3. General overview of my media product
and the social groups it represents
Pop is a genre that I believe is liked by the majority of people. This
is where the origin of pop music comes from because it derives
from the word “popular”. This is useful because I am designing a
magazine for the mass market. However I wanted to cater for a
specific target audience because then you can target their needs
rather than trying to please everyone. I chose the age group 13-19
because I am seventeen and I can use my preferences to help
provide their needs. I am expecting other ages to purchase my
magazine though because the content is interesting and the
magazine looks like it caters for all ages. The gender is mainly
female although I would argue males enjoy the genre too and I
believe more pop artists are emerging that appeal to males as
well as females. Examples include Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith. I
have outlined my desire to create a magazine that appeals to both
genders in my research. I feel the ethnicity will be mostly white
people and the class would be middle class. This is because lower
classes are associated with RnB and rap and the upper class are
associated with classical music.
4. My model is sixteen so is in
the middle of my target
audience. This means he
appeals to people of that age
group. His black jumper and
t-shirt is something you
would expect people
interested in the pop genre
to wear because it is very
casual and laid back. These
clothes are reasonably priced
so they can be worn by my
middle class target audience.
These are artists that teenagers often enjoy
listening to. These are predominately white
people who come from middle class
backgrounds. This is because all of these
artists featured are white so they can relate
to them more. I have used words like
“fave” which is an example of colloquial
language because it is often used by the
target audience of this magazine.
Gigs can be quite expensive so this relates to a middle class background as those from lower classes may not
be able to afford it. This doesn’t really suggest an age as you can go with a guardian if you are under the age
of sixteen. Although the word “gig” is quite a commonly used word by teenagers as they prefer it to words
like “concert.” This is a feature that will really interest people around the age of sixteen because concerts are
really exciting as you get to see your favourite artists perform in front of you.
This price is very affordable. Those within
my target audience will probably be
spending their pocket money or those
towards the older end of my audience
may be spending the money they receive
from a part time job. This is likely to be a
small amount. My focus group said they
would happily pay around this price and
they represented my target audience. All
ethnicities and social classes could afford
this. It could be argued that girls have
more items to spend their money on for
example make up and clothes so this
price will also appeal to them because it
doesn’t take a significant part of their
money away.
This masthead is really bright and
eye-catching. This mainly appeals
to a teenage audience and is
unlikely to be something that
those older than about 20 will like.
The colours I used are specifically
chosen because I wanted to
appeal to both genders .
The microphone is an old- fashioned pop
microphone. This appeals to fans of the pop genre
and a lot of people have had aspirations at some
point in their life to sing into a microphone like
this. Also the acoustic guitar clearly indicates the
pop genre as this is the genre of music they are
most commonly used in.
5. All of the images are of
teenagers which
suggests my magazine is
targeted at people
around that age.
People like reading and
learning about people
of a similar age to them
because often they are
their role models and
they have aspirations to
be like them. Different
ethnicities are shown
and there are a similar
amount of each gender.
Technology is mostly used by the teenage audience so this aspect of the
contents page represents them. This targets all social groups because
social media is very inclusive as everyone can choose to do it.
This offer recognises that my target
audience probably do not have lots
of money to spend. I believe that
they like to save money where they
can and they will be interested by
this offer. It could be argued this
targets lower class people the most
because they have the least money
to spend but I feel that all people like
saving money no matter how wealthy
they are. This also makes it more
convenient to get each issue. For
example disability is perhaps
represented here because going to a
shop can be hard for them so by
receiving this magazine through the
post it is less stressful.
The features appeal to teenagers
of both genders and all social
classes because colloquial
language is used. Words like
“freshest” are not really used by
older people. If you use words like
this then you feel the content
inside will represent your needs
more and it will be more
appropriate for you.
6. By including this grab
quote, I am
representing the
artists fans. His fans
are mainly teenagers
but both males and
females look up to
him. Everybody can
read this double page
spread but a little
section of it is
representing his fans.
The unglamorous wall behind the artist signifies the hard
work that he has had to put in. People believe pop artists
have a really easy lifestyle and didn’t have to work hard to get
to where they are. This artists is representing everybody who
works very hard whether they be a student trying hard in
education or a builder working overtime.
The article mentions a
guitar several times and
this is something that
only middle class or
upper class readers are
likely to have had . This
also represents the
skilled and hard working
audience because
learning an instrument
takes hour of practise
and determination.
There is quite a substantial amount of text. I did this
because I didn’t want to undermine my audience who
often enjoy reading and that was the feedback I got
from my research. This perhaps doesn’t represent the
working class who often do not enjoy reading as much
as the classes above them and also maybe may appeal
less to males who often prefer to look at the pictures
and only quickly read the text.
This text about following
the artist on twitter will
appeal to all audiences
because anyone can
have twitter if they have
the technology to do so.
Teenagers and those
around the age of
twenty one often spend
the most time on twitter
and other social
networking sites so it is
likely this appeals
mostly to them.
