Magazine Industry Analysis

The magazine business have grown over these past few years as in 2014 an astonishing 210 new magazines and a 282 million retail sale value. The top 3 selling magazines of 2014 in the UK are 'TV Choice', ' What's on TV' and 'Take A Break' which all had a profit between 18 - 31 million. However from the top selling magazines of 2014, 9 out of 10 have had a decrease in sales which means our generation isn't interested in buying magazines instead more attracted to online versions or watching it on the TV. From these results the majority are aimed towards females rather than male which suggest that women buy them more and are stereo-typically looked as a house wife therefore have more free time than the husband who earns a living.

On the top selling list there wasn't hardly any music magazines therefore it’s not reaching its target audience. However the top music magazine is 'Q' then 'The Rolling Stones' and then 'Entertainment Weekly’, which are similar to the genre of music I want to portray in my music magazine. These magazines feature social networking sites and multi platforms which is supposed to attract the younger generation and keeps the magazine company in contact with its readers. Having social networking site allows the company to release vital information and upcoming features to engage their potential readers and the younger generation. Now that old magazines especially music magazines are evolving in today society by having these multi platforms and in the future it will change again.  

In 2015, the UK made 151 million retail copy sales with a value of £282 million which proves that this industry is profitable and people are still interested in buying magazines however this could be the older generation rather than their actual target audience. 

Advertisers mood board

Target audience mood board

College Magazine Analysis

NME Magazine Analysis

College magazine contentspage

College magazine front cover

College Magazine Questionnaire

College Magazine Questionnaire

1. Do you read the college magazine?

 

2. What would you like in the magazine?

Choose your top three

(   ) College Events

(   ) Gig Guide

(   ) Subject Information

(   ) Technology

(   ) Problem Page

(   ) Job Tips

(   ) Puzzle Page

(   ) Fashion

(   ) Sports

(   ) Film/DVD reviews

 

3. What are the three colours that would attract you to the front cover?

 

4. What main cover image would you like? 

(   ) Student

(   ) Teacher

(   ) Students Work

(   ) Technology

(   ) Nature

 

5.What should the magazine be called?




6. How much would you pay for the college magazine?

(   ) Nothing

(   ) 50p

(   ) £1

(   ) £2

 

7.How often would you like it to be published?

(   ) Week

(   ) Fortnight

(   ) Month

(   ) Half-term

 

8.Would freebies encourage you to buy the magazine?

9.Would you subscribe to an online version?

10. What fonts would attract you to the magazine?

 

Questionnaire Analysis

Questionnaire Analysis

I asked our target audience for our college magazine a selection of questions on what to have on the front cover or when to publish it. We asked only our target audience as this magazine will only be targeted and aimed at them and from the results I can satisfy their needs more.

One of the first questions was whether or not do they already read the college magazine. A huge 90% said No which shows that the product isn’t reaching its audience visually and physically. From this questionnaire we can change this figure into a 90% yes they are reading the college magazine as we are giving them what they want in their magazine.

After that I asked what colours would be suitable for the magazine which would attract the audience and work well together. From this the top four colours are black, white, blue and red which are all bold and bright. From this I will use the colours White, Black and red as these were the most popular and work well together and are best suited towards the target audience.

A main question was what to have on the main cover image wise and 80% said either a student or students work. Having either of them on the front cover will make the magazine more attracted to students as it’s more personal and relatable rather than a teacher.

An important question was the price of the magazine which also affects when to publish the magazine because students only have part time jobs therefore can’t afford a lot. From this question 70% said they want it to be published either weekly or every fortnight and 75% said they would pay either 50p or £1 for every issue. From these results I will take into consideration the money aspect and how time consuming it is to create a magazine is.

The most important question is what to actually feature in the magazine as this is what the audience is buying it for and I want them to be a part of it. The top six topics are College events, Technology, Jobs page, gig guide, Film reviews and subject information. When creating the magazine I will create a balance of vital information about the college and upcoming events as well as entertainment.

In this question it was open which created a variety of results for the name of the mast head. For example East Norfolk, East Norfolk Life, East Norfolk Weekly, College News, EN News and College Magazine. From these results I will incorporate the name of the college as this was popular in all of the suggestions.

To encourage students to purchase the magazine I asked if freebies would affect their choice and 85% said yes they would prefer it if there were freebies on offer as this would make them feel like they’re getting their money’s worth and I feel the same.

Finally the last question relates to our generation as we asked if they would subscribe to an online magazine and 50% said no and yes, form this result I will offer this  to them.