Topic & Message:

Educate people to reduce food waste to combat global climate change.

Audience Analysis

The audience I will be targeting is working-age Boulder, Colorado consumers, who are environmentally conscious. According to the 2020 Census, 73.1% of Boulder residents are between the ages of 18 and 65. 86.3% are white. Median household income is $72,279 and nearly 98% of residents have a computer in their home, and 93.5% with internet. This is an educated audience, as 97.3% have a high school diploma and 76.7% have a bachelor’s degree or higher. (Census 2020). I created a view of my intended audience that is focused but inclusive by using data instead of assumptions or stereotypes. It is focused by age, geography and personally trait. My audience happens to have other similar traits in education, race, and income, so I need to be careful to not include stereotypes based off of these factors in my analysis.  

Employment might influence how this audience interacts with environmental issues. 19.8% of this population works in professional, scientific and management, and administrative and waste management services. Very few individuals work in agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting, and mining (less than 1%). 46.9% of the workers commute to work in ways other than by car, such as walking, taking public transportation, or working from home. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020). This may indicate a high awareness to human impact on climate change. According to the Boulder County Voter Registration statistics, most voters in Boulder are liberal. (Boulder County, 2017). According to the Pew Research Center, liberals tend to be more concerned about climate change – 94% of democrats say climate change is a moderate to big problem for the country (Funk & Hefferon, 2021).

This topic may change behaviors of how people buy, store, or dispose of food.

The biggest challenge I anticipate is that some people might believe that the responsibility should be placed on the government and policy changes rather than individual choices. According to the Pew Research Center, 81% of liberal democrats tend to think policies aimed at reducing the effects of global climate change generally do more good than harm for the environment. However, 80% of US adults in general say they try to reduce food waste to help protect the environment, and 88% say they sometimes or always live in ways that protect the environment. (Funk & Hefferon, 2021).

Another challenge may be that people think the more effective way an individual can combat climate change is to use fewer single use plastics. According to the Pew Research Center, 67% of US adults say that using fewer single use plastics will make a big difference to help protect the environment, compared to 52% that say the same about reducing food waste. (Funk & Hefferon, 2021)