How Media Producers Create Products for Specific AudiencesAbygail Jones

Creating for an AudienceThe producers need to be aware of what audience they are aiming at in terms of:

• Age• Gender

• Interests• Class etc.

Over time the audience will change – the producer needs to be able to adapt the magazine to change with them.

Selecting ContentThere are 4 main types (Each contains hundreds/thousands of different content individually):

• Images• Words• Colours• Fonts

Each of these is carefully selected to appeal to a certain audience i.e. bright, loud colours for younger readers.

Images and Word Placement• Images: Using a magazine such as Tattoo.1Tribal as an example,

the images are bold and bright, in high definition so that the tattoo’s stand out more and can be clearly seen by the consumer. Some of the images are quite provocative, showing certain body parts or half dressed models/people meaning it might appeal more to older readers rather than younger. The pictures are also grouped together although there is a big main one in the centre of the page, as this is a picture of a female in provocative clothing, it suggests that the magazine would want to appeal more to males, young or old. Compared to OK! Magazine, Tattoo.1Tribal’s pictures stand out a lot more and there is a larger quantity of pictures than writing.

• Word Placement: As we can see in OK! magazine’s article, there is a lot of small writing underneath large pictures that take up most of the page, there is a quote from the text in bold, bright caps in the centre of the writing – drawing attention to the rest of the text. By the way this is done, I think that this would be aimed at young adult females as it’s OK! Magazine and the text is quite small meaning that this would most likely not be read by younger consumers. Comparing this to Tattoo.1Tribal which has minimal text, OK! Has a lot more with more gossip and information to tell their readers.

Colours and Fonts

• Colours: Using Vogue magazine as an example, the colours used are on a professional level, by this I mean that they are darker, duller colours that would appeal to older audiences, the only time they’ve used brighter colours such as red, in this example, is when they’re highlighting more important content they want to stand out e.g. 618 pages of Spring Surprises. Comparing this to Tattoo.1Tribal, who uses bright, bold colours that catch the consumers attention.

• Fonts: Using the example of Tattoo.1Tribal again, the fonts used in this magazine are bold and chunky, this could be to stand out or it could be to catch younger consumers attention, it’s supposed to be eye catching and appeal to younger readers thinking about their first tattoo, by using these bright colours, the producer is drawing them in. Comparing the fonts to the ones used in Vogue magazine, they are more casual and eye catching.

LayoutOverview ->

Once the context is written up and put together, the production of the layout is begun by arranging the words and images. This all depends on the age specific for a particular magazine.Colour schemes are also used to help deduce an audience specific.

In this Doctor Who magazine, the layout is quite interesting:• The text is in front of a larger picture that

sums up the whole episode. • The writing is very small to the side,

suggesting that this might be for an older audience.

• The title is large and draws all the attention at first glance

• The smaller writing is in columns and paragraphs, making it easier to read as it’s a question and answer page between an interviewer and a cast member.

• There is also a smaller picture with a caption to quickly sum up what is occurring,

• There are some sentences that are of a larger font than the rest of the page

• There is also a quote that has been highlighted and brought out using the same font as the title only smaller.

The layout for this magazine is aimed at an older audience, maybe adolescents at the youngest due to the small writing yet the eye catching array and the use of imagery and fonts.

In this Teen Vogue magazine, the layout is also interesting:• There is hardly any text compared to the

singular article from the Doctor Who magazine.

• It’s mainly photos of clothing and items that the magazine wants the consumer to buy – possibly due to a partnership.

• It shows pictures of celebrities wearing similar outfits to draw in the readers and make them want the items even more.

• They have put an item of clothing in to every available space – fit on as much as possible.

• The prices are in a bright, bolder font – easier to look for/find

• The front page has a lot more writing on it than images, appealing to the reader.

• Using bright, bold writing to accentuate the more important information i.e. 13 going on 30.

• The layout isn’t as professional as the Doctor Who magazine, it’s messy and un-organised.

The layout for this magazine makes it clear that this is aimed at teenagers/adolescents due to the bright bold colours, use of celebrities, the un-organised layout altogether and the lack of text.

Captions

Captions on a photograph can be:

• A title

• A short explanation

• An adequate description

This all depends on who the magazine is aimed at.Titles

Short Explanations

Adequate Descriptions

Titles are used in magazines to give an extremely brief explanation of the picture – in this case, Q magazine has used a drawn picture of David Bowie and captioned it: The Man Who Changed The World.The way this is presented suggests it’s for an older audience, it wouldn’t appeal to younger readers as it would to adults/young adults. The words ‘Changed’ and ‘World’ stand out, drawing immediate attention to the picture.The other image is still a title, it explains what is going to be on the next page through an extremely brief description.The writing suggests it’s for older readers, maybe as young as 20 – the colours used are dull and the only vibrant thing which draws attention is what the model is wearing.

Short explanations are used to give a brief description of the

picture the reader is looking at, for example the image of the car

with the description that the car took over 3 ½ years to design

and make – this would appeal to older readers because of the

dull colours used and the smaller informative text – it’s very

formal.

The other example is of the front page from LIFE magazine,

giving the explanation that Elijah Woods is going behind the

scenes of photography. The colours used here are also quite dull

but due to the bright title, it w

ill appeal to ages of around 20+.

Comparing the two images to each other, the one from LIFE

seems a lot more formal and professional compared to the other.

Adequate descriptions are still a captions, it’s a larger description of what you can see. Magazines such as Kerrang use these to make the pictures seem funny, making the picture seem different to what is actually going on – later explaining it in articles.In magazines to do with art, the images are briefly explained, by briefly, it’s still a larger description.Kerrang is mostly aimed at adolescents and young adults, maybe going as old as 30+. When making these captions, they try to make them humorous and often succeed, making the consumer laugh will make them want to buy the magazine more regularly.The other magazine has very long explanations of the art work, the text is more formal and aimed at an older audience – there is little or no humour – all serious which is what some older folk prefer.

Anchorage

• This essentially tells the reader what to think about an image

• Roland Barthes came up with the theory that different people think different things about one image.

• Using one image and using different captions can interpret what might be occurring – it could be the truth or it could be a lie, it depends what the picture and caption might depict.

Angry Protester Refuses to Leave

Peaceful Protest ruined by Police Brutality

It’s absolutely vital when creating a story on these particular subjects that what is written in the article is the 100% truth, if the picture doesn’t match up with the words, readers will begin to notice and file complaints.Newspapers and tabloids are the usual anchorage experts, using the images they put in to exploit criminals, they make sure that the images they use match up and use this to their advantage, veering the consumers in the way that they want them to think.

Codes and Conventions

These are essentially rules and regulations that media products have to follow, the

different areas of these rules are:

• Colour Scheme• Photography

• Writing Style and Language• Text/Picture Ratio

• Fonts• Mode of Address

Colour Scheme

The colour scheme for this Adventure Time magazine is a range of very vibrant, loud colours such as: blue, yellow, red etc.The use of these colours shows that this magazine is mainly aimed at younger audiences – there is hardly any text on the page either and for the little text that is there, it’s large and easy to read.I think the producer is trying to appeal to young boys as it’s about adventure and a mighty warrior (Finn/the human) and ‘mans best friend’ (Jake/the dog).

The colour scheme for this Vogue magazine example is quite dull, it’s not as vibrant as the Adventure Time magazine and this crosses out the idea that this could appeal to younger audiences. The colours suggest a more professional kind of magazine that young adults, adults and possibly even older people would read. Because of this the producer has mainly tried to aim at young adults and adults. There is still hardly any text but it gives enough information for a consumer to want to read on.

Kerrang! Magazine

Kerrang Magazine

Kerrang! Magazine Analysis

• Using the statistics from the NRS, 45.3% of Kerrang readers are female, whilst 54.7% of Kerrang readers

are male.

Using the age range statistics:

• Ages 15-24 stands at: 56.1%• Ages 25-34 stands at: 21.5%• Ages 35-44 stands at: 13.4%• Ages 45-54 stands at: 7.1%• Ages 55-64 stands at: 1.8%• Ages 65+ stands at: 0.1%

Images and Word Placement• Images: Kerrang magazine uses a range of different image techniques, as you

can see, the producers can use one main photograph to highlight the main event or story in the magazine. The images are in HD and are very bold and stand out, such as this example of a Slipknot member, this intrigues fans at the start, the use of the quote also draws people in, even if they are not a fan.

• Although in some issues: as they are not focusing on one main story, have a lot of exciting stories at once or are giving away freebies – they use a range of different pictures with the most exciting story still taking over the middle of the page. The other pictures will still be large and noticeable but less important than the middle image – the smaller pictures are usually half covered by captions, giving a brief description of what the picture is about or any important information that would make a consumer want to buy the magazine.

• Word Placement: The contents page for Kerrang changes every week and continues to do so, there is minimal text, apart from notes from the authors – The images take up more of the page than the text does. The text has been put in to columns to make it easier to find the page that the reader needs, accompanied by a small visual of what else is in the magazine.

• Articles, such as the Linkin Park’s example is a page full of mainly writing, usually fitting around a picture – in this case, Chester Bennington. There is a quote next to the image that has been written in a larger, bolder format to draw attention to what the article is about before even reading it. The writing is small and also in columns, giving the effect that it might be aimed at an older target audience, using the media pack, we can see that Kerrang is mostly aimed at 15-24 year olds, which makes my statement accurate.

Colours and Font’s• Colours: In the first example, the colours used are quite dark – the

background and the picture are either dark grey or black. The only time bright colours have been used is the writing, using yellow, white and pink, the caption boxes behind writing, using colours such as pink and sky blue, bright colours are also used in the white background on the bottom of the page, behind pictures of what is going to be involved in the magazine. I think this would appeal more to younger males (15 -24/54.7%), the media pack proves this.

• In the second example, the whole page is pretty much filled with bright colours! It ranges from sky blue, red, yellow and white. The use of these bright colours would draw consumers towards the magazine as it’s eye catching and appealing, I think brighter colours appeal more to younger females – looking at the media pack it does appeal to younger people (15-24) and almost half of the consumers are female (45.3%).

• Font’s: Using the same examples, the fonts used on both are quite simple. The title’s font, ‘Kerrang’ is different to the rest of the writing on the page, it’s quite choppy and the effect used makes it look like it’s been cracked.

• The rest of the font’s on the page are bold, clear and easy to read – thanks to the colouring, the text stands out and makes the magazine look more appealing. I think because of this it would appeal more to ages from 15-34, appealing to younger consumers due to the easy to read fonts, also to the older consumers because some of the effects make it quite appealing.

LayoutOnce the context is written up and put together, the production of the layout is begun by arranging the words and images.

This all depends on the age specific for a particular magazine.

Colour schemes are also used to help deduce an audience specific. In this magazine, the layout is quite interesting:

• The image and the text take up equal amounts of room on the pages

• The title is large, bold, bright and eye catching• The important quick overview or definition is larger

than the rest of the text• The text is sorted in to columns, making it easier to

read• There is a lot of smaller writing• There is slightly larger, different coloured text that

tells the reader who is talking and when• An important quote has been highlighted – put in to a

larger font, colour and enlarged, placed in the middle of the pages

• There is a joke/image at the bottom of the page inside a red caption box.

The layout for this magazine would appeal more to younger people, it’s in an easy-to-read format and the use of humour in the image will draw them in.I think it would range from around 16-34 at the minimum and maximum.

Captions

Captions on a photograph can be:

• A title

• A short explanation

• An adequate description

This all depends on who the magazine is aimed at.Titles

Titles are used in magazines to very briefly explain what is happening in the picture and what to expect when reading the article.

In this case, Kerrang has used titles on the front page to draw the consumer in, if they are a fan of a particular band and on the front page of the magazine, that band is the main headliner – they will want to buy it.

Kerrang has also used titles in an article, using the example of Biffy Clyro: ‘Demons be gone’ will intrigue the consumer to read the article.

These examples would appeal more to a slightly older audience, such as: ages 25-34 because of the layout and colouring, one is quite dark and the font on the other is very small and harder to read, adolescents would most likely skip it.

Short Explanation

Short explanations are used on pretty much every image in Kerrang, they are not literal descriptions however and are usually created for comical effect.

They are created in a caption box and put at either the bottom or the top of an image, to briefly explain or make a joke.

Using the examples, Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance is not literally losing a game of ‘scissors, paper, rock’ he is talking to his friend.

The other example however, seems quite accurate and it’s hard to decipher whether what the caption portrays is the truth or not.Because of the humour, Kerrang is definitely aimed at a younger audience of 15-24+.

Adequate Description

Adequate descriptions are still captions, they’re just longer descriptions.

Kerrang uses these a lot, especially in the contents page.

The examples I have chosen are both from the contents, the first one is Kerrang thanking their readers for sending them in submissions such as, in this case: pictures of the fans with Hayley Williams from Paramore, hence the pun: PARA-MORE.

The second example is also from the contents, it’s submitted artwork of the magazine’s comic’s main protagonist, PANDORA, drawn by a fan/reader, they give their reason as to why they decided to draw the images and what it’s of. Kerrang even responds to it.

Again they use a pun, PANDORA(RT).

Anchorage

• This essentially tells the reader what to think about an image

• Roland Barthes came up with the theory that different people think different things about one image.

• Using one image and using different captions can interpret what might be occurring – it could be the truth or it could be a lie, it depends what the picture and caption might depict.

YM@6 Wins Kerrang Award!

YM@6 Steals Kerrang Award!

It’s absolutely vital when creating a story on these particular subjects that what is written in the article is the 100% truth, if the picture doesn’t match up with the words, readers will begin to notice and file complaints.Newspapers and tabloids are the usual anchorage experts, using the images they put in to exploit criminals, they make sure that the images they use match up and use this to their advantage, veering the consumers in the way that they want them to think.

In this example, Josh Franceschi is seen as a good, hard working musical artist who has earned his Kerrang Music Award. The caption is the key detail that influences the reader to think what the producer is trying to tell you.

In this example, Josh Feanceschi is seen as a bad, desperate, possibly failing music artist who has attempted to steal someone else's Kerrang Music Award. The caption, again is what is influencing the reader to think that Josh Franceschi is the bad person they have made him out to be.

It is the same image, but because there are different captions, the reader views it differently. There can be a lot of way someone can interpret this picture, it’s just depends what the producer decides to say, whether it’s the truth or a complete lie.

Codes and Conventions

These are essentially rules and regulations that media products have to follow, the

different areas of these rules are:

• Colour Scheme• Photography

• Writing Style and Language• Text/Picture Ratio

• Fonts• Mode of Address

Colour SchemeThe colour scheme for Kerrang magazine is usually

quite bright and colourful, using loud, vivid colours such as red, yellow, white and blue on a darker background.

As we can observe from the front page example, the main colours used are usually red, white, yellow and black – it’s frequently used on other front pages from Kerrang.

However most of the articles on the inside of Kerrang are usually dark colours with the exception of bright titles and text. On some pages, it’s brighter than the rest, such as the page including the comic, PANDORA or the contents page.

The colour schemes depend on what the article is about, if the article is a sad story i.e. The death of a singer etc. The colour scheme will remain dark, however if it’s something good i.e. A band coming back together, it will be bright and colourful.

Photography• The photography for Kerrang is always

professional.

• Every photograph of the bands that Kerrang interview/talk about are in high definition (HD).

• They’re always pictures of the main celebrities, exceptions being:

• Fan art• Fans meeting a band member• The production team for Kerrang• Fan mail, replies etc.

Writing Style and Language•This will depends on the target audience’s age and gender.

•As Kerrang mostly aims for ages from 15-24 and almost equally aims at males and females – their writing technique is constantly:

•Easy to read•Humorous•Uses crude language (swearing)

•As this magazine only applies to the UK, it’s fluent English with the exception of some band names and some humorous comments/jokes.

Text/Picture Ratio•The text to picture ratio usually varies – sometimes the picture can take up most of the page whilst the text only takes up around a third of the space as seen in the first example.

•Sometimes the picture can take up more room than the text, although there can still be a large amount of text on the same page, there could be more visuals than text. As we can see in the second example.

•Sometimes the text to picture ratio can be equal, the picture and the text taking up equal amounts of space. As we can see in the third example.

•On pages such as the contents – Kerrang uses a lot more images than text, on these pages there are usually minimal amounts of text, the images taking over. As we can observe in the fourth example.•A lot of text = An older audience•Minimal text = A younger audience

•Although aimed more at younger audiences, Kerrang still uses quite a lot of text – even if they pictures are large and take up more space. This shows that it can also apply to older audiences.

Fonts•The fonts chosen apply to the targeted audience.

•In this case the font’s used are usually spiky and loud

•They’re appealing to younger, rock enthusiasts and therefore the font needs to appeal to the audience.

•For titles, the font size is large and in constant caps lock.

•For sub headings, the font size is smaller than title fonts but is still large enough to stand out. The text is always in bold.

•For the actual text, the font is quite small and there is a lot of it.

•The spiky, loud writing would appeal more to males than females – the statistics show that this is true.

Mode of Address•This is who Kerrang is aiming at in terms of who they are speaking to.

•They aim the magazine at younger people (ages 15-25+) who are interested in alternative/rock/metal music.

•They do this because they are a niche magazine – they apply to specific audiences with specific needs.

Audience Feedback

There is no guarantee that an audience will like the product that is produced

There is also no guarantee that the product will be liked by a large amount of the targeted audience

There are ways that this information can be received such as:

• Focus Groups• Audience Panels

• Trailing• Complaints

Focus Groups•Focus groups are a group of people brought together to discuss designs, ideas, thoughts and interests in the magazine.

•Kerrang has a data promise for their focus group

•They promise to ensure the safety and confidentiality of the personal information that they receive.

•They then use this collected information for their benefit:

• Adapting to audience change• Changing certain things that consumers

dislike/want changing• Include anything that a majority of the focus group think is a good idea (i.e. more

freebies, more information etc.)

Audience Panels• This is a group of individuals

that are regularly contacted about the magazine, for updates, new ideas, new freebies etc.

• I can’t find Kerrang! Magazine’s audience panel, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have one.

• I did find a lot of information about other magazines in partnership with Kerrang! Giving their views on the magazine.

Trailing

• This is essentially a trial and error phase

• A final product is given to some audience members who give their feedback and suggestions

• If there are problems, it means that Kerrang! Can fix them before releasing the final product to the public completely.

Complaints

• This is direct feedback from the audience

• It’s a good way to collect information that can help Kerrang! To make changes and adapt

• It’s a good way of testing the audience’s reaction to certain changes

• Kerrang! Writers give their honest opinion on everything and if a reader disagrees, they will either reply with their opinion, or complain.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/nov/10/kerrang-phone-competition

Here is an example of a complaint