AUDIENCE RESEARCH: FOCUS GROUP

 

GENERIC RESEARCH: CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

GENERIC RESEARCH:

CASE STUDY 1: DOJA CAT FOR DAZED MAGAZINE, WINTER 2022 ISSUE

I liked this cover because of its uniqueness and thought it was useful to analyse for my own front cover. Overall, the cover is mid shot of singer Doja Cats torso wand head, she is wearing simple clothes but her pose makes the magazine striking. Doja breaks gender norms and stereotypes with her almost grotesque pose, a woman on a magazine would usually be expected to be conventionally attractive, long hair and probably smiling. But the cover. Takes a different approach and I feel it is more effective in making an eye-catching, statement cover. The use of ‘purrr’ is intertextuality of the rapper/singers name which is contemporary and would also entice fans who understand the reference. Doja is known as of late from her eccentric and humorous personality and style which is used to portray her on this cover. The bold, capitalised masthead makes the magazines name clear, whilst the uncluttered page uses a space underneath to display what’s inside, capitalising the important words, I think this connotes quality and luxury as the picture is the main focus. Below you can see some other images of Doja Cat inside this issue of DAZED as well as evidence of her humour and eccentric style as she went dressed like a ‘cat’ for the Met Gala 2023:

CASE STUDY 2: LITTLE WHITE LIES MAGAZINE , 31ST AUGUST 2017

I loved the use of colour and art style to convey the beauty and aesthetic of this film. The simplicity of the cover makes it feel unique and more of a piece of art than a magazine. The masthead is more minimalist compared to DAZED magazine’s but still stands out against the almost childlike drawing of actor Timothee Chalamet. The use of an actor with such a large fan base on the cover will attract a large audience and the only copy being the name of the films makes it feel important and meaningful. The fact that this issue was released in the summer is also reflective of the colour scheme and aesthetic of the cover. Below you can see some images of the film that portrays the summery, European, subtle and stylistic aesthetic this film carries:

CASE STUDY 3: TOTAL FILM MAGAZINE ISSUE 318

This cover is more conventional to the movie magazine genre and I enjoy how the colours reflect the horror genre as well as the colour scheme of Spider-Man’s suit. This magazine uses persuasive language such as ‘exclusive!’,  ‘NEED’ and ‘new look!’ To lure audiences in and make them feel special as the contents of the magazine can’t be found anywhere else. The use of the the bold capitalised plug for ‘scream’ in the centre of the page and in the same font as on the movie poster will further attract fans who will recognise this as well as the image of the iconic ‘ghost face killer’ that is recognisable for most people. As well as this, there is a quote from the main actress in the scream franchise ‘Neve Campbell’, super-fans of the franchise will trust her and be excited by the fact that she has a mention on the cover. There is further use of big celebrity names that the audience will recognise such as ‘Kirsten Dunst’, ‘Tom Holland’ and ‘Olivia Coleman’ which will add a sense of authenticity and superiority to the magazine. Below is evidence of how the colour scheme of the magazine reflects the horror genre as well as drawing on colours from the Spider-Man movies:

EXTRA CASE STUDIES WITH INTERESTING CODES AND CONVENTIONS:

GQ’s Robert Pattinson issue takes an interesting depiction of the actor, throughout the magazine he is portrayed in a completely different way to his normal self which in turn depicts the topic of the ‘art of fashion’, this issue was largely successful. As well as this, the font used is unique and gives a more youthful and modern feel.

i-D magazines’ images depict all their models with one eye closed, I think it is interesting to have something unique to your magazine whether it is typography or images. 

Rolling Stones’ portrayal of Harry Styles has a clear styles with pastel pink colours throughout the cover. The ‘caption’ to the photo also relates to the image by using a sort of pun ‘How the King of Pop set the music world aflame’. His outfit is also very gender non-confirmative, something that is becoming increasingly accepted and appreciated within the younger generation, my target audience.

WEBSITE CASE STUDIES:

Dazed magazine has the opportunity to sign up for the newsletter, this increases loyalty, as constant updates will be sent via email and increases interaction with the website. The colour scheme of black and white with neon green makes the banner more eye catching, with capitalisation of most words making it stand out. The imperative ‘tell us your email’ is persuasive in this instance.

Top stories and trending section of Vogue and DAZED reflects the news value of ‘currency’ (Galtung and Ruge) and includes the different tabs and links to keep you on the website for longer, such as ‘archive’ and ‘fashion’ that will taker the audience to their points in the website.

Different ways of rating movies within the website: film websites ‘empire’ and ‘little white lies’ have different ways of rating movies, empire has a star rating system whereas little white lies has a number system out of 5 with different numbers such as ‘enjoyment’, ‘in retrospect’ and ‘anticipation’, this could be useful for creating my own system on my website.

Links to social media, grow a following through the context of increasing technological convergence: ‘little white lies’ has links to instagram, facebook and twitter etc. and as my target audience is 16-25 and frequent users of socials this could be useful in engaging an audience and sharing to new potential readers. Making use of digital convergence, Little White Lies and Empire magazine also have things such as YouTube Channels and Podcasts, this expands their audience across multiple platforms.

Find out more tabs: ‘sight and sound’ has a ‘find out more tab’, this gives readers a small taste of an article but entices them into going further into the website and staying on it for longer. The superlative ‘greatest’ connotes supremacy.

Using ads: 

Editing the masthead to match the current/top story on the website: I thought that this was a great idea for creating synchronicity between the physical magazine covers and the website, creating a strong brand identity whilst still being unique and entertaining edge.

I enjoyed the aesthetic and clean yet bold layout of this homepage: the use of individual pictures to create distinctive differences between the different tabs creates a defined, clean cut aesthetic whilst still being colourful and fun:

The heavily advertised subscription service and ability to join ‘clubs’ or get the print magazine delivered makes the audience feel special/important

Links to live and upcoming events to grow a following:

INDUSTRIAL CONTEXT: BAUER MEDIA

 

Owner: Yvonne Bauer runs Bauer Media Group, which has been in her family for five generations since its founding as a small printing company in 1875.

Brands include:

• Empire
• Grazia
• Absolute Radio
• KISS
• Bella

Case studies:

Sky Cinema:

No Time To Die: 

Bauer media appears to use culturally current and relevant spikes to their advantage in marketing, advertising and raising audience awareness. The use of popular figures and celebrities is also commonly used to keep audiences engaged. As well as this there is an increased use in social media content for a contemporary audience such as consistent twitter posts and podcasts etc. to create a closeness and interactiveness with the brand that they are representing.

      

Media Packs:

Empire:

Empire prides itself on being influential, premium and polished, reaching fans with authority. However their main audience is largely different to the one in the brief which may be something to consider when analysing their codes and conventions as it may differ to ones I would like to use. It is useful to note that they are passionate about film - they use cinema as escapism or insight into other worlds and are also key influencers in their crowd of friends and within their family and wouldn’t consider seeing a film without their recommendation, similar to the briefs target audience of media literate readers. They also have access to cinematic content 24/7 which is useful when understanding the use of streaming and social media.

Empire provides a multitude of content such as access to film sets and exclusives interviews with A-list celebrities which provides audiences with exclusive knowledge that gives an authentic insight into the world of cinema. They also provide content across multiple platforms due to digital convergence such as podcasts and a digital editions of their magazine, which I could also provide within my own magazine.

Grazia:

Another of Bauer’s magazines GRAZIA, considers their audiences to be smart and stylish women who reads their content as they find it relatable. Although my magazine is aimed at both genders, it is for a media literate audience, so my magazine could follow the conventions of this magazine that makes it agenda-setting and entertaining to appeal to a passionate audience. 

Audience:

Bauers most popular genre appears to be entertainment with audiences such as Film Fans, TV Enthusiasts and music lovers which is useful to keep in mind when creating my magazine. Also, lifestyle seems to be a large sector of what audiences enjoy, with fashion, tech, and travel being popular with Bauer’s audiences  and could potentially be used within my contents page and web page.