2. The Big Issue The Big Issue is a
street magazine,
founded to give
the homeless and
vulnerable a
source of income
and a creditable
job.
Any profits are
either reinvested
into the
magazine, or used
to offer support to
homeless or
marginalised
people. Therefore,
the charity tries
to keep the
magazine current
and discussing
popular culture or
issues to retain as
large an audience
as they can.
3. How does The Big Issue adapt to
appeal to their audience?
The Big Issue has multiple genres of magazine covers that they seem to rotate to
continue to appeal to a wider target audience. Here are a few examples:
• The Celebrity Cover- The Big Issue often holds exclusive interviews with popular celebrities.
They include many denotative and connotative symbols in these specific editions
Direct Address- In the vast majority of celebrity editions, the subject is staring directly at the
audience, connecting the audience to the celebrity and making them seem more ‘relatable’.
Facial expressions and Body Language- The magazine tends to employ two techniques to create
an interesting front cover using body language. Firstly, they may instruct the celebrity to have a
humorous expression (such as Richard Osman in the examples). However, they may ask different
clients to have a serious, reflective expression (like the example of the Arctic Monkeys). This is
usually depending on the celebrity’s niche or personality i.e. Richard Osman is known for being
comedic, so it’s understandable that he would be presented this way.
Sell line- Whilst the magazine seems to depend on their audience knowing the celebrity on the
cover (as it seems to be their main sell point), they also always use their name in the sell line
which could be a good tactic since many celebrities are known more by their name than face. That
could create intrigue for the customer and encourage them to have a further look. Other key
phrases like ‘big plans’, ‘returning’, ‘unknown’, ‘reveals’ and ‘icon’ also help create intrigue for
consumers that might not have usually been the audience, they are curious as to what could be so
exciting or how they could have missed out on what is presented as a big event.
4. • The Political Cover-
Graphics- The Big Issue often chooses to have an artistic design on its cover rather than a real photo. This can
be utilised for political covers since the editors can have their exact vision designed, rather than relying on
finding a source for a photo opportunity. They can also manipulate it in any way they want, so the customer can
see one situation one way or another.
Bias- Accompanying the graphic design idea, political covers often portray certain issues or figureheads to
comply with their political ideas. This could be because they just want to convey their beliefs to their consumers,
or because they may try and sway or convince their audience to change their political track. This is an example
of political bias in the media. The issue below is an accurate example of this, since it has designed Boris Johnson
to look like the devil, with horns and a grotesque expression.
Real Life shots- The Big Issue seems to also use many real, emotionally provoking images on their covers. The
mise en scene reminds the reader of our reality, it could also encourage or remind them about political debates or
current issues and how they shouldn’t ignore them.
Statistics- Spreading statistics over the cover will also often shock a customer. Similar to the real life shots,
statistics can remind the consumer of our global problems, and that we need to remain politically and
environmentally engaged with information (media like this magazine) and public efforts.
Rule of Thirds- Often the focal point is central on the image, and less important things on the edges.
5. • The Pop Culture Cover-
The Big Issue also frequently involves other popular media in its covers such as games, television, films,
art, sport and fashion.
Recognisable characters/ scenes- Many of The Big Issue covers rely heavily on consumers recognising key
characters or scenes from popular to culture to understand what the article is about (i.e. Lin Manuel
Miranda as Alexander Hamilton in Hamilton the musical and Queen Charlotte from hit show Bridgerton).
This could be a risky marketing technique, if the reference isn’t as widely recognised as they might hope,
however since the convention is so greatly used in many of their covers, it’s safe to assume that it is a
successful signifier or synecdoche (one image or sign symbolising a collective).
Cross Referencing/Language- Using ‘current’ generational language or slang may encourage a younger
audience to consider or learn about the magazine e.g. the cover at the bottom referencing a popular trend
that recently made appearance on apps such as TikTok, twitter and Instagram in which people would
show ‘how it started vs how it’s going’, which was frequently adapted to show skill progression in many
things such as art or dance.
6. Other styles
• Cartoons/Art- Appealing to children/parents/guardians and creative people
• Socially conscious think pieces- poverty, homelessness, environment etc
• Seasonal Editions
• Heath (mental and physical) and Wellbeing
7. Why use the variety of styles?
The Big Issue has created an understanding between consumer and creator that they will remain
creating a variety of content in their magazines. This not only continuously brings in a diverse
audience, but also ties into Bulmer and Katz’s Uses and Gratifications Theory. This theory provides
us with an understanding of why and how people actively seek out specific media for specific
reasons. Most of these needs are met with the variety of editions The Big Issue creates, including
the following:
• Information and Education- Whilst The Big Issue does provide bias throughout its articles, a lot of
the core information and statistics remain unaltered.
• Entertainment- The Big Issue consistently makes ‘current’ Pop culture references, whether that be
to popular television, films, music, celebrities, games, sports or activities.
• Integration and Social Interaction- As discussed in the previous category, The Big Issue covers a
multitude of popular culture topics. This can be appealing for the audience not only for
entertainment purposes, but also to subdue the ‘fear of missing out’. This means that people can
easily catch up on recent events or media so they can understand other people’s references in
typical conversation, easing their social experience.
• Personal Identity- Some people will decide to pick up The Big Issue maybe not to learn something
new, but instead to reinforce their own beliefs through relatability i.e. political alignment. Some
may also use it for social mimicry (creating new beliefs off of what the magazine discusses).
