My Target Audience

I created a survey to get some feedback on what people would want or expect in the magazine. I asked a variety of questions so I could get a range of ideas. I sent the survey out through emails and had good feedback which I can now use to know what I need to include in my magazine. The first question I asked was 'Does the front cover of a magazine need to be attractive for you to buy it?' There was mixed opinions but there were many comments such as if the cover was boring then they would be less likely to buy it. So from this I know that my front cover needs to stand out and be bold for the readers eye. The second question I asked was 'Would you like a colour scheme throughout the magazine?' Again there were mixed views some said a colour scheme would bring it altogether and give it more of a structure but then others said it would just make the pages look too similar and make it repetitive and boring. From this I think i will try to put in some sort of colour scheme but one that is so big and obvious to people, something quite subtle. The next question I asked was 'Would a catchy magazine name make you want to buy it more?'  Most said an interesting name would attract more people. One person said it needs to be catchy but relevant to the magazine otherwise you would attract the wrong audience. Another question I asked was 'Would you like the magazine to produce information/gossip on your favourite bands?'  There was a lot of positive feedback on this. Everyone said they would like to see allsorts of information on their favourite bands. From this I will make sure I include it. The next question I asked was 'How much would you be willing to pay for a music/fashion magazine?' There was a wide range of values given from £1.50 - £6.50 so I think I will go for a price somewhere in the middle. Another question I asked was 'Would you want more of images or more of text?' Everyone had a different comment but basically they said that it depends on what I want the magazine to focus on and that magazines with more images would attract more of an artistic audience therefore I have decided that my magazine will have more of a focus on images than text. The last question I asked was 'How often would you like the magazine to be released?' About 80% said they would want it monthly, others said that it depends on how much is going to be put in the magazine so from both of these points I will release it monthly because there will be a lot of content in each issue. 

I didn't ask questions about their subculture or their taste in music because I want my magazine to reach a wide range of people and I don't want to put in subcultures. The music will reach a wide range of people all with the same willing to inspire from the bands/singers.

I will take into account all my feedback and make sure I include the things people mentioned in my magazine.

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The readers of Indulge would shop in places such as TopShop/Topman, Primark, Charity shops, vintage shops River island etc anywhere that consists of fashion but also enables them to experiment with their style and find their own look. Also they would shop in music places such as HMV but also the little self selling local music shops.
The girls would mainly have long natural hair or short and sleek, the boys would have quite short hair styling varied with gels and waxes. They age from teenagers to early thirties. It is a large age range because the music  featured applies to many generations which they all know and still enjoy also the fashion side of it, because they are making it their own it is neither too old or too young for anyone.
They would be intelligent artistic people who enjoy life and experimenting with all the things life gives us, seeing things in different ways. They would spend a lot of time with their friends socialising, shopping, working, family time. They would also enjoy their 'me time' and they would enjoy summer more than winter because they would be able to get outside in the sun and also because of the different fashion there is in summer.

This audience would buy my magazine because it caters for their needs in many different aspects. It is about them finding their own personality not trying to copy a celebrities which would be important to them. There is a big range of music and fashion which they are most interested in along with what's going on around the world to so with fashion and music and also the adverts for the new bits and bobs will attract them.
Indulge would advertise products such as clothes shops (Topshop), various alcohol (Jack Daniels /WKD), headphones, upcoming festivals, HMV and the various latest technolgy e.g Iphones, ipads, speakers etc.

Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The particular social group I aimed my magazine at was mainstream, artistic. Someone who is quite simple and 'normal' in the public eye who also are into artistic ways of life from music, fashion to just being bold. The magazine is mainly targeted towards females although this is just because the people I used were female I think that if i used males it would make it more of a mixed gender magazine. It is for all cultures and races.

The image I chose to compare to one of my own had many similarities and some differences. They both are strong female artists who are well known by the public. I decided to go with an extreme close up to make the image stronger so the whole face was the only thing on show, whereas the other magazine has a close up including her neck, shoulders and her arm is even in there too. Even though they have done this her face still comes across very strong because of her make up and sunglasses. They are both bright from the lighting and the colours used. Both poses have a sort of attitude about them but not quite aggressive, they both have a slight seductive enticing the reader, but it is more of an artistic pose than sexual. They are both facing towards the left but my model is tilting her head down making her gaze more towards the reader whereas the other magazine, her head is tilted slightly upwards making her look quite proud. My model's hair is very relaxed and just pushed back at the top and hanging around her face. On the Face magazine her hair is relaxed but is up and out of the way giving her face and neck more of an outline.

My magazine would attract a wide rage of advertisers because I have such a variety of an audience. It has a pro-consumerist stance as the readers would be wanting to try lots of new things to find the 'real them' by buying the products that are promoted in my magazine.

Evaluation- Question 7

Open publication - Free publishing - More 7

Evaluation Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

My magazine follows the same approaches as ‘CLASH’ who is the only magazine published by Clash Magazine Ltd. They only produce 12 issues a year. I think my magazine would do the same as this but it would have to uphold the wide range of audience but keeping the same theme throughout as otherwise it would lose its audience.

It would be safer going with a big company for example EMAP who published ‘The Face’ however they did drop this magazine to focus on others so this could mean that they are not fully behind this type of magazine so perhaps the publishers IPC would be more appropriate as they publish a very wide range of magazines and there could be a space for the more artistic, fashion and music magazine.

Advantages for going with such a large company would be that my magazine Indulge would get quickly established and have the opportunity to quickly set up websites and radio stations etc. However going with a large magazine would also have its disadvantages as they have the power to cut your magazine at any point. I would also have the worry of the magazine being changed into something I didn’t want it to be. It might affect my editorial independence and the company may make me pay as much attention to advertisers as I do to the audience in order to maximise my profits. They may feel that it needs a more specific theme which I didn’t want I wanted the readers to take what they want from it, for it to be seen from different aspects to the point where you can create your own ideas from the various contents involved.  

I could even go with Bauer who from my research do not have any magazines like Indulge which means there is a huge market for this and would also means it wouldn’t be lost within similar magazines and would be able to make a stand. Also they are IPC’s biggest rivals who do publish similar magazines to Indulge which would be good for Bauer to keep up with IPC.

Evaluation Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

 Conventions are the things that are custom or tradition depending on the context. They are a structured presentation plan which has been used in the magazine industry since the beginning. Different magazines genres and types have different conventions and some are more conventional than others, depending on subject matter and audience. Magazines always have the masthead placed at the top in a large and clear font. If a magazine didn't then they wouldn't be following the conventions.

Click on the below images or hyperlinks below to view on Flickr the conventions that my magazine use.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68063462@N07/6788408269/ Front cover analysis on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68063462@N07/6788382345/in/photostream/ DPS layout on Flickr

The genre of my magazine is fashion glossy. I decided on this as there was no specific genre that I was more interested in than another so after researching various magazine types I found that this genre was interesting and I would like to create similar artistic photos and images as the ones I found. I was highly influenced by magazines such as Clash, ID and Face. This was because there were bold and made a statement in a clever and fashionable way.

Finished Pages - Contents