2. I decided to create and give out a
questionnaire. I thought it would be a good
idea to experiment and ask my target
audience of females aged 14-17 exactly
what they thought. I asked a series of 10
questions and asked around 20 people.
After analyzing the answers, I want to further
research into this and do a focus group. I will
draft out my ideas for my magazine and
then film my focus group.
3. 1. The target audience for my magazine is females aged 14-17
and who like pop. So, baring this in mind, what sort of articles
would you expect to see on the front cover?
◦ Lots of responses from this question included having reports from the celebrities
featured on the front cover, recent albums from pop artists and the top charts. These
all related to music and have helped me think more into what sort of things I would
want to include.
◦ How I plan to use this research:
I will create a draft version of articles and topics to include and share this with a focus
group. The idea of including recent albums from the ‘pop stars’ has made me think
about the sort of artists I want to create for my magazine. I want someone who is quite
quirky but still considered quite normal. For example, an inspiration of a popstar would be
Katy Perry. She is very quirky but her fans deem her songs to be amazing. I wouldn’t go as
fan in as Katy Perry’s style of clothes, but I would you her as a base.
4. 2. What sort of artists would you most likely want to see featured in
this magazine?
◦ The most common reply for this enquiry was Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and One Direction.
Other boy bands such as The Vamps and Union J were also mentioned. As I am also a
member of my target audience, I thought about what artists I would expect to see
featured. Taylor Swift and those suggested were also a part of what I though. One
person also suggested that a new upcoming Pop Star would be good.
◦ How I plan to use this research:
I really like the idea of creating a new upcoming Pop star. I can create from scratch a
new female singer or boy band and continue asking my target audience if they like the
idea of this person/people and what aspects the members of the band should have.
One direction and Taylor Swift have huge worldwide fan bases, so by using these as an
inspiration for my artists, I can hopefully achieve a role model kind of figure.
5. 3. Are there any other aspects rather than just the articles on the
artists that you think should be included?
◦ Many replies included having competitions and chances to win trips. They said that
these encourage them to buy the magazine more because they are essentially getting
more than just gossip out of them. Many other people also suggested that having
embarrassing stories or articles related on the public would be an interesting idea.
◦ How I plan to use this research:
I plan to use the competitions suggestion by including things that would relate to my
target audience. For example, trips to London for a fashion show, or concert tickets to
one of their favourite pop stars. I also like the idea of including articles from the public, as
this way the readers can relate more to the magazine. I am not that keen on the
embarrassing storied section because this seems quite immature and is used in magazine
like ‘top of the pops’ and ‘we love pop’ which is aimed at younger audiences. I want to
create a more mature magazine, so I think I wont necessarily use this idea.
6. 4. Can you suggest any names that would suit a pop magazine for
the target audience I listed earlier?
◦ Names suggested for this included ‘Teen Pop’, ‘Gossip Rundown’ and ‘Totally Pop’. I
do like these suggestions, but I feel that they are too young for my target audience. My
aim is to want my target readers to feel as though they are growing up and learning
about adult life.
◦ How I plan to use this research:
My target audience is at the age where they are maturing and turning into a young
adult. I feel that the name should be really sophisticated, so I think I will think of a few
name ideas and then ask my target audience again what they think of them.
7. 5. On a contents page for a pop magazine, would you prefer to
see it filled with information, partially filled or very simplistic?
◦ Every person that I asked said that a contents page should be quite simple but still
have necessary information in them. A few people suggested that I include the
magazine front cover on the contents page and put numbers round to show where
that specific article is. Other people suggested that I include more photos and add
small informative texts to explain what is on each page.
◦ How I plan to use this research:
I really like the idea of having information on the contents as I feel it will help the readers
find exactly what they want, if they don’t want to read the whole magazine, or if they
want to read that specific thing first. I want my magazine to have a sophisticated look, so
I will include pictures and overall have hopefully quite a simplistic but informative look.
8. 6. What articles would you deem suitable for ages 14-17? For
example, boys, relationships etc
◦ Quite a few people suggested information about the celebrities personal lives. This
includes relationships, their day to day routines and personal things about themselves-
what movies they like etc. Another popular suggestion was including things such as
fashion and looking like their favourite pop singer.
◦ How I plan to use this research:
I like the idea of having the celebrities day to day lives in a magazine, so I will try and
include that in my cover lines n my front page and in the article on my double page
spread.
9. 7. If I were to include competitions or offers, what sort of things
would interest you the most?
◦ Many suggestions were to have winning tickets to the celebrities featured in the
magazines concerts. This links in with the theme of the magazine being music and it
also would encourage more people to buy it. A 16 year old female said that I should
also include beauty competitions.
◦ How I plan to use my research:
I will definitely use the concert suggestion in my magazine and I really like the beauty
competition idea. Even though it doesn't fit in with the music side of things, It still works
well with the target audience as at the ages of 14-17 you start getting interested in what
you look like and in make up. This could links in with Maslow's theory of self esteem,
because if the beauty side of things makes you feel happy then you will have a higher
self esteem.
10. 8. Is there a theme of colours that you would consider suitable for
the genre of pop music?
◦ The majority of the people I asked said that the colour scheme should either be pink or
blue or both. These colours mix in with the them of pop music and work well together.
Other people suggested that I use a green or a yellow to show that the magazine is
more mature.
◦ How I plan to use this research:
I think that it would be a good idea to create a mock version of my magazine title or
cover and then create different colour themes and ask my target audience again which
one they think looks better. This way, I can get a clearer view of which one looks more
mature, but still links in with the theme/ music genre of pop.
11. 9. Is there anything you would consider to be inappropriate to
include?
◦ The most obvious opinion was things to do with sex. It is highly inappropriate for the
younger target audience and I completely agree with this. A small section of my target
audience said that articles that were completely unrelated to music should not be
included. For example, buying a pet or how to decorate your home
◦ How I plan to use my research:
I completely agree with everything my target audience said. It’s a music magazine, so
therefore the main element should be/ or at least include music. I think that the best way
to see what is appropriate for my magazine is to create some of my own cover lines and
ask my target audience what they think of them and weather they are inappropriate or
not.
12. 10. Do you agree that the magazines target audience should be
for ages 14-17 to create a more mature magazine?
◦ The ,majority agreed that it was a good idea to create a more mature target
audience, but a few also suggested that I add more age to the target audience.
Some said I should go from ages 17-21 and some said I should go from 15-20.
◦ How I plan to use this research:
I think I will look further into the types of magazines that are already bout there for pop
music.I want to see if there is a pop magazine with a target audience of 14-17 year old
females.