Evaluation Activity 5

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

The main way in which I have attracted to my audience is mostly through the front cover as it is the things that catches their attention first. I used a strong image in the centre of the page with minimal writing so that nothing would get lost and it wouldn’t be too crowded. The front cover of the magazine I think is the most important as it represents what the whole magazine will be like and if my audience is interested in the cover then they will want to read more as the rest of the magazine will be similar in style and context.

I used informal language in my magazine which allows my magazine to be read by a wider audience, it also prevents it from sounding boring with formal language which means that my audience might not like reading. As my audience is 13-18, I have considered my language and how I have written my article and other text in my contents and cover so that my audience are interested in reading more. A formal language in my magazine would be preferred for an older audience as younger children might not be able to understand some of the words and may find it boring which means that my magazine will not sell. The language is of a specific lexical field of music which is what my readers would expect in my magazine and therefore would uphold the readers’ attention and want to carry on.

At first I had the idea of putting the masthead on the side of the magazine. This would give my magazine a certain style that is unique and my audience might like, I then changed my mind and centred it at the top as it can be quite hard to read and I wanted my cover to look simple and not too complicated to read. It also means that people are able to read it if it was stack up with other magazines as it is in the top, I made the ‘M’ in italic so that it looked like a music note that my title and magazine would stand out. The font I have used is quite similar to other pop magazines which could make my magazine more popular as people would think my magazine is of good quality like other magazines like Billboard and Q. I have used ‘Elephant’ for my masthead and other headlines, it is big and bold and will stand out to the reader and grab their attention when on the shelf. I used the same font for the headlines for my contents page and page spread to maintain consistency throughout my magazine. My double page spread font is not ‘Elephant’ but ‘TW Cen MT’, this is quite similar so that both the fonts didn’t contrast against each other. The font is quite small so that I could fit a lot of information on the article that my audience would enjoy reading.

The information that I have included in my magazine was from my research and questionnaire, investigating what people would like to see and the features that a conventional magazine would have. From my questionnaire I found that most of the people that gave me feedback would prefer to have an interview in a pop magazine therefore I included a question answer article on my page spread so that my audience would be attracted to it as they would want to find out the artist’s answers. On my contents page I included things like festival details and top 10 hits on the music charts. This would attract to my audience as they would be interested to find out which festivals to go to and my magazine would give them the opportunity to win tickets. All of the context that I have included in my magazine will attract to my audience as I have included the feedback I was given in my magazine.

My model and chosen images are very similar in the style of clothing which is a causal style that is suited to my audience, the make-up is subtle and natural which could be good as it doesn’t create a fake look for my magazine however it could’ve been a bit more exciting as it is a pop magazine which normally involves vibrant make-up. My cover should attract to my audience as it is of a woman who fits with my target audience as most of my magazine is aimed at women. This is because most pop star fans are female. In the cover the model is looking straight at the camera which means that the audience is addressed personally as it looks like the model is looking at them.

I followed the conventions of a pop magazine and the feedback I was given with the layout of my magazine. I would want my magazine to catch my audience’s attention meaning I had to follow the conventions of a pop magazine as then they would want to reads it as they would think it would be of good quality. If I didn’t do this and made my magazine black and white with no bright colours, then my audience would not be interested in reading my product and I would not make any sells. The monochrome colours would be more for an Indie magazine but the genre if my magazine is pop therefore I have included the bright colour red in all of my pages. My cover page is very minimalistic which follows the theory of Roger Black, he thinks that cover pages should be like posters and not too clustered therefore I have included little text on my cover. This also makes it easier for my audience to read. My contents page is laid out in a way that looks similar to the Billboard magazine but it is not the same. I have separated columns and pictures with rectangles which adds some creativity to my magazine and makes it more interesting for my audience to look at and read. The double page spread has a picture on the left which is what my readers to see first as they read from left to right, the models in the picture are the artists that are in the article on the right. This way, the reader would be able to see who it is in the article however I haven’t included a picture of the reporter but I have put her name at the top to inform my reader. My article is set out in three columns making it easier to read and looks like less writing so they will want to read it as if it was longer then my reader might get bored and not finish it which I don’t want. I have included a pull quote in the middle of my article which will be the first thing they see as it is big and bold, this way my audience will want to find out what question this was an answer to. I made sure that the colours I incorporated in my magazine were not too bright therefore I only included one bright colour throughout my magazine. My model is wearing a red jumper and I have put some text on the cover in red and have included this throughout my whole product.

I think that I have attracted my audience successfully throughout my magazine as I have followed the conventions of a normal pop magazine. This way my reader would recognise the style and want to read my magazine as they are interested in pop magazine and mine is clearly pop themed. I have included feedback from my questionnaire which has allowed me to attract to my audience more, I have also looked back at my audience profile research and have incorporated some things that they might like, therefore other people their age would also like my product and want to buy it. As well as including positive feedback I have improved my magazine as some feedback was negative and therefore I needed to change it so my magazine would attract to my audience a lot more. Some things in my magazine would not be found in a conventional magazine therefore I have challenged the style and make it more unique. I hope this will interest my audience as it is different and will add some creativity to my magazine, making them like it more.