Case Study

About the magazine• We Love Pop is a music magazine orientated around mainstream pop

music, and provides “exclusive backstage access, photos and interviews” with different pop artists and bands.

• We Love Pop was created by Egmont in 2011 and it means to “capture the resurgence of music magazines in the UK”. It is aimed at teenage girls aged between 11-15 years old, who are expected to have a keen interest in mainstream pop music, especially in popular music artists such as One Direction, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift. The teen readers may also have varying interests in different TV shows and films, which We Love Pop attempts to cover in their “What to watch” page.

• We Love Pop is produced and published by Egmont UK Ltd, one of the biggest magazine producers and publishers for children in the UK. We Love Pop is the only music magazine which Egmont produces and publishes, and is one of their most successful magazines.

• It is sold monthly at a price of £2.99 and it also gives free gifts such as make up sets, secret diaries and nail varnishes.

Inside We Love Pop….

Articles respect the codes and conventions of the magazine, they use the same bold font and the colours are bright and vibrant. Articles combine text with image for a more visually appealing look.

First issue The first issue of We Love Pop launched with a print run of 200,000 in July 2011. The magazine's launch was supported by an above-the-line marketing campaign, which included point-of-sale activity in Tesco, Asda, Co-Op, Sainsbury’s and Morrison‘s stores nationally.

As part of the campaign, outdoor ads, created in-house, ran across 30 London bus routes, with digital activity created by Hello World placed online at Sugarscape and Vevo.com.

The magazine's launch was also promoted heavily via Twitter, with both The Wanted and Justin Bieber plugging its launch.

Mode of address

• Features informal words and phrases that the TA might use

• Bubbly, funny language, approaching teenage girls

• Friendly, suggests a good, friend-to-friend relationship between the reader and the magazine

• Addresses to the reader directly, using a light tone and making the target audience feel comfortable as they are able to understand exactly what the magazine is talking about

Reader profile

• The intended audience of “We Love Pop” is teenage girls aged between 11 and 15. The audience uses several kinds of media, social network, as this could be their main source of contact with their friends, and the magazine, if they choose to write in, as they are encouraged to every issue. The audience are not expected to be in any form of job, so it is expected that the parents would pay for the magazine, or would give the audience pocket money, with which the audience would buy the magazine. Because of this, the magazine must contain content suitable for the age range, and for which the parents would consider to be appropriate for their children.

How does the magazine appeal to their audience?

• Mainly targets their intended audience through its use of colloquial language. The magazine also uses slang that the audience are familiar with, such as “OMG”, and puns linking to the artists featured in the magazine.

• The magazine usually contains lots of bright vibrant colours, therefore revealing that it is aimed at young girls, pink is used frequently.

• The readers are also offered free gifts such as stickers, make-up, nail polish etc., revealing that they are expected to follow various trends and styles.

Promotion

• When the magazine was first launched, it was supported by an extensive marketing campaign, including special promotional sales by “high profile retailers” Tesco, Asda, Co-op, Sainsbury’s, Morrison's and WHSmith.

• This was also accompanied by an outdoor advertising campaign across 30 London Bus routes, and a digital marketing campaign including activity across Stardoll, Sugarscape and Vevo.com.