Marketing and Distribution

Georgia Jones

What is a media institution?

• A media institution is a business that is responsible for the production, marketing, promotion and distribution of different media texts and forms such as magazines, television shows and websites. • Examples of media institutions include:

Examples of media institutions:

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) production, marketing, distribution and (self) regulator

• British Sky Broadcasting (BSB) production, marketing, distribution and (self) regulator

• Cable News Network (CNN) production and (self) regulator

• British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) regulator

Bauer Media

• Bauer Media is a division of the Bauer Media Group, Europe’s largest publishing group offering over 300 magazines worldwide, as well as other media forms such as online, TV and radio stations. • Bauer's portfolio offers a range of brands and magazines to appeal to almost any

demographic e.g:

• Mother&Baby has the target demographic of women over the age of 23

• KERRANG! Has the target demographic of young adult males

• GRAZIA has the target demographic of high class adult females

Bauer Media

• For example, Closer and HEAT are magazines of the same genre, gossip magazine, however HEAT magazine is marketed towards the lower, working class females whereas Closer is marketed as a higher class magazine which may appeal to middle class females.

• Another example, is FHM and ZOO; both the same genre, both distributed by Bauer Media. However, NUTS is marketed at a lower class audience compared to FHM.

Bauer Media also distributes similar media products for different social groups:

Immediate Media Co

• Immediate Media Co is one of the largest consumer media businesses in the UK and the 4th largest magazine publisher. Offering quality media content over 50 websites, 34 magazines and over 70 brands, selling 76 million magazines every year and reaching 33 million people online every month.

Immediate Media Co’s extensive portfolio offers media products for a range of demographics although the majority of it’s products are marketed towards children and teenagers of both sexes e.g.:CBeebies magazine, Bob the builder, Mr.Men and Little Miss as well as Top of the Pops.

Top of the Pops VS POP TEEN Top of the Pops (right), distributed by Immediate media Co, is clearly the same genre and clearly has the same target demographic as my media product POP TEEN making them competition.

Therefore I feel that my product should be published by Bauer Media, rather than Immediate Media, in order to avoid duplication and similarities between the two products each media institution can then focus on the production and promotion of the products individually rather than dividing their work between the two.

Why might Bauer Media distribute your media product?• As my target demographic for my music magazine is young teenage females aged

10-16; I would like Bauer Media to distribute my magazine as I believe they do not currently distribute a magazine for a young teenage audience, therefore I feel that my magazine could be established as an original and unique media product, making it more able to compete with other similar music magazines e.g. Top of the Pops magazine. • It is clear from the fact that they are Europe’s, and therefore the UK’s, largest

media publishing group that the institution is successful and will be able to market my product to the mass audience. • However, the promotion and marketing of my product may be unsuccessful as

the firm may not have great experience in how to distribute the product to the demographic of teenage girls.

How will your music magazine be extended to other areas of media forms?• Bauer Media has experience and knowledge in other areas of media including TV

and radio; therefore as a music magazine, the POP TEEN brand could be extended into a radio or TV show as well as a TV or radio station. • Bauer Media already owns the brand KISS, the local radio station, as well as

4MUSIC the national TV channel. It may be possible for these stations to be rebranded as ‘POP TEEN FM’ as well as ‘POP TEEN TV’ in order to create a stronger and established POP TEEN brand.

• Additionally, as music media is extremely diverse and flexible, long term once the brand has been established, a POP TEEN music label could be established. A music label especially for the pop genre, marketing towards a young demographic. A brand extended into different forms of media will increase awareness of the brand and it’s objectives, extending the content and maintains the audience whilst a new issue of the magazine is being produced. • A website for the magazine will help maintain the audience, by

updating it regularly. As well as maintaining social media accountants e.g. twitter, facebook, youtube, Instagram in order to keep the audience informed. This will also help generate and capture the attention of the target audience as teenagers tend to use social media regularly.

How will your music magazine be extended to other areas of media forms?