TASK 7: Audience Research Task

TASK 6: Magazine Proposal Presentation

TASK 5: Distribution of Magazines

Magazine Distribution Methods:

Sale or Return: This is commonly used in magazine and newspaper distributors with newsstands. This is a good distribution method for shops such as WH Smith as there is no risk to them in doing this. If any copies are not sold, they are returned to the distributor of the magazine with no cost to WH Smith itself.

Subscription - Postal or Electronic: This is a good way of distributing magazines. The customers usually buy a contract to buy a certain amount of issues of a magazine or for a certain amount of time for a discounted price. This is an advantage for customers as they will get their magazine regularly and also an advantage for the distributor as it gives them a core readership for the magazine. It also makes use of technology as it can also be sent electronically so that readers can read it online on their computers, phones and many more.

Freemiums: Freemiums are free issues or magazines or newspapers that are given out typically at stations or other busy public locations. Although they are free, these magazines and newspapers get their money from the advertising that is inside the newspaper. A good example of a freemium in the UK would be the Metro.

Ezines: Ezines are electronic versions of a magazine with similar features to an actual magazine for example the pages can be turned, they have adverts and page numbers. RWD is a good example of an Ezine. Ezines are usually free and they will have features such as video clips and hyperlinks that redirect the reader to another source as their source of income.

Electronic Brand Extension: Music magazines now increase their online presense using social networks for example Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. This helps them to spread their message further and inform people that have followed their social networks.

TASK 5: Newsstand Task & Market Research

 

MARKET RESEARCH:

From the pictures I have taken at WH Smith, I have a clear idea of how WH Smith lay out their magazines on the newsstand. I saw that they lay out the magazines in different categories such as Entertainment, Lifestyle, Fashion etc. From looking at these different magazines, I can tell that they have laid out their magazine very similarly to mine.

They all have mastheads that are written in large font that are the biggest writing of any other word from the front page which help to make them stand out and make it so their brands are easily identifiable amongst the other magazines. All of the mastheads are made to stand out from the background colour of the front cover to help buyers to immediately tell what brand the magazine is hence again, making it more identifiable. Most of the magazine have their mastheads written on the top left of the page, from this WH Smith have used this to make sure they can fit more magazines on their stands by organising it so all of the mastheads from every magazine are seen. Also from the mastheads I can see that the magazines have different fonts, there is a comparison from women magazines from men magazines. From the women's magazines I can see that they have used fonts that look like they have been hand written which would appeal more to women whilst for men they have used more formal writing letters to present a sense of professionalism and make it so men would find it more suitable. I also noticed the colour scheme for magazines that are more suited to women use more feminine colour schemes and bright colours such as pink and red to attract women whilst the more male magazines such as top gear use a colour scheme of blue and black to attract males. This shows that they have clearly thought about their target audience and designed it so that it would suit the target audience.

From the magazines I have, I have noticed that the cover lines are interesting cover lines that would engage most readers. Most of them relate to the cover star of the page for example on one of the covers there's a person with a body most women would want - the cover line of this magazine says "BOOST YOUR FAT BURN" this supports the fact that it engages the reader because if it was the women on the cover that was the reason they were attracted to this magazine, it basically says they could get a body like her by boosting their fat burn. Other cover lines also concern very popular celebrities and their lives in which attract many people, they have controversial cover lines such as Kim Kardashian saying to Kanye West "DON'T TRY TO CONTROL MY LIFE" and Katie Price & Peter Andre who were once a couple have a cover line that says "THE FEUD EXPLODES". I have also noticed that most of the big cover lines are written in capital letters to stand out and catch the eye of the reader.

The images on the front cover of the magazines all look like they have been professionally taken. They all vary from close up shots, medium close up shots to full body shots. I have noticed that most of the womens magazines have pictures that take out most of the page and layer above the masthead, however never cover more than half of the masthead to still help the masthead to be recognisable. In the cars and transport section there are covers of cars, planes etc that relate to the magazines name.

TASK 4: Evaluation for my College Magazine

What went well:

From the results of the questionnaire I have received, I can tell that my audience thought that my magazine was good. One comment about my magazine states “the front cover is well presented” this shows that I have met the criteria of a magazine front cover as I had all the conventions that should be in a magazine e.g. a large masthead which stands out the most on the magazine, the date and cost, the issue number of the magazine, cover lines, a cover artist, a good colour scheme and other magazine conventions such as the barcode. This is supported by the comment “I think it has an appropriate main cover star and the magazine has a suitable colour scheme.” Overall the feedback I got on peoples’ opinions on my magazine were positive. I also got positive feedback on my layout of my magazine which I had based on the plan I had done previously to meet a standard magazines conventions, one comment says “it is will structured and the masthead is a reasonable size” this shows I have a good understanding of how a magazine should be structured. Again, I had only positive reviews on my layout of the magazine which shows I have a clear understanding about how a magazine cover and contents page should be laid out.

 

What I need to improve on:

From the feedback I had received, I also got constructive feedback about the areas in my magazine that needed improvement. One area that my audience suggested I could improve on was the colour scheme of my magazine front cover. I got mixed feedback such as “good use of colours” and “I think the colour scheme is appropriate” however one of the users says the front cover is too bright which is linked to how my photo was taken. To improve on this next time I will use a duller background and have the photo more professionally taken. I was also told to use ‘brighter colour font’ to stand out from the background from another user and the colours I had used did not compliment my background as well as I would have liked it to. I also asked specifically for my users to tell me what I could improve on. One improvement area I could have also improved on according to my audience was my fonts and to use different fonts to make my magazine more appealing. Furthermore I was told I could use better pictures which links to the fact I should take my photos more professionally. Personally I thought that I should improve my photoshop skills not only to make a better magazine, but to improve the quality of my photos. Overall I could take positives and negatives to help me improve the next time I make a magazine.

 I feel that I have learned a lot during my time during media. I now know how to take more professional photos using lighting, shading effects, the different shots I could take and the clothes I could use to represent a certain genre and I know all the conventions needed to make a successful magazine such as the where the masthead needs to be, the type of cover lines I could include to make it seem interesting and how to lay out a contents page. I also feel that I have managed my time in Media well as I came late 4 weeks into the course however I have now caught up and doing well.

3 key points for development when producing the main task:

·         I will make sure to change my colour scheme to make it suit the background I had on the magazine which also should be a one coloured plain background to make it easier to find suitable colours to help it stand out.

·         I will also make sure to use different fonts and font styles to make my magazine more attractive and catch the eye of the audience.

·         I will improve my photoshop skills to produce a better magazine overall.

TASK 4: Feedback for my College Magazine collected

Recently I asked a couple of people from my audience to answer some questions on my questionnaire which could be found at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QG9JXN7 . I have now collected the results.

 

TASK 4: Gathering Audience Feedback for my College Magazine

To answer my questionnaire go to this link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QG9JXN7

TASK 3: Analysis for my College Magazine

TASK 3: College Magazine Contents Page

TASK 3: College Magazine Cover

TASK 3: Magazine Front Cover Plan

This is my plan to how I want my college magazine laid out.