Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience? 

The title for my magazine is ‘Rinsed’ this word signifies being washed out and connotes exhaustion. I chose this word because its how musicians would feel after playing a gig and I want my audience to relate to their lifestyle.

The cover is designed to appeal to my target audience; I have done this through typography and text placement so that my consumer reads things in the right order. The colours used would probably attract more males however is not exclusive to a male audience. I used rule of thirds to achieve a conventional layout with my cover artist and coverline being the main features. I used other conventions such as a bar and QR code. This is to make my product convergent across media platforms. I used a controversial pull quote to position my audience to purchase my product. The font in the middle third is in alternating italics, this is unconventional and makes my product look edgier, it also emphasizes that it is my main feature line. The competition line at the bottom attracts my audience because they will like that band and want the opportunity to see them, especially for free.

My contents page addresses my audience in the same way as my cover; I have used the same colours and topics. I was careful for my language to involve the audience and not talk down to them. This is because I want my product to appear friendly to the consumer. My contents page is well structured and easy to understand so that the consumer can easily navigate the magazine. I used signed repetition of ‘Rinsed’ as it is a new magazine and I want it to be memorable to the consumer. I used an image of Adam, from the magazine on the contents page to again make the consumer feel more involved. This links to uses & gratification theory whereby the audience uses the magazine to feel part of something bigger. I decided not to include an editor’s note for the reason of wanting to involve and not appear superior over my consumer. Overall my contents page is quite conventional and attracts my audience in a way suitable to the genre.

 My feature article purposely meets most conventions and addressed my audience how most magazines would. This is because I feel the article is the most informative element of my product so I wanted it to come across sincerely. I included exclusives and previously unknown information from the artist. This also contributes to uses and gratification theory and will make the consumer buy later issues because of this exclusive information. I included the same colours as on the contents and cover and added more that were relevant to the band. The interview is only with one member so my image is of her alone to represent that. Normal conventions used to attract my audience include the drop cap, pull quote, page numbers, columns, side bar and tour dates. The language used by the interviewer here is very stereotypical of a music magazine and I was sure to include additional information about the interview, again to involve the consumer. I did not change Kate’s responses, as I wanted the piece to remain genuine and honest, traits that conform to my genre.