focus group with my target audience

2. LUCY, FEMALE, AGED 23 (PRIMARY AUDIENCE)
• Lucy felt that the proposed title of ‘Shuffle’ had connotations of
mainstream which is not the genre which I am targeting, and therefore I
should chose between ‘IM (Independent Music)’ and ‘Rift’, although
Independent Music would be more limiting on the type of artists which I
would feature, and she said that she preferred the less underground
Indie artists, such as Arctic Monkeys.
• She also agreed that the fonts should be kept sophisticated with
perhaps a slight edginess to them which you see in other magazines of
the genre, and that there should be a variety of fonts and sizes of text
on the front cover to make it seem more interesting.
• Lucy said that she felt the contents page should be quite simplistic,
with a list of bands featured with page numbers for easy access for
fans.
• Lucy thought that the double page spread should only have writing on
one page as this is less overwhelming, and a large image on the other.
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3. MARK, MALE, AGED 25 (PRIMARY AUDIENCE)
• Mark thought that if I plan on using a band for my cover image on my
front cover then I should use a medium shot, but if I intend on using a
band then I should use a long shot (I have not yet finalised this).
• He also said that the expression of the artist(s) which I use should be
neutral, both on the front cover and on any images which I may use for
the contents page and double page spread.
• Mark said that he would find it most interesting if the interview on the
double page spread was about a band talking about their story in the
music industry, and that a dark background should be used for this
page, with a picture of the band on the other page.
• He liked the idea of having multiple cover lines on the front cover, and
said that a simplistic colour scheme would be best; he liked the idea of
red, white, yellow and blue.
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4. GEORGIE, FEMALE, AGED 18 (SECONDARY
AUDIENCE)
• Georgie preferred the idea of using a more mainstream Indie artist for
the cover image on the front cover, as she said that she would be more
likely to buy a magazine with The Vaccines on the front cover than an
upcoming artist who she hadn’t heard of.
• She liked the idea of using a mixed gender band in order to promote
social awareness of, in this case, gender roles, something which is
typical of the audience of the Indie/Rock Genre.
• Georgie said that she would prefer not to have images in the cover lines
on the front cover, as with this kind of magazine it seems better to focus
on the one focal image, and then have cover lines of simple text.
• She said that for the double page spread, she would also like an
interview with a band about their story in the music industry – perhaps
if they have just played an iconic venue like Wembley, it can reminisce
on how they got to where they are.
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5. SAM, MALE, AGED 17 (SECONDARY AUDIENCE)
• Sam said that for the cover image on the front cover I should either use
a band, or if I am only using one person it should be a male – without
meaning to be sexist, as in his opinion it is a predominately male
dominated genre.
• He thought that the contents page should feature many small images of
different bands which link to the stories .
• He said that the contents page is more there to give information on the
magazine rather than to be eye-catching, so not to make it
overwhelming or particularly colourful – just stick with the simplistic
house style of the rest of the magazine.
• Sam said that he thought the double page spread contain a fair amount
of text as readers of this kind of magazine are more mature, and that it
should feature pull quotes.
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