2. Attracting and Addressing
Each element of my magazine was carefully considered during construction to attract my
target audience. I had to think about every aspect ranging from the masthead, images,
and their ratio to the text to my price, competitions, colours, layout and house style.
I also used language that my readers are likely to use and understand, like slang and
abbreviations that younger people tend to use.
3. Visual Components
MASTHEAD
Although the colours are quite neutral I think that the
masthead colour scheme is still quite vibrant, attracting a
young audience of both males and females. The colours
are classy and sophisticated while still being attractive to
young adults and not to be seen as boring and too old for
the audience I am trying to target. The drop shadow
makes my masthead pop out and doesn’t just look flat
against the page which I think will draw my readers to it
over other media products and the font is simple yet is
bold and not too conservative which is another reason I
think my target audience will be attracted to it. It has
been placed at the top of my cover as this will
immediately draw the eye and it isn’t discreet or hidden
so my readers know exactly what the media product is.
FONTS
I have used a variety of fonts within my media product, to
attract different readers within my audience. The main
font I have used throughout my magazine is one that is
fully in capitals. I have used this mainly on my front cover
as it stands out and is easy to read at a glance. For the
less interesting sections, like the issue number and date, I
have used a simple, plain font, which is still easy to read
when in a small text and I feel like this could attract my
audience as it isn’t too fussy and isn’t a lot of effort to
read. For a bit of variety on my contents page I have again
used a very plain standard font which again isn’t fussy or
difficult to read. I have also used a handwriting style font
as some of my readers may be into collecting autographs
and this resembles an autograph well I think.
4. Visual Components
IMAGES
I used a range of images to attract my target audience. I think by using
pictures of both males and females this attracts both genders as they can
relate to either and be attracted to the other. I have used young models
which will be more likely to attract the young audience I am targeting and as
they are attractive I think this will draw my readers in. I have used some
studio images and some on location, catering for the tastes of individuals in
my audience and my on location shots include festival type photos which ties
in with other aspects of my magazine and will attract readers who enjoy this.
DEALS AND COMPETITIONS
I have included competitions with prizes that I think would appeal to my target
audience, as Park Life is a big music festival of the same genre as my magazine. I am
working on the assumption that my reader would enjoy a music festival but I think if
they do buy my media product, they are more likely to than not. I have places this
information on my front cover so it is easy to see and will attract reader to buy my
product. I have also included subscription information and an incentive to subscribe as
it will work out cheaper for the buyer. I have done this as it is a deal and as most of my
readers are young students, it is a good opportunity for a good price for them.
5. Addressing
WRITING STYLE IMAGE TO TEXT RATIO
When addressing my target audience I wanted to sound
more informal, fun and friendly as I don’t think that they
would be interested in reading formal, boring text. I have
used slang that younger people will use and understand,
like on my contents page I have used ‘tracks’ which I think
is an effective way to gain interest from my readers by
using the type of language that they do themselves. I
have also referenced ‘tweets’ which is from the social
networking site Twitter. This is commonly used by young
people and is something that is natural to them now,
whereas for older people they may not understand or
know what the site even is. I have incorporated this with
the social media icons I have place on my front cover and
on my contents page so my audience knows that my
product can be accessible across a range of media. In my
double page spread article I have referenced popular
young artists such as Jake Bugg and Alex Turner, artists
which my potential audience will be familiar with but
older or younger people may not be. I have also
structures my article in an interview format as I think this
will appeal more to my audience than a big block of text.
As I know that huge blocks of text with no pictures may
be boring for younger people, I considered how I could
include images to break this up. On my contents page I
have only about a third of the page taken up by text, and
even then, this block is split into columns so it doesn’t
look boring and my audience will hopefully take their
time to read it. I have also broken it down so my readers
can just glance at it to find the page they want to get to
without having to look through an entire paragraph of
writing. I have surrounded this by images relating to
some of the stories so the page looks a lot more exciting
and fun and if they see something that could interest
them, they can find just that page quickly from my small
box of text and flick through to what will interest them.
On my double page spread, the amount of writing was
unavoidable as it’s primary function was to be an article. I
tried to make this page more exciting, even though I only
chose to have one image taking up a quarter of the
double page spread, by breaking up the text and putting a
pull quote there. This will draw the eye and interest the
reader as well as not being a full block of writing to read.
6. Addressing
IMAGES
I have used my image to address
my audience as I have chosen a
male model to address the
female readers as they can
appreciate this and find him
attractive and he can also
address the males by being
relatable. I have got my model to
wear typical everyday clothes
that a young adult might wear
which makes him represent the
audience as a group and again
makes him relatable to my
audience. When photographing
him, I got my model to look
directly at the camera. I used
this direct address as it really
includes the reader and makes it
feel as if the model is interacting
with them, and making them
feel like they are more included
in the stories and product.
