HOW DID I ATTRACT/ADDRESS MY TARGET AUDIENCE? EVALUATION – QUESTION 5 HESTER TEASDALE
Dec 21, 2014
HOW DID I ATTRACT/ADDRESS MY TARGET AUDIENCE?
EVALUATION – QUESTION 5
HESTER TEASDALE
WHO WAS I TARGETING?
Age 16 to 30
Females
ABC1
Experiencers/Strivers
HOW DID I TARGET THEM?
Audience research helped me to make clear and precise decisions about what to include to appeal to my target audience.
‘It is crucial for every business and organization to connect with its audience and understand what they want, think and feel. Only when you stay connected with your target audience can you gain crucial insights into their needs and demands. This is also vital as your audience may be changing in terms of demographics, attitudes and opinions. This change is what makes a difference between a business becoming obsolete and one that grows and changes with its target audience.’
http://socialsmarty.com/social-media-the-sales process/connecting-with-your-audience/ Direct link to a useful website explaining more about the importance of knowing your target audience.
PHOTOGRAPHYFor my front cover, I wanted to emulate the photography used on the front covers of Q as they always present their models in a strong, powerful iconic fashion who represent females in a significant, independent light. I also wanted to create variety to attract different ages so I included some black and white images on my contents page, creating a classic appearance.
EXAMPLES OF MY PHOTOGRAPHY
‘ I would put a live shot on the contents page to show it could relate to a particular article’
‘I would put a black and white image on the contents page showing indirect mode of address’
‘A striking interesting image will be effective on the front cover as it will engage and entice the audience’
FOCUS GROUP RESPONSES
I have included black and white shots with attention to
lighting to focus on the instruments, highlighting the significant focus of the music
genre of my magazine, attracting the ‘serious’ music
fans.
For the front cover images, I attempted different poses on
the model to convey messages and add meaning, I
experimented with lighting and ended up using a warm, glowing effect for my double
page spread.
MODE OF ADDRESS
‘Exclusive Interview’
‘Meet the other two’
‘The best tracks for the end of the world!’
There’s a mixture of direct and indirect images to add interest and entice the audience. In terms of text, speaking indirectly helps appreciate almost the readers intelligence and maturity as they are not being treat like ‘kids’. Although mainly remaining the indirect style, I still engage the audience by a sense of VIP access with ‘exclusive’ – creating hierarchy. ‘Meet the other two’ is the only example of subtle direct language to make the audience read the special on MUSE.
Audience feedback had helped me to find out how successful I
have been in attracting my target audience.
QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSESFront Cover:
‘It’s quite classy and I like the fact the image is classy and sophisticated, showing it’s serious about music rather than immature.’
‘I also like ‘exclusive interview’ as it seems as though it’s a interesting story which I won’t be able to read in any other magazine, making it original.’
‘I think the pink colour scheme is effective as it represents the femininity of the target audience, however it’s striking showing the strong, independence of women.’
‘I think the masthead looks professional with magazine inside the B and I like the structure and layout of the page, it’s easy to read and gives you a good, clear insight to the magazine content’
My front cover contains
anchorage clearly
structured around the
central image. I have included a fashion section as that it what
my target audience asked
for.
QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSESContents Page:
‘ I think it’s very effective and echoes the front cover with its black and white writing and splash of pink. It’s easy to read and find what your looking for.’
‘I like the layout and structure as its simple and non-fussy and easy to navigate. The sub-headings are good and I the ‘every month’ for regular readers, creating a sense of familiarity and belonging’
‘Loved the images, there was something there for all readers. The ‘boys’ are giving an intense direct stare which will attract a female audience. I Also thought the introverted look of ‘Nadia’ was interesting as I wanted to find out more about her, the use of lighting on that photo was impressive ’
‘The stories interested me although the photos engaged my interest primarily so I looked to see the stories linked to them first (with the effective and clear use of pink numbers) The muse special interested me, as did the ‘Bass A list’ and the fashion article’
QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSESDouble Page Spread:
‘I like the fact it’s simple and easy to read. The large photo is very engaging and I like the structure of the interview – the dotted column style makes it seems like it’s followed a newspaper layout, which echoes the serious feel of the magazine and that your not ‘dumbing’ down the reader and you appreciate their intelligence’
‘Love the images as they are not overtly sexual but still attractive, not too much flesh on show – again quite serious, although the slightly parted mouth hints at a more sexual nature – quite iconic as it holds intertextuality of Marilyn Monroe’s pose.’
‘ I like that it’s an interview as it’s a break from heavy reading and it gives you a personal insight into the actual person rather than just their star image.’
‘ Simple, yet classic features such as the drop capital and pull quote help give an effective introduction to the magazine and creates a professional polished look to it, as it is what you would expect to see in already selling magazines.’
GENERAL RESPONSE“
I can
’t be
lieve
the
qual
ity o
f thi
s w
ork,
the
imag
e an
d co
lour
sche
me
dow
n to
the
stru
ctur
e ha
s be
en
crea
ted
on p
urpo
se to
appe
al to
me
as p
art o
f
the
targ
et a
udie
nce.
I
also
thi
nk it
cou
ld
appe
al to
men
as
the
genr
e an
d th
eme
is
quite
var
ied
so the
onl
y
criti
cism
I ca
n m
ake
is
to a
lter th
e st
rap
line
to
appe
al to
men
.”
“ The contents page is
very unique and
original with a clear
structured layout, as a
current music magazine
reader I actually prefer
this style to that of
Kerrang! where the
page is quite cluttered.
I am extremely
impressed with the
images, they really do
look like they have
been taken
professionally.
“ I prefer interviews
over articles so this
appealed to me
immediately. All the
conventions of a
double page spread
have been included,
making it look
sophisticated and the
columns were used
effectively, especially
the pull-quote – it drew
me in . If this was a real
magazine, I would buy
it without a doubt!”