Audience Analysis for a Corporate Intranet Feasibility Proposal
This paper presents an audience analysis for a business presentation proposing the development of a company intranet. It defines what an intranet is relative to the broader Internet, identifies the primary audience (company managers) and secondary audience (technical staff), and examines their differing levels of technical knowledge and distinct interests in the project. The paper also outlines the proposed presentation format and articulates the central persuasive purpose: demonstrating that a corporate intranet can offer both privacy and the connectivity benefits of the Internet for internal management communication.
- Background of the Project: Defines intranet and describes the proposed project
- Primary and Secondary Audience Analysis: Examines managers and technical staff as distinct audiences
- Presentation Format and Structure: Outlines the four-part presentation plan
- Purpose of the Project and Presentation: States the central persuasive goal of the proposal
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What makes this paper effective
- Clearly distinguishes between primary and secondary audiences, explaining how each group's background and interests shape what content they need from the presentation.
- Bridges non-technical and technical stakeholders by proposing an interactive Q&A format that allows both audiences to engage with the material at their own level.
- Maintains a focused persuasive purpose throughout, tying every section back to the central claim that a corporate intranet offers both security and connectivity.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates audience-centered communication planning — a foundational technique in business and professional writing. By segmenting stakeholders into primary and secondary groups and analyzing their respective knowledge levels and concerns, the writer shows how message framing must adapt to the needs of different audiences rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a technical definition and project background, then moves into a dual audience analysis that addresses both groups' stakes and knowledge gaps. It follows with a numbered presentation outline, and closes with a concise statement of persuasive purpose. This four-part structure mirrors a standard business proposal memo, making it a useful model for undergraduate communication or business writing courses.
Background of the Project
Unlike the Internet, an intranet is a hub within the larger World Wide Web that involves connections among local rather than national or international sources and people. This project would involve the creation of a corporate, in-house intranet enabling the sharing of data, files, and emails among management staff. Intranets are also not typically accessible to a large network of external users. Because the project would involve the creation of an in-house corporate intranet for management alone, it would enable company members to communicate more efficiently, with greater safety and protection than would be possible on the public Internet.
Primary and Secondary Audience Analysis
The primary audience of the presentation — the company managers — would be interested in how the corporate intranet could improve employee communication. These managers are the members of the company for whom the intranet would be developed, and it would exist for their collective convenience. Although they may not possess a high level of interest in the technological details of development, they would be engaged by an explanation of the protocols governing the intranet's use, as well as by persuasive arguments emphasizing the project's usefulness and security.
The secondary audience would consist of the company's technical staff, who would be responsible for the project's implementation. This audience would need to work through the logistical and troubleshooting tasks involved in actually developing the intranet. While they might not require a basic overview of what an intranet is, they would still need to understand the primary purpose behind constructing one in this context.
Both audiences, therefore, would have a significant personal stake in the presentation, even though they would bring different levels of technical knowledge to it. Some managers might be concerned that they lack the technical proficiency to operate certain data-storage or file-sharing components of the intranet. If encouraged to raise these concerns in a question-and-answer format, members of the technical staff — the secondary audience — could become aware of those concerns and begin to address them directly.
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