Evaluation Question 4

Who Would Be The Audience For Your Media Product?

Reader Profile

Before producing my magazine I identified the profile of readers. I did this by researching TV Shows, musicians and other products that are popular within my target social group and by looking at the reader profiles of existing magazines and seeing how they would fit with my target audience.

 

 

TV Shows: People between the ages of 14 and 26 tend to have free or leisure time in their lives so they are able to watch TV a lot. I have included popular TV Shows such as 'The X Factor' and 'Breaking Bad' for both the reality side of TV (The X Factor has a music element) and the more dramatic scripted side. The reality genre of TV appeals to this age group, as people find them entertaining and comedic. There are many other popular reality TV Shows that fit into this category such as 'I'm A Celeb' and `The Voice'. Shows such as 'Breaking Bad' and 'Pretty Little Liars' may be popular to the older people in the age group because of the dramatic element they have, and these types of shows are shown past 9 O'Clock and may not appeal to the younger people in the age group because they contain violence and bad language.

Possessions: Young people often have the latest technologies, mobile phones and iPods are very common now to the younger generation. Digital cameras are available readily to consumers and cameras are now part of the everyday smart phone. Social media sites such as Tumblr and Instagram allow people to share their photos online.

In todays society we are all connected through the use of the internet. As my product is aimed at the younger generation most people in this group will have access to the internet and have accounts on different social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr and Instagram. Each of these sites have different main purposes but through all of them different forms of media can be shared. I made sure that on my product were social media links and a website address so that my magazine could be accessed on different platforms and attract a wide range of readers.

 

I included some features on my products that the readers would be interested in that I found out were popular within  the social group. For example the younger generation of which my magazine is aimed at use the internet and social networking so I made sure to include these types of links. I included stories about artists that are popular with this social group too. I think it was important for me to think about what artists to mention as it is these names that would make the reader interested. I made sure that the artists mentioned are of the pop genre and would be recognised by a pop/chart fan. As previously mentioned, in todays society we love celebrity culture so seeing these well known names makes us interested, the reader wants to find out what the magazine has to say about them. A lot of the artists I have mentioned in my magazine target their music to the same age range and social group as my magazine, so having them in my magazine makes sense. 

 

Social Class & Demographics

 

Most of my target audience will be in the socio-economic group E or D because many will be students and are therefore relying on parents or a small, not well paid job for money, most of them will be in compulsory or higher education. Therefore, to appeal to the target audience I have to have an understanding of what they will like and what they can afford. I included stories about artists that are popular in this specific category and I priced my magazine at an affordable amount to attract a regular readership.

Opportunities, Interaction & Features

When producing my magazine I had to think about what conventions and features would attract my target audience.

I have included interactive elements into my magazine to make it more entertaining and interesting. The competition included is a chance for the reader to win an iPod touch and a £100 iTunes voucher. I chose these prizes as they link to the theme of my magazine. Also iPods are in my reader profile so I think that my target audience would be very interested in winning one, and the voucher will enable them to add the music they want themselves. The idea that the audience can win something makes them want to read on and find out how.

The quiz idea that I had I think adds entertainment value to my magazine, the readers can interact and it’s something fun to do, rather than just reading.

The subscription box that I added to my contents page includes an offer in which the reader can get all 24 issues of the magazine a year but for a discounted price. My magazine is a fortnightly magazine that would been around £1.80 - £2.30 in price. I think some people would find this to be quite expensive and as my target social group generally do not have steady jobs I think that giving them an option to buy all the magazines but at a discounted price is appealing to them.