Here is my screen chastity showing how my magazine engages with my target audience and how it will survive in a digital media world.
Blues Bank is a music magazine based around Blues music, culture, history and news.
Blues Bank aims to give the reader factual information and exciting news about all things Blues. ‘We are delighted to say that our magazine does this in the most enjoyable, extensive and diligent way possible. The magazine stands out from the rest straight away as it covers multiple grounds. Within ‘Blues Bank’ you will find history, gossip, entertainment, and extra experiences like a step by step guide on how to build your own guitar or how to start singing the blues in 5 easy steps. We try to make learning about Blues music as fun as possible as this is one of our main brand values and usp’s.
I have done quite a bit of research into my target audience during the making of this magazine, the majority of which has been on YouGov. On YouGov I started doing some research into different psychographics and demographics. I found that the main demographic that would buy and enjoy my magazine was mostly people aged 40-60 (42% of people) however there is still a slightly smaller audience as well being aged between 20-40 (21% of people). Another part of my research into this area showed that it was more likely for musicians of any kind to read my magazine.
I feel that my target audience would buy the magazine because it adds a modern twist to older music. I used Blumler and Katz’ uses and gratifications and AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) to assist with the making of my magazine.
My Masthead, Blues Bank, is important to my magazine because it shows the informative but fun nature of the magazine and portrays the bluesy theme very well.
Another major part of the magazine is the main cover stars. I used my knowledge of the genre to make up the right costumes and props for the models to craft a strong Blues feel, and make them seem like genuine musicians. This creates a good star image and really targets the audience I aimed to. The names for my stars have been made to feel fanciful so they seem like real stars. Malachy Freeman and Calum Smith are simple but imaginative enough to draw the reader in, this is another way my magazine appeals to the uses and gratification theory as it uses information and education, and Entertainment.
During the planning phase I looked at quite a few different magazines to see what kind of shot and body language they were using. I ended up taking a mid shot of my model on the front page from a slightly low angle so you could see her face and most of the dress she was wearing, this way her identity was not hidden at all as many blues artists are quite upfront. The model also posed with a microphone up to her face so it looked like she was singing so people who did not already know who she was could easily see that she was primarily a singer.
For my magazine I have chosen BAUER publishing. I chose Bauer because I feel my magazine will fill the gap in their range of current publications. They do have some music magazines but they are more generalised like MOJO. Looking at what radio stations they have under their belt I found that they have 60’s through to current times and many rock and jazz radio stations but no Blues central stations. I thought that Blues Bank would fit in nicely and fill in the gap in their range; it could also pair with Bauer to create a Blues station.
The kind of advertisers I would hope to attract to Blues Bank are primarily music based. Something like a Drums, Guitar or Bass themed advert would be perfect. Due to the fact that most of my target audience is musicians I want to target that demographic in the advertising more than any other. Another advertiser we would like to attract is something like headphones as this targets Blues Bank’s more general audience without having to be specific as well as being useful and interesting to the musician side of the audience.
The way I plan on linking the digital and print versions together is I will provide a code on the front of the magazine that the consumer will be able to redeem online. This way people who buy the print version will still have access to the online version if they wish. We also have an Instagram Page where we keep everyone up to date on all things Blues. In the final stages of producing this magazine I will add the code and the Instagram Page name to the front of the magazine.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-Dgjz_aFGj9s-FXlZMJm7b-E9i7_sT7z/view?usp=sharing
