1. Magazine Prices
In this PowerPoint I will analyse the prices of three magazines,
and how the layout either increases or decreases the price.
The price range of the three magazines will include:
• Cheap (Free – 99p)
• Medium (£1.00 – £3.00)
• Expensive (£3.01+)
2. Cheap (Free – 99p)
Stereotypically a bold, large pug is the main convention in low
priced magazines; containing the cheap price. Therefore catches
the readers eye, it is the USP and one of the main selling lines.
The layout in all of the magazines look unprofessional. They are
busy and over crowded, with too many colours and images; yet
this shows that there is a lot of content in the magazine, displaying
good value for money. It also shows how the magazines are very
chatty using colloquial language and full of gossip reflecting the
target audience. The celebrities featured in the magazines, usually
are disliked by many people like Jordan/Katie Price containing
unflattering images, and slating them. The images on the
magazine are cut out, and not properly edited this is done to save
time and money (low budget) lacking quality.
The quality of the magazines are poor (thin, rough paper pages) reflecting
the cheap price. The social grade this magazine would be targeting is
mainly D/E.
These magazines are distributed in many shops such as service stations,
most news agents and super markets, making easy for the target audience
to access.
3. Medium (£1.00 – £3.00)
The layout of the magazines are not as busy, yet still contain large
amounts of information on the front cover. This is done to represent
a light hearted sophisticated feel, at an affordable price. The
audience also have time to look at the cover lines without them all
being cluttered all over the page.
The colour scheme does not clash and consists of 3 to 4 colours,
displaying a more formal atmosphere. This is vital as target
audience consist of blue chips. The social grade this magazine
would be targeting is mainly B/C1/C2.
The medium priced magazines are also sold in most retail stores
likewise with the cheap magazines. As companies selling medium
priced magazines have more money they are now starting to
distribute their magazines digitally.
4. Expensive (£3.01+)
These more expensive magazines very few conventions are used to
create a simple, and formal look. The main images are very
seductive, but in a classy way. As the models are highly paid icons,
the magazine can afford to have them star in their magazine. The
mise-en-scene of their make-up creates a stylish atmosphere,
which reflects the target audience.
The quality of the image reflects the high price, combined with the
denotation of the elegant typography further emphasise this. The
colour scheme consists of 2 to 3 colours making it more simple and
easy on the eye, this is what the audience would expect for the higher price
they are paying. The colour gold is used, to connote elegance and the high
amount of money they cost. The social grade this magazine would be
targeting is mainly A/B.
These magazines offer subscription, unlike the cheap magazines. This is done
as the company have the money to do so. The medium priced magazines
are also sold in most retail stores likewise with the cheap magazines. As
companies selling medium priced magazines have more money they are
now starting to distribute their magazines digitally.
5. Conclusion
Overall from the magazines I have analysed, the layouts reflect the price extremely. The
cheaper magazines are over crowded, with clashing bright colours to display a lot of
information for a cheap price which entices the reader. As the price increases the layout
becomes more simplistic and sophisticated to reflect a luxurious magazine. The paper
used changes representing the price of the magazine with the lower priced magazines
using very thin paper, contrastingly the more expensive magazines use a gloss paper to
further emphasize the price of the magazine attracting the customers.
Many magazines are now distributed by apps on phones, due to technological
convergence. Subscriptions are more common in higher priced magazines, as they
have the money to do so.