Who would be the audience for your media product?

Natalie Suchecki

I aimed my media product at the age bracket of 17-25. I think my magazine could target males

and females however predominatly females. This is outlined by the fonts and different texts used

throughout the magazine, for example the use of Elegant Fonts and the use of language. I did

this to specifically target female consumers. When creating my media product I looked into

different themes and also what would appeal to certain age groups. I felt that female pop-stars

would appeal to a younger target audience than that off classic rock stars, and so I approached

the making of my magazine in a way that would attract and stimulate interest from a younger

audience (teenagers/young adults). After deciding what my target audience would be I looked in

depth into what themes and what issues would interest them specifically.

In my research I found that subtle colours such as pinks often attract females, but a mixture of

fun fonts and interactive columns such as subscriptions and posters often appeal to the younger

culture such as teenagers. As I was researching into a target audience very similar to myself I

found it easier to relate to distinct likes and dislikes.

I found that the younger female culture value friendship highly and regard it as very important

element of day to day life. Therefore through this, I was able to develop my ideas and in turn

chose to place multiple images of groups of girls, which connotes happiness and friendship.

To further this I conducted further research through the use of surveys and video interviews in

order to gain a more in depth knowledge regarding the interests of my target audience. I used

survey monkey to create a ten questions to send out to my specific target audience. The results I

got back showed that 100% of the participants feel that the use of adverts would persuade them

to buy the magazine. Therefore I made the decision of placing adverts throughout the magazine.

I gathered from my research that the typical hobbies my target audience would have would be;

social networking, listening to music, going to gigs, meeting up with friends, going on nights out.

The dress code I feel my audience would have would be a preppy girly style,

consisting of dresses and skirts and a mixture of converse and heels. I believe

there would be a mixture of colours but predominatly pinks and reds and these

connote passion, however black would be a dominant colour to show

assertiveness and power.

The brands my audience would show interest in would be the latest technology

such as apple and Samsung, as throughout my survey I found the majority of

the participants enjoy the use of the internet and other technological products.

Other brands may include converse to reflect their preppy style.

Therefore, to conclude, I believe that the final audience for my media product

lie within the ABC1 social class boundary, meaning they are financially able to

keep up to date with the latest issues of Pretty Little Thing. Further analysis

could show that the age group 17-25 that lie within the ABC1 category are most

likely to progress from school to college and university, meaning potentially the

circulation of my magazine could increase amply throughout friendship and

social groups, which in turn would open up my magazine to a wider audience.

Primarily my magazine is targeted at females, those looking for a magazine

specific to up and coming female artists, taking a closer look into the reality of

their life rather than the gossip manipulated by the media. Therefore in some

respect my magazine is aimed at young and aspiring music artists who wish to

see the truth beneath the headlines in the majority of tabloids.

However, my magazine is open to interest from a male audience, I feel this is

appropriate as my magazine at some point in time will contain a mixture of

male and female artists telling their stories therefore this will enable me to

attract a wider audience. In addition to this, my use of clothing and poses to

display the dominant code is likely to attract males through the use of the male

gaze theory and therefore act as a eye catching point when on the shelves.

In addition, I created a reader profile which sums up my typical reader.

Within my reader profile it can be said that my average reader is named

jess, I got this information from my audience research survey, where a

large proportion of participants were named Jess. It can also be derived

from the reader profile that my average reader is between the ages of 17-

25 (my target audience), and they are avidly interested in technology. This

once again reflects the youth culture audience I am aiming towards and

the current generation is very equipped with the latest technology. In

order to keep my audience interested I need to continuously re-assess

their likes and dislikes so that I am able to tailor my magazine to fit their

needs in the competitive market.

How did you attract/address your audience?

In order to maintain the interest of my audience I had to carefully consider the ways in which I was going to address them. I looked carefully at the following;• -Masthead• Photograph(s)• Colours• Posters• Layout• Cover lines• Price• LanguageThe masthead has to be easily noticeable and have the ability to stand out amongst others. I designed my mast head so that in a font that was elegant and bold, something that would appeal specifically to my target audience. I placed the masthead beneath the image as I felt that it would empower the splash image more and reflect a more meaningful, powerful look through the use of eye contact within the image. The font used was ‘Adobe song std’ I chose to enlarge the font to make it a main concept on the page, I also chose to highlight the text in bold, as it connotes strength and power, something I was wanting to reflect throughout my magazine. I feel this addressed my audience in a very formal way through the use of black as an eye catching colour. I chose to use a strap line above the masthead to break up the dimensions on the page, I feel the text also enabled me to attract the audience through differentiating myself from the competition. My use of photographs were most vital for attracting the audience on the front cover as this is going to generate the initial interest from potential consumers. The splash image I chose to use was a medium close up of a female model, I chose to use a female as I felt this would attract my target audience of females, in addition, this is also vital in attracting the attention of males, this being done through the use of the male gaze theory. I also chose to use a female with long hair and minimal makeup to show femininity and natural beauty, this attracts females also through the use of the male gaze theory as they are invited to view women in a way in which they wouldn’t view themselves, this leaves the opportunity to provide an ‘idol’ for them. The use of pink lip-gloss also connotes femininity, love and passion. It is true that subtle colours such as pinks and purples are very likely to catch the eye of females, in turn inviting them to read further into the magazine. To further this, once they have looked past the front cover, the images used within the contents page are there to connote friendship and happiness in order to address the audience in a joyous and pleasant manor.

I chose to use groups of females in the images as it connotes girl power, something strongly followed throughout my media product. I felt this would attract females to read further as there is a sense of team work and they may in fact develop a personal attachment to the magazine through the use of images like such. The image used on my double page spread is of Becki, the model, posing in a way which defines her curves and feministic attributes, once again portraying the dominant code of beauty and femininity, inviting both females and males to view her, in terms of the negotiated code, both men and women may view her as a sexual object. This may attract the audience to read further through the magazine as the majority of readers prefer finding a story through the use of images rather than just maximum text. The use of colours on the double page spread in particular, are very simplistic with dark tones and the use of white space, the only real colour on the page is the neutral tones of her skin and the light pinks that glimmer from her lips. This addresses the audience in a very formal way, as black connotes power and strength, however white connotes purity and innocence, something linked with females, this shows the audience that there perhaps are two sides to the story. The use subtle pink addresses the audience in a more casual manor, it tones down the page and adds a centre focus point, addressing the audience in a calmer mien. In relation to the use of colours also, I chose to use mainly subtle colours throughout my magazine, glimmering pinks, purples, reds and beiges which are mainly pastel based but all contain some shine. This allowed me to address my audience in a more debonair way. I used a lot of black throughout my magazine, black mainly connotes elegance and mystery. Through the use of this colour I can address my audience in a way in which enables them to feel empowered and elegant and charmed, something that well attract potential consumers within the ABC1 background. The element of mystery allows me to attract potential consumers by drawing them in with suspense of the unknown and what lies within. This was the dominant code for my use of this colour. However, I chose to use white as the background rather than surrounding the magazine completely with black, as black diminishes the readability of the text, whereas white allows the text to bounce of the page, once again attracting my audience. In terms of marketing a products, white connotes ‘coolness’ and cleanliness, a colour that allows you to view other aspects of the page much clearer. Through my ample use of white I have attracted my audience to read every aspect of the page. I chose to have a poster section within my magazine as I feel this would be more likely to attract the attention of my audience. When a magazine provides free goods as part of its marketing it leads the consumer to believe that they are in fact receiving a greater return on their ‘investment’ of the magazine. It can often be used to encourage potential buyers. In addition, I chose to give out free posters of the female artists as I feel it attracts the younger female audience that may want to display them around their room. It also addresses the audience in a more relaxed manner as it may provide the feeling that we are giving them something personally. In relation, the price can be used to attract the audience as a lower price will enable you to stand out from competitors and as consumers make decisions based on their own best interest, they often weigh up the costs and benefits of purchasing each individual item, a low price for example £3.00 as with mine can often persuade them to buy. Furthermore, it can address them in a more pleasant manner rather than a weekly magazine that is asking for £5.00. Moreover, the use of language within my magazine is vital, the use of slang and an informal tone can often be used to address the audience in a colloquial manner. Examples of this within my magazine include cover lines such as “You excited? Us too!”. This use of colloquial language often gives a more personal feel and can connect the reader closer to the magazine. This type of language can often be used to attract a younger culture, just as formal in depth old English would attract the older generation, generally speaking. Last but not least, the layout within my magazine is vital, an overcrowded layout with make the magazine look complex and can often discourage potential consumers from purchasing the magazine. In order to attract my audience (17-25 year olds) I used a simplistic layout and a very high image to text ration, in order to maintain the interest of my readers.

Glimmering colours

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

The production of my magazine would not have been possible without the use of technology, both software and hardware. Below is a list of software programs I used to develop my media product; Systems software – The operating system, drives and utility programs. Applications software• Photoshop• InDesign• Microsoft word, PowerPoint• Slide share• Word press• Google chromeHardware that I used during the production of my magazine is as below; Computer Keyboard Mouse Printer Scanner Camera and studio Video RecorderMy coursework was split into three main elements, planning & research, production and evaluation. During the planning & research phase I created a preliminary task in Photoshop, this task was to create a school magazine, aimed at college students. I took photos in a library location for this magazine, I then used a camera lead to transfer the files onto the computer. When the images were on the computer I manipulated the images using Photoshop. This was my first time using Photoshop, but I had to learn the basics straight away, as the creation of this preliminary task would not have been possible without the use of this desktop publishing software. After I had created this magazine, I soon came to realise that I would not be able to complete my coursework without the use of any technology, the software and hardware both played a vital role in this production. During the research I used web browsers to search the web for background information on publishing companies, artists, sample images and blogs to sign up too. Google Chrome was the web browser that I used throughout my work and without such, I would not have been able to complete this process. Further into my research and planning I conducted a video interview using a video recorder, set up on a tripod and set to timer so that I was able to capture the full interview. The positives of using such is that it allowed me to create a more in-depth plan for my magazine but on the down side the quality of sound was poor and needed adjustments when uploaded onto the computer, it took a long time to upload and there were some problems when transferring it to YouTube for the embedding.

During the production of my final product I used Photoshop to create the front cover. This however could have been one piece of technology I could have done without during this phase of production, this is because as I went along I found that InDesign was able to offer the same methods of production and therefore would have been a close substitute. However, I feel the positives of using Photoshop for the front cover were that it allowed for close detail on certain aspects of the image. It also allowed me to choose from numerous fonts, sizes and character style. I feel that over the course of my production I developed vital skills needed to operate Photoshop with great aptitude. I learnt how to transform images with just the use of the keys on the keyboard, I also learnt how to match colours and use the magnetic boundaries to clip around an image enabling you to place in in front of layers. I feel that I am a lot more confident using Photoshop now than I was when I first used it during the preliminary task. One piece of software I feel I could not have completed the task without is InDesign, this allowed me to merge both text and images to create my double page spread. InDesign allowed me to create columns for text to run through, it also enabled me to link the text boxes so that when I copied and pasted the text from word, it would flow through them all. Throughout this process, once the image was placed I had to use the anchor tool so create a run around boarder as seen in the bottom image. This wrap around allowed me to control the boarders to which the text would run too, this program allowed me to create an effect that showed continuity and also enabled me to enhance the Laura Mulvey theory as mentioned in previous questions. Although I did run into some problems when using Indesign, when I first started I had never used to program before so getting used to the different tools was difficult. It took numerous attempts to correct the run around as it would not correspond. I imported the font from ‘Da Font’ and I found it difficult to place this within the InDesign program. However, over time I learnt to use the different tools and became accustomed to the way the program worked. I feel that the final piece turned out well and I am happy I chose to use this as the program for the double page spread. As mentioned above, I used Microsoft word to type up my article and a lot of my evaluation questions. This is a program I have used a lot before and therefore I didn’t run into any problems. I however, do believe that the use of Microsoft word was not essential and I could have typed the text directly into the programs that I was using. Furthermore, in order to store all of my coursework I created a blog. I chose to use word press and I felt that it was the least complex blog provided on the internet, and as I had never used a blog before this was essential. I have found the program easy to use and have even considered further use with it once the coursework is over. It allowed me to easily categorize my work in chronological order so that I could easily relate back to specific sections over time as needed. Moreover, I uploaded power points on my blog however the program does not allow you to directly upload therefore I had to create a slide share account, this enabled me to upload my power point onto the website and then embed it onto my blog, however, this allowed me to show different aspects of the use of technology throughout the creation of my media product. Hardware that I found essential when creating my magazine and during the research phase was the use of scanners, when I designed the front cover, contents and double page spread I drew them by hand, a scanner enabled me to upload these images to my blog. Therefore to conclude, I found the use of technology throughout my development essential and I felt I have learnt a lot from the process. The only draw backs I had was the unpredictability of hardware when uploading items and the risks that come when uploading items onto software programs as they are often prone to crash. However, overall, I feel the use of technology has been a positive venture and that it has enabled me to develop my skills and understand more about the basic concepts and conventions of music magazines.