Target Audience

I have decided to look at NME magazine and Q magazine to help me learn what will help attract my target audience. I used these two magazines as the are the same genre as my magazine, LGM and have the same target audience as me, alternative rock fans!

FRONT COVER

This front cover is of Coldplay from Q magazine.  First off is that the main cover stars are an alternative rock band which will grab their attention. But also in the cover lines are other alternative rock bands which will grab more fans who are not fans of Coldplay, the main cover stars. There are the typical codes and conventions such as a bar code and left third, but what grabs the audience is that all the cover stars are looking straight at the camera giving direct address to the reader, thus pulling them in.

This is a front cover from NME magazine and is similar to the Q one. Once again the main cover stars are an alternative rock band and are giving the audience direct address.  However what pulls in the reader is the fact that at the top it has 'special collectors magazine' and all the cover lines are about Arctic Monkey's, not other bands. This will help not only get in plenty of Arctic Monkey fans but also people who are 'collectors' of the magazine. 

Both these front covers do not contain pugs and or a screamer which have been used on other front covers. This is another way to attract target audience and I will use them on my front cover despite them not being on these front covers. Also these front covers have taught me not to use more than 5 front covers, letting the focus stay on the cover stars and to keep the fonts simple.

CONTENTS PAGE

This is NME contents page and this is extremely effective in pulling in their target audience. First off they have a picture and a summary off the main story giving the audience an insight into the main interview and getting them hooked as they will want to read the rest. Next on the right hand side they have a brief  index on where things are with the topic in bold eg features and reviews. This is helpful as it will show the reader where the story is which they want to read, saving them time or letting them now it's in there making them buy the magazine. Finally on the left there is a index with what is on every page once again giving the reader an insight.

Q's contents page is very different to NME! It has the main cover star taking up most the page and the arrow indicates to the reader the interview is on the next page making it quick and easy for Q's target audience to recognize the cover star then read the interview. The index is on the left giving the reader an insight with the main stories in bold, like NME's drawing in the target audience as they can see if their favorite band is in that issue. There is also a summary of another story across the bottom making the reader buy the magazine to read the extra story (like a screamer)!

Both of these contents page help get the magazine's target audience by having an image of the main cover star, and the interview page and in the index having each section in bold to show their target audience that their interest is in the magazine. I will use both of these things in my contents page and will also add a subscription ad in it like NME's!

Double Page Spread

This is Q's double page spread of an interview with Ed Sheeran. It keeps to the conventions of a two page spread by having the main image on one side and the interview on the other.  What grabs their target audience here though is the colour's used. It really complements the picture of Sheeran and London and is used in Q's colours,  red and white. However the fact that the colour scheme is so simple makes it effective and draws in the reader. Also the photo make's Sheeran easy to recognize bringing in his fans and the picture of Big Ben is an excellent background as it makes Sheeran the main attraction.Also there is a pull quote giving the reader an insight into the interview. Finally the fact that Sheeran isn't looking at the camera helps bring in the audience as it shows he's a bit rebellious as he is not giving direct address.

This is NME's double page spread from their interview with Arctic Monkeys. Once again the colours are simple, black on white, thus making it easy to read and effective and the main image is on one side with the interview on the other. However this double page spread gets the target audience attention as the pull quote is used in a different font. This font is a nice big bold font making it easy to read but as there are lines everywhere it shows a bit of the bands personality, implying that they are rebellious. This contradicts the picture where they are giving direct address making them seem innocent.  This will only make the reader want to buy the magazine to read the interview to find out what the band are really like.

How Will This Help Me?
This activity has helped me a lot when drawing up a plan for my front cover, contents page and double page spread. It has shown me what is needed to attract target audience, such as how many cover lines I need, whether or not to use pugs, showing me to keep the colour and fonts simple and clearly telling them where everything is on the contents page. It has also showed me how I can portray my bands personality's by using direct address or not!