Research into Student Magazines - Questionnaire

Questionnaire on Student Magazine

Hello. I am doing some market research in order to create a student magazine for my AS Media coursework? Would you mind taking a few minutes to fill out this questionnaire? 

Please tally against the answers you have chosen.

1.      Which of these names would you find the most appealing for a magazine?

§  BNTR

§  Chillin’

§  Partyyy

§  ColLegends

§  FRESH

2.      What sorts of content would you wish to see in a student magazine? (Select more than one if applicable)

§  Sports News

§  College News

§  Gossip

§  Information on Upcoming Events

§  Reviews (Music, Film etc.)

§  Money-Saving Tips

§  Other (please specify)      ……………………………………………………….

3.      Would you be willing to pay for a college magazine?

§  Yes

§  No (skip Question 4)

4.      If yes, what would be the most you were willing to pay?

§  <£1

§  £1-5

§  £5-10

§  >£10

5.      Do you currently subscribe to any other magazines?

§  Yes (please state)                ……………………………………………………….

§  No

(The subscriptions were to; Total Rugby, Computer Graphics, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Good Food, and Xbox Magazine.)

6.      How often would you like to see a college magazine?

§  Weekly

§  Monthly

§  Annually

§  Never

Thank you for taking time to answer this questionnaire, your answers have been very helpful.

Research into Student Magazines

Analysis of Front Cover/Contents Page

 

The masthead is the largest text on the page, emphasizing the importance of brand identity. The connotations of the name ‘VERGE’ suggest that this magazine is breaking new boundaries, that it is new and revolutionary. The tagline of ‘Careers .  Music . Lifestyle’ suggests that these are the key themes of the magazine. These themes are also ones that would interest college students, making the content relevant to the audience. The font of the masthead makes the magazine seem cool as it involves the use of both upper and lower case letters, suggesting a laid-back informality about the piece. The central image of pop singer Ke$ha is also likely to interest young people who are interested in her music. The dark background helps to emphasise the psychedelic fonts that draw the reader’s attention to these various lures. These lures are of different fonts and sizes, which make the magazine seem wild and fresh. It also means that the reader’s attention will be drawn to some lures earlier than others, especially the main lure below the central image.  The magazine does not show the price or the issue number, however it does show the link to the online website.

The masthead is again the largest text on the page, emphasing the importance of brand identity. The connotations of the name ‘24 7.’ suggest that this magazine never stops, that it is always up-to-date. The central image is not of a person, which is unusual for a magazine. The line under the central image uses the colloquial phrase ‘yep’, showing the informality of the piece. This shows that the target audience is students as these are the sort of people who use this type of lexis. The lures for this magazine are posted in the centre of the page, which is unusual for a magazine. For most magazines, such as ‘VERGE’, the lures are posted around the outside and along the bottom of the page. This makes the front cover seem like more of a poster than a cover. The price of this magazine is free, showing that its main aim is to provide information for the benefit of the audience rather than to make a profit.

The contents page moves away from the colours used on the contents page and instead uses a blue colour scheme.  The darker blue background is mixed with the writing being a lighter blue so that it sounds out. The writers and editors names are positioned down the left hand side with the contents page being listed down the right. This is a common theme in magazines. The ‘Features’ section is larger as this is what separates this issue from any other, and is the most important feature in drawing in customers.

Research into Magazine Front Covers

Textual Analysis of a Magazine Front Cover

I have chosen to analyse and evaluate the connotations of a popular motoring magazine. This allows me to distinguish features of this magazine against my college one. For example, the target audience of this magazine is slightly older than for my college magazine, although you could argue that college students would also enjoy this magazine.

The masthead is the name of the brand the magazine is from and used to distinguish the brand from any other. This magazine is a monthly spin-off from the popular motoring show ‘Top Gear’, and shares its name with the program to show that they are linked. This will create more subscribers to the magazine, as people who are fans of the well-established show will be more likely to buy this magazine rather than another motoring rival. The masthead would be considered as quite basic compared to other magazine, with a white, sans-serif font used. However, italics are used to give the effect that there is movement. This connotes speed, which relates to the magazine as it specialises in fast cars.

Magazines will usually include on the front page the date the issue was published, the issue, the price and usually a tagline above or below the masthead. This magazine does not have a tagline, but instead has an extra lure as an attempt to make the customer buy the magazine.

Introduction to Premlinary Task

Introduction to Preliminary Task

            For our preliminary task we were asked to analyse the front cover of a magazine and how it has been constructed to appeal to its target audience. It was suggested that we choose to analyse a magazine with an audience that is of a similar age as the one we are creating the front page of our college magazine for.

Action Plan

Week	Content	Tasks
1	Introduction to Brief Analysis of magazines and how they target audience	1. Set up a blog                          2.  Put an action plan on blog
2	Analysis of school/college magazines Research of target audience	1. Complete textual analysis of school/college magazine                  2. Post research of target audience on blog and review findings                           3. Begin to take photos for own magazine
3	Produce a mock up front cover and contents page Design front cover and contents page	1.  Post mock-up blog and provide a commentary
4	Design front cover and contents page	1. Post final front cover and contents page up on blog
5	Christmas Holiday	1. Work on evaluation questions
6	Complete evaluation Final Deadline	1. Post evaluation on blog

Introduction to Brief

Introductory Blog Post

            As part of my AS media coursework, the brief requires me to create the front page, contents and a double page feature spread of a new music magazine. I have created this blog in order to record the basis of my research and planning which will help me to produce a successful magazine. I will use the computer programs ‘Adobe InDesign’ and ‘Adobe Photoshop’.