AS Foundation Portfolio Evaluation Part 4+5

1. Audience
Identification and
Appeal
Charlotte Hall

2. Socio-demographic grouping
The National Readership Survey (NRS)
created demographic categories, in
order to identify people into social
groups based on their class and
occupations.
I have chosen to aim my music
magazine at people within the social
demographic of B – C2, because I
want my magazine to accessible and
appeal to a large group of people due
to the Indie genre, and I believe that
the price of £3.50 is reasonable for a
magazine. However, they need to
have a slightly larger disposable
income in order to be comfortable
buying the magazine, which is why it
is aimed at the B social demographic.

3. Blumler and Katz
Blumler and Katz created the Uses and Gratifications theory, which argues
that audiences actively choose the media to fulfil one or more of five specific
needs; education, entertainment, escapism, social interaction or
identification.
After learning about this theory, I decided to produce my magazine keeping
these needs in mind, and have given my audience the gratifications of
entertainment, through the images and articles that are featured in my
magazine, meant for pleasure purposes rather than education.
I have also provided identification through my magazine, as I feature a variety
of artists, and have deliberately kept the artists appearing casual and relaxed,
meaning that they are more identifiable for the audience.
I have also offered the need of social interaction, as throughout my magazine
I have included links and email addresses for social interaction websites such
as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, therefore supplying them with the need
of social interaction.

4. Richard Dyer’s Utopian
Solutions
Another way that I have offered my audience gratifications, is through
use of Richard Dyers Utopian Solutions theory, that suggests that
media texts offer audiences ‘solutions’ to problems in their lives, giving
them a sense of escapism into a ‘utopia’.
I think that my magazine offers utopia, in different ways. Firstly, I offer
a solution to boredom, through my interesting features and eye
catching imagery and layout. I also offer solutions to isolation, as I have
used synthetic personalisation through my imagery, with the artists
making direct eye contact with the camera, engaging the audience. I
have also used inclusive language such as ‘you’, giving the audience a
sense of community and therefore offering a solution to the
inadequacy of isolation.
Inadequacy: Isolation Confusion Boredom
Solution: Community Clarity Excitement

5. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow argued that there 5 basic needs that
humans need, and he created a hierarchical
triangle which outlines these needs. The Media
tends to tap into the need for love and
belonging, with the idea that the Media offer
audiences a sense of belonging to a particular
group/community which have shared
values/ideologies.
I have tried to tried to fulfil the need of love
and belonging, by establishing a relationship
between the reader and the magazine. I have
done this using inclusive language, and making
the artists appear relatable and casual,
meaning that readers can feel more
comfortable and not intimidated by the star
status. This leads onto the need of self esteem,
which I have also fulfilled through making the
stars relatable and casual, as it gives the reader
confidence as they are again not as intimidated
by the stars.

6. Cover lines
I used cover lines on my front page in order to appeal to my audience, in
different ways.
For example, one cover line details the fact that ‘Esme Stone’ is a major
feature in the magazine, showing the audience that she is a large feature,
which will appeal to people that like her as an artist.
Another cover line is also tag line, using exclamatives in ‘WIN!’, advertising the
chance to win festival tickets. The use of the tag line ‘win’ and bold white font
makes it stand out on the page and appeals to the audience, as it offers the
chance to win free festival tickets, drawing them into the magazine.
The use of the bold fonts in both of these cover lines makes them stand out on
the page, and appeal to the audience more, as they are more obvious on the
page.