- A main image and other images
- Included strap lines
- A mast head
- Price
- Mode of address
- Barcode etc
In our magazine we tried to do the same, we used a main image which was a close-up and used other images to attract an audience. Also we added a strap- line to sum up or magazine, we tried to add as many sell- lines as possible in our magazine. We made sure we included the price and barcode and we used bright and bold colours, but just like Q magazine we kept our colours to a minimum; so that it still looks professional. Also looking at Smash Hits magazine, we also gave free gifts to lure our audience in. We also made sure our mast-head was bold.
Our magazine represents different social groups in different ways. It represents those people who just like a bit of gossip in other people’s lives. Our magazine those this by giving them gossip about celebrities, therefore some people can come together and gossip together about celebrities. Also it represents people who also like pop music, as the magazine is from the ‘Pop’ genre certain social groups might want to just read about the latest ‘Pop’ music. Again, one of the main social groups our magazine represents is girls. Our magazine has many pretty females in side it, so teenage girls aspiring to become famous in the music industry are likely to buy the magazine and feel influenced by it.
With my music magazine, I think that the best media institution that might distribute my music magazine would be EMAP. EMAP stands for East Midlands Allied Press, and not only publishes magazines but owns several radio and television stations. The reason that I think that Emap would be a good publisher to use, is because it already has a good reputation. Emap already distributes a lot of well known music magazines for example, Q, Kerrang! And also ordinary magazines that appeal to a variety of different audiences such as FHM (Men and style), Grazia (Women’s glossy), Empire (Film magazine), Smash Hits! (Music magazine aimed at teenagers) and Heat (entertainment magazine). Therefore, because they are a trusted distributor, people would be keener to buy and read our magazine. Also Emap magazines mostly include either music or gossip and our magazine includes both of these qualities; so this would be another reason to go with Emap. Lastly, Emap is very reliable and very successful in what it does.
Every magazine is aimed at someone, it always has its target audience, and our target audience was ‘Teenagers. We felt that teenagers were very easy to appeal to, also that they would be a very target to sell our magazine to; as there are many of them. If I was to do an audience profile on our target audience I would say the following:
- They would be around the age of 14-19 years of age
- They would be in full or part- time education, so they would be able to buy the magazine as it’s not too expensive
- They wouldn’t need any qualification to read this magazine, just an interest in music particularly ‘Pop’
- Their goals would be to aspire to be famous like the people they read about in our magazine
- Our target audience would take most interest in gossiping with friends, shopping, buying the latest music(which our magazine gives them a sample of free music ) and fashion
- They watch TV(MTV), go shopping(Primark, H& M), Socialise with friends (gossip, go cafe) and attend concerts and festivals
Knowing all this about our target audience, we then tried to attract our audience by doing a competition to win a set of concert tickets in our magazine, which would attract more of our audience to buy the magazine and attempt to win. Also to attract out audience we informed them in the inside cover that there were pictures of the MOBO awards and gossip. This definitely would attract our audience, as we know our target audience like to gossip a lot, therefore we would add pictures that they could see, share and snigger at; which would then bring more profit in. We also attracted our audience by using bright bold colours, as this would attract them to pick up our magazine. In addition to our bright colours we used a bold title because first impressions always count, and we wanted our first impression to catch the reader’s attention. So we made our title big and bold and added shade to the font to make it different. Our images on the front cover also attract out audience, as requires them to look, criticise or admire the pictures. Finally we addressed our audience by adding a web address, which allows them to get to know more about the magazine and get more involved.
Making this magazine I have developed many skills, especially in Adobe Photoshop. I played around with the font and size, to see what looks good or not. Also I learnt how to add shading and how to style the fonts I use to create my mast head. Because I've used Photoshop before I knew how to use certain things and I got to practise using the clone tool to make changes on my main picture. This affect made the main picture look very smooth and she looked like a model. Also my partner showed me how to use the blur tool on Photoshop, this helped as on the front cover we wanted to blur around the edges of the image from the Internet so it didn't stick out so much.
If I were to make another magazine, I would have organised my magazine planning a bit better. This would have included a more detailed plan of the pictures I wanted to be taken and why, I would have also planned what theme I wanted the magazine to have. In the photo shoot I would have taken more of a variety of pictures, not just of my partner but other people; so I could have more of an option in what pictures to pick from. I would have experimented with the fonts a bit more, to see what looks better. Lastly I would have used a different back drop, a less textured one; so if I wanted to alter it in Photoshop I could.
I really enjoyed this unit and I feel like I've learnt so much. Below is my final magazine and inside page.
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