Evaluation, Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my target audience by making a magazine that appeals to their interests and hobbies. My front cover contains elements that would attract a 15-24 year old male. I placed a male model on the front as males usually listen to artists that are also male. The colour scheme throughout my magazine is blue which has always been asssociated with the male gender. The blue colour that is used throughout the magazine has been picked out from the models shirt. The fonts that I chose to go on my cover would also appeal to the male gender, I chose a font called '28 days later' that is eroded and shows a 'rough' side to the magazine. It gives an image of danger and masculinity. This would appeal to males as they like to feel more masculine than they really are. The title of my magazine is called 'Live' which also appeals to my target audience as it is a modern word that can sometimes be used to describe something as 'good'. This would immediately catch their attention.

I included a unique selling point (USP) in my magazine as I feel that all magazines need one. The USP in Live is the content and it's mode of address. It is written in a simple language that all readers can understand but it also requires the reader to have background knowledge of the genre to fully understand the intention of the writing and what the magazine is really trying to say (for example: in the double page spread there are lyrics from the artists song 'the one you love to hate'. If someone did not know this then they may be confused as to why it is in the article). The language also relates and appeals to the age of my target audience, there may be words used in the magazine that a 50 year old has never heard of because they are modern words used in the teenage age group. This unique selling point is effective but only after someone has picked up the magazine which in effect doesn't help because it is the intial catch of the readers eye that makes people buy the magazine. I think that with my main coverline being central in the magazine is a unique selling point and the variety of fonts used. The connotation behind this is that the magazine contains a diverse range of articles and can appeal to a vast audience.

I chose 'rock' as my music genre as I feel there is a slight gap in the market here and also because the people who listen to rock music are very devoted to it and would be more likely to buy a magazine about it rather than someone who listens to 'pop' music. This would increase the sales of my magazine.

To appeal to my C1 socio-economic group I also advertised a competition for a chance to win an iPod, this relates to the music industry also and attracts readers that are not as wealthy as some as a chance to win something that they would not usually be able to afford. Today, people are always looking for value for their money so having a magazine that says the word 'FREE' on it will attract a lot of attention. It gives the impression that people are getting something that they wouldn't have got in the last edition and that the magazine is worth buying.

I also added in a competition to the magazine. I addressed this on the front page to grab attention from the audience. The prize that I offered would help to attract my target audience as Reading Festival is renowned for it's 'rock/indie' genre. This would attract my target audience as this is the type of music that they listen to. I made the competition stand out by putting it in the blue 'bubble' and moving it away from the main page and other cover lines.

I also helped to attract my target audience by making some words on my front page larger or a differerent colour to make them stand out and 'grab' attention. For example, I made the word 'Latest' stand out on the front page by making it larger and changing the colour to s e p e r a t e it from the rest of the cover line.