How did you attract/address your audience?

Attracting

Each element of the magazine was carefully considered to persuade the audience to invest their time, interest and, essentially, money on the final product.

There were many different ways in which I attracted my audience, including:

Masthead

Photographs

Colours

Free stuff and competitions

Posters

Layout

Cover lines

Price

Firstly, I chose the colour purple because it is a strong and vibrant colour and therefore appeals to teenagers searching for fun and excitement. It is also a gender neutral colour; it does not have any strong connotations so it attracts both females and males. It is made from a warm colour and a cool colour (red and blue) which adds a hint of mystery and draws the reader’s eye. The purple colour is used throughout the magazine, and contrasts with the white font and background: this creates a strong brand recognition.

The gradient shading adds interest and draws the reader in, whilst the bevel and emboss looks more exciting than just a flat square: it adds a 3D element which makes it jump off the page.

The hash tag on the page appeals to a teenage audience because it relates to twitter, a very popular social networking site. This means that they will relate the magazine to the success of twitter and want to read more about it.

The tagline attracts the audience because it adds a sense of exclusivity, so the target audience will not want to miss out on any of the news or features appearing in the magazine. The exclamation mark adds to the sense of excitement.

Masthead

Images

The images used throughout the magazine were chosen to appeal to a teenage target market.

I placed the picture of this girl on the front cover, because she is the same age as the teenagers, therefore they will be attracted to the magazine as they will see her as a familiar, relatable figure. She appeals to a female audience as teenage girls like to have female role models my artist is someone who they can aspire to be like. The fact that she is pouting seductively appeals to a male audience following Laura Mulvey’s theory of the Male Gaze.

She is staring directly into the camera, appealing to the audience as it seems she is making direct eye contact with them. This draws them in, making the target market want to buy the magazine.

Her hair is perfectly styled and she is wearing lots of make-up, appealing to teenage girls because they can aspire to look like her. This is similar to the image used as a free poster, she is wearing a dress and pulling a girly pose, therefore appealing to an audience who will engage with photos of attractive models.

Font

For the headline I chose a font that is very simple and in bold, so that it stands out on the page. Teenagers are known to have short attention spans and like things that are easy to read; a complicated font would have been unappealing to them. I decided to make the font black rather than a different colour, because I didn’t want another bold colour clashing with the purple colour. These chaotic colour schemes are more appealing to younger teenagers and pre-teens. The colour black stands out against the background of the image, and the white stroke emphasises the text and attracts the reader.

On the contents page, I similarly chose a simple font with my teenage market in mind as they are more attracted to text that is easily readable. I also made the page numbers and the name of the artist in bold to attract the eyes of the target audience so that they are able to flick through straight to the page, and to the artist that they are most interested in.

Freebies

One thing that my research found was the fact that the young people surveyed said that the second biggest influence for buying a music magazine is the posters and the freebies.

Therefore I decided to add a banner along the bottom with some example posters because it is clearly something that the target audience want to see. I have included a variety of different artists on the posters so that they will be sure to appeal to a grass roots audience. This will attract the audience because they will want to buy the magazine so that they can stick the posters up on their walls.

I also included a competition where the readers can win a new iPad Mini. This will appeal to the audience because of the constant peer pressure to own the latest gadgets, so they will want to show off to their friends. This will encourage them to purchase the magazine to be given the chance to win an expensive piece of Apple technology. The fact that it is purple adds to the appeal by making it exclusive and associated with the staple colour of the magazine.

Uses and Gratifications Theory

This focuses on why people use particular media rather than looking at the content of that media.

McQuail (1987) gives some common reasons for media use.

Information finding out about relevant

events and conditions in immediate surroundings, society and the world

seeking advice on practical matters or opinion and decision choices

satisfying curiosity and general interest

learning; self-education Personal Identity

finding reinforcement for personal values

finding models of behaviour identifying with valued other

(in the media) Integration and Social Interaction

gaining insight into circumstances of others; social empathy

identifying with others and gaining a sense of belonging

finding a basis for conversation and social interaction

having a substitute for real-life companionship

Entertainment escaping, or being diverted,

from problems relaxing getting intrinsic cultural or

aesthetic enjoyment

How does the Uses and Gratification Theory apply to my product?

Information: Teenagers will want to read my magazine to learn new things about their idols that are featured in my magazine. They will read about topics like singles, albums and festivals, and learn about how certain artists became interested in music and what inspires their song writing.

Personal Identity: Another reason why teenagers will want to read my magazine is for personal identity. Many teenagers have self esteem issues and just want to feel as though they belong; the readers can engage with my magazine because they identify with the clothes that the artists wear and they can relate to the problems that they talk about. This attracts the young people as they realise that they are not alone and even celebrities have problems.

Entertainment: Possibly the main reason why people consume music magazines is for entertainment. Young people are known for becoming bored easily, but my magazine will be saturated with exclusive features and content that they will want to read about. They may also purchase the magazine for escapism, it can be more exciting to read about someone else’s life then think about your own problems, especially when they are famous and have lots of interesting stories and ideas.

Social Interaction: Lastly, most teenagers have friends with similar music tastes and interests to them, and this magazine will allow peer groups to discuss any articles or competitions that they have read. This gives them more topics of conversation and allows the teenagers to relate to each other.

Addressing

o Once the audience had been attracted then they were addressed by the magazine.

o The audience for #1 were addressed both visually and through written elements throughout the magazine.

o Some ways that I addressed the audience was by:

The writing style

Images

The ratio of text to pictures.

Writing Style

There are certain lexis that I chose as I thought that they would appeal more to the target audience. For example on the Contents page I said 'mates', 'dates' and 'pet hates.‘ The playful rhyming sounds informal and attracts the audience because it sounds like text language and how they address each other. Other synonyms I could have used for mates are friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and companions, but these would have appealed more to an older audience. The informal language I chose reflects the way that teenagers talk to each other, therefore the magazine become more relevant to them.

The omission of the full stops on the contents page also adds to the sense of informality as standard grammar rules are not being followed. This shows that I am addressing the audience as they would address each other, and making them engage more with the magazine. The use of the exclamation mark makes the writing style seem quite excitable, therefore addressing them in a way that mirrors the amount of energy that stereotypically hyper teenagers seem to have.

The use of the code of enigma, 'who really is this girl?' on the front cover addresses the audience in an informal way, enticing them to buy the magazine to find the answer to the question posed.

Ratio of text to images

The ratio of images to text on a page highlights how the audience is being addressed.

On my contents page, I decided to use more pictures then writing, because younger people stereotypically do not want to read a lot of writing; if there was a big block of text about what is featured in the magazine then they just would not read it. I have addressed them mainly through the photos because they appeal more to a teenage audience, and the page references allow them to easily flick through to the page that most excites them.

The canted image on the contents page addresses the audience's stereotypically rebellious nature and dislike of too much formal structure. It isn't neatly lined up and justified; it does not conform to conventions of other magazines aimed at an older readership. This is similar to the images used on the banner on the font cover: the random angling of the small images appeals to the teenagers’ liking of informal structures.

Images

The visual elements in a magazine can be used to address the audience in different ways.

I have chosen to use a male model, as he can address the teenage girl market who like to see boys that they can fancy in magazines. It also it addresses the male side of the target audience, who can be inspired by him and his music.

The location used is an urban setting, with a brick wall visible in the background. This communicates the rebellious nature of kids in the street and is seen as being cool and fashionable. It makes the character more relatable, as he appears like a person who has grown up in the same areas as some of the target audience will have. He has become famous and successful, so it gives the audience the inspiration to follow their dreams.

He is not looking at the camera, and is slouched against the wall, not pulling a particular pose. This makes the shot seem more natural and shows that this artist is a real character: he is a person that the audience can relate to, not just a celebrity who seems perfect looking and inaccessible.

He is wearing a hoodie and baggy jeans, all popular styles with the target audience, so he becomes a celebrity who is relevant and relatable to them.