Evaluation – Question Three

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Top Publishing Companies

Bauer Media Group

Bauer Media Group is a multinational media company currently operating in 15 countries worldwide. Unlike most multinational corporations, the company has been privately own and managed by the Bauer family since being founded in 1875. Worldwide, Bauer Media circulate a massive 38 million magazines a week. Along with owning a 50% stake in British television company Box Television, Bauer Media publishes two major music magazines, Q and Kerrang! These divisions help to seal the company an impressive 2 billion euros a year in turnover.

IPC Media

IPC Media (International Publishing Corporation) is currently a subsidiary department of Time Inc. This division focuses on consumer magazines and digital publishing through a large portfolio of titles. Overall the company sells over 350 million magazines each year. IPC groups it current titles under three magazine divisions, each focusing on a specific audience: Connect (mass market woman), SouthBank (upper market woman) and Inspire (men). IPC publish the highly successful NME music magazines.

Spark Magazine

I believe that IPC Media would be the best suited contenders to publish my magazine as they already publish a magazine which follows a similar, refined and professional, style as my own (NME). My magazine would fit perfectly into the Inspire division of magazines aimed at men and would be distributed excellently by a clearly experienced team who can already sell 350 million units annually. With the addition of Spark, IPC would be able to reach out to a much larger music crazed audience and therefore help the magazine and company to be successful.

Advertising

Music magazines make the majority of their income through advertising. In order for the advertising to be effective the advertising must be relevant and appealing to the target audience of young adult men with an interest in electronic club music. With this in mind I believe these companies would be perfect examples of considered advertisements in my magazines:

Apps & Online Presence

Taking into consideration the young age of the target audience, who will be much more tech savvy then their older counterparts, it makes perfect sense to have a large online presence on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter & YouTube. It would be very important to have a closer connection with the target audience through social media, this will ensure a more personal, engaged relationship with the audience. I would use these sites to post important information such as the latest news, sneak peaks, gig info and interactive applications. This is where having an impact on online app stores comes into play… I feel it would be very beneficial to make Spark available electronically through Android and iOS, this will be much more convenient for the users and cheaper to produce; this would essentially increase the customer base and profit margins. An individual app would be great for the die hard fans who wish to know more about the ins and outs of the production ect; it would have to be professionally designed as an inferior product could upset the fan base.