Audience Research

Secondary research:

“Any media text is created for a particular audience and will usually appeal most to this particular target audience” (Hall and Holmes, 1998). This theory shows me that I will need to find out about my target audience so that I can represent them accordingly. Hall and Holmes' theory allows me to understand what makes successful media product and it allows me to understand how to represent my target audience. I am going to undertake primary and secondary research so that I can create a product which understands what my target audience want from a magazine and it will also allow my magazine to make a profit.

When I create my magazine I need to remember that the focal point of the industry is that it is there to make a profit. This shows me that every magazine in the industry is there to represent its specific target audience so that it will be as successful as possible. Due to this, every area of the magazine is effected, and will be influenced by the target audience. Every section of the production process is specifically adapted so that the specific target audience can be represented to the best of its ability. 

The key purpose of magazine is to gross a profit, because it is a money making industry millions and millions of pounds has been invested in audience research (primary and secondary) to help the industry pitch to and represent the right group for their product. Conglomerate institution such as the BBC and Bauber are experts at this and the know that it is more profitable to pitch to a mass audience, where by some independent publishers may make a more create product for a niche audience that has a higher financial risk.

There are two main audiences that you can pitch to - these are a mass audience and a niche audience. A mass audience is an audience which covers a large percentage of the population, appealing to their interests and desires, whereas a niche audience is an audience which only covers a very small section of the population. For example, 'Top of the Pops' magazine represents a mass audience - due to a large section of the population having an interest in pop music - and 'Indie' magazine would be targeted at a niche audience as stereotypically a smaller number of people have an interest in indie/ alternative music.

All magazine publishers do something called 'profiling their audience' - this looks at audience demographics such as age, gender, social status and their viewing needs and preferences. 

Magazine publishers think about the following questions when developing and creating a magazine:
1) What is the social class of the primary target audience?
2) What is the gender of the primary target audience?
3) What is the age of the primary target audience?
4) What is the nationality of the primary target audience?
5) What is the ethnicity of the primary target audience?
6) What is the sexuality of the primary target audience?
7) What is the audience appeal - what will the primary target audience be looking for in a magazine?
8) Is the magazine for a mass or niche audience and how will it create a profit?

I will now conduct my own primary research through use of Survey Monkey so that I can understand who my primary target audience is.

Primary Research:
I have created a survey using Survey Monkey so that I can gain an idea of the my target audience as well as see what features my audience want to see on a music magazine. I posted my survey on various social network sites so that my magazine could go out to a large audience and I could get a large number of results. Moreover, my target audience will likely be using social media which will fully ensure my magazine goes out through a relevant source. This will show me who my target audience are and what they want to see on my music magazine. 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BF87KXK

After I collected results from Survey Monkey I evaluated my results - here is what I found out:

From looking at the graph of the results for my question 'Are you male or female?' I can understand that my survey is going to be relatively even in terms of representing my audience's desires through better demographics results. This is important because the genre is almost split 50/50 between the two genders and I will have a true understanding of what they want to see from a music magazine. 

My results show me that the predominant age of the people who took my survey is 17-19 years of age. This statistic shows me that the age of my audience is representative of the audience for the genre, hence allowing me to see their needs and desires. I also have a secondary target audience aged between 14 and 16 - I will need to think about this when creating my magazine.

From looking at my graph above, I can see that my target audience are in the social bracket C1 - with the secondary target audience of C2. This shows me that my magazine needs to represent this kind of audience through use of lexis, images and colour - this will allow my magazine to represent the audience correctly, allowing my magazine to succeed. Moreover, this will allow my magazine to connote the correct themes for the genre and audience. 

This question allows me to understand my audience's views and it will then allow me to show that through my magazine and also represent the target audience coherently. My target audience represents almost only white British - this shows me that the audience's views would be based around that of an average white British citizen. My magazine will represent the white British ethnic group and this will allow it to flourish in the market place.

From looking at the previous question I can see that the sexuality of heterosexual is mainly represented and is therefore the primary target audience. The secondary target audience is bisexual so I may want to represent them through the magazine to therefore widen my audience. This will allow me to understand my audience and portray their sexuality correctly. 

I can see from this question that 10% of my audience always read magazines and 20% read magazines - this shows me that there is still a marketplace for printed magazines. 

This question shows me that the majority of my audience want to see an indie/alternative magazine over other genres of magazine. If I were to try to represent any other genres my graph shows me that a secondary audience would be pop, rock and hip hop. This gives me confidence in my target audience and what they want to see from a magazine.

This graph shows me that interesting, professional images need to be represented on my magazine and this is what my audience want to see. I will also need to represent interesting colours, images of musicians and a catchy masthead. This will allow me to portray my audience's needs and desires correctly because this is what they want to see on a magazine. Moreover, it will help to portray the purpose due t the interesting images and colour. 

Audience Profile:

Using stereotypes and representation theory (secondary research) to sell magazines:
Professional institution who profile their target audience refer to themes of representation, existing products and audience research, which then allows them to understand what stereotypes they should interpret in order to attract their target audience. I will be looking at key theories regarding stereotypes concerning youth, gender, nationality, sexuality, class and ethnicity. I will be exploring how these theories can be shown in music magazines with a similar genre to that of the magazine which I will be creating - indie/alternative. This process will allow me to understand which stereotypes will help sell my magazine. 

To start, this magazine cover supports Laura Mulvey's 1975 Male Gaze theory which states women are used in the media as 'erotic objects of desire'. It does this through the use of Lily Allen on the front cover - an artists who is perhaps seen as an object of sexual desire, however this is intensified through the use of an erotic pose. Moreover, this theory is added to through the use of costumes in the form of mise-en-scene. The model is half naked which connotes sexual intercourse and an erotic nature. This in turn helps to sell the magazine through attracting a male target audience who want to see/read more about her. In terms of the lexis on the page, the term 'sexy beast' is used, which connotes eroticism and can attract a male target audience through stereotypes associated with the term. The magazine represents Mulvey's theory further through use of red and one of the main colours on the page, this connotes love, lust and passion and helps to back up stereotypes and themes associated with the main image and lexis. From looking at this theory, and also this example, I think that I may want to incorporate this kind of theory into my own work to ensure that my magazine represents my audience to the best of its ability.

The next magazine which I am looking at represents sexuality through a way in which is highly stereotypical for a magazine like this in the media. The magazine cover "chooses that aspect of gay male behaviour (SELECTION), inflates it into the defining male characteristic of male homosexuality (MAGNIFICATION), then establish it as the most easily recognizable image (REDUCTION).” This theory is shown on the cover through the use of mise-en-scene in the form of 'gothic' clothing, something which is generally stereotyped alongside homosexual males. This is done through make-up, long hair and black clothing - all of these on a male connote homosexuality and therefore represent the theory above. Sexuality is also represented through the lexis of this magazine cover, words such as 'veil brides' are used which connote femininity, something commonly and stereotypicallly associated and with homosexuality. Moreover, this is also doe through the colour scheme on the page, orange is used for example - perhaps a colour which may connote homosexuality. I have decided that I am not going to represent this theory through my magazine cover due to my target audience and their desires - I may however decide to incorporate it in somehow through the use of teasers.

My next magazine cover goes against Sarita Malik's 1998 theory which states “Many feel that Black and Asian audiences are still not sufficiently catered for and that insensitivity towards issues of race and ethnicity still exist. The reality of a lived multiculturalism is not represented in the British media." This theory is contradicted through the use of a black artist on the cover - this maybe however because Malik's theory is outdated and the situation in the media is slightly different now than what it was. Moreover, the use of a specific lexis on the page connotes happiness due to the use of the quote 'I'm spreading joy around the world'. This connotes happiness and goes against the theory which states 'Certain images of Black people as deviant trouble-makers, for example, are perpetuated by the media in order to encourage the mass audience to view blacks in a certain way'. This theory is not one that I will be incorporating into my own magazine when I create it as my primary target audience are white British, so this kind of representation would be unnecessary. 

This magazine cover represents Andrew Higson's 1998 theory which says that 'Identity is generally understood to be the shared identity of naturalized inhabitants of a particular political-geographic space – this can be a particular nation or region'. Despite NME being a magazine which is released in the UK, a US flag can still apply as it relates to the material inside and is also coherent in terms of relating to the audience of that particular artist. Nationality is conveyed through use of mise-en-scene in terms of the background image which is of the US flag - something which directly connotes the nationality which it is referring to. Moreover, the colour scheme, mainly consisting of blue and white also connotes this. The lexis helps to portray these themes also as it incorporates words such as 'modern American icon'. This helps to represent the target audience as it represents what they like from a magazine cover and also what they like in terms of genre of music. This theory probably won't be relevant for me when I come to make my magazine cover because the majority of people who read/enjoy that genre of magazine/music are primarily British, hence there not being a need for another nationality to be represented.

This cover portrays stereotypes concerning youth through Stanley Hall's 'Storm and Stress Model'. In this, he stated that the common mood of all teenagers is 'depression' and he also stated “Youth must have excitement and if this is not at hand in the form of moral intellectual enthusiasms it is more prone to be sought in; sex, drink or drugs.” Moreover, Bill Osergby stated “We do not have to search too hard to find negative representations of youth in postwar Britain. These two statements are represented through this magazine cover through the use of imagery and the star vehicles. This is through coloured hair and dark clothes - this also relates to Stanley Hall's theory of 'rebellion' in teenagers. These theories can also be shown through the use of black on the cover in the form of text boxes - this connotes depression and rebellion and also the use of half-naked men - something which can be related to both theories. This is certainly a theory which I will be incorporating into my magazine cover as it will help to relate and represent my target audience to the best of its ability. Moreover, it will allow the cover to convey as many generic stereotypes possible to make my cover realistic and professional.

Finally, my last magazine cover represents theories which relate to class and the social grades which are connoted through this. Marist's argument states that the middle classes have the best deal in terms of representation as it is the middle class who control the media. This is why magazines aimed at the social bracket B/C1 are catagorised as the 'social norm' (Gandal 2007). These theories are shown here through the use of mise-en-scene, typography, lexis and also layout. To start, the use of a suit portrays a higher social class due to stereotypes surrounding clothing of that nature. Secondly, the typography on the page is used sparingly and the type is in lower case and easy to read - something associated with magazines aimed at a higher class as it is considered 'more formal'. The lexis shows the magazine as being of a higher social class as it perhaps uses more formal language than others in the market place, e.g. 'a portrait of the artist as a new man'. This connotes a higher class and a formal nature. Finally the layout of the page is simplistic and portrays a formal nature which shows off a 'classy' nature as the type is ordered along with alignment in terms of where it is positioned. These theories will probably not become apparent to me when I come to create my magazine cover as this issue of NME (a magazine in the same section of the market place as me) doesn't fit the general conventions often associated with this genre