Evaluation Question 5HOW DID YOU

ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?

Uses and Gratifications TheoryBlumler & Katz (1974)

Blumler and Katz came up with the Uses and Gratifications Theory. It is a popular approach to looking at communication within media

and says that the audience decide and decode what the messages are and mean. Katz (1959) said “it’s what people do with media” rather than “what media does to people”. It assumes that the audience interpret the media in their own way and people use the media to fulfil their own personal specific gratifications.

It has been suggested that the theory has to fulfil one of;Identification, Education, Entertainment & Social Interaction when we choose a form of media.

Large, bold masthead to attract attention. This would be easily visible on a shelf in a shop which would be eye-catching and make people more likely to pick it up.

Web address – this would attract a younger audience because lots of young people use the internet so having this on the front cover would make them more likely to pick it up and read it.

Consistent colour scheme to maintain a house style making the magazine look more neat and professional. The colour pink ensures that the magazine appeals to both genders.

Use of jewellery shows the Hip-Hop genre so the audience immediately know what genre the magazine is. This ensures that the right target audience can easily identify which type of magazine to pick up.

The main cover line is very big and obstructs the image. Not many main cover lines do this but I did it to grab the readers’ attention straight away as this is the most important part of the magazine and will make people want to buy it.

The main image uses a direct gaze. This engages the audience as they feel the magazine is directed towards them. People also read emotion through facial expression and the serious look on his face suggests that he is serious about his career and what has been happening, enticing the audience to read on and find out more.

Front Cover My focus group commented on the use of slang words and said that this would attract them to the magazine as it is common language used amongst young people so they can therefore relate to it.

Contents Page I separated the contents in ‘features’ and ‘regulars’ so that it would be easy for people to read and know which page to go to for the desired article. I think this helps to attract my particular target audience because young people prefer simple and easy to read layouts that aren’t too fussy.

I have included social media logos and a web address in my contents to appeal to a younger audience. I only used logos for the social media as young people are accustomed to using these and therefore will not need the names of them to identify them. This means I have made the page look neater without having to include names of all the social media.

I have included pictures of a record and a live show. I did this because even though record players are relatively old, they are coming back into fashion. More and more young people are using them so I felt having this related to today’s youth. Also, my target audience said they enjoyed going to gigs, so having a photo of a live show entices them to read on more.

I feel that this image I’ve chosen will attract my target audience because he has a casual stance and is wearing casual clothing which is similar to the type of people my audience are. Also, using an attractive young male will attract both genders.

I have included an article on fashion, which is what the majority of my target audience said they would like to see other than music so I feel this would engage the audience and make them want to buy the magazine.

My focus group pointed out that the use of sans serif fonts would appeal to a younger target audience such as them because it is more modern and up to date so they would therefore be more inclined to buy it.

Double Page Spread

For my article, I conducted an interview. This attracts the audience because it digs into the lives of one of their favourite artists and younger people tend to like gossip and want to know all of the details. As my target audience is young people, I decided to do a question and answer style interview so it wasn’t just one block of text making it easier to read. This breaks down the text into smaller parts which I think appeals to younger people more.

For the title of my DPS, I used the initials of the musicians name. This keeps it short and snappy and doesn’t give away too much which entices the audience to keep on reading.

I added folios to my DPS to ensure the reader could easily find the page from the contents page, making the magazine easy for them to read and navigate through.

I have kept the use of the bright colour pink as this maintains consistency and professionalism of the magazine. The bright colour makes the page eye-catching and therefore draws in attention from the reader.

The image that I’ve used attracts a younger, care free audience such as teenagers. This is because of his casual clothes and the fact he is looking away from the camera with his hands in his pockets. The long shot includes the background of the image which is against a graffiti wall giving the photo an urban feel. This will address the type of people who will read the magazine and make them want to read the article because it relates directly to them.

The use of pull quotes on this page will instantly draw the reader in as they have something to read and get from the page without having to actually start reading the article. This will attract the audience because they don’t have to read the whole thing to know what it’s about.

My focus group commented on the slang language used throughout the interview, making the artist seem like ‘one of us’ which would appeal to a younger target audience.