The document summarizes how the student's media product, a pop music magazine called "OMGPOP", uses and develops conventions of real pop magazines to attract its target audience. Some conventions it follows include having "pop" in the masthead, featuring the cover artist on the front and in a double page spread interview, using pink and yellow colors, and including a smaller cover on the contents page. However, it also challenges some conventions by not filling the entire cover frame and including both an editor's letter and smaller cover on the contents page. The intended audience is described as young females, and the BBC is identified as a suitable media institution to distribute the magazine given its experience with other magazines like Top of the Pops.

1. Evaluation For Foundation
Portfolio
By Kirsty Mae Harragan

2. My Pop Music Magazine

3. In what ways does your media product use,
develop or challenge forms and conventions
of real media products?
I started my project by researching
the conventions of pop magazines,
so I could find out more about the
genre and get a better idea of what
my final pieces should include. I
went on to create a PowerPoint of
these conventions; I have attached
the link below, along with an image
of conventions of double page
spreads.
conventions of pop magazines.pptx
In my magazine, I decided to follow most of the conventions of pop
magazines in order to attract the target audience, and allow people to
immediately know the genre of music that my magazine is celebrating.

4. By looking at existing pop magazines, I realized that it was common for the masthead to stand
out, and usually have the word ‘pop’ included in it for example, ‘top of the pops’. With this in
mind, I titled my magazine ‘OMGPOP’ with a heart in the last P. I chose to follow this
convention so my audience would immediately know what genre the magazine would be
celebrating, and attract them to read the magazine. Slang words like ‘OMG’ relate to the young
target audience, pulling them in to the magazine.
The main image usually shows a band or artist who is big
in the pop genre, looking directly at the camera making direct address to the audience. They
usually fill the frame, and are placed in the centre. I decided to follow this convention to an
extent, for example, I had my model making eye contact with the audience, however, she did
not fill the whole frame and was pulling a shocked pose instead of smiling. Although models on
v the front cover are usually smiling, it is also
conventional for artists be doing a v fun pose, and this is what my model is
doing. This allows the magazine to v stand out from others, and
show that shocking information would be included b in this issue,
attracting people to buy it.Another convention of pop magazines are the colours used; female colours like
yellow and pink are used a lot to attract the attention of the young female audience.
I decided to follow this convention in my magazine, as it would be easy to attract the
audience, and allow them to instantly recognise the genre.
I also found that there was no specific content that features in the puff of the magazine; it ranges
from prizes, information about content of the issue or a list of artists featured. With this in mind,
I decided to create a puff with a ‘win’ for the readership. The main sell usually commonly
features the name of the artist as the main image; I followed this convention. I also decided to
included mode of address text like ‘OMG’ and ‘MWAH’ to help attract the target audience.

5. Some pop contents pages feature an editor’s
letter with an image of the editor with the cover
artists; I decided to include an editors letter on
my contents page to make my magazine more
personal.
Another ‘convention’ of pop magazines is to
have a smaller version of the front cover on
the contents page, with arrows directing the
readers to each article. I also decided to put
this on my magazine’s contents page, as it
makes finding the article easier for the
young readership, and also breaks the
contents page up from being mainly written.
However, most pop magazines only feature one out of the above two things; I decided
to feature both of these on my contents page. I included both of them on my magazine
because makes it easier and more personal for readership.

6. Researching into conventions of double page spreads in pop
magazines, I found that the artist on the front cover is
usually featured in a double page spread, as shown by the
example of Cher Lloyd on the cover and as the double page
spread of ‘we love pop’. Following this convention, I decided
to make my double page spread an interview with ‘Hannah
Vickers’, as this is the artist who featured on the front.
I decided to follow the convention of having the artist make eye contact as this shows direct
address to the audience and gives the magazine a more friendly feel, however, I did not have my
artist taking up half a page which is another convention. I decided to invert this convention to allow
a longer article for the readership to enjoy with their favourite artist.
In the case of interviews,
pull quote is usually
enlarged on the page
somewhere as well as/or
used as the title of the
interview. This is shown by
the image taken from a top
of the pops article. I decided
to follow this convention (as
shown in the pictures) as it
highlights the important
parts of the interview, and
draws the reader in by giving
them a ‘sneak peek’.
I followed the convention of writing in
columns and sticking to only a few colours;
this shows a symbiotic link between the three
pieces by keeping the same colour scheme,
and makes it easier for the audience to read.

7. How does your media product represent
particular social groups?
I have answered this question on a word document, and have placed
the link below.
How does your media product represent particular social groups.doc

8. What kind of media institution might
distribute your media product and
why?
A media institution is a company that creates, markets or distributes
media. ‘OMGPOP’ would be owned and distributed by BBC worldwide;
this is the commercial subsidiary of the BBC. BBC worldwide was founded
in 1995, but before this many BBC departments dealt with the sale of
brands and programmes. This company exploits BBC brands, sells BBC
products and other programming for broadcast abroad with the aim of
supplementing the income received by the BBC. In addition to this, the
BBC also produces other material, such as magazines, for example, Top
Of The Pops, a magazine targeting young girls.
I would choose the BBC to publish ‘OMGPOP’
f because of the success it had with ‘Top of
the The Pops’. ‘Top Of The Pops’ was originally a
supplementary magazine for the TV show, but when the show got cancelled, the
magazine continued independently. ‘Top of the Pops’ has now become more online
based, with social media like twitter, and its own official website. BBC would be good to
publish ‘OMGPOP’ because it is worldwide, and would be able to deliver it on many
different platforms. This also means that the BBC has long-standing experience in
successfully catering for an audience of pop fans.

9. The BBC is very successful worldwide; using multiple platforms, it reaches a weekly audience
of 166 million globally. BBC world news is also available in over 200 countries and territories,
around 300 million households, and 1.8 million hotel rooms. Because the BBC is familiar with
working on a variety of platforms, it would be helpful with the promotion of ‘OMGPOP’.
The BBC’s mission is ‘to enrich people’s lives with programmes and services that inform,
educate and entertain’, and their vision is ‘to be the most creative organisation in the world’.
This explains why the BBC would be a suitable institution to distribute ‘OMGPOP’.
The BBC has been around since the 1920’s, is known worldwide, and has a solid reputation.
This is an advantage because it means that my media product would be successful worldwide,
not just in England, and people would trust in the magazine if it was distributed by the BBC.
Along with ‘Top of the Pops’, the BBC also works with
Radio Times. Radio Times is a British weekly television
and radio programme listing magazine, founded and
originally published by BBC magazines from 1923- 2011, when the BBC Magazines
division was merged into Immediate Media Company. At one point, Radio Times was
the magazine with the largest circulation in Europe; January 2013- 14, the circulation
figure was 831,591. It is also the most comprehensive source of UK radio listings print,
and has several regional editions, each containing different listings for regional
programming.
The BBC having experience with other magazines, such as the Radio Times means
that they know what audiences like, and how to please their audience. It also shows
that, because they’ve been successful with other magazines, they would be successful
with ‘OMGPOP.’

10. Who would be the audience for your
media product?
Please play the video below.

11. For my double page spread I decided to do an interview as when researching my target audience, I found out
that this is what they would prefer to read. This double page spread would attract my target audience as its
easy to read; the question is in a different colour to the answer, easily separating them for the readers. A big
block of writing is avoided by placing an image centre of the interview; this would appeal to the young
audience as they prefer visual based pieces rather than all text. This image is related to the article, and is
captioned appropriately. An image of the artist takes up the right side of the page, with a quote from the article
also. This shows the readers who the interview is with before having to read it, and gives a ‘sneak peek’ of
something's from the interview by the pull quotes.
‘Dating dramas, shocking
stories and colourful
clothes… Hannah tells us
all!’
This would attract the
audience as alliteration is
used, and the words ‘drama’
and ‘shocking’ would make
the reader want to find out
more.
My magazine is successful in attracting and addressing its target audience because of the direct
address used; eye contact is made with the reader in most of the images throughout the magazine,
and the language used is relatable to the readership’s age. The colours used also help to get the
attention of the audience, as they’re bright and feminine. Exclamation marks are also used to
express excitement in the issue.
How did you attract/address your audience?
Double page spread

12. ‘Boyf’ is used as an abbreviation for
‘boyfriend’, linking the magazine to
the youthfulness of the readers, and
how they usually obsess over boys.
‘Buff Boys’, ‘Mwah’ and ‘OMG’
are used in the left hand third
to draw the readers attention to
the front cover, by convincing
them to buy the issue to find
out all about their favourite
celebrities.
Alliteration is used to draw the
audience in; ‘wow them with
your winter wardrobe!’. This
would attract young girls
because they want the best
clothes to look good. ‘Wow’ is in
capital letters to attract them in,
suggesting that this magazine
has the best fashion tips.
‘Cringe’ is written in capital
letters and in bold to attract
the audience; the fact that
celebrities are revealing
embarrassing things creates
a link between the celebrity
and the audience, making
the magazine seem more
friendly.
When the audience see the word ‘plus’
they straight away know that the issue is
full with content for them to enjoy,
making them want to buy it.
The front cover also attracts the
audience by being visually
attractive; images are spread out
on the page. This would appeal to
the audience because they’re
young, and a big group of words
would be unattractive to them.
The word ‘exclusive’ lets the audience
know that they can’t get this interview in
any other magazine, appealing to them,
making them want to buy it. Alliteration is
also used in the main sell-line.
The heart in the title would also appeal
to the young audience because it would
link to them drawing in their
schoolbooks, and also links to their
femininity and youthfulness.
Front cover

13. Above the editors letter is a photo of
the main artist and I; this shows that
I actually met Hannah Vickers which
means the interview is more
personal and true to life. This would
attract my audience because they’ll
know that the information is real, and
would be interested in finding out
more about their favourite celebrities.
This is placed in the left hand third,
so the readers eye directly goes to it.
On my contents page is an
editors letter in a script like
font. This would appeal to
my audience as it gives a
friendly feel between the
readership and I. ‘Love Kirsty
x’ signs the letter off in an
informal way, welcoming the
readers to continue to read
and enjoy the magazine. Direct address is used on the contents page to tell the
readers what will be included in this issue; text like ‘you’
and ‘we’ are used to specifically talk to the reader and
draw them into buying the magazine.
A smaller image of the front
cover is labelled on the
contents page, directing the
readers to the page in which
they can find the articles on
the cover. This would appeal
to my target audience as
they are young and so this is
an easy way for them to
navigate around the
magazine.
Smaller images are placed
around the contents page to
make it more visually attractive
as large amounts of text could
put the reader off.
Ellipses are used with heart shapes instead of dots; this relates to the young
target audience and adds femininity to the issue. This would attract the
attention of my audience and make them want to buy it as they know its made
specifically for them.
The language used would attract
my audience; phrases like ‘wahey’
and ‘grabbing your perfect lad’ are
used. The informal way its written
is relatable to the young which pulls
them into reading the magazine.
Big words would make them
uninterested, and help them decide
not read it.
Contents page

14. Abraham Maslow
Abraham Maslow is a sociologist who
says that human beings have needs
that must be satisfied in order to be
happy. He identified 5 needs and
placed them in this pyramid to show
the hierarchy of importance of these
needs. My magazine would satisfy
some of these needs for the reader,
making them want to buy it.
The psychological needs would be fulfilled through ‘OMGPOP’. Esteem needs would be
fulfilled through my magazine through quizzes such as ‘are you a good friend?’ – If a
reader done this and got the best possible answer, they would feel proud of themselves.
Also, through clothes articles and agony aunts to get advice, they can become a better
person, on both the inside and outside. This could also help out with the belongingness
and love needs; finding out in my magazine how to get a boyfriend and how to be a
better friend can help them achieve these needs.

15. Uses and Gratifications Theory
The uses and gratifications theory is the idea that magazines offer a range of
benefits and gratifications to the audience, and this is how a magazine succeeds.
Blumler and Katz highlight five potential benefits, and magazines provide these
benefits.
1) To educate  My magazine educates the audience by teaching them the best
fashion, relationship and general advice through the agony aunt section.
2) To entertain  My magazine also fulfils this benefit by providing the audience with
material to read and activities to complete.
3) The third benefit that is outlined in the uses and gratifications theory is social
interaction  This can be found in ‘OMGPOP’ as content can be talked about and
shared with friends.
4) Escapism  This is the idea that a magazine can be something for you to read
and ‘escape’ from your life with. My magazine provides readers with this, so when
they’re worried or stressed, they can open ‘OMGPOP’ and read about their
favourite artists, or join in with the fun quizzes.
5) Identifying with others  My magazine strongly provides audiences with this; they
can share things with other readers, find out more about their favourite celebrities
and role models, and help become a better person.

16. Post production research to prove how
successful I was in satisfying target
audience.
I showed my magazine to some representatives of my target audience group
and asked them what their opinions of it were. The comments I received back
were positive:
•“I like the colours used, they stand out because they’re bright”
•“I think it looks good, if I was looking for a magazine to read, I would take
interest in this”
•“I like the way you have set out the contents page… its easy to read and lets
us know where we can find the articles on the front cover”
•“The pictures are nice, especially the one on the page with the article”
•“The double page spread looks interesting, and easy to read”.

17. What have you learnt about technologies from
the process of constructing this product?
And
Looking back at your Preliminary Task, what
do you feel you have learnt in the progression
from it to the full product?
These two questions are answered on Prezi, and the link is below.
http://prezi.com/8ce-pfgftctz/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share