Evaluation: Q5) How did you attract/address your audience?

The main way in which I attracted my target audience was by the cover image and content featured inside the magazine. The initial attention-grabbing feature is the compelling close-up image I used on the front cover which appeals to the audience and intrigues the audience to purchase the magazine. The colour scheme, of which follows my popular house style of red, white and black, attracts the audience as it's big, bright and bold which stands out and makes the magazine look attractive for the buyer.

I decided to create two front-covers to enhance audience interaction as I know what appeals to them and what will ensure the magazine to sell. The first cover features the model giving direct eye contact whilst looking bare and wearing red lipstick - this makes the model appeal to both genders as she can be seen as an idol to women and quite sexualised to males therefore engaging both of the sexes to purchase the magazine to find out more about her as she lures them in. The second front cover features the same model, however this time she is screaming with the lyrics and thoughts in her mind surrounding her. This cover is for fans of the artist and the magazine; this helps the magazine to sell more as it gives a better insight to the artist's life and makes the audience want to own both covers as it's a special edition feature of which is quite rare to buy; as fans they will feel obliged to own it.

Once the audience opens the magazine, they are glued to all of the hot topics I have chosen to include in the contents page and they won't know where to look first. The list along the left hand side of the contents page contains a list of all of the features in the magazine; I have chosen to list the features in this position of the magazine because it is typically the first thing that the audience looks at and the features are somewhat the highlights of the magazine as they're different in each edition which makes the audience quite excited to see what is contained in the magazine. I have also included a mini review on the conents page to maximise and increase new acts as almost every reader will go to the contents page whereas they wouldn't all necessarily visit a page of someone they don't know about. Regulars are listed on the right hand side which informs and locates the normal features to the audience. By having everything neatly laid out on the contents page, it makes it uch easier for readers to navigate theselves around the magazine with ease.

My article tone is very relaxed which also puts the reader at ease; it allows the to relax and enjoy the magazine and pictures inside it and creates personal relationships with them. By having a very light-hearted interview, the reader is able to laugh along with the article and understand it fully which enables them to really enjoy it.

Appearance-wise, I decided to make my magazine have a very sleek, professional and chic look. The house-style of my magazine is red, white and black - colours which connote power, love and passion - all of which I believe my magazine has. Red is also a very gender neutral colour and highlights the beauty and loyalty of the magazine. Red appeals greatly to the audience therefore making it look professional and attractive to the buyer. This gives the magazine a style that people will remember and look for in the future, especially on shelves as it is very eye-catching.

By using all of my own images, I felt it gave the magazine a real and genuine look. Using self-taken gig images immediately informs the reader of the sort of concerts which will be discussed, whilst also indicating that the magazine interacts with the audience and credits the gig-goers by using their images - a lot of people are interested in being featured in magazines for their own taken images therefore using this feature has created a unique selling point for my magazine which attracts my audience.

In earlier blog posts, I mentioned using new media to attract my specific target audience as through research I discovered that my target audience are thoroughly engaged with spending the majoirty of their time online on social networking websites such as Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. I have taken to these social networking websites by creating accounts with them to promote the magazine further. This enables the audience to stay in the loop constantly with the magazine and increase personal relationships with the magazine and help them to gain more information. I have also created a QR barcode onto my contents page so that the readers can scan their smart phones to link them straight to our website.

Evaluation: Q4) Who would be the audience for your magazine?

The audience that I hope to appeal to are males and females aged between 16-24. My magazine is targeted towards both genders as it contains features that appeal to both. I believe that my age range is effective because they are very engaged with music, especially upcoming artists opposed to older generations who seem to lean more towards popular and well known musicians. Those younger than 16 are less likely to listen to listen to indie/alternative music as they usually listen to pop and chart music which differs to my genre. Also, the language used in my magazine can sometimes be too explicit for those under 16 years old.

My target audience varies from young adults to mature adults within the social class of ABC1 so it caters to a lot of people. The typical individual of this audience tends to follow the latest trends and keep up with new styles and upcoming artists as well as popular artists too, which are all big features that I would like to highlight in my magazine.

I researched into my target audience and the age, gender and what they would like to see inside my magazine and built my project around the feedback I gained. I received gender neutral feedback, 50/50 female and male so that my magazine isn't biased or gender specific as it aims to cater to the widest audience that it can.

My chosen audience are also the younger generation that are heavily influenced by the social media, and tend to spend the majority of their time online using social networking platforms like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The use of social media is mandatory for my magazine as it will help to develop the magazine further and create personal relationships with the readers and it fits within their demographics; I have included logos of various social networking websites on my contents page as well as dedicating a page to the social networks so that the readers can view other people's views as well as even seeing their own. The other logo that I have included on my contents page is a QR barcode, which allows smartphone users to be directed to the magazine's website instantly.

Models and content of my magazine also played a huge part in whether or not my audience would read my magazine. I feel that using a female model was very successful as it attracts both genders of the audience as well as everyone within the age range - males would find her attractive whilst women would look up to her as an inspiration. I used my friend, Ruth, as she has a very distinctive look which I feel represents the magazine very well whilst also appealing to my target audience, and I thought that she was perfect for the style of magazine that I wanted to create. The content I included was very typical of those who listened to my magazine would be interested in. These included: festival and gig listings, album and single chart and reviews and the latest news from top artists.

I think I succeeded in creating a magazine that appeals directly to my target audience as once I had slowly started to gain feedback, I found that the majority of the comments received back were all positive and demonstrated how the audience felt that they could connect with the magazine very well. It also portrayed how the audience would enjoy and even purchase my magazine, which was very encouraging as it confirmed how I had created a magazine which fulfilled all the necessary requirements and can even go up against existing and extremely successful music magazines such as Q.

The psychographics of my magazine will apply to lovers of music festivals, 'fan girls', merchandise collectors and those who enjoy reading and being kept up to date with the latest news and information about music and their favourite artists. I believe that my target audience will fit within the 'mainstreamer' and 'reformers'; they are very individual and independent people who do not like to follow the crowd. Their social habits will be consumption via hard copies from shops such as WHSmith and newsagents, as well as reading online or on apps as they enjoy to be 'on the go'.

The 1975 Gig - Brixton Academy Photos

The 1975 are an English, Manchester-based alternative rock/indie rock band from Wilmslow in Cheshire. The group consists of Matthew Healy (vocals, guitar), Adam Hann (guitar), George Daniel (drums), and Ross MacDonald (bass). Their self-titled debut album was released on 2 September 2013 through Dirty Hit/Polydor; it debuted at No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart on 8 September 2013.

Having a keen interest for this band, I chose to go and see them live at Brixton 02 Academy on the 9th January 2014. I decided to take photos to use for my magazine as self-taken gig photos can tend to sometimes be more effective than professional ones as it appeals more to my target audience. It also reduces the amount of copyright material I have in my magazine and makes my magazine more original and authentic.

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Coverlines

Box out text

Aurora Storm gives her opinion on some of the most well-known Indie artists of the generation:

The 1975:
The 1975 are one of my favourite bands!!! I especially love their song 'The City', it's so catchy and always stuck in my brain. The impact they have made in such a short time really reflects well on the type of band they are, and I encourage everyone to buy their debut album otherwise you'll regret it!

Ed Sheeran:
Ed is actually one of my close friends, he's an absolutely amazing artist and we actually plan on working together in the future! But shhhhhh... you didn't hear it from me!

London Grammar:
I've heard some of their stuff - they're great, but a little bit overrated. Maybe that's just me but I personally think that they haven't quite produced the life-affirming set they may have bee capable of... But don't get me wrong, I think that Hannah (lead singer) has an absolutely beautiful voice, however there is always room for improvement with anyone, including me. London Grammar have the potential to be a chart-topping, tear-inducing live act – but when I saw them live at Brixton, it was not their time or place.

I decided to use a box out of  Aurora Storm giving her personal opinion on other artists for many reasons; including how it further promotes the many Indie artists that my magazine intends on reviewing. It also creates a personal relationship with the reader as it makes them feel as though they are talking to Aurora and it can influence their opinion on the arists too. Using a box out feature in my magazine is effective because it increases the interactivity between the reader and the magazine as well as the artist which is one of the main goals that I strive to achieve.

Editing images

Here is one of the photos that I have selected to use for the full bleed image of my main cover. I edited the photo in Photoshop and used a variety of tools such as the brightness levels and the patch tool. This enhances the image to make it more appealing towards the target audience.

New Media

Promotional Methods

To promote my magazine, I have begun to think about various, effective methods to increase the readership and circulation of my magazine. I want my magazine to have a big readership, especially when it is released as the sales need to be high and the only way to effectively achieve this is by promoting the magazine well. I need to invest a lot of money into promotion such as on billboards and buses, especially as the magazine is new and unknown to the target audience.

A prime example of promotion is billboards. Billboards are very effective as they are very large in size and attract attention from all types of people as they are specifically located in areas where people are most likely to look (eg. when in the car on a motorway, shopping centres). As billboards are located all across the country, I will need to create the billboard to the best of my ability to fit within the target audience to grab their attention. I need to make the magazine look appealing and include some sort of sell line and unique selling point to entice them to purchase the magazine. I will do some research into my locations for my bill boards because certain areas in the UK could have a different perspective on the magazine. I plan on including the release date, website and name of the magazine as well as a little teaser to increase anticipation of the magazines release.

Another way of promoting my magazine will be through adverts on buses. The bus itself is key to promotion as buses travel great lengths, through different destination routes therefore a lot of people will see the bus as the majority of people use public transport (especially those who I have targeted as my audience). Everyone keeps an eye out for adverts on public transport like buses therefore it would be a great investment for my magazine as it grabs peoples attention when the bus passes them. I also plan on using the underground/tube to promote and advertise my magazine as this will enhance the variety of those who will see and possibly purchase the magazine. People become very tedious when travelling so using escalator advertisements as well as large adverts by the sides of the train and in the train itself will be very successful.

 

I will make sure that the adverts are concise and fit within the target audiences interests. I have to make sure that the adverts and content reach to the correct market otherwise the magazine will be unsuccessful. For some extra advertise, I will start the first issue to meet Ruth, the main artist, and win backstage passes to a festival with a signed copy of her brand new single. Some of the rules of the competition will be that the person who enters the competition must be subscribed//following/liked with all of my magazines social networking sites. By doing this I can build an online audience and gain more members interacting with the magazine, which will in turn rise sales. Twitter and Facebook are extremely popular in this day and age therefore I strongly believe that combining competitions with social networking will successfully and effectively build my audience and help gain more sales.

Mood board

Survey results

Using a questionnaire to collect my data had many advantages. Large numbers of people could be contacted quickly and easily, meaning that a lot of useful information could be collected efficiently. It is relatively easy to make and doesn't take too long - once finished, the respondent does most of the work! Another advantage is that it's easy to standardise, as everyone answers the same question. Questionnaires also can be used to explore sensitive material, as they can be anonymous and completed in private. This was helpful because not only did it enable me to gain more information to put into my magazine, but it also told me a lot about the target audience and what they want to see.

Proposal

I found that creating my proposal was a vital feature towards making my magazine. The reason for this is because this is where my initial ideas were first created, and without the proposal the magazine would crumble. It is mandatory to gather as many ideas as you can and go into great depth with the ideas so that you can make the magazine to the best of your ability, and this is one of my aims. I intend on using my proposal a lot therefore it is very necessary as it is where all of my ideas are and where I plan on adding any if I gather any more ideas soon.