Research and Planning
After researching many types of magazines, we agreed on our target audience for our school magazine which was sixth formers between the age of sixteen and nineteen. The majority of the magazine covers that we analysed had their title situated at the top of the page, along with the text they chose, indicating
the feature articles that they had chosen to make clear, by using bold text and a contrasting colour to the background, ensuring that it would stand out to their audience.
We then made a more detailed profile, being more specific about our target audience:
Age group: 16-19
Gender: both
Background/ethnicity: A wide range, parents may be from working class or middle and for this reason, the magazine will be affordable.
Religion: Mixed, so religion will not be mentioned, to avoid offence
Economic situation: May or may not be earning, so magazine must be affordable
Interests: A wide range, music, T.V, films, sports, reading, using the internet, social media, celebrities, shopping, being with friends, going out.
Current situation: in education, thinking about future directions, university, gap years etc, life experiences, having fun, perusing their own interests.
Other magazines available to them: Sport, gaming, gossip, celebrity based, music, food, teen.
Typical features of school magazines: School news, things of teachers, students work, film and book reviews, problem pages, study tips.
Prices of other magazines: Ranges from free to up to £6, people more likely to read cheaper ones unless the magazine attracts a niche audience, such as those targeted at those with specific music tastes. Our magazine will have a range of features for everyone.
Covers: Usually bright, bold primary colours. Bold fonts, contrasting colours and large images. School magazines will have the school logo on them perhaps.
Free gifts: coupons, make up, posters, game trials, competitions
We then designed questionnaires to aid us make the final decisions about what to put in our school magazine, deciding on what would be more beneficial and draw attention to our magazine, which follows:
Magazine Questionnaire
1. Gender
Male Female
2. How old are you?
16
17-18
18 +
3. What type of magazine interests you?
Gossip/Celebrities
Fashion
Food
Sport
Gaming
Other (please write below)
_______________________________________________
4. What features would you most like to see/find most useful in a school magazine?
Study tips
Opportunities and information on university open days
Gap year advise/work experience
Film features and competitions (to win cinema tickets)
Celebrities
Sport news
Other (write below)
_____________________________________________
5. How often would you like the magazine to be published?
Once a term
Monthly
Weekly
6. What themes would you like to see in the magazine?
Sport
Celebrities
Gaming
Comics
Music
Films
TV Programmes
7. Which films and T.V shows have you watched in last fortnight?
___________________________________________________
8. What music have you listened to in the last fortnight?
____________________________________________________
9. How much money do you get each week?
____________________________________________________
10. How much would you be willing to spend on a magazine?
£0.50-£1.00
£1.00-£2.00
£2.00-£3.00
£3.00 +
View our results from the collection of these questionnaires below:
the feature articles that they had chosen to make clear, by using bold text and a contrasting colour to the background, ensuring that it would stand out to their audience.
We then made a more detailed profile, being more specific about our target audience:
Age group: 16-19
Gender: both
Background/ethnicity: A wide range, parents may be from working class or middle and for this reason, the magazine will be affordable.
Religion: Mixed, so religion will not be mentioned, to avoid offence
Economic situation: May or may not be earning, so magazine must be affordable
Interests: A wide range, music, T.V, films, sports, reading, using the internet, social media, celebrities, shopping, being with friends, going out.
Current situation: in education, thinking about future directions, university, gap years etc, life experiences, having fun, perusing their own interests.
Other magazines available to them: Sport, gaming, gossip, celebrity based, music, food, teen.
Typical features of school magazines: School news, things of teachers, students work, film and book reviews, problem pages, study tips.
Prices of other magazines: Ranges from free to up to £6, people more likely to read cheaper ones unless the magazine attracts a niche audience, such as those targeted at those with specific music tastes. Our magazine will have a range of features for everyone.
Covers: Usually bright, bold primary colours. Bold fonts, contrasting colours and large images. School magazines will have the school logo on them perhaps.
Free gifts: coupons, make up, posters, game trials, competitions
We then designed questionnaires to aid us make the final decisions about what to put in our school magazine, deciding on what would be more beneficial and draw attention to our magazine, which follows:
Magazine Questionnaire
1. Gender
Male Female
2. How old are you?
16
17-18
18 +
3. What type of magazine interests you?
Gossip/Celebrities
Fashion
Food
Sport
Gaming
Other (please write below)
_______________________________________________
4. What features would you most like to see/find most useful in a school magazine?
Study tips
Opportunities and information on university open days
Gap year advise/work experience
Film features and competitions (to win cinema tickets)
Celebrities
Sport news
Other (write below)
_____________________________________________
5. How often would you like the magazine to be published?
Once a term
Monthly
Weekly
6. What themes would you like to see in the magazine?
Sport
Celebrities
Gaming
Comics
Music
Films
TV Programmes
7. Which films and T.V shows have you watched in last fortnight?
___________________________________________________
8. What music have you listened to in the last fortnight?
____________________________________________________
9. How much money do you get each week?
____________________________________________________
10. How much would you be willing to spend on a magazine?
£0.50-£1.00
£1.00-£2.00
£2.00-£3.00
£3.00 +
View our results from the collection of these questionnaires below: