Q5. HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?

My target audience consists of male and female teenagers between the ages of 13-19. I aim to attract teenagers who are fans of rock music and its culture, for example; teenagers who attend rock concerts. I think I have successfully attracted my audience through research and using genre conventions…

I used my research into stereotypes to attract my target audience. I added elements of the stereotypical rock style into my magazine through the use of costume, hair and makeup. I added this in order to ensure the audience could relate to the magazine and would be attracted to it.

I used this research to decide on my models code of dress. I decided to dress my model in a Nirvana T-shirt, black jeans, a black hooded jacket and black Dr.Marten boots. I also ensured my model had dark hair and was wearing eye makeup and red lipstick. Through creating this rock style on my model this will attract the audience as they will recognize and relate to this style. Nirvana is also a well known, legendary band therefore this logo will be recognized by rock fans and they will be attracted to the style.

The use of colour also contributed to attracting the target audience. Stereotypically, rock music is linked to dark, gothic colours therefore I tried to incorporate the colours black and red strongly into my magazine. Different colours have different connotations and I wanted to relate the colours connonations to my genre in order to attract the audience. Dark red has connotations of anger which links with the anger represented in a lot of rock music. It is also related to danger linking with the rebellious lifestyle linked with rock music. The colour black denotes authority and strength which links to the ego’s of many rock artists. It is also stereotypically a gothic style colour. Mixing black with other powerful colours such as red and yellow makes the colours stand out creating an aggressive colour scheme linking to the aggression of rock music. My colour scheme would enable the audience to establish the genre of the magazine. If the target audience can quickly distinguish the magazine is their preferred genre they will be more likely to purchase it or take an interest in it. This colour scheme allows the target audience to know this magazine is aimed at both genders. It is important to think about the colours used when attracting an audience of both genders as specific colours have different connotations. For example, I have not used bright pink colours as these are feminine colours and would mainly only appeal to girls. It would also make my magazine look girly and that is not the style of magazine I wish to create. Colour is also important in catching the eye of the audience. For example, the colour red often stands out over other colours. Using red on my front cover would make the magazine more noticeable.

I used a specific language and tone throughout my magazine in order to attract and relate to the target audience. I used a mixture of simple and complex language. My target audience consists of teenagers that will most likely have advanced reading skills therefore they will understand more complex words. However teenagers will not want to concentrate on what they are reading as they tend to read magazines for entertainment purposes and enjoyment; therefore to keep their attention, I kept the majority of the language simple and used shorter sentences. My article was written in an interview format as my target audience questionnaire results confirmed this form of writing is preferred by my target audience. Therefore my article includes the point of view of the music artist character. In order to make the audience relate to the artist I used frequent colloquialisms that relate to teenage vernacular such as referring to the interviewers/magazine as ‘guys’.

On my contents page, I created an upbeat tone through the use of exclamation marks and short, catchy sentences to give more information about the article in a way that would appeal to the audience.

Addressing the audience in second person and speaking directly to them adding emphasis on word such as ‘you’ will attract the audience and make them feel involved. If they feel as sense of belonging when reading the magazine they will be more inclined to continue purchasing it. The use of direct mode of address in the images used also contributes to the reader feeling involved. Speaking to the audience in a friendly, informal tone also draws them in. An example of how I have used this technique in my magazine is through the language in my editors note. The editors note is the perfect opportunity to be on a personal level with the audience and address them personally. For example- ‘Hello Readers’ ‘…for yourself!’ Signing the letter with the editors first name also contributes to the informal, personal tone.

I added a USP in the form of a competition into my magazine to attract my target audience. I decided to create a competition to ‘win Leeds Festival tickets’. I used the information from my target audience profiles to create the theme of my USP as my target audience often attend festivals therefore they would be attracted to the magazine more if they had the chance to win festival tickets.

Words such as PLUS! and EXCLUSIVE will grab the target audiences attention as they suggest the magazine has lots of features and they will be getting their moneys worth. The fact these words are upper case and a different colour to the background also causes them to stand out and catch the audiences eye.

Making the genre of the magazine clear to the audience is important as they need to establish the magazine is the genre they are attracted to. Using genre conventions enabled me to make my magazine look like a typical rock music magazine. Genre conventions include-• Colour • Images• Font styles

• Costume/ hair and makeup• Props • Brand Identity

I stuck to the same colour scheme throughout my magazine to create a brand identity. This would make my target audience relate these colours together to my magazine making it more recognizable which would lead to it being more successful.

All these conventions contribute to my magazine linking to rock music and having the style and image of a typical rock magazine.

I researched into stereotypical rock style clothing, hair and makeup in order to make my model have the style and look of a typical model/artist you would see in a rock magazine.

I also used a range of different fonts to appeal to my target audience and link to genre conventions. The font for my masthead was inspired by the broken Kerrang font. The broken, jagged font links to the rough, loud sound of Rock music. This kind of dark styled font would also appeal to my target audience due to their style. I used different, simpler fonts throughout my magazine in order to make information easier for the audience to read. It also makes the magazine more versatile and interesting using different fonts rather than using the same font all the way through.

I also interpreted appropriate props relating to the rock genre into some of the images in my magazine. I experimented taking a range of images using props such as guitars, amps and microphones however did not use all these images in my product as I had stronger ones. Using these props gave the magazine a rock style and made the audience aware this magazine is of the rock genre.

I also included the names of well known bands to feature in my magazine. This would attract fans of the and bands and rock music which is the audience I am aiming to appeal to.

I also researched into the price of existing magazines in order to decide on a price for my own magazine. This allowed me to establish competition my own magazine would face if it was to be distributed. Through my research I conclude current rock magazine prices range from £2.20- £4.00. In order to attract my target audience, I made my magazine cheaper than the competitors at £2.10. This is a suitable price as my target audience questionnaire concluded my audience would be wiling to pay this price. I have also taken into consideration that my teenage target audience will be on a low budget as my questionnaire results showed the majority of my audience are unemployed therefore they would therefore appreciate a cheaper priced magazine and chose this magazine over a more expensive option.

I also learned through my target audience questionnaire that my audience prefer article in the form of Question and Answer therefore I wrote my article in an interview format in order to appeal to my target audience. Due to my target audience being young, they stereotypically will also not want to read a large amount of text therefore I split the text up in blocks and separated the questions from the answers though the use of different coloured text.

The layout of text throughout my magazine is important when appealing to my target audience. Especially in my double page spread- I decided to layout the text in blocks in the form of columns to make the text organized and easy for the audience to read. The use of columns is also a common convention of double page spread articles making my article look professional and legitimate.