5. How did you attract/address your audience?

In order to attract my audience I had to create an appropriate mode of address which would appeal to my demographic. I had done this through using different theories, codes and conventions and the uses of representations within my magazine.  

Within my magazine I photographed my model in effective lighting and Photo shopped them in order to create a hyper real image. This is because this is the norm of the media within today’s society. My demographic would expect this from the magazine, and I had to incorporate these theories in order to attract and appeal to my audience. By photographing them this way it made the person on the front cover desirable, resulting in my readers looking up to this figure, this means that my readers would aspire to be them. This goes in line with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. According to this theory the consumers will buy the magazine if they aspire to the person on the front cover, as they believe by doing this they will be a step closer to fulfilling their aspirations. Through utilising this theory I attracted my chosen demographic of young males.. 

Another theory I incorporated in order to appeal to my demographic is the Uses and Gratifications Theory, which is an approach to understanding why and how people actively seek out specific media to satisfy specific needs. The Uses and Gratifications Theory is an audience-centered approach to understanding mass communication. In other words, it is the reasons why people use the media.  On my front page my feature stories have informative value which goes in line with this theory. This is because it informs the audience of what they can expect within the magazine. Another point I incorporated from this theory is the entertainment value of the magazine; on my front page buzz words have been used such as “Exclusive” in order to attract my audience and add entertainment value to my magazine. My article also adds to this. People also use the media in order to have something to talk about and socially interact. Through adding an article that suggests “Rick Ross punches his girlfriend” it gives people a sense that they will have a lot to talk about after purchasing the magazine. This attracts my audience and encourages them to purchase the magazine. Through using a young black male on my front cover, I allowed for the audience to personally identify with my magazine, as they can relate with the inspirational figure.

I also attracted my audience through the mode of address. Which is the way a media product communicates with the audiences. On the bottom banner I included a list of the names of the most mainstream popular hip hop artists. Which instantaneously persuades the audience to purchase this magazine. The nature of my article was also suited to my demographic which is an urban and masculine. The masthead is “chill” which is urban slang. This also means the readers could personally identify with the magazine. This allowed me to create an appropriate mode of address which would attract my demographic. I also promoted my website under the masthead (which is the first place the reader looks) and the end of an article to obtain synergy. This would also attract my audiences as it means my readers can reach the information within the magazine from many media platforms. This is important as the internet is now used more than ever, and a magazine cannot be successful without the use of the multi-platform approach. 

I ensured that my colour scheme was masculine therefore it will appeal to the demographic. The black suggests power which reflects what young males aspire to acquire. Also in the western society from a young age the colour blue is simply a preference for males. Therefore including this colour in the 3 colour scheme is highly beneficial.

When conducting research I found out that a person is more likely to buy the magazine if it involved an additional incentive. This is because they felt as if they were getting something back in return for buying the magazine. I incorporated this within my magazine to attract my audience. My additional incentive was a free single of the artist featured in the magazine. This would encourage the audience to purchase my magazine as they will have to purchase it in order to obtain the additional incentive. The additional incentive along with the relatively cheap price of my magazine attracts my audience as they are convinced they are receiving a good deal for a small price in other words they see it as a bargain.