Magazine Mind Map

1. OCR Media Studies – A2 Level
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio
Mind Map and
Research
Name: Abigail Ronald
Candidate Number: 2121
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135
Generation of Ideas for Ancillary Product 1) –
TV Magazine Front Cover

2. Source of Inspiration
History of the Product:
- October, 1992
Publisher:
- Editor: Stephen Murphy
- Publishers: Hearst Magazines UK
Circulation Figure:
- 147,294
Price range:
- £1.65
Socio-Economic Needs
The denotation of the stereotypical target audience will consist mainly
of young adults, as well as the older generation due to the relatability
of the several different storylines presented. Because of this, the Soap
Operas attract a wide audience as there are many different age groups
presented in the majority of the Soaps written about in this magazine.
This target audience would be in the socio-economic needs categories
of C1, C2, D and E because the people that buy these magazines
generally would not be of a high class or have high paid jobs otherwise
stereotypically they would not be watching programmes of this genre.

3. Masthead Ideas
The name I have chosen for my magazine is ‘Soap Insider’. I chose this
name because the common reader of this genre of magazine buy it in
order to get the latest information and gossip about their favourite
soaps. Therefore by including the verbal code ‘Insider’ it will make the
reader believe that the publishers have a particular ‘Insight’ into the
current affairs in the Soap world.
In order to repeat the
frequent style of Soap
magazines I will be using
a bold font for my
masthead (Possible font
styles presented on
following slide), as well
as the main headline
wish to do this so that
my magazine will stand
out from other
competing brands and
entice any potential
buyers.
The colours I will
be using on my
front cover will all
be extremely
bright and bold
colours (Mainly
Primary colours).
I will be positioning my
masthead across the width of
my magazine front cover. I
will be doing this because it is
important that the name of
my magazine is recognisable.

4. SOAP INSIDER
Bebas Neue
The Big Font
SOAP INSIDER
SOAP INSIDER
ChunkFive Ex
SOAP INSIDER
Crewniverse

5. Images Needed
One of the most important images I will need to take is my main image. My
plans for this are to have the main actors/actresses that appear in my
trailer to have shocked/worried/angry facial expressions, the shot type will
also be a close up. I want to do this to portray the drama that appears in
my trailer to the potential viewers.
I will also need more
images to use for the sub
stories to support their
coverlines. I will be
featuring other soaps on
my front cover such as
EastEnders, Coronation
Street, Hollyoaks and
Emmerdale.
The reason why I am including other
soaps on my front cover is because if a
particular consumer hasn’t got an
interest in the main headline soap, there
is a variety presented that they may be
interested. Therefore keeping my
potential market broad.

6. Main Headline
Ideas
The language I will be
using for my main
headline will not just be
colloquial language, but
also shocking language in
order to attract the
audience to the drama.
Due to the fact my target
audience will mainly be
based around the
younger, lower class
generations, colloquial,
conversational language
will appeal to them the
most. By using shocking
language which hint at
horrifying storylines such
as murder, rape etc, the
potential market will
increase because
audiences enjoy hearing
gossip about these
serious topics.
I will be positioning my main headline across the middle of
my page below the main image (As they will be supporting
one another).
My main headline will also be in the same (Or similar) font to
my masthead so that it stands out from my sub stories.

7. Other features
Puff Promotion – I am considering
including a puff promotion on my front
cover to offer a sense of exclusivity to
attract more people to my magazine.
Price – When deciding on what I am
going to price my magazine I will have to
take in to consideration the price of the
current soap gossip magazines as I will
need to compete with their prices.
Social Media – After looking at existing
magazines of this genre I have decided
not to include any social media
logos/features on the front cover of my
magazine, instead I will be incorporating
them onto a contents page instead.
Strapline – For my strapline which will
appear underneath my masthead I will
be using colloquial language and
enticing language in order to attract my
target audience.

8. Mind Map - Conclusion
 The next step I will be taking is purchasing a copy of InsideSoap as this is my magazine of
inspiration so I need a hard copy in order to be able to analyze the structure of their
front covers in vast detail.
 I will also need to complete hand drawn drafts of my front cover in order to get a rough
idea of the layout I will be using, as well as positioning of images and color schemes.
 In order to get the desired images for my magazine front cover I will have to organize a
photo shoot with the actors/actresses appearing in my trailer. I may also take images of a
specific scene when filming the trailer as all props will already be on scene.
 After I have made my final decision on what font style I will be using I will have to source
and download it from DaFont.com.
 The software I will be using to complete my front cover will be Adobe Photoshop CS5.1. I
have chosen to use this software as I previously used it at AS Level when completing my
last brief so I therefore have a lot of experience with the software. This in the long run
will save me time as I will not have to learn how to use a new software and will be able
to complete the task quickly.