Existing Names and Mastheads

Existing Names

Magazines names are often derived as a result of many different strategies and approaches such as;

- Acronyms

- Symbolism

- Phrases

Acronyms

A prime example of using an acronym as a magazine title is NME which stands for National Music Express.

Using an acronym especially in this case is very effective because it provides a contemporary feel the magazine thus appealing to a variety of different audiences however it also incorporates the purpose of the magazine within it. The originality of the name is therefore also aided as it incorporates taking a phrase and consisting it down into a minimal amount of letters thus making the name practical, effective and fuctional.

Symbolism

Some magazines opt for a more symbolic name for their magazines often to resemble and reflect the purpose and some synonymous features of a particular genre.

For example, Kerrang! Encapsulates the sound made a loud, guitar synonymous with the rock/metal genre that Kerrang! Aim to market their magazines. This is effective because the target audience will be attracted to the magazine because of the title, and therefore this brings into play such things as the front cover of which further help to sell the magazine therefore showing as to why the name is so important to a magazine.

Phrases

Phrases are also sued as names for magazines. Often phrases are deduced into acronyms to make it more efficient however some times the phrase within itself is more effective.

Top of The Pops is a prime example of this. The use of Top of The Pops as a title is effect because the name is synonymous with the popular television show that used to be engrossed within the British society in particular and was therefore able to establish a wide fan base and support therefore by using this phrase as the title for the magazine, audiences can immediately grasp the concept of the magazine because audiences will draw reference to the purpose of the television program.

Existing Mastheads

Mastheads follow similar patters, fonts, colours and styles to names and so there effects are often similar or even the same.

Mastheads are often a title for an article or page and are used to capture the readers attention. The creation of a masthead follows similar procedures to names , such as phrases and acronyms. For example in an October issue of Kerrang! Metal icon Ozzy Osbourne was the topic of the feature article, and with the month being synonymous with Halloween and Ozzy Osbournes infamous ‘Bat’ scenario, the masthead stated ‘Going Batty’ referring to the infamous occurrence and also this was relevant to the seasonality, causing the article to attract a variety of audiences.

Colour and font wise the masthead often remains the same as the name presented on the cover, this accentuates the corporate side of the magazine in that certain font s and colour schemes often become synonymous with different magazines and may therefore improve the popularity of the magazine.

Existing Mastheads

Kerrang masthead and name comparison (aesthetically)

Here we can clearly see the resemblance and similarities between the masthead on the right and the name on the left in terms of font types and colour schemes.