Magazine feature article final

magazine contents page final

Magazine front cover final

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

Final images

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

SurveyMonkey results

How to attract/address my audience?

Who would be the audience for your media product?

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

A company which would produce and distribute my magazine is Conde Nast. This is because my magazine is a fashion magazine that is aimed at women with money to spend, and the magazines that Conde Nast produces are mainly aimed at rich, ‘well-off’ women. The women need to have money to spend otherwise they would not be able to buy the magazine on a regular basis. I think Conde Nast would publish my magazine because they already have a magazine similar to mine, however their magazine is aimed at women in their late 30’s, whereas my magazine is aimed at 18-24 year olds. This means that women of different ages will be buying from them instead of just one age group as a result they will make more money in the long run. In addition my target audience is rather large; therefore it would have a large advertising pull.

IPC Media would not produce my magazine because they already have many that are very comparable; besides their target audience is women and men in their late 20’s whereas my target audience is women aged 18-24. Bauer is yet another magazine publishing company which would not produce my magazine and this is because their target audience is 85% male and 15% female. My magazine is mainly aimed at females. To distribute my magazine with this company I would also have to put the price of my magazine down as Bauer is aimed at the lower class and mine is aimed at the upper class.

My magazine would be best positioned with a major publisher like Conde Nast because my magazine is more expensive and no money would be made if I could not sell enough. However an advantage of going with a small publishing company is that your almost certainly part of a smaller list so you’re less likely to be lost or overshadowed by many and bigger magazines. A disadvantage of going with a smaller company is that they may have less money, this means that not as much money is going into publishing my magazine as it would be in a big publishing company. A big publisher has a bigger pot of money and would not hesitate to spend on appropriate marketing and retailer promotions. A big publisher has a big infrastructure to maximise sales opportunities. A disadvantage of going with a big publishing company is that my magazine may have to be printed in particular formats. The costing on the basis of which they’re acquired probably has to achieve a particular profit and if I sell less than a certain number of copies they may have me taken out of print. 60% of magazines fail within the first year of publication and 2 in 10 magazines survive the first 4 years of publication.

I am aware that digital distribution is possible along with selling through subscription, and giving it away and relying on advertising revenue, however I am assured Conde Nast will publish my magazine and I will have an online version available. 

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product presents the social group Urban Outfitters, and within this group are aspirants and trendies. Above are some images which show what they look like and how they dress.  Aspirants live for the moment, they know the look, music and lifestyle they want and will spend a lot of money to get it. They are attuned to what’s happening in leading circles, it’s about keeping up with what’s cool but without all the hard work of creating it themselves. They will be found in Student Unions across the UK. Aspirants are big consumers with strong brand affiliations, they need to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right people – although appealing to them may be challenging.

Trendies are similar to aspirants and they are getting younger by the day. The high street has exploded with brands like Urban Outfitters and Topshop offering off-the-peg Hipster-influenced styles. Trendies are motivated by the current trends du jour, looking to street style, celebrities and authoritative media brands for inspiration on music and fashion. It’s about getting what’s hot just before it hits the mainstream and picking it up online or on the high street, with key pieces from vintage, charity shops, or shopping on brick lane in London. Fashion is the trendies first love however music is next in line, both of which are in my magazine. Online social media is very important to this group, for example Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube and Mixcloud for showing off and being spotted. These are everyday young people that have achieved their dream into careers.

My media product presents both of these social groups as it is aimed at 18-24 year olds that are interested in music and fashion. Trendies and Aspirants are young and they are interested in music and fashion, so much so that they get careers in them, therefore this is the perfect magazine for them and they will be the readers of it, and the image on the front cover is of a young woman that is a typical trendie or aspirant.

Original ideas statement

My magazine is going to be a music and fashion magazine. The type of music I will have in it will be chart music. The type of fashion I will cover will be high-end fashion, for example Prada, Gucci, Jimmy Choo etc. I will have an interview with a famous fashion designer in my feature article. My target audience will be women aged 18-25 that are interested in music and fashion. 

Construction schedule

I have been given two weeks in December for my front cover. Two weeks at the beginning of January for my contents page. Two weeks at the end of January for my feature article, and one week ate beginning of February.