IPC MEDIA

1. (a) What types of magazine has IPC been associated with over the years?

Women’s magazines such as: Woman’s Weekly, Woman & Home, Woman’s Own and Woman.

Home and Garden magazines such as: Amateur Gardening, Homes & Gardens, Ideal Home, Wedding & Home and Country Homes & Interiors.

Hobbie/Interests magazines such as: Country Life, Horse & Hound, Shooting Times, Yachting World, Cycling Weekly, Amateur Photographer, The Railway Magazine, Yachting Monthly, Cage Birds, Motor Boat, Golf Monthly, Aeroplane Monthly, Sporting Gun, SuperBike, Eventing, Motor Caravan Magazine, Classic Boat, Model Collector, Motor Boats Monthly and Bird Keeper.

Sport magazines such as: Shoot!, Rugby World and World Soccer.

Educational magazines such as: The Field and Practical Parenting.

Tv magazines such as: TVTimes and TV easy.

Music magazines such as: New Musical Express (NME).

Gossip magazines for both men and/or women such as: Marie Claire, Chat, Mizz, Now and Pick Me Up (for women) Loaded and Nuts (for men).

And other magazines such as: Caravan, Stamp magazine, Prediction, Angler’s Mail, Family Circle, Essentials and Volks World.

1. (b) What types of target audiences has IPC been associated with over the years?

IPC has helped launch a variety of magazines which suit a variety of different target audiences such as those of: different social classes, young or middle age or old, men or women.

On the page About IPC on the IPC website (http://www.ipcmedia.com/about/) I found:

The IPC’s website has over 20 million users every month.

That IPC aims to please three core audiences although it has a diverse print and digital portfolio that offers something for everyone. Those three core audiences are: men, mass market women and upmarket women.

The men’s portfolio contains: a wealth of leisure brands including Country Life, Horse & Hound, Rugby World and Decanter, as well as lifestyle brands including Nuts, Mousebreaker and NME.

The mass market women’s portfolio contains: famous women's weeklies including Look, Now, Chat and Woman; TV entertainment brands including What's on TV, TVTimes and TV & Satellite Week and, online, the goodtoknow network. The upmarket women’s portfolio contains: luxury fashion brands including Marie Claire and InStyle, lifestyle brands including woman&home and essentials and home interest brands including Ideal Home, Livingetc and housetohome.

2. (a) Why might IPC be an appropriate publisher for a new music magazine?

IPC might be an appropriate publisher for a new music magazine because it already has experience in the publishing of music magazines that are aimed at different target audiences and so IPC would know where there was ‘a gap in the market’ for a new music magazine. The music magazines that IPC have already had experience in publishing are: NME and Uncut.

2. (b) What sorts of genres of music/types of magazine might they be likely to publish?

They might be likely to publish another Rock genre music magazine because that is what they are most experienced in when it comes to publishing music magazines and so they will know exactly what their target audience likes. Also if people knew it was published by IPC media then if they enjoyed previous Rock music magazines that have been published by them it may encourage them to buy the new one; therefore, IPC would already have a wide audience purchasing the magazine and perhaps a few novelty purchases as well.

On the other hand, as IPC are experienced in publishing many different magazines and they know what their core target audiences like, that they try to cater for, then they may know where there is ‘a gap in the market’ such as a music magazine, maybe of a pop genre, aimed at young girls as pop magazines are stereotypically for girls and they already have two music magazines, of Rock genre, stereotypically aimed at boys (16 and up). This way IPC may attract a varied target audience through music magazines as their would be a variety of them.

2. (c) Why might alternative publishers like Bauer be appropriate?

Bauer might be alternatively appropriate because they have published more magazines than IPC and therefore more of these magazines are music magazines. This could mean Bauer may have more experience in what conventions a successful music magazine would need to attract a large but particular target audience.

Some of the music magazines that Bauer have published are Kerrang!, Q magazine and Smash Hits which are well known music magazines in the UK and so Bauer would already know what people generally like in a music magazine. Also as these are well known magazines, if Bauer were to publish another music magazines they will already have a known target audience who, if liked previous magazines published by Bauer, would automatically buy the new one.

Finally, Bauer publishes its magazines at a lower price than IPC; for example IPC publishes Uncut at £4.70 monthly whereas a similar magazine, Q, published monthly by Bauer is priced at £3.99. This then means that those on a lower income can get a music magazine with similar content to those published by IPC but at a cheaper price, such as Q, and instead published by Bauer.