defining an audience- task 2

8/13/2019 Defining an Audience- Task 2

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Defining An Audience-

Task 2Abby Downing


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Cosmopolitan


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Cosmopolitan Target

AudienceThe target audience for Cosmo is Women aged18-35 that are in are middle class. Women who

read this magazine are usually very spirited

smart women interested in the topics in the

magazine including: Relationships, men,

health, beauty and fashion. It is also for women

seeking advice which the magazine gives a lot

of.

The magazine itself is produces in 35 different

languages and distributed to 100 countries.

The magazine has an estimate of over 1.6m

readers.

The topics included in the magazine are female

orientated which helps them gain their

audience, including things like beauty and

fashion. The advertisements are beauty

products such as perfume or make up which

also indicates that it is a female magazine.

A big percentage of women that read this

magazine are single, this is because the

magazine is a lot to do with sex and advice, this

attracts a single audience as they like to read

about it and learn how to improve looks wise

and physically. Also a large percentage go to

university which is at an age that a lot of people

are experimenting and trying new things.


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Images

The image on the front is always a long shot of a well

known famous female; which covers the entire front

cover-with no additional images. This is very essential

for the target audience that the female is well known;

it attracts the audience because they are very likely to

know who she is and be interested in what the

magazine has to tell about the person. The women is

usually presented in a sexual way to look attractive to

the audience. The image relates to the writing

presented to the right of her that says Megan Fox

naughty or nicer? You decide

The images inside the magazine are usually

medium sized and relate to the writing also.

For example this page has an image ofRobert Patterson in the section about Himself.

The images always stand out as theyre on a

plain white background and are surrounded

by bright colours either on the font on in the

boxes. The bottom right image also relates to

the text which is next to that in topic of sex

which attracts the young female targetaudience from 18+.


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WordsThe important words are always in bold to catchthe audiences attention and are sometimes ingirly colours such as red and pink which connotelove. All of the words on the page stand out a lot

and usually appeal to the target audience- suchas Love Your Body girls are always wanting toimprove their looks so this attracts this audience.They also have cosmostories which are real lifestories they add into the magazine and usuallycosmopolitan puts the headline onto the frontcover to make the audience want to read themagazine.

In this magazine they talk a lot about sex or reference it. This

relates a lot to the target audience because on the readership

image it stated that more single women read the magazine,this is due to them being more interested in having sexual

encounters but wanting to read and learn about it. Also from

the image I have taken out that a lot of people from university

have read the magazine, these people are usually really well

educated and like to read magazines that have an edge. The

people of the age range that go to Uni are really interesting at

experimenting and like reading a lot about sex, this also

relates back to the target audience again because the

magazine offers a lot of subjects theyre interested in.


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ColoursThe colours of the text are always bright girl colourssuch as reds, yellows, pinks, oranges- all warm colours.This attracts the audience a lot because the magazineis clearly aimed at females when associating thecolours.

Megan fox on the front looks all beige with her lips at anude colour and her dress also, this is to make her bigbrown beautiful hair stand out from the rest and createsan idol look for young females. Cosmopolitan is easilyrecognised for its bright bold pink headline that is seenaround the world and always had this theme to it.Throughout the magazine the same pink is on text andalso in text boxes.

The colours on the page are usually the same and are

either black with bold or The bright pink with bold. The

images on this page are associated with the top beautyand are showing of products the audience are likely to

consider buying. The products are shown in highly bright

colours which stand out so the audience immediately

looks at them. The colours are there to attract the

audiences eye, because cosmopolitan use a white

background it is very good to only use little colour on

important things because this usually attracts the

audiences eye when they look at the page first.


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Fonts

The font in every cosmopolitan headline/logo isFranklin Gothic Extra Condensed with the spacing

reduced between each letter. This is a very bigbold font to attract the audiences eye. Cosmochanges its font throughout the front cover and thewhole magazine depending on what the wordsactually say. For example love yourself is in avery girly font which is curly, this is because loveyourself is something all girls want to achieve anddo, this is in a different font to stand out towardswomen and make them immediately look at them

two words when they see the magazine.

Inside the magazine they also use various

different fonts to meet the audiences needs. Forexample it says Bold Moves so this is presented

in bold and a very simple printed font which is

enlarged. This is to make sure it stands out from

all the other fonts because it is what Cosmo

wants to audience to see first. The other fonts on

this page are also very simple but with different

spacing as theyre about different things and

placed at different points around the page.


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LayoutThe layout of this image is just to place all the text around the

main image of Megan Fox in the middle. The main image is in

front of the logo blocking the opol this doesnt really effect the

magazine because the magazine is very popular and has a set

house style-most people know what it says anyway- especiallythe target audience. This shows that the front cover is kind of

crazy and wild which also relates to the target audience of themiddle class. It also suggests that its not a formal magazine.

All the texts are of different sizes dotted around the page to

make this look unorganised as well, which is how its supposed

to look. They have also positioned the colours in the layout

really well and have put a lot of thought into it. As you can see

they have a colour scheme of black, white, pink and red on the

front. So you immediately go from looking at the big bold pink

Sex survey to the white writing to the white writing in the pinkcircle. Then you read all the black writing across the page, this

is really clever because it makes a person who looks at the

front cover be attracted to read all the writing across the page,

which is most likely able to persuade the audience to read the

magazine.

The theme of it being messy runs throughout themagazine itself -with the images being dotted around

the page at different angles and on top of text and

also under the text. The text boxes are also messy

and dotted over and around the text as well. This

really attracts a reader of age 18-35 because it makes

it look really creative at first glance and girly so it

attracts the reader to actually read the page. Having

loads of make up around the page is very attractive to

the target audience because at this age and with the

interests of men and being attractivewomen are

very likely to wear quite a bit of make up and like

different brands. So it is essential for this type ofmagazine to promote them.


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CaptionsNext to the main image of Megan Fox it says

Megan Fox naughty or nice? You decide for the

subtitles which could be like captions, they just

describe what youre going to find in the

magazine- this really attracts the audience to read

more because it has a rhetorical question which

makes them want to seek out what it says about

Megan Fox being bad. This also applies to the

target audience because people at this age are

really likely to be inspired by Megan Fox because

she is a well known famous actor, so having that

caption will really encourage them to read the

magazine.

Inside the magazine itself is where you will

see the captions for the images. On theleft hand side of the page is where the

main image is that is in link with the text

about fashion and beauty, next to the

image is a caption presented in a lower

case small font explaining the meaning for

the image. The same applies to the image

on the right.


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o es an conven ons o ourSchemeThe colour Scheme is warm colours on thisfront cover mainly reds and pinks. Thecolours stand out most from everything else

because they are the brightest. The othercolours apart from these are nude, blackand white, which do not stand out. Thecolours connote what the magazine isabout. Pink connotes love, relationships,warmth and sexuality which is involved inthe magazine and red connotes Love, sex,physical courage, excitement and alsowarmth which is again topics included inCosmopolitan.

The colour Scheme carries on throughout themagazine because these are colours girls

usually like most and stand out to them. The

colours around this page are all warm colours

of products which have the same idea of

attracting the audience to buy them by putting

the colours the audience like most on the

product.


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-Photography

The photography on this front cover is a long shotthat is high quality, high brightness and also highcontrast. The image is produced to a very good

standard to make women look good. This is relatingto the target audience because Megan Fox is lookingdirectly at you the reader feels equality and its almostsuggesting that you could be as pretty as her whichis what the magazine is aboutbeauty and keepingyour body good. This magazine is about boostingwomen's confidence and advice on beauty and healthso the image quality is supposed to look really goodfor the audience to want to take on the advice. ThePhotograph is very professional which is what the

target audience will be looking for and will want in amagazine because it tells us that the rest of themagazine will be professional and high quality.

The same high quality photography

carries on throughout the magazinehaving long shots of beautiful girlsthat have a high brightness andcontrast. The photographs are alsovery bright and colourful which goeswith the colour scheme. By using amodel like this it relates to the targetaudience because theyre really

interested in what other women wearand how they wear it.


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Codes and ConventionsWriting style and language

The writing throughout isnt very formal butsometimes speaks directly to the audience.For example they use phrases like you can

have.On the front cover the writing is telling you

Whats in the magazine but not revealingeverything. For example it says you votedhim the hottest but in Hollywood and coversthe mans face, this makes the audience wantto read more to find out who it is. It says youthroughout the magazine suggesting that the

audience is represented as one person thatas all the same likes and dislikes.

The amount of writing on each page varies. On

some pages there are a lot of differentstories and parts of writing in differentcoloured boxes in different fonts. But inothers it could be a double page spreadwith one full image and a page full ofwriting on the other side. This also relatesto the target audience, as a lot of peopleread the magazine from university, the well

educated people like reading long stories inthere spare time.

C d d C ti Pi t d t t


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Codes and ConventionsPicture and text

ratioOn the front cover the image is much larger and

stands out more then the text. It is essential

for a front cover to be mainly image over text

for an audience to buy it. Although there is a

lot of text on the front cover it is all broken up

into different parts of the magazine and the

words are in bold. This lets the audience read

the bits they would like to.

On some pages it is mainly over Image, this could be due to the

image being more important then the text itself. For examplethe image on the right is to do with the clothes the women is

wearing, so the page is more about showing of the clothes

rather then what it has to say. The bits of texts are captions

about the clothes.

It is very important to consider Picture and text ratio because it only

takes 7 seconds for someone to decide whether they want to

read a page or not. So cosmopolitan always has big bold

images with high quality and pages with lots of colour and not

a lot of text. This attracts the young aged target audience

really well because people dont like reading a lot of things

depending on the subject.

C d d C ti d f


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Codes and Conventions- modes ofaddressThe magazine, as you can see from the front cover, talks

directly to you. you decide you on top. This is a really

good technique in which to hold the target audience to the

magazine, because of this age range the reader wants tofeel as if its part of the magazine, for instance if the

magazine is talking directly to them about advice, for

example loosing weight, then theyre more likely to try it out.

It is also a good convention of Cosmopolitan because it

immediately stands out when the target audience sees it in

a shop You so theyre very likely to pick the magazine up

to see what it says on the front cover, this is also why front

covers are very important.

Throughout the magazine the writer is stillgoing for a direct approach towards the

audience. This is essential for this type of

audience because this it the type of

magazine theyre looking for, so it

becomes an important convention.

Otherwise the audience are not likely to

buy it.


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Audience Reception

An audience will not always like your product so it is crucial toget audience feedback, this will help maintain an audience,

make an audience bigger or help improve the product. It is

also important to create a test product first to see what the

target audience thinks about the magazine.

o Focus

Groups

o

Audiencepanels

o Trailing

o Complaints
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=focus%20group&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=IqUWPjfLRVBHAM&tbnid=whgTWFRO28NfzM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.mysocialindicator.com/index.php/test/&ei=_DKfUq3tFoOjhgf8xIG4Cg&bvm=bv.57155469,d.ZGU&psig=AFQjCNFz21gCBWFJ92FVJpUR6T3IUQAUGg&ust=1386251380249022


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There are different ways in receiving audience feedback:

Focus groups

This is a group of people coming together to talk about the product- it is usually for talking

about the design. For example asking questions about the logo or a new house style.

Audience panels

This is a group of people that regularly get contacted over a certain amount of

months/years and get asked questions about the product/magazine and whether they still

like it or not.

Trailing

Trailing is where you create a trial product for a selection of the audience to receive

feedback. This is important because it allows you to make a few changes to the magazine

to make it better for the target audience.

Complaints

Complaints are also good in a way because it again allows you to be able to makechanges to suit the target audience. It allows you to know whether a change to your

magazine is liked or disliked. Social media allows many ways to get in contact with a

magazine company.


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http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=cosmopolitan+redesigns&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=uV9-ycQn9SD3kM&tbnid=0GzRLKIRtiUUdM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/luke-hayman-cosmopolitan-redesign&ei=TzqfUtzJDfOS7AbayYDICg&bvm=bv.57155469,d.ZG4&psig=AFQjCNGkeS0tw1bsy891NICrqgxPqAZKAg&ust=1386253241438173http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=cosmopolitan+redesigns&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=uV9-ycQn9SD3kM&tbnid=1qoNc2RDgU0_1M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/luke-hayman-cosmopolitan-redesign&ei=fjqfUq64CsyB7Qb4nYHoCA&bvm=bv.57155469,d.ZG4&psig=AFQjCNGkeS0tw1bsy891NICrqgxPqAZKAg&ust=1386253241438173


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http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=menshealth+magazine&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=Ll2APEpd8mwXUM&tbnid=EZ2JyD0SwENkBM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://rachaelbloomfield.blogspot.com/2011/05/normal-0-false-false-false-en-gb-x-none_04.html&ei=-DWfUuW3D46e7AbdpICQCA&bvm=bv.57155469,d.ZGU&psig=AFQjCNGdcKE2BHOliGcFfI4S5ewr97VUUQ&ust=1386251943441456http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=menshealth+magazine&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=M3rTk81VdOJYXM&tbnid=nHs6RVm0ovJceM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.zimbio.com/Hrithik+Roshan/articles/SUrbInGjLb6/Hrithik+Roshan+Bares+Heart+Men+Health+Magazine&ei=1zWfUr-EApKV7AbyzYCYDQ&bvm=bv.57155469,d.ZGU&psig=AFQjCNGdcKE2BHOliGcFfI4S5ewr97VUUQ&ust=1386251943441456http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=menshealth+magazine&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=wRLSPbVftzwQTM&tbnid=mtrcRaVsU-qxGM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://h0memadecinema.wordpress.com/2012/10/01/magazine-genres/&ei=ZDWfUt3oD4fKhAfUjYB4&bvm=bv.57155469,d.ZGU&psig=AFQjCNGdcKE2BHOliGcFfI4S5ewr97VUUQ&ust=1386251943441456http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=menshealth+magazine&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=RzuDPbU0HFlsaM&tbnid=_9j3cr5yKxqcwM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://johannesdujsik.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/music-magazine-evaluation/&ei=SzWfUomOLdK7hAfr14HoBQ&bvm=bv.57155469,d.ZGU&psig=AFQjCNGdcKE2BHOliGcFfI4S5ewr97VUUQ&ust=1386251943441456http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=menshealth+magazine&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=J4XYAUcP2PNheM&tbnid=n0XFMUttvn2uZM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://theparada.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/cover-to-cover-redesign-of-mens-health/ryan-mens-health-magazine-march-2009-ryan-reynolds-4045146-928-1222/&ei=NDWfUu_AGvKA7QaUk4G4Bw&bvm=bv.57155469,d.ZGU&psig=AFQjCNGdcKE2BHOliGcFfI4S5ewr97VUUQ&ust=1386251943441456


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MensHealth

The target audience for this magazine is Men

from the ages 18+. You can see this straight

away from the title Menshealth so it is

obviously a magazine about Men wanting to

gain muscle and be healthy. Menshealth is the

largest Mens magazine in the whole worlds.

With readership views of 12,359,000 people

worldwide. Having muscular men on the front

can actually attract men, because they want toread about how they achieved a body like

theirs. The percentage of people who have a

full time job is higher then the percentage of

people going to college, this fits in with the

target audience of 18+ and is most likely

because at the age where they have a job, they

are earning money, and money means that

theyre able to afford going to the gym a lot,

which fits into the magazine topics of fitness,

this magazine inspires men to get fit and gain

muscle. The percentage of people who have

their own home is also high, this could be due to

them wanting to read the magazine because

they have purchased fitness equipment in their

homes.
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=menshealth+magazine&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=M3rTk81VdOJYXM&tbnid=nHs6RVm0ovJceM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.zimbio.com/Hrithik+Roshan/articles/SUrbInGjLb6/Hrithik+Roshan+Bares+Heart+Men+Health+Magazine&ei=1zWfUr-EApKV7AbyzYCYDQ&bvm=bv.57155469,d.ZGU&psig=AFQjCNGdcKE2BHOliGcFfI4S5ewr97VUUQ&ust=1386251943441456


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MensHealthDemographics


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Images

The image on the front cover is

usually a long shot of a Man who is

very fit and healthy with big

muscles. The images can

occasionally be females or men and

females on the front, but again the

women is always fit and healthy aswell. The images are always very

good quality with high contrast.

These images attract males

because of there very good

physique. The man is usually very

posed in a way all his muscles are

on show. The image relates to thewords around Look better then

ever build bigger arms
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=menshealth+magazine&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=M3rTk81VdOJYXM&tbnid=nHs6RVm0ovJceM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.zimbio.com/Hrithik+Roshan/articles/SUrbInGjLb6/Hrithik+Roshan+Bares+Heart+Men+Health+Magazine&ei=1zWfUr-EApKV7AbyzYCYDQ&bvm=bv.57155469,d.ZGU&psig=AFQjCNGdcKE2BHOliGcFfI4S5ewr97VUUQ&ust=1386251943441456

defining an audience- task 2

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