Existing magazine research

Introduction

I am a frequent buyer of lots of magazines that range from music based magazines to fashion and beauty. I am now going to look at a fashion magazine and a music based magazine to look at their target audiences, Price, Layout and content.

'Look' magazine

Introduction
I am going to analyse 'Look' magazine as this is a typical fashion magazine aimed at young women. It was first launched in February 2007, and has run weekly ever since; selling at a price of £1.60. http://www.look.co.uk/ was launched in 2008 and includes the latest high street fashion, celebrity news and health and beauty tips.

Content
It is a magazine that contains a mixture of information about information about health and beauty, affordable up-to-date fashion and shopping, celeb gossip and real life stories. Celebrities usually appear on the front cover, for example; Cheryl Cole, Catherine Tate and Brad Pitt. The magazine usually has roughly 114 pages starting with a contents page and then this is followed by several articles about health and beauty tips, articles about celebrity gossip and celebrity lifestyles. There are also pages all about shopping showing the latest 'Best-buys' and current fashion styles. The magazine also focuses on real-life issues and runs articles about men and women struggling with health, beauty and psychological issues. The magazine also runs competitions and puzzles to win shopping sprees and holidays.

Publishing institution
The publishing institution of Look magazine is IPC Media (International Publishing Corporation). It was launched in 1963 due to the merge of George Newnes, Odhams Press, Fleetway Publications and The Mirror group.IPC media's print reaches over 2/3 of the UK's population of women alone. They runs a mixture of mass market prints such as 'Look', 'Chat' and 'Now'. And some upmarket magazines such as 'Marie Claire', and 'InStyle'.

IPC media homepage - http://www.ipcmedia.com/

Target Audience
Reader profile:
The typical reader of Look magazine is aged between 18 - 30 as it targets issues that this age group can relate to. The magazine also targets women as there are no articles about men's fashion or sports. The reader must have an interest in fashion as the magazine runs a lot of articles to do with fashion and also the latest shopping tips. she will also enjoy shopping in high street shops such as Top shop, New Look and Dorothy Perkins but also likes to shop online on websites such as Asos and Look's online shop directory.

House style / U.S.P
Look magazine has a very cluttered front cover will lots of pictures and text. The front cover also always has a mid shot of a celebrity who is appearing in an article in that issue of the magazine. The magazine also has the same title on every cover, the title is in a serif font and it always the same size on every cover. each issue is usually very colourful and bright in order to catch the readers eye. it is also very modern and contains lots of images and colours as this will target the age group of 18-30 year old. the magazine is also in A4 size which could be a plus point in that it will stand out against smaller magazines, however being smaller (A5) means it would fit in your handbag. It also advertises right from the front cover, as it shows clothing and the prices of the clothing, this will catch the readers eye as if they see something they like on the front cover they are more likely to keep on reading.

                        

Vibe Magazine
          

Introduction
I am now going to look at a music magazine, I have chosen Vibe magazine. The magazine is founded by producer Quincy Jones. This is a magazine centres around R&B and hip hop music, It is aimed at young adults/teenagers who are interested in hip hop culture. It is based in the U.S.A and is issued quarterly selling for £2.50 ($4.99). the first 'test' issue was produced in 1993.

Content
Vibe runs a range of different articles ranging from articles about the newest clothing brands made by the latest hip hop artists such as Nelly's apple bottom jeans. They also run articles about reggae music written by Rob Kenner. Several pages are used to display photo spreads showing the latest sportswear and designer clothing by brands such as 'Rocawear'. Vibe also runs articles about the latest R&B albums and articles about the artists themselves.

Publishing institution
The publishing institute of Vibe magazine is InterMedia Partners also known as InterMedia Advisers it was launched in 2005 by Leo Hindery. InterMedia Partners also publishes magazines for Uptown and also has links with TV channels such as Gospel music channel and Sportsman channel.

InterMedia website - http://www.intermediaadvisors.com/

Target Audience
Reader profile:
The typical reader of Vibe magazine is someone who has an interest in R&B or hip hop music as this is what the magazine is centred around. there is no specific sex that this magazine targets however there were some issues 'Vibe Vixen' that were specifically aimed at females as they contained information about Beauty and fashion and female R&B stars such as Ciara.

House style /U.S.P
Vibe magazine is a lot less cluttered than Look magazine for example. the front cover always contains an image of an hip hop or R&B artist for example; Ciara , 50 cent and Akon. The front cover is less cluttered as there are a lot less articles shown (as shown below). n the front cover the title is always highlighted in a colour to make it stand out. this will help make the magazine be noticeable against other competing magazines. the contents page always has the same heading written in the same way. this creates consistency so customers seeing this will be able to link this with the magazine. The double page spread also always has volume written in the same way as the heading in the contents page.

   

IPC Media

 

I am now going to research into IPC media as these are a very well known media institution, and also if my magazine was going to be made into a real magazine that would be sold. IPC media would be the institution that would help publish that.

IPC media are the publishing institution of magazines such as 'Look' 'instyle' and 'now'. IPC media (international publishing corporation. They target both men and women's magazines however there are alot more women's magazines under their belt.

They target three main areas these are; men, mass market women and upmarket women.

men - 'IPC Inspire' . This area targets both leisure and lifestyle with magazines such as Horse and Hound and NME, rugby world and decanter.

mass market women - 'IPC connect'. This department mix both women's weeklies such as Look and Now with TV and entertainment brands such as TV times and what's on TV.

upmarket women - IPC south bank . this is a mixture of Luxury fashion, lifestyle and home interests. the magazines range from Marie Claire to essentials and ideal home.