Audience Identification and AppealCharlotte Hall

Socio-demographic groupingThe National Readership Survey (NRS) created demographic categories, in order to identify people into social groups based on their class and occupations.

I have chosen to aim my music magazine at people within the social demographic of B – C2, because I want my magazine to accessible and appeal to a large group of people due to the Indie genre, and I believe that the price of £3.50 is reasonable for a magazine. However, they need to have a slightly larger disposable income in order to be comfortable buying the magazine, which is why it is aimed at the B social demographic.

Blumler and KatzBlumler and Katz created the Uses and Gratifications theory, which argues that audiences actively choose the media to fulfil one or more of five specific needs; education, entertainment, escapism, social interaction or identification.

After learning about this theory, I decided to produce my magazine keeping these needs in mind, and have given my audience the gratifications of entertainment, through the images and articles that are featured in my magazine, meant for pleasure purposes rather than education. I have also provided identification through my magazine, as I feature a variety of artists, and have deliberately kept the artists appearing casual and relaxed, meaning that they are more identifiable for the audience.I have also offered the need of social interaction, as throughout my magazine I have included links and email addresses for social interaction websites such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, therefore supplying them with the need of social interaction.

Richard Dyer’s Utopian Solutions Another way that I have offered my audience gratifications, is through use of Richard Dyers Utopian Solutions theory, that suggests that media texts offer audiences ‘solutions’ to problems in their lives, giving them a sense of escapism into a ‘utopia’.

I think that my magazine offers utopia, in different ways. Firstly, I offer a solution to boredom, through my interesting features and eye catching imagery and layout. I also offer solutions to isolation, as I have used synthetic personalisation through my imagery, with the artists making direct eye contact with the camera, engaging the audience. I have also used inclusive language such as ‘you’, giving the audience a sense of community and therefore offering a solution to the inadequacy of isolation.

Inadequacy: Isolation Confusion Boredom

Solution: Community Clarity Excitement

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Maslow argued that there 5 basic needs that humans need, and he created a hierarchical triangle which outlines these needs. The Media tends to tap into the need for love and belonging, with the idea that the Media offer audiences a sense of belonging to a particular group/community which have shared values/ideologies.I have tried to tried to fulfil the need of love and belonging, by establishing a relationship between the reader and the magazine. I have done this using inclusive language, and making the artists appear relatable and casual, meaning that readers can feel more comfortable and not intimidated by the star status. This leads onto the need of self esteem, which I have also fulfilled through making the stars relatable and casual, as it gives the reader confidence as they are again not as intimidated by the stars.

Cover linesI used cover lines on my front page in order to appeal to my audience, in different ways.

For example, one cover line details the fact that ‘Esme Stone’ is a major feature in the magazine, showing the audience that she is a large feature, which will appeal to people that like her as an artist. Another cover line is also tag line, using exclamatives in ‘WIN!’, advertising the chance to win festival tickets. The use of the tag line ‘win’ and bold white font makes it stand out on the page and appeals to the audience, as it offers the chance to win free festival tickets, drawing them into the magazine.The use of the bold fonts in both of these cover lines makes them stand out on the page, and appeal to the audience more, as they are more obvious on the page.