P1. Be able to generate ideas for an original media product based on a client brief.
The client specifies the requirement of the magazine to be 'high end' this suggests we're looking to target the ABC1 Demographic. It is also mentioned that the magazine must target 18-30 year olds and that the magazine has a feel of an independent publication. The magazine should also be aimed at the 'YouTube' and 'Instagram' generation so for example we could include media trend setters and popular figures.
Demographics is a statistical form of information which can show the characteristics of the audience. This could include their age, ethnicity, social class, gender and disposable income. This information can then be used to help media producers target their audience better by tailoring their product to their target audience. The demographic and target audience for this brief would most likely fit in the ABC1 social class bracket as the brief mentions the magazine should be 'high end' which suggests it should be more expensive and/or aimed at people with more disposable income. The brief also specifies that the target audience are to be 18-30 year old who don't often engage with traditional printed publications so the magazine has to be engaging through the use of media which is similar to that found on YouTube or Instagram so that this audience decides to buy the magazine.
The definition of a magazine by the dictionary is "a periodical publication containing articles and illustrations, often on a particular subject or aimed at a particular readership.". The main purpose of a magazine is to sell advertising space to fund its publication. The other purposes depend on the type of magazine but they include the purpose to entertain, inform and educate.
'Bauer Publishing' or 'Bauer Media Group' is a European based media company which holds its headquarters in Hamburg. They are in charge of managing the portfolio's of more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations around the world. This includes their print shops, postage, distribution and marketing. 'In The Moment' is comparable magazine to my brief as it is aimed at adult females aged 18-30 like in the brief. It is also mainly targeting the millennial generation who care about things like physical and mental health as well as feel good features and calming articles. Another comparable magazine is Top Gear magazine who is aimed at males, also aged 18-30, who have a large disposable income and include articles about cars and technology.
The codes and conventions of magazines include but are not limited to the following:
Through looking at media publishers like Bauer Media Group I can interpret that the client wants the magazine to be popular amongst the ABC1 demographic with no gender or ethnicity targeted content. I interpret this through the brief mentioning it wants a "high end" magazine which indicated the target audience to be ABC1 as well as the fact the brief says it is to be aimed at the "instagram" and "youtube" generation. The model on the cover will be a major convention as it has to inspire the target audience so that they are urged to buy the magazine and read it so it should relate to their interests or at least be relatable
Demographics is a statistical form of information which can show the characteristics of the audience. This could include their age, ethnicity, social class, gender and disposable income. This information can then be used to help media producers target their audience better by tailoring their product to their target audience. The demographic and target audience for this brief would most likely fit in the ABC1 social class bracket as the brief mentions the magazine should be 'high end' which suggests it should be more expensive and/or aimed at people with more disposable income. The brief also specifies that the target audience are to be 18-30 year old who don't often engage with traditional printed publications so the magazine has to be engaging through the use of media which is similar to that found on YouTube or Instagram so that this audience decides to buy the magazine.
The definition of a magazine by the dictionary is "a periodical publication containing articles and illustrations, often on a particular subject or aimed at a particular readership.". The main purpose of a magazine is to sell advertising space to fund its publication. The other purposes depend on the type of magazine but they include the purpose to entertain, inform and educate.
'Bauer Publishing' or 'Bauer Media Group' is a European based media company which holds its headquarters in Hamburg. They are in charge of managing the portfolio's of more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations around the world. This includes their print shops, postage, distribution and marketing. 'In The Moment' is comparable magazine to my brief as it is aimed at adult females aged 18-30 like in the brief. It is also mainly targeting the millennial generation who care about things like physical and mental health as well as feel good features and calming articles. Another comparable magazine is Top Gear magazine who is aimed at males, also aged 18-30, who have a large disposable income and include articles about cars and technology.
The codes and conventions of magazines include but are not limited to the following:
- Masthead - Title block of the magazine, usually eye-catching and has to be distinct
- Menu - List of what the magazine contains
- Pugs - The prices and the logos are usually placed here. They are well located to grab the readers attention
- Secondary lead - A preview of what one of the stories could be. The secondary lead can be an image.
- Sidebar - A box on the side that inform the reader of more features
- Splash - The main story on the front page
- Spread - A story that covers more than one page
- Stand first - Text after the headline which is designed to sell the story to the reader
- Strap-line - Subheading under the headline
- Tag - A word or phrase to engage the reader to buy the magazine.
Through looking at media publishers like Bauer Media Group I can interpret that the client wants the magazine to be popular amongst the ABC1 demographic with no gender or ethnicity targeted content. I interpret this through the brief mentioning it wants a "high end" magazine which indicated the target audience to be ABC1 as well as the fact the brief says it is to be aimed at the "instagram" and "youtube" generation. The model on the cover will be a major convention as it has to inspire the target audience so that they are urged to buy the magazine and read it so it should relate to their interests or at least be relatable
Considerations when creating new ideas
Moodboards
Below are moodboards that I created which reflect the style of the magazine I want to create.
Conceptualising my idea
When conceptualising my idea I looked at and considered two different routes that I could go with when creating my product. After analysing and identifying different strengths and weaknesses of the two routes I was able to then to decide which of the two routes would be most suitable for my magazine
The theme which my magazine follows is minimalistic and bold, focussing on film and film making. I thought this topic and theme would fit my target audience very well as the demographic featured in the brief likely is interested in the topic and it can easily be linked back to social media where it is often integrated with film stars being on different social media platforms as well as movie advertising campaigns which are often lead through social media.
Route 1:
The first route I thought of has the theme of film and amateur film making. This will include things like guides for starter camera gear, articles about making low budget film and video as well as interviews with actors and other figures in the film industry. It will meet the client brief as it is targeted at a niche audience which makes it have the independent feel which the brief mentioned. The magazine is also aimed at 18-30 year olds by having informative and professional content which appeals to that age demographic. The USP of the magazine is that it has amateur film making guides in it. It would, for example, include things like tutorials how to edit, film and use certain equipment as well as how to market your films through social media like instagram and twitter.
The magazine will look similar to mid-end magazines where the quality isn't bad however its not outstanding, this is because this route will be targeted at amateur film makers who aren't likely to have a lot of money to spend on magazines which are overly expensive. Stylistically the magazine will be quite cluttered with information and images in order to fit the most info in the all the available space to provide value for money. The frequency will be weekly and it will impact the price to be slightly lower so people can afford to buy it more often and in turn the quality of the magazine won't be the highest.
The articles included will feature guides and tutorials. These will range from beginner to advanced when it comes to difficulty. The articles will also include film reviews and techniques from independent and block buster features. I also hope to include different ratings of film making equipment and cameras which will also provide an attractive environment for advertisers to plug their products and perhaps have the magazine review them. The advertising featured in the magazine will mainly include film making gear adverts which will most likely be made up of things like camera, sound and light gear. There will also be film adverts as the main readership of the magazine will be interested in films.
Route 2:
The second route I came up with was more of a high-end magazine with the same theme of film and film making but with different stylistic and content choices. This route would be a lot more professional so it would aim at the same kind of audience as the first route however it will tailor itself more to people already in the industry or the psychographic of aspirers and succeeders as the magazine will feature similar content but in a professional rather than amateur style. This will fit the brief as the target audience in it is 18-30 and my magazine also targets that demographic as it has purely mature content which is targeted at that age. The magazine will also be very high end with a niche feel which will make it fit the brief as it will give it an independent feel.
The USP of the magazine is that has articles, interviews and masterclasses about and from cutting edge industry leaders in film. This could range from famous directors, actors or anyone else involved in the creative process of film making. This would then have the magazine feature things like interviews from top directors or advice from actors. Everything will be very professional, stylistically and content wise. The magazine will look high end by always featuring a high resolution image of a renowned figure in film on the cover. I will also not clutter the cover with anything else apart from a short synopsis of what the big story or selling point of that issue is. The magazine will be made of high quality paper which will be thick and glossed over in order to give it an expensive feel to attract the professional audience.
The frequency will be monthly which will have in impact in the sense that it'll allow for the price to be higher than a weekly magazine as it will allow more people to afford to buy it frequently and build a stable readership. This in turn also allows for the quality of the actual magazine physically to be higher as there will be more money spare for printing materials. The adverts I hope to include in this route will mainly be of up coming films as well as high end filming gear.
The theme which my magazine follows is minimalistic and bold, focussing on film and film making. I thought this topic and theme would fit my target audience very well as the demographic featured in the brief likely is interested in the topic and it can easily be linked back to social media where it is often integrated with film stars being on different social media platforms as well as movie advertising campaigns which are often lead through social media.
Route 1:
The first route I thought of has the theme of film and amateur film making. This will include things like guides for starter camera gear, articles about making low budget film and video as well as interviews with actors and other figures in the film industry. It will meet the client brief as it is targeted at a niche audience which makes it have the independent feel which the brief mentioned. The magazine is also aimed at 18-30 year olds by having informative and professional content which appeals to that age demographic. The USP of the magazine is that it has amateur film making guides in it. It would, for example, include things like tutorials how to edit, film and use certain equipment as well as how to market your films through social media like instagram and twitter.
The magazine will look similar to mid-end magazines where the quality isn't bad however its not outstanding, this is because this route will be targeted at amateur film makers who aren't likely to have a lot of money to spend on magazines which are overly expensive. Stylistically the magazine will be quite cluttered with information and images in order to fit the most info in the all the available space to provide value for money. The frequency will be weekly and it will impact the price to be slightly lower so people can afford to buy it more often and in turn the quality of the magazine won't be the highest.
The articles included will feature guides and tutorials. These will range from beginner to advanced when it comes to difficulty. The articles will also include film reviews and techniques from independent and block buster features. I also hope to include different ratings of film making equipment and cameras which will also provide an attractive environment for advertisers to plug their products and perhaps have the magazine review them. The advertising featured in the magazine will mainly include film making gear adverts which will most likely be made up of things like camera, sound and light gear. There will also be film adverts as the main readership of the magazine will be interested in films.
Route 2:
The second route I came up with was more of a high-end magazine with the same theme of film and film making but with different stylistic and content choices. This route would be a lot more professional so it would aim at the same kind of audience as the first route however it will tailor itself more to people already in the industry or the psychographic of aspirers and succeeders as the magazine will feature similar content but in a professional rather than amateur style. This will fit the brief as the target audience in it is 18-30 and my magazine also targets that demographic as it has purely mature content which is targeted at that age. The magazine will also be very high end with a niche feel which will make it fit the brief as it will give it an independent feel.
The USP of the magazine is that has articles, interviews and masterclasses about and from cutting edge industry leaders in film. This could range from famous directors, actors or anyone else involved in the creative process of film making. This would then have the magazine feature things like interviews from top directors or advice from actors. Everything will be very professional, stylistically and content wise. The magazine will look high end by always featuring a high resolution image of a renowned figure in film on the cover. I will also not clutter the cover with anything else apart from a short synopsis of what the big story or selling point of that issue is. The magazine will be made of high quality paper which will be thick and glossed over in order to give it an expensive feel to attract the professional audience.
The frequency will be monthly which will have in impact in the sense that it'll allow for the price to be higher than a weekly magazine as it will allow more people to afford to buy it frequently and build a stable readership. This in turn also allows for the quality of the actual magazine physically to be higher as there will be more money spare for printing materials. The adverts I hope to include in this route will mainly be of up coming films as well as high end filming gear.
My magazine cover samples
My spread samples
M1: Discuss strengths and weaknesses of the different ideas
One strength of my first route is that it seems to fit the brief very well when it comes to the magazine having to be targeted at the "YouTube and Instagram generation" as it is targeted at young amateur film makers and movie fans. Because it is targeted at young film makers it is almost certain that they are the YouTube and Instagram generation because that's how most young filmmakers network with each other. I also like my first route because it is targeting a niche audience which will somewhat give my magazine an independent feel which is also mentioned in the brief. As this route would feature lower quality paper and materials it would allow me to focus the budget more on the content we put into it which would entice the customers to buy it.
Another strength is that the magazine will be released weekly and the price will be fairly low. This means that the magazine has the potential to quickly build up an audience as they will not have to wait very long to get the magazine and the low price will make it more accessible to more people. I think this would also be effective because the target audience for this magazine, amateur film-makers, don't usually have a large enough income where they can indulge in a high-end expensive magazine.
There are a few weaknesses for my first route however the one that stands out the most is that, due to it's low-production value, it wouldn't stand out among other film and film-making magazines. It also wouldn't feel very independent either because it would blend in with other magazines on the stands. I think that because of this the magazine wouldn't sell very well and also wouldn't fit the brief as well which ultimately would lead to it being rejected by Bauer Media. Overall I think that following the client brief is essential as the client is funding the magazine so without their approval the magazine will not even be released and as the pitcher of the magazine idea you could receive a bad reputation after failing to meet the brief.
I think that another weakness of my first route is that the idea is that it has been done already and therefore it will be difficult to gain an audience as we aren't filling any holes in the market. It also means that the only way to gain an audience would be to make superior content than the more established magazines. This however could prove difficult if Bauer Media doesn't want to invest a lot of money into the idea or invest in it conditionally and if they don't see the results they like they could stop funding the magazine before it gets off the ground and then the magazine would cease to exist.
The main strength of my second route is that it is a very original idea for a magazine which, as far as I've been able to research, hasn't been done before. This would be a great advantage for this magazine as, unlike my first route, it would stand out on the shelves and get peoples attention. This could ultimately help us build an audience as it would be filling a hole in the market for high-end film-making magazines, of which there are few to none at the moment. As well as standing out, this original idea would give the magazine a very independent feel as independent magazines tend to stand out from the crowd as they aren't influenced by other competing brands and ideas as much. This would fit well with the brief as it outlines that our customer wants the magazine to have an independent feel. By complying with the brief we are more likely to secure a deal with Bauer Media who could fund this magazine.
Another strength of my second route is that it will be released on a monthly basis. This will certainly be a strength because it will allow the creators of the magazine more time to get exclusive content which will be the main selling point of the magazine. A monthly release date is also effective in building hype as can be seen when looking at other monthly issued magazines such as Rolling Stone or Vogue. It will also allow us to increase the price as it will still remain accessible to most people as they will have a whole month to save up to buy it. By increasing the price we are also increasing our budget when it comes to spending on production-value which our magazine will be aiming to spend a lot on in order to give it the exclusive feel that I planned for it.
One of the weaknesses of my second route is that the magazine doesn't appeal to the YouTube and Instagram generation as much as my first route. This is because my magazine will be more high-end and there for it will inherently attract slightly older audiences than my first route. This might be a weakness as the brief outlines that they require the target audience to be the social media generation. In order to prevent this being a setback I hope to advertise the magazine itself through social media and release some of it's content on social media to build a following there and appeal more to the brief. I also think that due to it not appealing to the social media generation, Bauer Media might decide not to go with the idea as it might not gain enough publicity as social media is the most effective marketing platform.
Another weakness of my second route is that a lot of the content I have envisioned for the magazine is based around fairly established figures in the film industry. Although this might be perceived as a strength, because it would be effective for publicity, it is also a potential weakness because it may not seem as independent as it should because independent magazines tend to have more underground based artists that they're articles are about. This may sway Bauer Media away from my magazine idea because it wouldn't fit the brief which could lead to Bauer Media looking for another idea to fund as they are the client and their needs need to be satisfied.
Another strength is that the magazine will be released weekly and the price will be fairly low. This means that the magazine has the potential to quickly build up an audience as they will not have to wait very long to get the magazine and the low price will make it more accessible to more people. I think this would also be effective because the target audience for this magazine, amateur film-makers, don't usually have a large enough income where they can indulge in a high-end expensive magazine.
There are a few weaknesses for my first route however the one that stands out the most is that, due to it's low-production value, it wouldn't stand out among other film and film-making magazines. It also wouldn't feel very independent either because it would blend in with other magazines on the stands. I think that because of this the magazine wouldn't sell very well and also wouldn't fit the brief as well which ultimately would lead to it being rejected by Bauer Media. Overall I think that following the client brief is essential as the client is funding the magazine so without their approval the magazine will not even be released and as the pitcher of the magazine idea you could receive a bad reputation after failing to meet the brief.
I think that another weakness of my first route is that the idea is that it has been done already and therefore it will be difficult to gain an audience as we aren't filling any holes in the market. It also means that the only way to gain an audience would be to make superior content than the more established magazines. This however could prove difficult if Bauer Media doesn't want to invest a lot of money into the idea or invest in it conditionally and if they don't see the results they like they could stop funding the magazine before it gets off the ground and then the magazine would cease to exist.
The main strength of my second route is that it is a very original idea for a magazine which, as far as I've been able to research, hasn't been done before. This would be a great advantage for this magazine as, unlike my first route, it would stand out on the shelves and get peoples attention. This could ultimately help us build an audience as it would be filling a hole in the market for high-end film-making magazines, of which there are few to none at the moment. As well as standing out, this original idea would give the magazine a very independent feel as independent magazines tend to stand out from the crowd as they aren't influenced by other competing brands and ideas as much. This would fit well with the brief as it outlines that our customer wants the magazine to have an independent feel. By complying with the brief we are more likely to secure a deal with Bauer Media who could fund this magazine.
Another strength of my second route is that it will be released on a monthly basis. This will certainly be a strength because it will allow the creators of the magazine more time to get exclusive content which will be the main selling point of the magazine. A monthly release date is also effective in building hype as can be seen when looking at other monthly issued magazines such as Rolling Stone or Vogue. It will also allow us to increase the price as it will still remain accessible to most people as they will have a whole month to save up to buy it. By increasing the price we are also increasing our budget when it comes to spending on production-value which our magazine will be aiming to spend a lot on in order to give it the exclusive feel that I planned for it.
One of the weaknesses of my second route is that the magazine doesn't appeal to the YouTube and Instagram generation as much as my first route. This is because my magazine will be more high-end and there for it will inherently attract slightly older audiences than my first route. This might be a weakness as the brief outlines that they require the target audience to be the social media generation. In order to prevent this being a setback I hope to advertise the magazine itself through social media and release some of it's content on social media to build a following there and appeal more to the brief. I also think that due to it not appealing to the social media generation, Bauer Media might decide not to go with the idea as it might not gain enough publicity as social media is the most effective marketing platform.
Another weakness of my second route is that a lot of the content I have envisioned for the magazine is based around fairly established figures in the film industry. Although this might be perceived as a strength, because it would be effective for publicity, it is also a potential weakness because it may not seem as independent as it should because independent magazines tend to have more underground based artists that they're articles are about. This may sway Bauer Media away from my magazine idea because it wouldn't fit the brief which could lead to Bauer Media looking for another idea to fund as they are the client and their needs need to be satisfied.