Evaluation:Questions 3 & 4

Q3: What kind of media institution would distribute your media product and why?

To publish my magazine, I would have to use a large institution that has the capability of distributing and printing the magazines. The institution In have found to be the most suitable is:

• Bauer Media Group

Currently Bauer Media Group reach over 19 million adults in the UK alone, and I feel that adding SLURR Magazine to their inventory will not only add some variety but also expand this figure to not only adults but also the younger generations (15-24 year olds)

Bauer currently have magazines such as Q, Mojo and Kerrang! for music but they do not currently cover the rock, indie and alternative genres in great detail with only occasional segments in ‘Q’.

Adding SLURR magazine to their publications would not only increase the current readership of Bauer’s brands, but it would also widen the social groups who currently read their products. If this was a success, then Bauer could even further the SLURR brand into other products, similarly to how Kerrang has its own radio station .

www.bauermedia.co.uk

Other Institution to consider:

Another institution I would consider is:

• Wenner Media

Wenner Media may be a US publisher but they currently publish one of the world’s most influential music magazines, Rolling Stone. I feel that SLURR Magazine is the perfect opportunity for Wenner to enter the UK market, and widen their audience hugely. SLURR will also widen the age range of Wenner’s audiences as Rolling Stone currently caters for a slightly older audience than the target audience of SLURR, thus increasing their potential earnings.

Readers will trust the Wenner media brand as they have been publishing Rolling Stone for over 50 years, and that they will deliver a high quality product.

Finally I feel that with the publication power of Wenner Media, SLURR could become a hit in not only the UK but also in the US, due to their huge distribution empire they currently have.

www.corporate-wennermedia.icims.com

Q4: Who is the audience of your media product?

To find my audience I conducted an online survey using Survey Monkey, alongside the usage of my knowledge of the rock, indie and alternative genres (Being a fan of these genres myself).

I hope to aim SLURR Magazine at the social group of 15-24 year olds of both genders, stylising the magazine to their passion for these genres and to welcome newer listeners.

The following slides include some of my results from this survey which have aided me when deciding who exactly my magazine would be marketed towards.

Survey Q1

Using the results of this question I can clearly see that my audience is between 15 and 24 years of age.

This data will allow me to focus my content for this age group (15-24 year olds) and tailor articles that will appeal to them the most.

Survey Q2

The chart shows that there is a slight female majority over males when gender is assessed (but only by 15.78%).

This shall not affect my music magazine as I feel that my audience should be male and female and my articles should target a steady medium.

Survey Q3

The standout answer is a monthly issue of the magazine, which I will implement for my own magazine as I feel that it is a good structure to publish twelve issues a year and some feature issues.

Survey Q4

The most popular answer to this question was a pricing range of £1.51-£1.99. This shows that those who answered the survey felt that they were happy with current music magazine prices (Such as NME and Q which are £2.20) but some would prefer them to be slightly cheaper in price.

I feel that I would price my magazine at £2.00 as it is slightly lower than some current prices, which may draw readers to buy it, and also because it is a solid figure unlike £2.20.

Survey Q5

This graph is helpful as it shows which magazines are the most popular for those who took the survey.

NME is the most popular magazine overall, which may reflect the young audience who they cater for ,as those who answered the survey were all 15-24 year olds. Kerrang! is 2nd overall which reflects the ‘rocky’ audience and Q is 3rd. This does show that these are still the top 3 music magazines in the UK.Using these results I will hope to design my magazine with mixed features of all 3 magazines, from design to choice of articles.

Survey Q6

Using these results from those who answered, I am able to rank the main features of a music magazine, showing me which segments the audience feel are most important:1. Entertainment2. Informative Articles3. Events and Offers4. Latest News5. Specialist Features

From this I know that in my magazine I need to include some entertaining articles and a mix of informative segments with the latest events and offers. Doing this will help it appeal to my audience and engage with them.

Survey Q7

Using the pie chart we can clearly see that those who answered in general prefer two music genres: Rock Pop

Using this knowledge I now know that I can base my magazine around either genre or a mix, to appeal to the most readers possible, similar to NME’s genre choices.

Survey Q8

The results show that those who answered don’t attend concerts or gigs regularly, with ‘Never’ & ‘Once a Year’ gaining the highest votes overall.

This could be due to many people feeling that gigs are over-priced, so I would hope to include offers on gigs and concerts in my magazine, in an attempt to increase attendance numbers at gigs and concerts.

Survey Q9 Firstly I can see that only 3 people skipped this question, which clarifies to me that people do enjoy attending festivals. Those who answered have allowed me to rank festivals in popularity for my audience:

1. Reading & Leeds Festival2. T in The Park3. Download Festival4. V Festival5. Glastonbury Festival6. Global Gathering

(No answers for Creamfields or Isle of Wight Festival)

This could be due to many reasons, one may be due to the location, as most of those who answered were from the York area, so would most likely attend Leeds Festival. It also shows that fewer people of a younger age attend Glastonbury, which may be because of location as it’s in the south of England but also due to tickets as they are expensive and are sold in a matter of minutes each year.

Using this information I have gathered I will be able to have festival segments and articles in my magazine as I know that there’s an audience for it.

From these results I was able to create an audience profile, which I feel reflects the type of audience SLURR would be marketed towards. Here is a ‘typical reader’ of SLURR Magazine.

I have made sure to reference their listening habits, spending/income, brand awareness and their usage of technology. Using this profile the magazine was easily stylised to suit this ‘typical reader’ whilst still being open to other types of readers.

From these results I was able to create an audience profile, which I feel reflects the type of audience SLURR would be marketed towards. Here is a ‘typical reader’ of SLURR Magazine.

I have made sure to reference their listening habits, spending/income, brand awareness and their usage of technology. Using this profile the magazine was easily stylised to suit this ‘typical reader’ whilst still being open to other types of readers.

• As you can see, the reader profile I have created shows a true typical reader, in a detailed manner that not only allows me to focus the magazine in an engaging way, but also allows brands who would like to advertise in the specific segments of the magazine to see if they fit the general reader and also if they are included in some of the brands 15-24 year olds are aware of and use regularly.

• Overall I feel that my audience is suitable for the focus and feel of SLURR Magazine and I found this easy to compile thanks to the effectiveness of my online survey.