Friday, 8 April 2011
Case Study - IPC Media
IPC Media
IPC was formed in 1963 following the merger of the UK's three leading magazine publishers – George Newnes, Odhams Press and Fleetway Publications. IPC was created five years later.
They currently have 85 media brands and their print brands reach almost two thirds of UK women and 44% of men’s. They have a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year.
Have three core audiences
· Men – which includes magazines such as; Nuts, Guitar and Horse and Hound.
· Mass market women – which includes magazines such as; Look and TV Times.
· UP market women – which includes magazines such as; Ideal Home, Marie Claire.
Other magazines include NME, Uncut, Guitar and Bass and Country life.
Each year, five million music magazines are sold in the UK. The Music sector generates over £15.5m of annual RSV on the UK newsstands with almost half generated by the two weeklies (NME and Kerrang!)
NME delivers an ABC of 33,875 in print.
Initial Ideas for Music Magazine!
Initial Ideas
* I am going to make my music magazine a chart magazine with all the latest news and artists from the charts featured in my magazine.
* It will be a monthly magazine.
* My target audience for my music magazine will be male and female teenagers or young adults who are interested in music.
* It will contain interviews with popular chart artists about their latest albums and what they have been up to. It will be chatty and friendly to attract my target audience.
* I am going to call it either POPular or TUNES as I think these names or simple but effectively eye catching.
* I am going to use a colour theme of either RED or YELLOW to attract my target audience.
* My double page spread will be an interview with a new male artist. It will contain news about his new album and what are his favourite things to do. It will match or link to the colour theme of the contents page and front cover.
* I will have page listings and photos on my contents page to tell the audience what is being featured in this months issue.
Music Magazine Proposal!
Music Magazine Proposal
My magazine will be a monthly music magazine called TUNES. It will contain recent news and gossip about what’s happening in the music world as well as interviews with popular and up coming artists. It will be mainly a pop magazine aimed at 15-24 year old males and females. It will appeal to C1 and D social classes.
I am going to complete all my design work on InDesign and using Photoshop when needed.
My front cover will have a head shot of a female pop artists as its main focus with tag lines down the left hand side explaining the content of my magazine this month, such as interviews with artists and the best gigs coming up. The colour theme will be a bright red with black and white text in a simple yet appealing font. For my mast head front I am thinking of using Tunes.
The contents page will list page numbers and their content such as interviews, most waited for gigs and the top 40 chart for this month. It will also have a background colour of red so it links to the front cover. It will contain pictures of people going to be featured in my magazine and a sneak peak at what’s in next months issue.
In this issue there will be a double page spread on the latest new singer/song writer to hit the charts, Sammy Jones! The interview will include how he started out, how he’s finding his new life and what he enjoys about being famous. As well as when his new album is out and available to buy. The background colour of the double page spread will be a light yellow to attract males and females and will have photos of ‘Sammy’ playing his guitar and hanging out. The title will be in red to link to the contents and front cover.
I am going to put black frames around all my photos to make them stand out and make my magazine different from others.
Evaluation Question 7!
Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I have definitely developed my skills on the Mac as I was very unsure of the software in the preliminary task. I think this is because I have spent more time using them now and am used to their layout and how they work through completing my preliminary task and now my full product. I have especially improved in using InDesign, as I was very slow in finding the tool I wanted and in creating my preliminary tasks. But as I have spent more time using InDesign now and having grown more confident in trying new tools and remembering where certain tools are, I don’t spend as much time finding tools opposed to creating my tasks.
I have also improved in using a blog as before this task I hadn’t ever had one. I found I liked uploading my work instead of printing it and after a few tries found it easy to upload as well. At first I had trouble trying to upload photos but when I learnt how to do it I soon found it natural.
I didn’t use photo shop in my preliminary task so when I used it in my full product it was new to me but I didn’t find it that hard to use and found it was really useful for changing detail on photos especially my cover shot where I brightened the whole shot and also made the lips of my model a darker red.
I also feel I have improved my knowledge of what works for a music magazine and what doesn’t. For example what colours and attractive and what photos are the best for covers shots. What fronts are easy to read and what information the audience wants to read or know about. I also think I have improved my eye for magazine creating since the preliminary tasks.
Evaluation Questions 4 and 5!
I have combined these two questions and have presented them in a 'Prezi'.
http://prezi.com/rb6hvtuhmvza/question-4-and-question-5/
http://prezi.com/rb6hvtuhmvza/question-4-and-question-5/
Evaluation Question 3!
Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
IPC Media
* IPC Media would be perfect for distributing my product because they have a very wide range of popular magazines and are very experienced having been formed in 1963 and now having over 85 media brands in print. I think this would be good for my product as they have a lot of experience with new magazines and how to market them best.
* They also have a range of other very popular music magazine in their print such as NME and Kerrang! Who both have very high ABC’s. So IPC would be good at marketing and distributing my product as IPC reach almost two thirds of UK women and 44% of men so there would be good chance of my product being popular and read across the country.
* Currently they don’t have any pop magazines in print so my magazine could potentially bring in a new market and reach a different target audience to the ones they are currently reaching, which would increase the profit of the company and broaden their overall audience.
* Having so many magazines and so many years experience their reputation is built and their company is know, so having my product published by a IPC Media would be reassuring and a good start at attracting my target audience and making my product popular.
* They also are solely a publishing company so wouldn’t be distracted by any other ventures that would over shadow my product.
Evaluation Question 2!
Question2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My media product represents the C2 and D social groups because of the jobs they have (of skilled and semi skilled manual workers, supervisory or clerical workers and junior managers) and the amount of money they earn, which could affect their interests and tastes. C2 is also the largest social group so my product will reach a wide audience.
My cover represents these social groups through the clothes my female model is wearing as she is dressed in a high street dress which the C2 and D social groups could afford. My model is also in a more natural position not totally styled and airbrushed. The location isn’t very fancy; it is just a plain slightly patterned backdrop, which shows how my product isn’t the type to go to expensive location for a cover shoot. The cover also doesn’t look very posh or serious so would attract my desired social groups.
The Articles featured in my product are also representative of C2 and D social groups as they aren’t serious or loads to read which isn’t what these groups want when they have been working or have the day off. Also the artists featured in my product such as Katy Perry and Bruno Mars are very popular with these social groups so my product is representative of what they like. The way my male model in my double page spread is dressed is also a good representation as he too is wearing high street clothes that my social groups can afford to buy and wear themselves.
Evaluation Question 1!
Question 1: In what ways does your product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
http://prezi.com/16erct85rf69/question-1-in-what-way-does-your-product-use-develop-or-challenge-forms-and-conventions-of-real-media-products/
To answer this question i have created a 'Prezi' presentation.
http://prezi.com/16erct85rf69/question-1-in-what-way-does-your-product-use-develop-or-challenge-forms-and-conventions-of-real-media-products/
To answer this question i have created a 'Prezi' presentation.
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