audiences than mainstream products, although niche target audiences tend to be more loyal and actively supportive towards their niche interest. Examples of niche products are NME, Studio Ghibli and Pantera, as they do not appeal do everybody but still have very strong audiences. 

Niche products are sometimes accepted by the mainstream industry, and this can either be good or bad. For Apple this was a huge success. Ten years ago there were no Apple stores, and people had to buy their Apple products from the back of knitting shops. This was because Apple was a niche market that was only really used by designers and producers in the creative industry. There was no mainstream market. This all changed with the invention of the iPod. They were bought by people with disposable incomes (or esteem seekers) who thought they were great, and then looked into buying an Apple Mac to plug it into. The sales of Apple products rocketed and ten years later Apple had firmly established itself as a mainstream retailer throughout the whole of the UK.

The mainstream market consists of mainstream products that appeal to a mainstream audience in the mass media. This audience is generally the majority of people exposed to media products. They tend to be less loyal than niche audiences, and more fickle. Mainstream products are easier to come across and are more widely available to the general public. They have less extreme views than niche products so that they can appeal to a wider target audience and nobody can get offended. Examples of mainstream products are Disney, Twilight and Eastenders, as they have very large target audiences and are very well-known.