Evaluation - Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?
The Title:
The name of my magazine, “Viper” was to give my magazine a hard-hitting, bold and stand out look. I felt the name was creative and would draw attention to my magazine. I deliberately used a distorted and grungy font as this will attract and interest my readers as it gives the magazine a punk / rock look. I deliberately chose to have a red title as it contrasted really well against the black background with a stand out and eye catching effect. Red also is key in connoting power and danger, which is associated with the rock and metal music genre and is something I feel would draw attention to my audience and attract them.

The Cover:

The cover is the first thing the audience would look at before purchasing my magazine. This is why I chose to use a close up image of the models face to create an extremely dramatic and hard hitting cover. The model is showing a lot of emotion in the face which created a more dramatic cover. Her aggressive facial expression and dark clothing, makeup and facial piercing show her to have a rock style and show her to have a confident and rebellious attitude; all of these qualities were done deliberately to attract my readers. The model is looking straight towards the camera which would make the reader feel as though she is looking at them, making them feel more involved and interested in the magazine.
The inside story of my interview with Dominic James was also included to appeal to my target audience. The model has been captured with a confident attitude, he is showing off his tattoos which are very much associated with a rock image which will appeal to my target audience as this is something they are likely to find stylish and appealing.

I chose a simplistic yet extremely dramatic colour scheme that not only works well together, but is simple and easy to read. The colours red and black immediately associate a punk metal look which will automatically catch the eye of my target audience. I deliberately included artist names on the cover which I felt would appeal to the music taste of my target audience. I deliberately kept out large chunks of text so my cover remained simple yet effective so my audience could take in key information at a glance.

I have also tried to draw and attract readers to the main story of my magazine. I have used an effect pull quote to interest readers into what the artist has said in the article. I have also included extra features of the article such as ‘new and unseen photographs’ which I feel will make the readers interested in the article and believe it is worth purchasing it to see the ‘unseen’ photographs as no other magazine have them.

The Contents:

I have followed a very similar style contents to NME magazine, this is because NME have a very similar target audience to me and therefore the articles in their magazine would appeal to the readers of Viper.

The contents page includes various articles on rock bands which I feel would appeal to my target audience.

I have also included the fact my magazine features new and upcoming bands which I believed would be an interest of my audience profile. NME target audience profile describes the readers to have a high interest in new and upcoming bands therefore this is likely to be a popular feature for readers.

I have also included special offers in the magazine to appeal to my audience further. As the readers are likely to be much younger it is likely they will not have a high income so saving money on the purchase of the magazine is going to be popular.

The Double Page Spread:

I have included a very similar layout to a double page spread I found in Kerang! Magazine as I feel this is likely to attract the target audience as this type of magazine is likely to be popular with them due to the interest in rock/metal music. I have followed a consistent colour scheme of red black and white to give my magazine a definite look. The colours are very bold, dramatic and connote a rebellious dangerous look which will attract my readers. I have included various interesting and successful images of the model which will appeal to the readers due to the style and look of the model I have used.
I included a pull quote which is a common feature of these types of articles. It gives the target audience a feel for the article. The quote I used was one that made the artist seem relatable to the audience.

I have set the interview out in a question and answer format clearly indicating them in different colours. This is a clear layout and means my audience don’t have to sift through large paragraphs of text. I have set the interview out in a relaxed conversational style asking questions that I feel my readers are likely to be interested in.

Similarly I have included a separate box designed to ask questions which Viper readers have voted for themselves, this gives them a chance to get involved with the magazine and find out what they want to know about artists featured in the magazine which is likely to appeal to them and make them subscribe to my magazine.

The location of my double page spread strongly suggests the rock genre of my magazine. I held the shoot underneath a bridge in the local park which gave a very grungy feel due to the graffiti and grubby feel to the location. This relates well to the genre of music in my magazine and will therefore appeal to my target audience.