How did you attract/address your audience?

Question 5

I decided, from both my market research survey results and from the comments left by people who I showed my finished products to over Facebook, that the most appropriate target audience for my magazine would be 16 years and over. By having a wide target audience, older readers will not feel isolated if they wish to read my magazine as it contains some aspects similar to those used in Q magazine which is aimed at an older audience.

My product in comparison to Q magazine showing that they are similar

Fans of rock music are also part of my target audience. I have represented the rock genre through the consistent colour scheme of my magazine to address these members of my audience. The dark red, black and grey colours represent danger and are therefore coincides with the rock genre. The models are also wearing dark colours which inform the audience of its genre and allow them to understand the types of articles they will expect to find inside. My colour scheme resembles that of Q magazine’s which is also a rock music magazine. The reason that I have done this is so that my audience will recognise the colours of a rock magazine from a product that is already on the market which will attract them to buy it because they know what to expect from its content.

My three finished products compared with Q magazine to show the similarities in colour

My main article is written informally in an interview style about a young artist. My audience is young and so would be able to identify with someone of a similar age’s story. I have written the article using colloquial language to both make it more realistic of what a young person would say and to address my young audience and make it more interesting for them to read and relate to. By doing this I have broken the conventions of a rock magazine as their articles are predominantly written as short biographies rather than interviews. Another way in which I have enabled my audience to relate to my ‘artists’ and magazine is through my photography. The models that I have used are young which signifies youth and teenagers and, again, enables my audience to identify with them. High-key lighting is also a part of the mise en scene that I have used in my photography to represent my young audience due to its bright, youthful colour.

My interview style article in comparison to Q magazine’s stereotypical biography-like article

The layout of my magazine is mature and similar to that of Q magazine which makes it more appropriate to an older audience. I changed my target audience from 16-25 years to a wider audience of 16 years and over for this reason. My product follows the conventions of a stereotypical music magazine because I have followed the Guttenberg Design Principle when designing the layout for my cover page. The masthead, cover lines and the majority of my main image falls into the primary optical and strong fallow areas. These are the first places that a reader will see when they pick up my magazine so it is important that I have placed the most important information in these areas. The main image covers almost all of the right side of the page, drawing attention to it as the main focus of the magazine. The location of my cover lines in the primary optical and strong fallow areas means that my young audience will be able to find out what is in the magazine quickly without having to read the entire page. This is important for young people because they are able to find the article they want quickly if they are in a hurry or traveling. I have, however, broken the conventions slightly by situating my main cover line in the weak fallow area. Although it is in an area which is not seen automatically, I have made it large so that it stands out from the page and so catches the reader’s attention.

The layout of my magazine is mature and similar to that of Q magazine.