Ipc research

WHAT TYPES OF MAGAZINE AND TARGET AUDIENCES HAS IPC BEEN ASSOCIATED

WITH OVER THE YEARS?IPC has not only published music magazines; in 2004 it

launched ‘Nuts’, the world’s first men’s weekly magazine. Thus, in relation to target audiences, this specific magazine is intended for working/middle class men, not of a specific

ethnicity, aged approximately 18-25 years old. Also, IPC has been associated with Women’s Magazines, such as ‘Woman

& Home’, related to women’s interest and home lifestyle, for middle class females aged 30-40 years old, who come from a typical British background. Thirdly, IPC has published sports

magazines, including ‘World Soccer’, aimed mainly at a male target audience, with a wide age and working class range, who have a specific interest in football. There are

also specific interest magazines, such as ‘InStyle’, which is directly linked to fashion and is intended for middle class

females, aged approximately 16-25 and are likely to have a British ethnicity. Moreover, IPC currently publishes one of the biggest selling music magazines, ‘NME’, so is directly

associated with both female and male audiences interested in Rock/Alternative Rock.

WHAT TYPES OF MAGAZINE AND TARGET AUDIENCES HAS IPC BEEN ASSOCIATED

WITH OVER THE YEARS?Early 1800’s – Throughout the early stages of the 1800’s the target audience were

predominantly male. The topics were appropriate for middle class men, who were likely to be educated. During this time period the only publications were

newspapers, there were no magazines.Late 1800’s - As newspapers became more and more popular there was a change in

the niche market. The first development was the subjects; features were influenced by the advance in industry and technology. As a result, formats began to change and magazines were introduced. Eventually, the first female magazine

was produced, ‘Woman & Home’, intended for white, middle class women. By developing a female magazine in addition to the male newspapers, IPC were

reaching a wider audience.1950’s – This period saw another advance in the target audience, with features

appealing to younger readers. Even so, there was no change in the ethnicity or class and overall the target audience remained mainly male. Yet, with a new target audience and developments in technology, new genres were introduced, such as a

music magazine, ‘Musical Express’.1960’s – By the late 18th Century the range of genres was becoming more vast. Thus,

sport magazines became the new popular topic.

WHY MIGHT IPC BE AN APPROPRIATE PUBLISHER FOR A NEW MUSIC MAGAZINE?

In January 2005 IPC launched a new magazine ‘Real Life’, which is a weekly magazine for women. The launch was

supported by a £6million marketing investment and with the largest sampling exercise in the UK magazine history. This

demonstrates that IPC is able to provide the necessary funding for a new magazine, in order for it to become

successful. Also, IPC publishes ‘NME’, which is currently one of the biggest selling music magazines and in 2013, NME was crowned Music Media Brand of the Year at the Music

Week Awards. The magazine has been backed by an online version of the magazine and is now the world's biggest

standalone music site, with over 7 million users per month. Thus, this type of publicity and vast advertisement is

important for a new magazine, as it will assist it to reach a larger target audience, by creating more awareness.

WHAT SORTS OF GENRES OF MUSIC/TYPES OF MAGAZINES MIGHT THEY BE LIKELY TO

PUBLISH?IPC currently publishes two music magazines, including

‘NME’ and ‘Uncut’. Both of these magazines have the sub-genre Rock/Alternative Rock. Therefore, IPC are likely to publish purely rock magazines, rather than Pop, R&B and

Classical. These conditions are important to consider when selecting a publishing company for your magazine. Also, the

content must be relevant to the target audience and the specific sub genre, since learning that ‘Uncut’ readers spend

over twice the amount on music a year than the average adult. Whilst, ‘NME’ is currently at the forefront of the

music industry: setting agendas, instigating debate and championing exciting artists of a wide variety of genres, but particularly Rock in order to provide the relevant content to

the appropriate target audience.

WHY MIGHT ALTERNATIVE PUBLISHERS LIKER BAUER BE APPROPRIATE?

Bauer is a worldwide media empire offering over 300 magazines in 15 countries, as well as online, TV and radio stations. This highlights its ability to offer advertisement internationally, rather than only locally/nationally. Also, it

uses a variety of sources to create awareness of the magazine, instead of solely publishing it. Therefore, this

type of publicity would be important for creating awareness of a new magazine. Furthermore, if the publishing company is well known, consumers are more likely to purchase the

new magazine, as the publicity will act as a recommendation to purchase the new product. This recommendation would be highly beneficial, since Bauer Media is a multi-platform

UK-based media Group consisting of many companies collected around two main divisions – Magazines and Radio, which are widely recognised and rewarded as being industry

innovators.