Hearst media pack analysis

 

Context: The Brand

 

Our goal is simple: create premium, purposeful content that helps our audiences and partners strive, thrive and get more out of life. 

Our trusted brands are built on decades of editorial expertise and underpinned by the latest audience insight and data. We are uniquely placed to understand what people want and when they want it - we create content with purpose. 

We’ve entertained, informed and empowered audiences across the UK since 1922. Were deeply proud of our illustrious heritage, but we’ve got even bigger plans for the future. We’d love for you to be part of it. 

• 800+ dedicated people (2020)
• 28 million UK monthly unique visitors (2020)
• 5 million+ event attendees (2020)

Relevant comments from NEA guide

 Link to NEA guide

Comments:

This component (NEA) provides the opportunity for the learner to demonstrate that they can apply knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework to construct their media products by:

• applying knowledge and understanding of media language to express and
• communicate meaning to an intended audience applying knowledge and understanding to construct representations that portray events, issues, individuals and social groups as appropriate to the brief set by OCR
• applying knowledge and understanding of media industries requirements to create a product that is appropriate to the media industry context of their chosen brief
• use of media language to create meaning for the intended audience, in line with the intentions outlined in their Statement of Intent. 

*When deciding upon their choice of production briefs, centres are advised to consider the resources and equipment that they have available for learners to employ.

Curriculum content:

The brief will specify the products to be produced, distribution method and target audience. It may also outline a range of technical elements to be included in each of the two productions, such as the written text, images, settings, graphics, number of web pages, menu bar etc., as appropriate to the two tasks. It may indicate the appropriate media language to be employed.

There must be a clear sense of branding across the two elements of the cross-media production, and an understanding of digital convergence.

As noted above, this component provides the opportunity for the learner to demonstrate that they can apply knowledge and understanding of all four areas of the theoretical framework.

Thinking conceptually:

Work on the NEA brief should develop learners’ understanding of the theoretical framework – Industry, Language, Audience and Representation (which is also required in their Statement of Intent) - as well as broadening their knowledge of the contexts of any magazine and online texts they may be studying for Media Messages (H409/01). 

Thinking contextually:

• need to produce early rough drafts which they will then refine into the final magazine productions.
• Producing a pitch before production starts is an excellent way to ensure the work focuses on the demands of the NEA. Before the start of Year 2, learners may have recorded all evidence of their previous research and planning into their evidence trail (possibly in blog format) completed a summer homework to plan and organise their practical work ready to pitch in the first week of this term.

Contemporary context - finance, distribute, exchange, access

 How do audiences access them? (consider recent developments in technology)

Finance:

Generally speaking, the primary source of funding for magazine publishing is not sales, but advertising.

• Print subscriptions
• Print advertising 
• Online subscriptions
• Digital advertising 
• Sponsorships / sponsored content
• Events and conferences
• Live streaming

Distribution:

Understanding the audience is a key part to effective distribution. Their interests, technological competency, regular events can bring about new opportunities for magazine companies in terms of distribution strategy. Strategies include:

• Printed publications in shops/ stalls
• Online - social media, websites, applications 
• Blog

Exchange:

How audiences access magazines:

Print editions were popular, until the arrival of the internet. While they are still around, they are in steady decline, with some magazine producers says the industry is in crisis, as print editions must compete with online only magazines.

   Blogging platforms are also competition. They provide free content, produced by writers that include experts, celebrities and general public (giving a sense of everyone having a voice).

   Most popular magazines have responded to these changes by publishing their own online editions, containing some free content and interactive features, though as magazines make their money from advertisements, there will be plenty featured on the website. 

   Examples of these interactive features include:

• Quizzes and questionnaires
• Comments sections where the reader ca interact with the content
• Videos and podcasts
• Links to buy the products featured and advertised

   Magazines are still popular as portable, read anywhere objects, however, with the popularity of smartphones and other technology rising rapidly, the popularity of the magazine as a portable object may also decline 

Contemporary context - major players

Audience interests survey

 

History of magazines

A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by prepaid subscription, or by a combination of the three.

Moodboard: Photo inspiration

Moodboard: front cover

 

   These front covers show photos that I like, in most cases the camerawork and lighting, along with clothes are the an engaging on the cover, opposed to the women being seen in a purely voyeuristic way, they are posed in more comfortable positions and aren’t sexualised as far as other magazines may portray. 

   The cover lines are a mixture of the cover model and content inside to engage the audience, which I intend to reinforce, through quotes from articles to direct audiences to content inside. 

   There are a variation of typography (colour and size and font) in the cover lines, which creates a more engaging cover, though this does take away a sense of “elegance”

Focus group

Name: Charlotte Gedda
Age: 16
Interests: keeping up with latest trends

I like reading about current affairs and ongoing issues around the world. I also have an interest in health and fitness and attending events. I like reading magazines like Paper and Cosmopolitan as they include an innovative and interesting cover image

Name: Charlotte Colley
Age: 17
Interests: photography, editing, reading scandals in celeb stories

I love engaging with current events and the cultural production of media products. I find the overall psychology of why people enjoy things and their behaviours. Although I’m not particularly immersed in politics I do enjoy being updated in current affairs. I think fashion especially editorial is at the heart of what I do and I personally if I can like to buy magazines physically as it’s almost like a collection thing.

Name: Charlie Beevers

Age: 17

Interests: Gaming, TV/Film, Music

I don't often read magazines however when i

do, which is done on social media, i enjoy to

see how the models are dressed and how

they interact with one another looking at

their facial expressions and what that

conveys to the reader. I also appreciate when

a model looks aestetich and looks confident

in themselves.

Name: Haider Ibrahim

Age: 17

Interests: academic success, self improvement guides

I enjoy flicking through magazines, I don’t normally read all articles, only those that I find interesting or with nice pictures, I especially like photos with bright colour. The self improvement guides I read, but I feel like the health industry has a sense of toxicity to it, like if you don’t look a certain way, you aren’t healthy. 

DAZED analysis

• Describe themselves as “an independent British fashion, culture and arts magazine with a reputation for groundbreaking photography, fashion and editorial”
• Target audience of 18-30, predominately female in the B-C2 class bracket. The audience is of a more cultured background and wealthy for the magazine covers fashion for leading designers not from not from the high street.
• Subverts typical magazine conventions as there’s generally a lack of cover lines, giving the cover a minimalistic look
• I like how Dazed incorporate different fonts on the cover, a unique take to make it more eye catching, and the main colour with only plain or not as bold colours (sometimes complementary) to complement it
• I also like the use of the masthead to include what edition it is

Layout:

• Cover model in centre of cover
• Masthead at top
• Inclusion of cover model’s name is featured, but inconstant in the placement and sizing

Typography:

• Lack of cover lines on these cover, giving more attention to images used
• Masthead is consistent with sizing and font, but alters colour 
•  Cover line font alters with the edition

Use of language:

• The lack of communication in cover lines may narrow the audience as the magazine can only attract the with the image

Use of images:

• High quality editorial images 
• Only one image on the cover 

LOOK Analysis

•  Target audience: women ages 16-34
• “Glossy high street fashion and celebrity weekly magazine for young women. The magazine focuses on fashion, high street shopping advice, celebrity style and news, and real life stories”
• I like how the cover model’s head is infront of the masthead partially as it can connote that the brand care about the model as a person instead of just as a commodity to sell their magazine, this care for the model is reinforced through the mention of their names (which would attract avid fans) and frequently included personal information or exclusive interviews with them  

Layout:

• Strapline across the top, close to masthead
• Masthead at top, sometimes with cover lines covering partially
• Cover model in centre
• Cover lines cover the model, making the magazine look more informal, but also cramped and messy, but are also at the sides

Typography:

• Overload of colours - a main one, with multiple others
• Cover lines have ‘highlight’ edits on certain words, with a different colour
• Use of multiple sizes, fonts colours with cover lines
• Colour of masthead is reoccurring throughout magazine, with complementary colours used alongside

Use of language:

• Rhetorical Qs
• “How to” guides
• Critical language “faking it”
• Informal tone

Use of images:

• Cover model in centre, as main image
• Smaller images of clothing items, in a “scrapbook” type of way
• If there are interviews, there is an image of the interviewee 

Cosmopolitan analysis

• Target audience of 18-34 year old females
• “Cosmo readers are upmarket, they are early adapters of technology and have a passion for fashion and beauty”
• One cover star - including their name and an interview with them and positive comment connoting the star as inspirational “Lucy Hale started breaking rules a long time ago, you just weren’t paying attention” - also suggests that the star/magazine needs to be paid attention to or the audience will miss out
• Outfits of cover star match background (similar/same colour)
• Masthead matching the outfit and background (deeper colour/ white)
•  Subverts typical conventions- female cover star isn’t portrayed in a voyeuristic manner, she is dressed up in a suit opposed to a dress
• Head of subject covers masthead - suggesting that the magazine cares about the person
• While they aren’t sexualised, the women in the covers are portrayed as doing trivial things. 
• Cover lines rarely touch the cover star- sign of importance?
• Cover lines reflect the zeitgeist “have you got zoom face”
• The cover lines present a simple world “pursue what you love” - everyone wants to do this, yet it is unrealistic and potentially impossible for some, it is something said in films to inspire “and other secrets from the world’s happiest places”

Layout:

• Consistently features a cover model, in the centre of the cover, adorned by cover lines that is composed of multiple typography 
• The masthead is at the top, behind the model
• The date/ edition is below the masthead, in the left or right

Typography:

• Typography of masthead is consistent in size, font, but in terms of colour can change with each edition
• Colour of masthead tends to be reoccurring within cover
• Cover lines consist of multiple colours, fonts and sizes, attracting the audience

Use of language:

• Extensive use of imperative verbs, to cause ‘action’ from audience - active engagement
• Rhetorical questions 
• Positivity is pushed into audience
• Quotes from cover model 
• Cover model’s name and usually an interview or insight to their life
• Less formal - “I”, “you”, use of brackets, ellipses

Use of images:

• Only one image - the cover model
• Looking confident, enjoying life
• Clothes accompany the masthead colour 

 

Audience Profile

 My audience of 16-25 year old mass market audience that expects to be emotionally engaged. They are likely to have a competent understanding of popular culture, this would most likely be through online social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter. Pop culture is media that has mass accessibility and appeal and refers to entertainment (film, music, television, and video games), sports, news (people/places), politics, fashion, technology, and slang. Magazines are likely to not be the first media product that this audience would choose for the content, but more so if they had an interest that the magazine covered (so I will include multiple interests in the cover lines), or if they recognise the cover star or are attracted to the front cover (colours, cover lines, puffs, colourful background). Interests by topic could include self improvement, news, fashion tips,  exclusive interviews (exclusivity) any form of how to make themselves “fit into society”, or that gives the impression that they must do something to belong. They would enjoy instant news, so the magazine would have to have an element of being “on trend” and up to date. They are also likely to have a high cultural competency as being active on social media would entail, but could be aiming to expand their knowledge. They are likely to like travelling, listening to music and different cultures, so there’s will be included either as puffs or on the contents page. 

   With the rise of participatory media, audiences in this demographic tend to aim on creating their own forms of media, opposed to only spectating. They like to educate themselves and form their own opinions instead of being told what to think. There has been an increase in audiences creating their own media, for example creating YouTube videos, the platform has been popular in bringing audiences to watch mainstream shows and celebrities that had gained their fame, then brought it onto YouTube, but more audiences are now creating their own channels and putting out content. Due to this, more magazines are encouraging participation from audiences, such as sending in questions they would like answered, or photos to be included in the next issue. 

   There has been studies demonstrating the worries that this age group have with job prospects and their competency for jobs in the future, I want to incorporate some opportunities adverts to broaden what the audience gain from the magazine.

• 25% of the total daily users are 16-24 year olds who use Facebook to check-in, at home, college, or work
• According to a YouTube demographic analysis, the main users of YouTube tend to be aged between 18-24, with 1-17 and 25-34 in close second
• Instagram has over 300 million users and a whopping 41% of these are aged 16-24 years old
• Twitter has an average user being around 23 and female, and is fantastic for targeting new customers and clients in an informal and friendly manner
• 44% of 16-25 year olds, particularly those who were in education, report that their learning of work skills had worsened as a result of the pandemic, this was suggested to be due to the lack of opportunities to pick up skills that would be needed in the workplace. 

Planning- moderators report

•  Some excellent examples were seen where candidates had achieved everything required by the brief, including the full range of production detail, with some well-considered and appropriate photography being used and an overall design aesthetic being carried across both editions of the magazine, including the contents pages, and to the websites.
• chose their fonts with discrimination (not relying on standard body-text fonts to create sell lines or the masthead) and showed control in terms of size and leading.
• variety of images on the contents, with page numbers on the images anchoring them to the written contents, and appropriately laid out and sized text. 
• ‘cutting edge’ fashion periodicals (e.g. Dazed and Confused).
• the less successful magazines tended to miss key elements from the brief (including the production l detail), did not adhere to the codes and conventions of the form or did not meet the conventional expectations of the genre.

Chosen brief

 

I have chosen brief 3: magazines and online as I consume magazine content the most out of the options, I believe I would be best creating one