HOW DID YOU ATTRACT YOUR AUDIENCE? Question 3 of Evaluation

SURVEY

At the beginning of my research, I conducted a survey on Survey Monkey asking the public what they look for when buying a music magazine, and what genre they prefer. I used the graphs of the results to determine how I was going to target my audience. I realised that the contents of the magazine is very important, so by seeing which form of content was most popular on the survey, I could then add the content that was most popular to my magazine.

HOW OLD ARE YOU?

Although those who answered my survey were aged between 10-19, this is not the age group I want to aim my magazine at. I want to address a much older audience, as my magazine is quite mature and innovative in it’s design and thought-process.

WHAT FEATURES WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN A MUSIC MAGAZINE?

The features that people want to see in music magazines most is Events, therefore I made sure to integrate this into my magazine, even if it was mentioning it on the contents page. In my double page spread, the writer talks about her experience at one of Louise Lavender’s – featured on the front cover – gigs. Next on the chart is exclusive interviews, which I have featured on my contents page with the band The Unknown.

WHAT IS YOUR PREFERRED MUSIC TO LISTEN TO?

According to this chart, the most preferred music genre is rock. Therefore, my music magazine is based on rock music. However, equal in amount to Rock is Other, so consequently I have merged the rock genre with it’s sub-genres to make my magazine more fascinating for its target audience.

WRITTEN MODE OF ADDRESS

I have attracted my target audience by using language that is understandable to them as it is quite informal. It would be very boring for the reader to read an article that uses formal language as it would give them the sense of being in a lecture. On multiple occasions, I include the personal pronoun ‘You’ to make them feel included. For example, in my double page spread, I addressed the audience by saying “I know what you are thinking…” The use of the personal pronoun makes the writing in the article seem as though it is directly addressing the reader, making it more personal and more likely for the reader to respond i.e. continue buying Obscure magazine.

I have also written the article on the double page spread using a 1st person narrative, where I include the personal pronoun ‘I.’ This allows the reader to read the text as if they are the narrator. However, seemingly, the article is a blend of 1st person narrative and 3rd person narrative. Therefore, this means that the reader is also ‘a fly on the wall’, they are witnessing the events that are happening in the article – the image of Louise Lavender performing is much more clearer in their minds.

WRITTEN MODE OF ADDRESS

To make the text seem recognisable to the audience, I use Disney references from the movie The Little Mermaid and slight celebrity endorsement.

By doing this, it makes my target audience more interested in reading my magazine as they believe that the writer of the article has the same interests as them. I have also employed rhetorical questions, italicized text, and sentences beginning with conjunctions to address the audience in order to grasp their attention in a different way. Conjunctions are words like ‘and’, ‘but’, and ‘because’ and placing these words at the start of a sentence can add a cursive grasp to the language, making it much more forceful.

VISUAL MODE OF ADDRESS

Images – The images I have used should engage the audience as on the front over there is an image of a girl dressed in a ‘rock star’ attire, whom is not looking at the camera. This should intrigue the audience into reading the magazine as it creates a sense of mystery – because they don’t know who the girl is and they want to find out. The subject on the cover appears to be teenaged, thus this addresses the target audience as they are around the same age too. Also, to make the image even more interesting, I have added an application effect of ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch. This causes the audience to question whether or not the front cover is an illustration. Therefore, anyone who is concerned with art may be tempted to buy the magazine. This image should indicate to the reader what the magazine is about due to the prop used, a guitar, and the model’s outfit – clad in leather.

VISUAL MODE OF ADDRESS

On the contents page, I have included more images from the same photoshoot on the front cover. One is in colour, and one is in black and white which has no background. This intrigues the audience as it makes the magazine look a great deal more professional. I have also inserted an image of myself, as the editor, to provide the contents page with more character. For the image where the model is in a Christmas-décor room; I took a picture of my friend, removed the background, and added the new background of a traditional Christmas living room. I used this image as it shows the audience a wide range of content within the magazine – it’s not all music.

VISUAL MODE OF ADDRESS

On the double page spread, the main image employs direct address which is when the subject is looking straight at the camera. The impact that this has on the reader is extraordinary as the subject is hard not look at – they become the focal point. They create tension for the reader through their strong and powerful stance.

Masthead – the masthead that I have used on my front cover is quite unique and unusual as it is quite contradictory to its name, as I have used the font permanent marker to write Obscure. But by doing this, I am making a statement – £Obscure music should become more permanent, it shouldn’t be something that hides in the shadows of something bigger.” Also, to address the audience, I have used the colour pink to make the mast-head stand out and catch the eye of the audience.