Research and Planning: Distribution

The difference between major and independent distribution strategies of magazines in the UK such as Vice being independent and Q being major are that you tend to find more smart and funny young people reading Vice whereas with Q it’s a much older audience. Another difference between major and independent magazines are that you would find a major magazine like Q distribute in big supermarkets like Tesco’s, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrison’s for quite an expensive price whereas you would find a independent magazine like Vice for free distributed through the living, breathing fashion boutiques, bars, record stores, galleries and cafes where our audience actually shops and socializes. Vice magazine do not just distribute in the UK they distribute Worldwide and they have 15 different editions in 15 different Countries. The audience profile for Q magazine are older people who have a big passion for music and who are aspirers, and who are also C1 or C2 on the Jicnar Scale. The Audience profile for Vice magazine are people who are young, trendy and smart people who enjoy listening to music. I think they are a mix between achievers and succeeders and who are between C1 and C2 on the Jicnar Scale.

Detailed Research into Forms and Conventions

The genre i have chosen to focus on for my magazine is R&B/Hip-Hop. I did not really challenge the forms and conventions of different magazines as i researched magazines each with similar genres which obviously made it easy for me to choose the genre i will focus on. My genre for my magazine will mainly be aimed towards students between the ages of 16-25 and who are aspirers looking to be one of these artists , i also think the genre will be for people who are D on the Jicnar Scale which is semi and unskilled workers. The reason why people buying this magazine will be D on the jicnar scale is because they will mainly be students who have or do not have part time jobs.

How these 3 magazines appeal to their audience.

These 3 magazines are very similar as they are based around the same genre or similar genre which is Rap/R&B/ Hip-Hop. The front cover of each magazine appeals to their audience straight away as they have a well-known artist on. This gets the readers attention before they have seen anything else as they may be a fan of that artist. As well as this, all 3 titles are bold and in a similar font style. XXL magazine and True magazine is more of a dark title which may not stand out as much as The Source magazines title as that’s bright and bold which catches the readers eye instantly.

The contents page in all 3 magazines are both similar and different in different ways. All 3 magazines have the page numbers and page information going down in a list which makes it easier for the reader to read and to see what’s on each page. Both on XXL and True magazine there’s pictures of artists who are being featured in the magazine whereas in Source magazine there’s many different photos which match up with the information on the contents page which gives the reader an idea of what that certain page is about. All 3 magazines have similar titles on the contents page as they are bold and quite big at the top of the page.

The double spread pages in both XXL and True magazine are similar as they are interviews with different artists. Whereas the double page spread in The Source magazine has different advertisements on and also has double page spreads on different sports like American Football.

Why i had to do this Reserach?

I did this research so it i would get a good idea about different R&B/Hip-Hop magzines and see how similar and different they are. I think this research may affect my final ideas because i have see different ideas from each magaziens which i could put together to make one big idea to make my magazine stand out and appeal to the audience.

Initial Research into Forms and Conventions.

What am I doing it and why have i been doing it?

I have been looking and researching 3 different magazines which have 3 different genres and which are all different in certain ways. The reason for doing this is because it gives me an idea of what genre to choose for when i create my own magazine.

The first magazine I decided to look at is XXL which the genre is rap. I think the audience of this magazine is quite a young audience between the ages of 16-21. The magazine is all about the latest raoppers and rappers lives with features such as latest songs and featured interviews. I would say that the brand identity to the magazine is aimed at students who consider themselves trendy and cool. The image on the front cover also relates to the name of the magazine as he looks quite a broad man who looks like a rapper because of all his chains around his neck.

The second magazine I looked at was called Pop Star which had the genre of Pop music. I think the audience of this magazine is intended for teenagers from the ages of around 10-14 as its all about the pop. The magazine is about the latest popstars and the pop World which instantly relates to manily female teenagers. The brand identity for this magazine is for younger audiences that want mainstream commercial pop acts. These images fit in well on the front cover with the genre as its got young pop stars on which also fits in with the targeted audience.

The final magazine i looked at was called Vibe whos genre is Hip-Hop and R&B. I think the target audience for this magazine is both for males and females between the ages of around 16-21. The main contents of this magazine is different interviews with different artists such as 50 Cent, theres also different posters of the audiences favourite R&B and Hip-Hop artists. I think the brand identity of this magazine is aimed at students who consider themselves trendy and cool.

After i researched each of these 3 magazine with different genres it has gave me a clearer idea of what genre to use for my final decision for my magazine.

Main Task: Magazines

The task we have been set is to create an magazine that appeals to a target audience which we have chose. We have to get our own photos and our own genre which we think would appeal to a certain audience. In order to pick what genre i want to choose, i need to look up different magazines. If i am going to complete the task successfully theirs some key dates which i must follow. These are the 4/01 in which the deadline for the research and planning is, the 15/01 in wgich the production deadline is and the 12/02 in which the post-production deadline is.

Evaluation 4

How did you attract/ address your audience?



We addressed our audience in a different way by giving facts and figures about the subjects on our front cover which were about different sexual tranmitted diseases and alcohol, this way it would instantly attract the readers attention as its an important topic. We also attracted our audience by putting a bold and eye catching title which was 'Techers Pet' and the image of the girl on the front cover would also catch the eye of the reader. We used Sans Serif font which was in bold which and this is a modern font which many different teenagers use.

Evaluation 3

Who would be the audience for your media Product?



On the demographic scale the magazine would be aimed towards people who are D and C2. These are people who are semi, unskiled and skilled manual workers. The psychographic profile for the magazine would be underacheievers.

Evaluation 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our magazine represents different social groups as the magazine would attract different social groups. The social group which this magazine would be aimed towards is mainly males who are confident within themselves. It is quite a stereotypcal magazine as the way the magazine has been formed and by some of the laguagae used. You would mainly see a typical male student buy this magazine by the pictures and languages which would attract them to the magazine.

Evaluation 1

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


Our product uses, develops and challenges forms and conventions of real media products by having simular conventions such as masthead which was in simular position of that on Stuff magazine. The masthead is also bold which is also simular to the two magazine we looked at which was Stuff and FHM. The puff on our magazine which is 'The No1 Studnet Mag' is simular to stuff magazine and these are used to get the readers attention. Also the coverlines we used are to inform the reader of the content inside the magazine.

Finished Front Cover

This is our finished Contents page.

Finished Cover

This is our new finished cover.

Contents Page

The contents pages we researched have similar features.The Magazines we researched were FHM and Stuff. On a contents page you would expect to find page numbers, information about the articles, an issue number/date, bright colours and pictures to catch the readers attention. There are also similarities in the layout and design. The contents pages have a masterhead, and columns listing all the articles whitin them. Also half the page is taken up by the model at the front of the page. The language is short and to the point aswell as snappy. It highlights one word within the sentence to catch your eye and make you read on. They also use alot of slang. They appeals to their audience by having a beautiful women taking up most of the page which appeals to men in particular but also women. The main points are brightly coloured and have bold writing. They is a house style between the front cover and contents. They both use the same colours and fonts aswell as featuring the same women in the frontcover.

Audience Research

The subject matter of my magazine will focus on different college equipment such as laptops, calculators etc. It will also focus on students problems such as drugs. The magazine will be aimed towards males ages 16-19. The magazine will be between D and C1 on the jicnars scale and the magzine will be for Achievers and Aspirers.

8 Statements for target audience:
1. Confident people.
2. They shop at River Island instead of Primark.
3. They watch Hollyoaks instead of Emmerdale.
4. They want the latest equipment.
5. They go away with friends instead of parents.
6. They would prefer to eat takeaways than any other foods.
7. They would rather to to aq theme park than watch opera.
8. They are interested in girls and always have them on the mind.

5 Things which will capture the target audience:
1. The girl on the front cover can be eye catching.
2. The different fonts and colors used.
3. The interesting screamers will catcher the readers eye.
4. The advertisments of equipment which students would use.
5. The price on the front cover being cheap.

Research

I found 3 covers of magazines aimed at the same auidence as the magazine I am going to look at. All three magazines i looked at was Stuff magazine and the subject of this magazine is about the latest technology and gadgets.



All the backgrounds on the magazine are normally very boring but they have stand out headings as they are bright red and bold. The fonts used all over the magazine are all very bold catching the eye of the reader both with bright and dull color font, especially the titles.



The models they employ on all there front covers are very good looking and stand out. Most of them cover up the main masthead which is Stuff. This attracts the male audience to look at the magazine as they see a nice looking model on the front.



The language on Stuff magazine is very simple, this is good as the magazine is aimed for males aged from around 16+ which makes it easier for them to read and as Stuff magazine has many pictures in of the latest gadgets theres not loads of reading required.



The design and layout of the covers are very simple and everything is spaced out and not over crowded. There are not many pictures on the front cover which also gives the magazine more space on the front cover.



There are a few freebies and offers on Stuff magazine which many hints, tips and previews which attracts the readers to buy the magazine.

Preliminary Task

The preliminary task is to produce the front cover of a school/college magazine featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some approximately laid-out text and a masthead. We also must produce a DTP mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of the program.
I looked at some examples of last years front covers to help give me an idea of how to go about completeing my own cover. The college magazine which i chose to use as an example was Squash. I could recognise this as a magazine front cover because of the different advertisments and different fonts used. I think the magazine is intended for males between the age of 16-20 and its sucessfully targeted its audience because of the use of color and font. The font it bold so it stands out and immediately catches the readers eye. The magazine also targets the audience effectively by the use of language and advertisments used.

Initial Analysis

My second task was to undertake an analysis of the magazine front cover that id used to evidence my understanding of the key conventions.

Magazine Front Cover:Key Conventions

My first task of the year was to learn the key conventions of the front cover of a magazine and then upload the labelled front cover to give evidence of my learning.

I am Jordan and i am taking AS Media Studies, feel free to view my work.