Research and Planning

Hannah Cheung

TEXT RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS

Diabetes Living

• This cover had one main picture as the whole background.

• Pink, yellow and purple colour scheme.

• Text a mixture of capitals and lower case. Yellow, pink, purple or white.

• Banners at the top of the page with text.

• Purple circle with white outline for appealing information.

Balance• One main picture as the whole

background.Pink, purple and white colour scheme.Text mainly white on pink or purple or white. Many colours to make each section stand out.Title situated in top left. White against bright pink rectangle, stands out.Banners at the top and bottom of the page with text.Purple circle with white outline for appealing information.

Diabetes Forecast• One main picture as the whole

background, image of a natural woman.Red yellow and blue textTitle situated in the centre and top of the page. Title covers over image of woman.One blue banner at the top of the page with white and blue text, highlights one of the main stories.Diabetic terminology frequently used.

• The diabetic magazines all contained banners to show key elements of what the magazine included.

• There was also a very wide variety of colour schemes and text colours between that magazines, though either blues, pinks or both were used in each of them.

• The title was usually at the top left of the page, and fitted around the main image. However the last followed a style more like the teen/young adult magazines and was in the centre, fitting into the image.

• Mixing the two styles is something I will need to try to do in my magazine cover.

• The main image was always used for the whole background of the page.

• Some of the magazines also included diabetic terminology, and

stories would always relate to diabetes.

MARI CLAIRE

COSMOPOLITAN

TEEN VOGUE• Title at top centre of page.• Image merges into text, with

text placed over the top of the girl.• Main photo as background, blurred

plain background of photo has the same effect commonly used white backgrounds, making the woman stand out. 

• Text colours are mainly pink, also use of red, yellow, and black.

• Yellow star used to highlight key information.

• Outfit of woman compliments the colour scheme of page.

• Date at top right of page.• Mix of capitals and lower case

throughout.

• The teen/young adult magazines had a variety of colour schemes.

• The headings and title would usually be within these colours, with black or white text for less important information or descriptions.

• Pink was a popular colour, and the other colours chosen would contrast well such as red or purple.

• The title was always at the top centre of the page and overlapped with the image of a woman.

• The same style of image was always used, and the woman's clothes always matched the colour scheme.

• The background of the magazines were always white (or a simple, out of focus, beach and sky scene for Teen Vogue).

• A date and price was situated at the top, with bar codes at the bottom.

• Almost all the magazines, from both genres, included the use of a circle or star, usually a colour that was not included in the colour scheme to stand out.

• The circle was used to draw attention to appealing information, usually to do with money, for example sales in shops or the cheap price of the magazine.

Industry Research

• For industry research I couldn’t use the exact same diabetic magazines that I analysed earlier as it was difficult to find information due to the specific/cult audience of the magazine.

Diabetes Health•First Published in 1970•Until 1999, it appeared more like a tabloid newspaper than a magazine. Except for the cover, it was still printed on newsprint. Not until the February 2002 issue did it begin to look like a regular magazine.• Annual circulation number 900,000•6 issues per year.•Organised by JDRF, a diabetic research organisation.•Set up by parents of diabetics.•Receives its funding from government grants and public donations.•Audience average age = 41-65•Audience female % = 60%

Diabetes Forecast

• First Published in 1948• Annual circulation number of

5,340,000• 12 issues a year• Organised by the American

Diabetes Association.• Receives its funding from

government grants and public donations.

• Audience average age = 53• Audience female % = 65%

Diabetic Focus

• Annual circulation number of 6,600,000

• 4 issues a year• Published by Remedy Life.

Company involved in giving health advice and providing help for many conditions, including heart disease and diabetes.

• Audience average age = 54• Audience female % = 57%

Diabetic Living

• First published in 2004• Annual circulation number of

1,720,000• 4 issues a year• Owned by the Meredith

corporation, as part of the Better homes and Gardens company.

• Audience average age = 54• Audience female % = 62%

MARI CLAIRE

• First published in France in 1937. Re-launched in 1954 (after WW2)

• Annual circulation number of 11,100,000.

• 12 issues a year• Audience average age = 30• Audience female % = 92%

COSMOPOLITAN

• First published in 1892.• It started originally as a family

magazine.• Annual circulation number of

36,000,000.• 12 issues a year• Audience average age = 26• Audience female % = 83%

TEEN VOGUE

• First published in 2003.• It came from the magazine

“Vogue”, first published in 1892, who decided to create a magazine specifically aimed at a teen audience.

• Annual circulation number of 10,000,000.

• 10 issues a year• Audience average age = 16• Audience female % = 95%

SEVENTEEN

• First published in 1944.• Annual circulation number of

22,000,000.• 11 issues a year• Audience average age = 21• Audience female % = 89%

Reviews

• I have used reviews from shopping websites and from costumer blogs etc instead of official/published pages.

• This is because I could unfortunately not find official magazines reviews.

• Due to the cult audience of diabetic magazines it was harder to find reviews for these. As a result some of the magazines contain less information/text.

MARI CLAIRE• “Its a great magazine for the modern

woman.• Marie Claire has been around for 15

years and in its time has won 27 awards, including best designed consumer magazine of the year award in 2003, best beauty pages in 1991 and best international magazine brand in 1994.

• Every few months you will find a free gift with the magazine, most recently these have been a set of different sized makeup bags and a tote bag which i have found extremely useful.

• the magazine boasts a huge range of celebrity covers, every month there’s a celeb on the front.

• The magazines are mostly for makeup and skincare products, and for the latest lines from fashion houses such as Dior and Gucci.

• About a third of the magazine pages are taken up by adverts, but that's where they get most of their funding from.

• Quite frequently you get free samples of products attached to their adverts, such as sachets of shampoo or skin cream, so that you can try them out before you rush off to buy them, they’re great for saving for your holidays because they take up no space at all and cant leak.

• You can subscribe via a form inside every issue of the magazine, or online, but if you subscribe using a code inside the magazine on the subscription advert then you'll be able to take advantage of special offers such as discounted rates and free gifts.

COSMOPOLITAN

• I have been buying Cosmopolitan regularly for about 3 years now. • The magazine, at first glance, looks thick and full of articles, covering a wide range of subjects. • Unfortunately, when actually reading the magazine, every other page is an advert. I know that

magazines have to make money by using adverts, but considering that we pay almost £2.50 for each copy, I don't see the need for ALL the ads.

• The articles in Cosmo are interesting, useful, well laid out, and easy to read. • A lot of them do seem to be aimed at 30 something women who don't have enough sex though,

with tips to do this, and how to do that. • Cosmo is a good magazine if you want to buy a magazine to kill time with, or want some good

fashion tips, but I wouldn't recommend buying it for a serious read.

http://www.shopping.com/reviews

TEEN VOGUE• Teen Vogue has high fashion editorials and

articles, also including articles about people who work in fashion and are in the fashion industry.

• I think the general purpose of the magazine (if you include its website and its recently published Teen Vogue Handbook) is to direct you the right way if you're looking to break into the fashion industry, as I am.

• The editorials have nothing under about $200, which is ridiculous. This is a teen magazine, people, and 15 year old girls cannot afford $300 blouses and $250 shoes.

• The reason I buy this magazine is to read it and use it for what I call "inspiration." Meaning, I search everywhere for the items I particularly like in cheaper shops or eBay. Otherwise, I take the general "vibe" of the outfits presented and apply it to my seasonal purchases.

• For me, it is a magazine to be bought for a fun read, a link into what's "in" in the industry right now, etc.

www.reviewcentre.com

SEVENTEEN• Seventeen is a popular magazine just for

teenage girls. It covers the topics that interest teens - fashion, beauty, celebrity interviews.

• The magazine visits a college campus and highlights the hangouts and fashion scene. The magazine also lists some information of each college. It's a fun way to introduce teens to college life. I’d like to see more serious content on these colleges.

• I didn't care for Guru's "Mally Rally" piece on celebrity make-up artists. The makeup is over done, teens will look clownish if they imitate the looks. But I do like the prices on the makeup.

http://www.shopping.com/reviews

•I like the Answer Boy & Girl who answer behaviour questions about the opposite sex. Readers aren't told who they are. Are they one person or two? Are they teens? Readers don't know but the answers are helpful and right on the mark.

•The less serious two-page Trama Rama rates teens' most embarrassing moments. Girls age 13-15 send

in their stories. They are very humorous to read and help teens to put their own mishaps into perspective.

•I think Seventeen is one of the better teen magazines. But, I don't recommend Seventeen because of its over - emphasis on materialism. There is too much importance placed on looks to get and keep a guy. Instead of building up the self-esteem of girls the magazine seems to say unless you wear this expensive

item, you won't feel good about yourself.

Diabetes Health• Diabetes Health tries hardest to be interesting and leading edge.

Sometimes, like the city where it was originally published, San Francisco, it is too far out.

• The magazine tries to avoid outright quack cures, but is much more receptive to alternative treatments than its competitors are.

http://www.mendosa.com/magazines.htm

•Diabetes Health is an essential resource for anyone living with diabetes.

•Each monthly issue contains expert advice, cutting-edge research, unbiased product reviews, mouth-watering low-carb and low-fat recipes -- plus special support for the newly diagnosed and new treatment options for everyone.

http://www.magazine-agent.com/diabetes-health/magazine

Diabetes Forecast

• “Well written.”

• “I would like the fonts to be bigger”

• “I like the Diabetes Forecast magazine because it is informative and easy reading.”

http://www.magazines.com/product/diabetes-forecast#info

Diabetes Living

• “I'd like to see more recipes in Diabetic Living magazine aimed at singles or couples. The information in this magazine is A1. I would like to see a discounted source for the magazine because $19.97 is a bit high when I am used to $4.69 yearly subscriptions to other popular magazines. All in all, a great value and I am going to purchase.”

• “The issue I looked at in the waiting room was great.” • “It gives Many ways to accept your condition.”• “I spotted Diabetic Living magazine in my doctor's office and became very

interested in all it had to offer. I have been fighting my diagnosis for several years now but I finally have to admit that I need to be more aware of my health and be more careful in what I eat and to get more exercise.”

http://www.magazines.com/product/diabetic-living

Balance

• Balance is a lively and entertaining full-colour lifestyle magazine, giving you all the latest news and research on diabetes.

• There are celebrity interviews, recipes, competitions, and regular free supplements on hot topics.

http://www.uniquemagazines.co.uk/magazine-subscriptions-344724/subscribe-to-balance-magazine-subscription

Audience Theories

In teen/young adult magazines, a theory that can be applied is moral panic. In this situation the audience is bombarded with images of the ideal body, the ideal shape, by the media. In response woman and girls around the world face problems such as low self-esteem, poor body image, and even conditions as serious as bulimia and anorexia as a result of this. People worry that the media is to blame for these dramatic health risk and must change, and many campaigns have been set up to fight this cause.

Also related to this is the hypodermic injection theory, where the idea that woman and girls need to conform to the perfect body to feel accepted and good about themselves has been injected into the passive audience reading these magazines. Many argue that this is not the case as audiences are not passive, however many vulnerable audiences are. These include young girls, much like many teenagers reading the magazines, and self conscious females, who may also be a large part of these magazine audiences.

The hypodermic injection theory can also be applied to the advertisement in both the diabetic and the teen/young adult magazines. In both, advertisement pages take up a huge part of the magazine; audiences flicking through the pages will subconsciously take in all these advertisements, and perhaps even consciously be interested by them and by the product being sold.

A further theory is the passive audience theory, present in both the hypodermic injection and moral panic theory where the audience takes in the text without making their own interpretations but accepting the preferred reading. This can particularly be applied to advertisements within the magazine.

The two step flow theory, where opinions of a text are passed down through the main media to opinion leaders and then a larger population or group, can be applied in many ways.

Firstly cult magazines will rely on opinion leaders to tell others about their magazine such as other diabetics telling their friends/family or doctors telling their patients.

A second way this can be applied is through the celebrities on the covers or featured in the magazines. Their appearance on the cover connotes that they approve of the text which may lead to the audience buying the magazine. In this same way the theory can be applied to celebrities used in advertisements to sell a product. Though the use of celebrities rarely appears in diabetic magazines.

RESEARCH

Feedback from presentation

People liked the idea and thought it was interesting and original.

Improvements suggested were…

..finding out if

ideas would

eventually run

out for

articles

…if celebrity diabetics could be used to be more conventional to teen/young adult magazines, and appeal more to my target audience.

…Are there

enough

diabetics for

the magazine

to be worth it?

Diabetic Population• Diabetic magazines often sell worldwide thanks to the internet. People now

subscribe online, having the magazine downloaded to their computer each week, or viewing it on an exclusive website. Of course the magazines are also posted to peoples homes if they choose.

• In the UK alone there are currently over 2 million diabetics, and in America (a key country I may also aim my magazine at) over 26 million, and these numbers are rapidly growing.

• Many diabetics subscribe to magazines, though very few younger diabetics subscribe to truly helpful diabetic magazines. (this can be seen in the average age of the diabetic magazines shown earlier, or in the questionnaire example.)

• By aiming my magazine at a younger female target audience, basing it on popular teen/women magazines, the magazine could be very successful at not only bringing across vital information, but producing large circulation numbers.

Information taken from Diabetes UK website

Improvements• The magazine wouldn’t run out of ideas as there are

many other diabetic magazines that have been around for years. There is always new research to report or new technology to review. New recipes could be thought up and there will always be stories of other diabetics or advice needed.

• I thought it would be a very good idea to use celebrity diabetics and have researched to find many names, including Halle Berry and Nick Jonas.

“http://www.dlife.com/diabetes/information//inspiration_expert_advice/famous_people/”

My Questionnaire

The results: for non -diabetics

Questions Responses

0-15 years old 16-25 years old 26-39 years old 40+ years old

How often do you buy magazines?

1 weekly 1 never4 weekly4 monthly4 less than monthly

2 monthly

What’s your favourite magazine?

More CosmoMoreMari ClaireVogueHeatLook

Good foodRed magazine

Why? Men overheard section (helps understand men)

Fun to readFashion pagesInteresting articles.Lots of fashion tips.

Good recipe ideas.Helpful articlesGood mix of articles (food,

health tips, fashion).

What do you tend to buy magazines for?

(Number of votes for…)

1 gossip and news

1 fashion1 horoscopes

11 gossip and news9 fashion1 horoscopes1 reviews5 style tips1 advice

1 gossip and news1 fashion1 advice

The results: for diabeticsQuestions Responses

0-15 years old 16-25 years old 26-39 years old 40+ years old

Do you subscribe to any diabetic magazines?

(Number of votes for…)

2 no 5 no 2 yes1 no

If yes what do you find most effective?

Stories from sports peopleReal life stories and problem

letters

How often do you buy magazines? (Number

of votes for…)

1 monthly1 less than

monthly

1 more than once a week2 weekly1 monthly1 less than monthly

1 never2 less than monthly

What’s your favourite magazine?

Heat OKVogueElleGraziaCosmoMari ClaireSugar

HeatCosmo

Why? Celebrity news Lots of informationLots of fashion pagesInteresting articlesGreat posters/photos

Lots of celebrity gossipFashion

What do you tend to buy magazines for?

(Number of votes for…)

2 gossip and news2 fashion

4 gossip news4 fashion2 style tips2 reviews3 advice

2 gossip and news2 fashion1 style tips

What I found out…• Interests and tastes in magazines are very similar between the

diabetics and non-diabetics were very similar so I can use answers from the non diabetics to help with my magazine too.

• The most popular features of a magazine were gossip and news, style tips, fashion and advice. This reflects passive audience theory which applies to more vulnerable audiences which like to be told what to do with advice, tips etc.

• Many diabetics bought magazines on a regular basis but never bought diabetic magazines. This is due to the style and features of most diabetic magazine which are very unconventional to teen/young adult magazines, and don’t appeal.

• Reasons why people preferred a magazine included: Lots of information, lots of fashion pages, helpful and interesting articles, lots of fashion tips, a good mix of articles.

InfluencesAs well as the previous improvement of celebrities effecting my final idea, the

feedback from questionnaires have also helped me…

I now know my magazine will focus on the following most popular categories:

• Gossip/news (the latest news on research into the cure, new advance in medication and technology. Articles/interviews about famous diabetics, or interesting stories from readers.)

• Fashion (bags or clothes that suite needs of diabetics, new cases for blood testers, injections, new styles/models of blood testers injections etc)

• Advice/ tips (Answering readers questions, tasty food that doesn’t effect blood sugars too much, best ways to handle diabetes etc.)

My double page article will focus on advice and fashion, the front cover can show titles of articles focussing on all 3.

• I also found a fashion page in the form of question and answer, I will use this idea for my article.

Audience Profile• Female• Diabetic (or have a close diabetic family member e.g.

their child/partner.)• 16-35• Feminine• Mid-Upper class• Already buys teen/young adult magazines• Interested in gossip/news, fashion, advice/tips.• Modern (want to keep up with the latest

news/technology)• Health and appearance conscious

Audience Theories• A theory that can be applied to my text is the two step flow theory.

Opinion leaders such as readers or doctors may pass on information about the magazine to patients, friends, family etc.

• Another way it can be applied is through the celebrity diabetic I will have on the front cover. By the celebrity being involved in my magazine it shows their support and approval for it. Fans will then see this and be more persuaded to buy the magazine.

• The passive audience theory can be applied to my text as it will contain reviews of products etc. The magazine will rely on readers agreeing with the reviews or else readers would not be interested in buying magazines to see what's good or bad.

• This can also be applied to the advertisements included in my product.

PLANNING MY TEXT

My Ideas…

I have now decided to focus only on the fashion article, too much would be overwhelming for a double page article.

Titles

Gossip:

The diabetic youth magazine

Allure:

The diabetic youth magazine

Diabetic Essential

Diabetic Life

The Diabetic Bible

Draft layouts

I have chosen to do this version

Front cover

Articles for my front cover

My double page article

Font Choices

• Arial Bold for the cover and heading of article.

• Handwriting like font for Q and A: Lucida Handwriting

Organisations

Their main publications focus is on fashion, though they also have magazines that focus on lifestyle, home, technology, food and many more. All the previous apply to my magazine.

Some magazines published by Conde Nast:

• Vogue and teen vogue • Easy Living• Glamour• Home and Garden• Bon Appétit• Wired

Conde Nast

PHOTOGRAPHY

Location for Photo Shoot

Front garden of my house

My bedroom (white wall and floor)

Bags I will use in my magazine

OUTFITS

Props and Equipment List

• Camera

• Large Photo frame

• Chair

• Accessories: bags, glasses etc.

Some Photos …