Friday, January 17, 2020
Thursday, January 2, 2020
Statement of Intent
From my in-depth research into the entertainment magazine industry, and through my exploration into various publications produced by Hearst I was able to discover the key conventions in both the media language and representations used. In the case of media language, the publications I studied included bold colour palettes, closeup imagery of the models, and impactful and eye-catching mastheads.
Throughout my cover and contents page, I wish to incorporate a consistent colour scheme in order to adhere to conventions and form a clear house style and brand identity. I will aim to select colours that are seen within the main image in order to create a visually appealing product. This is also a key convention to follow as I identified this as a typical concept whilst conducting my case study research.
I also discovered through my research that the majority of entertainment magazine covers were close-ups or medium close-ups of young females who are holding direct eye contact with the camera. Whilst this wasn’t necessarily the case for every publication I studied, it was certainly a feature I encountered frequently. Through using this styling, it also meant that I could appeal to my target audience of 16-25 year olds, who could therefore relate to and identify with the models. A confident mode of address would also create a sense of empowerment across my publication, a quality I feel is of paramount importance for the impressionable target audience of my publication.
I also intend to include a masthead that connotes to gossip and lighthearted chatter. The word ‘grapevine’ is suggestive of the well-known phrase of ‘heard it through the grapevine’ which is a masthead that will be well-suited for my publication. The word ‘grapevine’ is suitable for my fun-loving audience as it is quirky and simple, which are features I have regularly encountered throughout my research of these publications. Many entertainment magazines use a singular word for their masthead, which was another factor behind my choice of ‘grapevine’.
In order to incorporate various intertextual references, I intend to reference popular music artists and fun-loving films. In doing so, I aim to gratify the target audience as these references will appeal to their age bracket and provide the older readers with a feeling of nostalgia. Blumler and Katz gratifications theory can be applied here as the audience may feel a sense of pride and enjoyment upon recognising the inttertextual references.
In my second issue, I intend to reference Disney’s Moana due to the fun-loving nature of my target audience. I also wish to reference popular apps as the 16-25 year old demographic are technology users and often engage well with online applications.
The cover lines on my publication will be relevant for my 16-25 year old fun-loving audience as they will include a multitude of entertainment options, whilst also allowing the audience to be engaged with the publications. I will create a cover line on the first issue cover of ‘Moana’ and create a pop-art inspired cover line on issue two. The pop art cover will pay homage to the art genre whilst also showcasing a new film that will appeal to my target audience.
I will also aim to incorporate ‘puffs’, which will hint at the inside features of the magazine. This will entice the audiences without giving them too much information, relating to Barthe’s Enigma theory.
I also intend to incorporate a variety of diverse issues relevant to my target demographic in both publications contents pages. I aim to include the topics of climate change and mental health due to the fact I feel these issues are extremely topical and important to my readership.
Product 2
Through researching a number of entertainment magazines, for example ‘best’ and ‘Entertainment Weekly’ I identified a number of conventions that I wish to replicate and adhere to. By researching these publications, I developed an understanding about the importance of encouraging audiences to engage with the publications they were reading. I discovered that references to online media platforms encouraged engagement and also allowed the publications to gain a following on other key platforms such as Instagram. In order to maintain a consistent brand identity between my products, I intend to feature topics on both my prints contents pages and my working website.
I also discovered through my research that each different magazine brand has their own house style on offer. In order to create a personal touch to my product, I intend to include an editor’s note on my home page and printed contents pages in order to allow the readership a feeling of connectedness to the brand. I understand that having a website that offers a simple navigation is also important as this also important as this makes the site seem more appealing to audiences. From exploring many websites, my personal favourite was the one from ‘best’ magazine. This site was colourful and personable, including lots of imagery and an editor’s note. I wish to replicate these features when creating my site.
Media language conventions such as a maintained colour palette are a feature that I am aiming to adhere to in my product. I will use a varied colour palette to adhere to typical conventions and appeal to my fun-loving audience. I am going to reference popular films and celebrities in order to incorporate intertextuality and meet the brief.
I also intend to maximise the potential for audience engagement. I aim to include vouchers and discounts that will appeal to my audience, as well as advertising activities such as beach cleans to increase the sutainability of the publication. I aim to include an ‘easter egg’ on the Spotify logo on an advertisement I created for Billie Eilish. This advert is suitable as the majority of Billie Eilish fans are in the 16-25 age bracket of my target demographic. I will also adhere to the conventions of the entertainment magazines that I researched by including advertisements of the opportunity to subscribe to my product. This will hopefully encourage a larger and more reliable and guaranteed readership. Another way in which I intend to increase audience engagement is via a contact section that allows audiences to send in suggestions to the editors of the magazine. This is important as audiences are becoming increasingly involved and active consumers with media products. Jenkin’s participation theory is useful in understanding this pattern as Jenkin’s states that in a world where participatory culture is celebrated, audiences are aiding media production, instead of just passively consuming media.
Linked Products
From researching entertainment magazines such as ‘Entertainment Weekly’, I discovered that a strong and easily recognisable brand image is essential across both the print and website platforms. I intend to do this effectively by using consistent typography and by creating consistency with my models. In order to further highlight brand identity I also aim to use the same masthead across my platforms. This will create cohesion between my products which I feel is an important quality.
My website will incorporate images from shoots that were not selected for the covers. This will promote a strong sense of brand identity. I also aim to create online adverts that are 'easter eggs', sending the reader directly to the site of the products. This will appeal to my target demographic as I will tailor the adverts to suit their consumption habits. I also wish to promote brand loyalty by referencing the print products heavily online, this will ensure that my target audience engage with both platforms. I aim to use a social media bar on my website and contents pages to ensure a digitally convergent nature and promote all platforms available to my target readership. My website will also incorporate the ‘grapevine’ Instagram feed in order to further promote and encourage audience engagement. I also intend to incorporate the link to my website on both front covers to ensure my site gets as many visits as possible, promoting audience engagement and loyalty.
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