A2 Media Studies

1. COHESION

2. BILLBOARD POSTER

3. My billboard poster uses images that are featured on
the magazine part of my production. My audience
can recognise the images and relate the billboard
poster and the magazine together.
Not only does the green circle feature on the front
page and contents page, the font used for the
masthead is also carried through to the magazine’s
masthead and main title on the contents page
Also, the font is suitable for the poster as it
represents village life due to the similarities
between that and a village sign

4. The images interest the local audience walking past the billboard poster and
they can see evidence of the same contents on my magazine cover - this
is because i have used the same images in both products.
The images of the landmarks on my billboard poster and magazine create a
sense of regional pride within the community, as this around are proud
that these images represent Leicestershire, this also creates personal
identity with the magazine and billboard poster
Also, the poster has strong links with landmarks and locations very close to
Leicester. People will want to find out information about these places and
once they realise the poster is advertising the magazine, by seeing the
magazine they will be more likely to buy the product in-store
Furthermore, the poster tells the audience where the magazine is available
by using strong brand trademarks at a focal point on the page

5. My magazine would be produced through the conglomerate, Archant. This is
a large publishing company that focuses on creating regional identity
magazines all around the UK, however they do not have a Leicestershire
Magazine. As they are an established company they would have
distribution deals with Tesco and WH Smith as they would be able to
focus their regional products to their area on a nation wide deal. I have
chosen these two shops to be featured on my billboard poster as most
people shop at the established shops and would feel confident in buying
a niche product. The support of these companies allows easier and more
direct access to the public, eliminating the time and effort people would
have to go to to find the magazine, it creates a relationship between the
shop and magazine which allows a relationship between the magazine
and the reader.

6. The poster also links in with the radio advert as at the end there is the same
information given about the sites that Leicestershire Living is on. This creates a
cohesive marketing campaign as people may see/hear a product and relate that
experience once they hear it again. Also, the more times they are aware of this
social media information the more likely they are to search it on the sites.
The poster has direct links to social media which means that anyone active on
sites such as Facebook or Twitter will have direct access to the site pages and
information. Although my primary audience are not digital natives, I am still
marketing to a secondary audience who have the ability to buy luxury
converged devices where they can read the magazine. This social media
marketing is an add-on and will create a bigger brand identity, even though this
is not my most important distribution channel, so in the future when print is a
past-time I would still be able to communicate to my audience through social
media. I will focus on traditional marketing more as this will appeal more to my
audience, but I feel that marketing on social media will complement this.

7. RADIO ADVERT

8. The radio advert is what moulds all the products together, it has links
with both the magazine and the billboard poster, this includes:
• Web 2.0 and social media references, like the billboard poster’s
Facebook and Twitter site and the site information is also on the
double page spread.
• ‘News and events’ quote on the radio advert that is featured on the
contents page information as there is a heading called ‘County
News and Events’ which covers the ‘An.tics Exclusive’.
• The ambient sound of birds creates connotations of being outside
and feeling tranquil in the presence of nature. My front cover of my
magazine also does this due to the references to gardening and the
main image being of a local park where many walkers go

9. • The narrative at the beginning can relate directly to the magazine as people who
have seen the magazine will then picture themselves reading it as they come
home from their walks. The cohesion is created through the imagination of the
listeners as they use and create imagery from the billboard poster and the radio
advert and therefore the magazine would create the new equilibrium of comfort
and relaxation. These products create the idea of escapism and when applying
Maslow’s Uses and Gratifications, my audience will aspire for this lifestyle
through the category of Love and Belonging. They create the ideology of a
perfect lifestyle and my audience will want this.
• ‘The escape from reality’ and the ‘sense of belonging’ help to create a cohesive
marketing campaign as the news and events section on the contents mean that
the audience can do that. They link together through the marketability of the
radio advert and the distribution of the advert being on GEM 106 and Heart will
feature beside normal music station content again creating the idea of escapism.
BBC would be my primary radio station choice but because they do not advertise
at all i would have to reconsider my marketing technique.

10. GEM 106
If I was to use Gem 106 as my radio station then I would have access to:
• Their commercial Airtime - with account managers helping with planning
and knowledge of the radio market and timings of what would be the
best
• Sponsorship and promotion - access to sponsorship and promotional
packages to build brand awareness
• Online and Interactive - my campaign being supported on the Gem 106
website which is marketing on a new platform, emailing people, podcasts
and vodcasts for their website and our website
• Creative ideas - create writers help to ensure campaign sounds good
and gets results, access to potential international corporations to help
with campaigns where costs only apply when commercials need to be
recorded
10

11. • The suggestions for days out can be found in the review
section and my more active audience will want to know
things like this as they tend to be more involved with their
own social groups and spend money with friends (A/B
income bracket)
• The front page offers reviews and article information on the
front and by referencing this in the radio advert people can
directly link the magazine and advert together. Also, there
will be a lot of people who enjoy reading articles (as said
above) and reading long reviews due to their sophistication
and ‘hedgehog’ thinking.

12. The tagline plays a big part in this cohesive campaign as it is
featured through all three media platforms.
• It is featured next to the masthead on the front cover
• In the top right hand corner of the billboard poster
• Toward the end of the radio advert.
My audience will recognise this and pay more attention to the rest
of the products as they begin to see the phrase on a more regular
basis. They will tend to remember the tagline which will
encourage them to purchase the magazine when they see the
tagline on the magazine in store.
Also the tagline promises to create a tighter community which is
what locals want - to find friends that they can relate to who live
in very close proximity
‘Bringing the locals of Leicestershire closer together’

13. FRONT PAGE

14. On the front page I have broken the house style; I used a yellow colour instead of
blue – I think it makes the text inside the yellow circle stand out more and adds
vibrancy to the page, I do not think blue would of done this as much if it was
there instead. Despite this, the magazine still fulfils its cohesive purpose as it
does reflect the other products. Although the usage goes against conventions,
the connotations of the colour yellow fit in with the representations of what I
want my magazine to represent. The connotations of yellow consist of joy,
happiness, intellect, and energy and this would be positive to reflect in my
product. Also, yellow is the colour of sunshine which is a prominent feature of
nature and reflected through all my products.
For example, the main image is an iconic place in Leicester that most regular
walkers and locals have heard about or know about it, it is an iconic sign of
rural Leicestershire and can be seen for miles. This creates personal identity
with the magazine and those who have this personal identity will be more
inclined to buy the magazine. The landmark is of a friendly and communal
nature and the vibrant sky and grass look like a lovely place to visit with friends
and family or to walk a dog.

15. Not only does this page cover topics such as events and
places to visit, it also highlights the pages dedicated to
gardening which attracts the audience that lead a more
active lifestyle. The magazine does not explicitly focus on
gardening and opinion leaders will not say that the
magazine explicitly includes gardening as a topic. This
means the people who hear from the opinion leader will not
realise this magazine contains gardening topics.
By doing this, I have limited the cohesion between my
products as my other ancillaries do not explicitly mention
gardening information. I could of done this better by maybe
exchanging an image on the billboard poster to a gardening
one to attract the sporting gardeners.

16. I like the font colours on this page – it follows the house
style and make the rest of the page look very vibrant. If
there were boxes that were black or white it would
make the page look very dull. Even with different
coloured font it would make the page look a lot less
effective and more messy. The text is in a very formal
style which has connotations of the text being
important and informative; it suits the magazine well
and my audience would prefer this to font like this as
they would be less inclined to read it.

17. CONTENTS

18. My contents page creates a
community for the rural locals living
in Leicester due to the rural
representation. It concerns
information on people, places,
events, county news, reviews of
books, cooking, dining, traveling,
competitions and my target
audience will want to know about
this information as they are very
socially active and they would be
interested in up-to-date news in the
area and knowledge about their
local community and views and
recommendations of others.

19. If I was to do this content page again I would include
pages that are dedicated to human interest pages
where people who live in Leicestershire give their
insight into Leicester on a monthly basis. This will
create a relationship with those who read the
magazine and the people writing in it which will
show that people will relate to them.
Cohesion is prominent through this page with the
magazine page being in the bottom right hand
corner, also, the image of the deer is featured on
the billboard poster which shows that the topics
that are insinuated on the poster, such as local
visits, are carried on through the media platforms
to the actual content of the magazine, shown by the
deer and the image of the landmark on the top
right.
Also, on the radio advert, the speaker talks about
going for meals and days out which is a prominent
topic on the contents page, primarily in County
News and Events and Reviews

20. The contents page creates a representation of class due to the
minimalist style that has tiny features that create a
successful page, this includes the dotted lines, the white
background with images in a designated place and the text
in a formal and structured manner. The representation of the
upper middle class is consistent through all of my media
products which is a hegemonic process of banding the
audience together. This is done through the amount of
people who recognise the lavish lifestyle that they could be
living in and their desire to do so. This is accepted and is
known through the audience but hegemony would argue the
purpose of the representation is to spend money and
support the economic system.

21. As seen on the front cover and billboard poster, there are
coloured shapes that are featured in various places on
the page, the colour represents the freedom of nature
and contains information that needs to attract the
reader’s attention. There has been a creation of a binary
opposition between this and the basis of a formal layout
which suggests control and structure. Both create
sophistication which shows that the binary opposition is
complementary to create an ending of sophistication
My target audience would respond to this as they are
interested in nature and news and events in and around
Leicestershire, this is due to their heavy links with the
community as they often take part in charitable events

22. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

23. The double page spread has references to their website and what to
search for on social media websites, although this is not conventional
when considering my audience, I still think it is important as it a new
conventional source marketing and create cohesion. This shows that
even when the readers are not intending to read this information, they
are still unconsciously digesting it and they will actually remember the
information when it comes to future reference. These references are
also found on the billboard poster, making the campaign cohesive
Although it’s not hegemonic It gives the illusion of an active choice
within my audience which voices across all three products. But all
three products push for one viewpoint which is a celebration of a rural
traditional lifestyle which doesn’t threaten the status quo.
The images on the billboard poster create a sense of community and this
article focuses on a very specific geographical location which further
emphasises the close nit communities and tight friendship groups in
and around the area of Leicestershire.