The editor's main concern is the magazine cover. The cover attracts consumers and tells us all about the magazine. It is the face of the magazine and establishes a brand image; regular readers will be aware of the conventions and a consistant magazine will be easy to spot on the shelf.
On a Kerrang! cover, the "main sells" are exclusive 'freebies' such as posters, free stickets, calenders, etc. The editor of Kerrang covers all aspects of music on the cover to appeal to all of its readers; even though it is a rock magazine, it often features subgenres such as punk and indie music. As the target audience is teenagers, special-edition promotion magazines are often published to attract new consumers and engage the old ones; e.g. collect 5 issues, each one with a different member of the group My Chemical Romance on it.
A cover-mounted CD makes the magazine more desireble and can boost sales of 40.000 purchases; magazines then try to maintain those extra 40,000 consumers by enticing them with less-expensive freebies. Mixmag magazine always features a CD in each issue which raises the costs of production and thus raises the price of the magazine, it is very time-consuming to produce a desireble CD and eventually, people will begin to expect the free CD's.
The two most important areas on a magazine cover are the lofo and the 'sweet spot'. The logo is necessary for recognition, a well-established magazine can then progress on having images cover the logo as people will still identify the magazine. A 'sweet spot' is the place where the reader's attention is drawn to first, to tempt the reader into buying the magazine. Magazines try to reassure you with their front cover yet still attempt to do something different.
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Monday, 5 October 2009
Magazine Publishers
Task 1 - Researching Publishers
1. IPC MEDIA - http://www.ipcmedia.com/
IPC Media is split into five distinct publishing divisions that manage different parts ot IPC, they are; IPC Connect, Inspire, Ignite, Southbank and TX. Between them they publish 80 magazines as well as contribute to the production of other forms of media. IPC publishes both niche and mainstream magazines as this is a large company and covers all sorts of magazines. This publishing company claims that 26 million UK adults read an IPC magazine, that's over 44%. It works with magazines on TV listings, music and film, lifestyles, health, country, men's interests, etc. Examples of these magazines are:
- The railway magazine, NME, Country house, The field, Caravan, Classic boat
Evidently, many of the magazines IPC publish focus on the country side, health and lifestyle. This shows that the target audience would be the middle-aged and the older generation who are interested in a "healthy living". This also would make IPC a niche publisher, as it focuses primarily on one aspect. IPC only covers one other form of media, websites:
- http://www.housetohome.co.uk,/
- http://www.countrylife.co.uk/,
- http://www.nme.com/,
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Bauer has established itself as the largest consumer magazine publishing company in the UK, working with over 282 magazines. It publishes magazines on women’s interest, lifestyle, TV listings, puzzles, music and film, men’s lifestyles, etc, they cover magazines for all types of different demographics. This variation of publications makes it a mainstream company; however there are a few examples within the company of niche. Some examples of the magazines they produce are:
- Kerrang, FHM, Mojo, Q, Empire, Heat, Take a break, Grazia, Closer, Zoo
In terms of brand image, I think that Bauer have a music-based image, because their music magazines are the most popular, however they work with many "womens" market leading magazines too. This publication company has a wide, general audience ranging from middle aged women to music rock fans. Bauer has links between production of magazines and other forms of media such as:
- TV channels; “The Box”, "4music", "Smash Hits"
- Radio stations; “Magic” and “Kiss 100”
- Websites; http://www.heatworld.com/ ______________________________________________________________
3. BBC MAGAZINES - http://www.bbcmagazines.com/
BBC magazines is a niche publisher, focusing on the home, garden and education. The well-established company is a world-recognized publishing organisation that claims to produce "a range of quality publications you can trust". Some of the magazines that BBC publish are:
- Top gear, Wildlife, Gardener's world, Sky at night, Top of the pops
Most of their magazines evolve around nature and the home which highlights a particular audience for BBC publications; the older audience with an interest in a health, lifestyle and sporting. However, there are anomolous magazines that have a completely different audience, e.g. top of the tops is targetted at children. This shows that BBC cover a wide range of magazines but their expertese lies with healthy living and the home. BBC covers many other parts of media, in fact publishing magazines is not even their main concern:
- Radio: "BBC Radio 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.."
- Websites: http://www.bbc.co.uk/, http://news.bbc.co.uk/
- TV; "BBC 1 + 2", "CBBC", "Cbeebies", "BBC News"
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4. DEVELOPMENT HELL - http://www.developmenthell.co.uk/
Development Hell has a brand image of being a a small publishing company in north London that publishes niche magazines. The company only publishes two magazines, both of which are music-based:
- The Word and Mixmag
The company targets consumers that are interested in music. Both magazines have a more specific target audience, such as, The Word aims at people who are interested in older music, so preferably adults or just anyone with an interest in oldies. The only link that Development Hell covers with other media is a matching website alongside both of its magazines:
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