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Number 023www.curriculum-press.co.uk

Magazines: An Introduction

M tudiesSedia

The aims of this Factsheet are to:• Define the differences between consumer, business and customer

orientated magazines• Explore the links between magazines and advertising• Discuss the role of institution in magazine production• Examine the impact of online magazine editions

Magazines first appeared as early as 1731 and their initial purposewas to advertise consumer goods in a catalogue format to highlightthe range of products available for purchase by audiences. Althoughthe formats of current magazines are more sophisticated, it could beargued that modern magazines still provide the same function astheir ancestors. Contemporary magazines act as lifestylehandbooks, directing audiences towards the products and lifestylesthey should aspire to lead. The National Readership Societyrecently discovered that over 80% of British consumers of all agesand both sexes regularly buy magazines.

DefinitionMainstream Magazines: These magazines are aimed at a largeand broad audience and the needs of the consumer aregeneralised.Niche Market Magazines: These magazines are aimed at asmaller audience whose needs are specific to the magazineproduced.

Audiences are generally attracted to magazines because they offera lot of information on a variety of topics in a format which is easyto read and is often written in a style that is also entertaining. Thefrequency of publication varies with each magazine produced.

Mainstream magazine editions are usually printed on regular intervalseither weekly or monthly, while some niche publications arepublished quarterly. Magazines can be classified into three distinctgroups:

1. Consumer Magazines are the most common type of magazine.Consumer magazines can be further divided into sub-genressuch as:• Women’s Lifestyle Magazines• Men’s Lifestyle Magazines• Youth magazines• Domestic (House and Garden) magazines• Radio and TV guides• Special Interest Magazines: e.g Bridal, Mother and Baby,

Slimming, Computer, Hobby related titles

2. Business Magazines are usually only available by subscriptionand tend to focus on specific jobs, trades or professions.

3. Customer Orientated Magazines are produced in-house bycompanies as a way of promoting their brand. Televisioncompanies such as Channel Four and the BBC also produce awide selection of magazines that complement their programmeschedules. Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer all produce in-house magazines that adhere to high production values. Becausethe publications are of a high quality and contain the sameamount of content as a consumer magazine customers usuallyhave to pay a small charge for them. Some customer orientatedmagazines that are free, such as in-flight magazines. Lower costexamples often have low production values, contain a limitedamount of features and use a lot of advertising to cover up thelack of content and limited production costs.

Home and Garden and Max Power: Two very differentmagazines promoting different lifestyles targeting differentaudience interests.

www.customhtdesign.com/WestSound_Magazine_Cover.jpg

www.iforged.com/v3/images/m e d i a / F u l l s i z e /maxpowerdec.jpg

AQA/WJEC/OCR?Magazines are an appropriate form to use within the case studiesin preparation for examinations for all awarding bodies both intheir paper and e-media form. In addition, the form could be usedas a text in the unseen examination and as the basis for productionwork at both AS and A2.

Exam Hint:- The AS examination will expect you to analysethe media language (technical codes) and investigate theinstitutional context and the impact of the representations withinmagazines. At A2 you would be expected to provide a moredetailed evaluation of the institutional context and theideological issues raised by the titles you study.

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023. Magazines: An Introduction Media Studieswww.curriculum-press.co.uk

Magazine Front Covers – The Shop Window

I m a g e : w w w. m a g s c r i b e r . c o m /24_fashion-beauty-magazine...

All magazines use the following media language choices on theirfront cover:• A striking masthead• Photographs that relate directly to the main featured article• Promotions and features to entice the audience to buy the

magazine

Lifestyle magazines like Glamour and FHM are the most populargenre of magazine. They will always contain:• Competitions• Editor’s letter/column• Feature articles/interviews• Letters pages• Contents page• Advertisements• Advice column• Product review features• Advertorials

All magazines have common featuresthat help to distinguish them fromother print-based media. Magazinefront covers are designed to attractthe consumer and generate an interestin the material contained inside. Theconsumer should be able to identifythe magazine’s genre from glancing atthe front cover and interpreting thecodes and conventions it displays.

DefinitionAdvertorial: An advertorial is an advertisement that is writtenin the style of an editorial piece or a feature article. Often it willdiscuss the merits of a product and attempt to sound objectivein order to convince audiences to buy the product they arewriting about. Magazines use this style of discreet advertingbecause of the large amount of advertising revenue they receivefrom companies to promote their products.

Lifestyle Magazines aim to make a profitby selling audiences to advertisers.Different types of Lifestyle Magazinesexist and all of them promote a varietyof lifestyles to their audiences throughthe ideologies they produce. LifestyleMagazines purposefully construct anideology around the concept of an ideallifestyle which the reader can aspire toby consuming the text and can achieve,at least in part, by buying the goodsadvertised in their magazine. In order todo this the magazines have to be able to create audienceidentification with the lifestyle on offer while offering them slightlymore than what they already consume. http://www.esquire.co.uk/

Case Study: Esquire MagazineEsquire acts as an example of how a men’s Lifestyle Magazinepromotes a lifestyle and a set of associated ideologies via thegoods and articles featured within it. Features with titles suchas ‘How to Spot a Gold Digger’ and ‘Smart, Sexy, Stylish’ allhold connotations of a wealthy and professional lifestyle butalso begin to identify the importance that image has within thislifestyle and a potential problem for men within it – women whomay be after the reader’s money. Through its front cover Esquireimmediately identifies itself as a publication which can offersolutions and advice to men who have this lifestyle both withthe ‘Gold Digger’ article also helping the audience know ‘Whatto Wear’. The magazine contains adverts and features onexpensive designer brands and cosmetics, while advertisingexotic and luxurious holiday destinations. These products offerthe reader a lifestyle to aspire to, one they can achieve throughbuying the goods being advertised and the adoption of theattitudes of the magazine itself. The target audience is identified,not just through gender but also income and their own personalvalues.

ActivityChoose a Lifestyle Magazine and examine the lifestyle it isoffering the reader? What is this lifestyle? How is it promoted?What are the assumed values within this lifestyle?

Sometimes publications offer free gifts on the cover and discountsinside to make the lifestyle on offer appear more ‘available’ to theconsumer. This advertising technique allows magazines to standout from their competitors to grab their target audience’s attention.A USP may not always be a gift or discount. Some publications,such as celebrity focussed Lifestyle Magazines, offer exclusiveinterviews and photographs of popular celebrities in order tomaximise sales.

DefinitionUnique selling point (USP): Helps a magazine stand out fromits competitors by offering the audience something othermagazines don’t offer.

Magazine Institutions and ProducersMany of the magazine publishers in the UK are members of largermedia organisations. These organisations produce a variety oftitles to compete with the other titles available. Institutions willproduce a variety of magazines of the same genre using a specifichouse style because each magazine needs to be recognisable whenon the shelf amongst other similar titles. Magazine institutions oftenuse a house style which is a format that will be used throughout allthe magazines they produce and each magazine within the groupwill also have a recognisable ‘look’.

DefinitionHouse style: Refers to the selected font size, type-face, layoutand cropping of images used in magazines produced by thesame institution. The use of a standard set of design elementsmakes the brand recognisable.

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023. Magazines: An Introduction Media Studieswww.curriculum-press.co.uk

ActivityFind three titles that are produced by the same institution.How does the house style carry itself across all threepublications? Are there differences between the publications?Use the example below to help you.

DefinitionLure: a sub-heading used on the front of a magazine to enticepotential consumers into buying the magazine. Lures oftencreate an enigma (mystery) and offer the promise of disclosurewithin the magazine itself.

Case Study: Northern and Shell MediaNorthern and Shell produces New,Star and OK magazine. All threepublications are consumerLifestyle Magazines with a focuson celebrity stories and gossip andseem to be targeting the sameaudience. This audience is womenin the mid-youth range who areinterested in celebrity gossip andexclusive stories. The house styleused in all three magazines is similarcreating a visual group identity.The writing style used in the luresand headlines all follow a similarinformal style using direct address, ‘My Amazing Weight loss’,‘Victoria’s Bought Me a Pair of Shoes… We’re Inviting theBeckhams for Dinner’ and ‘Yes, I Was on Drugs on GMTV’.

These direct quotes act as a lure to the target audience, becausethey imply the celebrity involved wants to confide in the audienceand this appears to create a personal connection between starand reader. The cropped images used in the smaller stories areframed in a white border in all three publications making theseless significant images stand out. The photographs used in themain stories are posed shots and reinforce that the interview isan exclusive. The use of colours in each publication is the same.All three magazines use pink, red, yellow and white to grabaudience attention. OK and Star use a different font to New butOK and Star have similar high production values, offering glossyfront pages, exclusive interviews and free magazines inside.New has a lower production value but sells at a lower price.New’s focus is more on gossip than exclusives and so meets aslightly different audience need. All three titles are fulfilling avoyeuristic need in the audience. Although there are smalldifferences, the house style carries itself across each publicationthrough each magazines use of colour, photographs and thewritten style of the headlines.www.ok.co.uk/indepth.html?SKU=502

Lifestyle Magazines in particular make a profit by selling specificaudiences directly to advertisers. Lifestyle magazines attempt tocater to specific interests within their general target group whichcreates niche audiences. This ensures that advertising can attemptto more accurately meet the needs and similar consumer needsallowing advertisers and magazine institutions to identify and targetthe audiences that are likely to consume their products.

Exam Hint:- All magazines with the exception of BBCpublications generate the majority of their income throughadvertising revenue. When answering any exam questions onmagazine audiences consider the impact that advertisers andthe products they advertise in your magazine may be havingon the ideologies that have shaped the magazines content.

Magazine Advertising and MarketingAdvertising is an important source of revenue for all magazines.Advertisers invest a lot of money into magazines because magazineadvertising can target their consumers directly. Magazines seekadvertising because it generates more financial income for themagazine than the sale of the magazine itself. Covert advertising,such as editorials and advertorials, helps fund the publication andlinks the products advertised to the aspirations of the audience.

Case Study: Yours MagazineYours is a consumer LifestyleMagazine aimed at older adultwomen. The use of celebrities likeDame Judt Dench and Denise Welchreinforces the age group the magazineis attempting to target. The headlinesand lures used on the cover help thereader identify the age group that arebeing targeted ‘Tone and Slim at 50+’and ‘Dame Judi, Fabulous at 70’.www.djdchronology.com/images%209/yours200501.jpg

The advertisements that feature in the magazine again reinforcethe target audiences’ age group because they focus on funeralplans, holidays, anti-wrinkle creams, orthopaedic chairs, stairlifts, life insurance and high street clothing. These advertisementsmake stereotypical assumptions about the age group they aretargeting. The consumer goods advertised in the magazine areaffordable items and accessible to a broad range of readersirrespective of income. The aspirations and ideologies that arereinforced through the magazine are of women who in their lateryears still want to maintain their independence, mobility, health,social lives, share life experiences and who are still interested inbeauty and fashion.

The readers are identified as being of an older generation whoare not frivolous with their money and this is reinforced by theoffer of payment plans as opposed to credit which is a feature ofmany magazines aimed at younger audiences. Theadvertisements for funeral plans in particular reinforce thisideology through their use of slogans such as ‘peace of mindfor you and those close to you’. The past is important to readersof this magazine and this is again reinforced through therepresentations used of black and white photography and thefocus on past Hollywood stars and readers’ lives. This magazineadopts the role of a friend, allowing the reader to re-visit thepast. This provides a niche market as few women’s magazinesare targeted at this age group and advertisers of products relatedto this lifestyle can be sure their adverts are being read by thepeople most likely to be interested in what they have to sell.

Activity: Choose a magazine and examine the advertisementsthat feature in it. What products are being advertised? Whatdo these products tell you about the aspirations and ideologiesof your target audience? Can you identify the age group,gender, income, culture, and lifestyle of the target audience?

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023. Magazines: An Introduction Media Studieswww.curriculum-press.co.uk

Online MagazinesMany mainstream magazines now offer online versions and archives of past publications. With audience consumption of magazinesincreasing, it is important to consider why online editions are beneficial to both institutions and audiences. The use of online editionsallows greater investment potential from advertising companies. Some online editions ensure readers have to register personal detailsabout themselves. This allows a profile to be built around the reader, allowing advertisers to direct their advertising very specifically. Theseadvertisements appear around each page and are interactive, offering advertisers the potential to promote impulsive online purchases fromtheir target audience.

www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/...

The target audience’s gender often influences how popular the online version of a magazine willbe. Male magazines appeal to their audience with the offer of video and image downloads whichare not available in the magazines. Downloads cost the reader additional money but offer somethingthat the magazine cannot. The online subscription for FHM also provides five online televisionchannels and chat forums that allow readers to interact with the models that star in the magazine.The sale of mobile phone wallpapers and ringtones also contributes to the profit made by thepublishers. Female publications such as Closer and Reveal offer online diet and weight lossclinics. These clubs allow readers to interact with each other while losing weight providing a senseof community similar to men’s magazines. The magazines offer diet plans, support and 24 houradvice. Articles featuring celebrities who have successfully lost weight using their diets alsofeature. OK offers readers the opportunity to buy past issues while Glamour provides an onlineedition with a downloadable fashion and beauty television channel.

Magazines profit through online editions in a variety of ways. Online profiles help create a sense of unity between readers and magazinessuch as Closer, FHM and OK provide chat rooms for their readers to meet and discuss issues raised in both the world and in the magazines.All online sites offer readers the opportunity of buying a magazine subscription often with the offer of a ‘free gift’. Online editions alsogenerate more profit because they do not incur the production and distribution costs that traditional magazine production accumulates.

SummaryMagazines provide diversion, entertainment and information which is carefully targeted to appeal to a pre-defined target audience. Eachmagazine attempts to reflect its audience’s interests and values back to them and this, combined with advertising and promotions withinthe magazines, defines an aspirational lifestyle which can be accessed via the consumer goods identified within the advertising content.Magazines have two sets of customers: the readership who buys the magazine and the advertisers who fund production and provide profitfor the magazine.

http://www.prima.co.uk/

Prima Magazine’s Web Site has a focus on audience interaction and contains advertising which is closely targeted towards theassumed interests and values of the audience of the magazine.

Acknowledgements: This Media Studies Factsheet was researched and written by Emma CairnsCurriculum Press. Bank House, 105 King Street, Wellington, TF1 1NU. Media Factsheets may be copied free of charge by teaching staff or students, provided that their school is a registeredsubscriber. No part of these Factsheets may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any other form or by any other means, without the prior permission of the publisher.ISSN 1351-5136