James Warwick

How important is technology convergence for institutions and audiences within a media area which you have studied?

Bauer Media (Which is a sub-category from Bauer Media Group, the conglomerate, that started in 1953 with the launch of Angling Times) has grown to converge with digital media to grow more, this had to be done due to the population wanting to be “Prosumers”, which was a term coined by Alvin Toffler in 1980, which means a pro-active consumer, to help personally improve or design the goods and services of the market places, transforming it and their roles as consumers.

Bauer Media already reaches over 22 million UK adults (15+) every week. The group worldwide has 300 magazines in 15 countries, as well as converging with Online, TV, and Radio Stations. It has a workface of approximately 11,000 employees in 17 countries with revenue of 2.4bn euros in 2013. Bauer Media joined Bauer Media Group in January 2008. Bauer Media is widely recognised and has a lot of brand recognition. In 1990 Bauer acquired Kiss FM, followed by Liverpool’s Radio City and Melody FM, which transformed into the market leading Magic 105.4. In 1994 they bought For Him magazine (FHM) which is now the core of the best-selling international multi-platform brand FHM. In 1996 they converged and acquired digital music TV channel The Box. In 2002 Closer was launched, followed my Grazier in 2005. Today, Bauer Media spans over 80 influential brand names, covering a diverse range of interests, Bauer Media is a sister company of H Bauer Publishing, publisher of Take a Break and Bella. A total of 37.7 million people consume magazine brands across print and digital, which shows that it isn’t a dying industry, but as shown by the fact that of the 73% that look at Bauer products, 28% of them consume Via PC or Mobile device. This shows that, although it is not a dying industry, it is increased greatly when converging and synergising with technology. Bauer Media is a very popular company as shown above, however they have increased even more through conversion. They say that their strategy is to “Connect audiences with excellent contact through our broad Multi-touch print brand platforms”, which shows that they want to connect with their target audience through converging.

The specific case study we have been studying is Kerrang! (Founded in 1981) it is a huge magazine that Bauer Media started producing, they developed its popularity through convergence and synergy. Convergence is the multi-platform approach that many media industries use to extend their audience reach. They will converge with other platforms such as TV, Radio, Website, they use this to engage with a different audience, and extend product reach to the audience they already have. They have to converge with these digital technologies to not fade out of obscurity; this is proven when we take Marcus Rich’s quote into account, “Magazine chiefs urge industry change from burning platform to growth”. It is also proven by the fact that the number of printed magazines sold in the UK plummeted from 1.21bn to 781m last year. This shows to us that if magazines do not converge digitally, they will fade into obscurity, this is also proven by the fact that overall audience increases by 9.4% when we take PC owners into account, proving that their target audience of 16-24 year old males uses the internet, and want to access this on the go, and become involved in what it has to offer, this shows that it succeeds in extending its audience reach. They do this also to aid the people that want to be “Prosumers”, Kerrang! For example, converges with social media, such as Facebook, twitter, Instagram, and even YouTube. This allows users to become Pro-active; they can take part in polls, subscribe to the

James Warwick

channel and overall just partake in everything Kerrang! Users can even download the mobile phone app to keep up with everything Kerrang! This is good as it appeals to their target audience; on average mobile phones add a further 46% audience reach to individual magazine brand footprints, which proves that converging helps Kerrang! Grow. The fact that 4/10 people are using something to do with Bauer right now proves that this is working, as it suits it target audience better, as they want to be able to access it on the go, and become involved and become Prosumers. It appeals to their niche audience.

Synergy is also important in convergence, they use the Kerrang! Logo on each convergence to show it is Kerrang! And so the audience can recognise the brand. They emphasise this “K!” brand, which we know as Kerrang! It suggests their popularity as we do not even have to see the full name. They also use the same colour scheme in every conversion; they use Black, Red, White and Yellow to give it a sense of brand identity. It also has its own festival to show its importance, it is sponsored by Kerrang! And uses the same logos, colours etc. All of the titles have the same font used, to also give a sense of brand identity; this is also so you can recognise it in all of its other conversions. The slogan is also the same; “Life is Loud” is used in every conversion. It also has its own podcast for the “K!” brand, and a “Noise Letter” to match the slogan. They also use the same genre of rock and metal across all conversions to appeal to its niche audience. You can also download and listen to the specific music through Spotify, to give it a wider audience reach. You can do all the above things mentioned in social media, such as subscribing on YouTube, Liking on Facebook etc. There are also steams on live TV and Radio which have all the codes and conventions of Kerrang! To appeal to their target audience. Some people may be interested on buying Kerrang! Tickets online or downloading K! Radios mobile app, this can be done as we recognise the brand through the synergy Kerrang! Has with its conversions. Finally, some may be interested in the K! Dating, this is also to appeal to their target audience as they can meet other people that are interested in the same niche music, and have the same love for the magazine, due to its conversions and synergy.