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Evaluation Question 5How did you attract/address the audience?

+My Target AudienceMy target audience is of both genders within the age range of 16-30 so should generally be living a student lifestyle. The audience will rate at E or above on the audience code due to the majority of them being students and/or possibly unemployed, plus they should have a particular interest in either indie rock, contemporary R&B or preferably both.

The audience must be attracted to my magazine through the front cover, contents and double page spread, and different elements of those cover this idea of attraction, through the way in which they portray various emotions and connotations. My magazine must be professionally put together in order to grab that attention and create this idea of my magazine being a need, rather than a want. I want the audience to view it as a luxury that they should treat themselves to.

+What did my audience want? From my target audience research, I gathered that my target audience were

around that age where they’d like to be deemed as ‘ahead of the trends’ and ‘cool’, which will be an immediate point that they’d like in a magazine.

Due to my magazine consisting of two areas of musical genre, my target audience features a wide range of musical taste, which if why my target audience will be looking for a variety of popular as well as new artists within their preferred genre.

It was clear that my target audience took a particular interest in festivals and concerts, as these are places in which their musical interests come to life, meaning that they may look for festival/gig features in magazines.

The majority of my audience are living a student lifestyle, and will be looking for a magazine that isn’t too serious, with a lighthearted personality.

Due to my audience being of a youthful age, they will be more likely to be using the internet and social media, relating to the way they may like to be able to access the magazine online and on Facebook, Twitter etc.

My audience are both male and female, meaning the magazine, must appear attractive to all, so must avoid, for example, using a bright pink colour scheme.

My audience are also looking for a magazine that is going to be, almost, a luxury, and will provide that professional, but high class feel.

+What I gave to my audience… As my target audience were looking to be ‘ahead of the trends’, I

decided that my magazine would be published a month prior, in a similar way to a typical fashion magazine. Fashion magazines do this in order to ensure that their readers know what are the upcoming trends, in order to allow their readers to be able to purchase and wear the trend before it becomes mainstream. I want to create a similar concept with my magazine, and release my magazine with it’s upcoming hits and artists a month prior to when it will popularize. This provides the audience with the musical trends before they arise, and allows them to be ‘ahead of the trends’.

My target audience also asked for a range of artists. In order to respond to this, my magazine was given two genres, and various research into artists was carried out, for example, in the Genre blog post. I used this research to gain knowledge of the type of artists my target audience were looking for, so I could create the personality and look of ‘Eleanor Lotswood’.

+What I gave to my audience… (cont.) The interest that my audience paid to festivals and

concerts, led to my research into festivals and concerts in my Genre blog post. From this I created several articles within the article, for example, ‘Gigs and Tours’, ‘LIVE from The Brits’ and ‘Festival Fusion’.

The target audience was notably involved online and on social media. Therefore, I created a website link (www.velvet.co.uk) to make my magazine available online, and various social media accounts, to ensure my magazine is interactive and creates a close, personal feel with the audience. My magazine goes that extra mile for the audience.

+What I gave to my audience… (cont.) My audience was directed at both genders, therefore

the magazine must have unisex attractions in order to gain both male and female readers. Therefore, I decided that my colour scheme would be red, in order to attract both genders, without appealing to one of the other more.

Finally, I wanted my magazine to provide that professional and high class feel that my target audience were looking for. To do this, I used very elegant colours, and create a product that appeared professional. The higher class elements were created through the black and white elegant images, and the way in which they were very simple, but beautiful and of the best quality.

+Unique Selling Point The main USP (unique selling point) of my magazine is most certainly the concept of the magazine issue being a published a month prior, for example April’s issue is released in March etc. This concept is one that I haven’t seen before in the music magazine industry. It is regularly used in high class fashion magazines such as VOGUE, and provide that idea of putting their audience first, and portrays that they are really going that extra mile to accommodate for their audiences and their audience’s style and fashion knowledge. I want my magazine to be going that extra mile for my readers and their musical taste, widening their knowledge of music and the capacity of artists they may already love or will hopefully grow to love. This connotes passion within my magazine and not only puts my audience first, but creates a trustworthy brand name, and puts forward that my brand is loyal to its readers, which in return, may cause readers to be loyal in return.

Another USP would be my layout and colour scheme of my magazine. It is attractive and enjoyable to look at. I felt that if I crowded the front cover too much, it would cause it to appear too busy, and may put readers off. The cover really echoes the indie and contemporary genre, immediately pushing forward the genre without even opening the magazine.

+GenreMy genre was not fully placed on one area of music, but rather on two. The inclusion of both Indie Rock and Contemporary R&B add a diverse effect and also reach a wider audience. I feel like this element will add some questioning and publicity around my magazine and hopefully will allow readers to discover music they may never have thought to love, but do.

+Colour

+Colour Scheme (cont.)

My colour scheme is visually attractive and is also non-gender specific, as both males and females stereotypically like red, without one dominating the other. I also love the connotations that red has and I believe that my audience will too, when associated with my artists, putting across these ideas of strength, class and alertness within the music industry.

The black and white allows the red to pop in colour and employs and eye-catching effect, which will hopefully draw in the readers attention and make them want to find out more about the magazine, encouraging them to purchase a copy.

+Artists

+Artists (cont.)The artists that I have used have been taken directly from my genre, but more importantly from the target audience research I produced. For example, one of the main example articles features The 1975, a very popular band choice within my survey on www.surveymonkey.com, whilst also being repeatedly featured on several audience profiles. I have ensured that when doing an issue on an up and coming artists like my feature of Eleanor Lotswood, I would stay well within my genre to ensure that the audience are fond of her.

+Personality/ToneThe tone and personality within my magazine is in no way formal, however, neither is it colloquial due to it being a national magazine. It maintains quite a chatty and chilled character which I decided would be the best approach to students and those within my target audience. Students are often put under pressure and stress, so a chatty, informal magazine lifts that pressure and adds a relaxing tone to the magazine. This may be another desirable quality of my magazine.

+Im

ages

+Images (cont.)

The colour scheme that is followed when the image is fully edited is attractive in terms of what the colours connote

The model looks serious, whereas at the same time, the contact sheet provides glimpse of laughter and fun behind the character as which she presents herself. This is attractive to the audience and creates a common ground between themselves and a celebrity, portraying that she is just a normal girl, creating this personal feel and allowing the audience to feel as if they know the artists on a much closer level.

Moreover, the way in which the model directly addresses the audience on the front cover, with an invitational pose, add various attractive elements linking to being addressed by the artist, her expression drawing you in and the element of mystery surrounding her with this pose.

+Subscription

The option to subscribe to the magazine is available. I believe with the majority of my readers being students this would be a really convenient way of taking that extra bit of stress from their mind and allowing them to forget about having to go and repurchase monthly issues of my magazine. With a subscription, not only would they have their issues delivered to their home/residence, but they also get the issues at a discounted price when they buy in bulk, as well as receiving a free vinyl of an artist that is frequently featured in my magazine.

This is also good for the company due to a guaranteed income being made and copies already sold for the up and coming months.

+Online Platform

My magazine has a website (www.velvet.co.uk), creating an online platform for my readers to read exclusive articles that are not found in the magazine itself. It will also be updated a lot more frequently than a monthly magazine, meaning an audience who strive to be ahead of the trends will love this fast-paces, up to date and constantly active web page.

This will also add an interactive element to the magazine, with areas such as ‘Contact Us’ being visible on the website. This will allow our audience to feedback to us on what the like/dislike/feel we can improve on, allowing the magazine to progress in the most positive way and consistently tailoring our themes and decision to the wants and needs of the target audience.

+Social Media Platforms

In terms of social media, I have social media links within my product, in addition to the fact that I created a mock up Facebook and Twitter page to mirror how they would appear.

These social media platforms will allow my magazine to interact with the audience and artists, whilst keeping up to date with what my target audience are discussing.

This will also present the opportunity to advertise on social media, for example, when the latest issue is published, a link could take you directly to a subscription or ordering page. I could also carry out poles to gain reader review, as well as competitions.

+Conclusively…

My magazine employs various elements that make it attractive and desirable to the reader. I believe this is done in such a sufficient way due to the research and though that has gone into the product, and the way in which every aspect of a reader’s life has been considered and used to adapt the magazine.