5. How did you attract/address your audience?

In order to be appealing to my audience, I decided to use the different theories contained within my images, such as the Male Gaze, and the Hyper Reality Effect. This would then draw the attention and attract the attention of my demographic, to read my magazine, due to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory having an effect on them, as they would want to have ‘Dreams and Aspirations’ to look like the images within my page, as they contained these theories. I have included the link to the brands website, which shown gives an indication of synergy used. As the magazine is promoting my website, and the website promotes my magazine. This can attract my audience’s attention, to want to visit the website, to access extra information and gossip, and pictures.

My front page is the main page that had to draw in the attraction and attention from my audience. Therefore I had to ensure that the image on my front cover contained many things, which are eye-catching. This included me using buzz words, such as ‘Sexy’, ‘Hottie’, ‘Live’, ‘Shocking’. These words were also presented in a different typography, and a slightly bigger font than the rest of the text on the page. These are all words that may question the reader, and want to read what these feature stories are about, which results in me succeeding in catching my audiences attraction. There is also the fact of my image, where I have based it on my research from my questionnaire, as majority of my respondents preferred their favourite animal to be the ones categories as ‘wild animals’. This therefore resulted in me choosing an image which relates to this response, and having a young female, looking wild, and is an outgoing character, with a crazy personality. This gives the readers an insight of what the character inside the magazine is about, and is codified into a targeted mode of address. This then results in the image being appealing and attracting my demographic. I have also included colours that would be seen to be appealing and eye catching, meaning they had to be quite bright. I decided to use the colours pink, baby blue, and grey. Reasons for this were due to the fact they are colours codified to relate to my demographic, and they were bright and easily visible to my target audience. Ways in which they relate to my demographic is due to the fact these colours are seen as feminine colours, and therefore relates to my audience, as my demographic consists of young females, age 16-24.

Another way in which I have attracted my audience in to buy my magazine is through the use of me offering a free download, which is an additional incentive which may result in the readers purchasing my magazine, for this free download, however will end up enjoying reading the magazine, and will lead to them spreading the word about my magazine to friends and family members. This is an example of Social Interaction from the Uses and Gratification theory, created by Blumler and Katz. This would also help promote synergy by directing my audience, to my website

However within my contents page, I have included a great deal of images, along with text. Although, the images on the page were the most appealing. This was due to the fact they contained all the theories, which include Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, such as the images on my page being inspiring to my audience, where my demographic can feel they can aspire to be like them. Reasons to this, may be due to the fact they image contains another theory such as the Hyper Reality effect, created by a social theorists called Jean Baudrillard. His theory claims that modern society has replaced all reality and meaning with symbol’s and signs, and that images that are found within magazines, are a simulation of reality rather than reality itself. Images are therefore set out to be changed to be fitted in line with this theory, leading this, to be one of the main attractions on my page. Ways in which I had achieved adding in this theory was through my use of my knowledge of using technology, such as Photoshop, which allowed me to airbrush an image, by using the dodge tool, and also allowed me to manipulate and crop of parts of the legs on my image, and also enabled me to narrow her waist inwards.  I have used a great deal of this theory within my images, due to my demographic being particularly aimed at women, and therefore they have the ‘dreams and aspirations’ to have the beauty that is contained in images contained in magazines. However the images also contain a great deal of the theory Male Gaze, created by Laura Mulvey, which is a theory supported mainly by the Marxist and Feminist. This theory also suggests that the media is filtered through a patriarchal system, which reinforces dominant ideology.  She also believes that audiences have to ‘view’ characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male. My images contain this theory due to the fact this is a typical stereotype of women, which are popular within magazines, due to the fact that the male gaze follows a pattern of society, which is in line with the hegemonic values.

This would therefore be attracting to males, and appealing to women, giving them the dreams and aspirations, and inspire to be like my images. Another reason as to why women may inspire to or support this theory may be due to the fact these representations of women, are seen as successful women, and in order to achieve this success the models contained in the images use their direct address, giving power over their gaze, controlling the situation, and allowing others to look at them. This then signalises a message to other women that they should inspire to be like them, as it brings them great success. They also portray the fact of in order to be successful and powerful; you have to present yourself as weak and submissive, which then reinforces hegemonic values. There is also the fact of women who are presented in this way attract the attention from the men, therefore reinforces the idea as to if women purchase my magazine, they would receive this attention from the opposite sex.

These theories are the reasons why I have included images of a female presented largely on the page, in which she is in line with the Male Gaze and contains the hyper reality effect. However, she is also standing in a position where she is seen to have power, also due to the fact she is wearing white, which shows she is a free, calm powerful woman. This may be appealing and attraction to my audience. An example shows how I have used the hyper reality effect to make an image in line with the Male Gaze, which is a page that remains on my double page spread. It shows how I have arched in the models back, and enhanced her breasts and bottom.  This reinforces the idea of the image being attracting and appealing to the audience. Ways in which I have constructed these images to be represented in line with the Male Gaze is due to the fact the image shown, shows that the model is looking at the camera, which is known as direct address. This means that she is in control of the gaze, and she is allowing the fact that people are looking at her, whilst she is in a position to be seen as weak, submissive and vulnerable, which reinforces hegemonic values. Whereas for the way I have constructed this image to meet the eyes of the women, may due to  the fact they are aware the model has been successful, due to the way she is positioned, and giving direct address. They are also aware that she is catching the male attention, and inspire to be like her, so they are also able to attract this type of attention.

I have also used the Uses and Gratification theory within my contents page. This was due to the fact it contains information, such as the different featured stories that are presented in the magazine, page numbers, descriptions for different images, etc., which are seen to be appealing and attracting to my audience, as I have used the correct mode of address. I have also included entertainment within my pages, as I have motivated my audience to read my magazine as there is a chance to win free tickets to a beach festival, which is one of the events presented in my magazine, this is also something that would intrigue my audience to read my magazine, as it involves entertainment. I have also used social interaction within my pages as I have included buzz words that may question my reader, which therefore leads to my demographic having to purchase the magazine, in order to find out the full story. This then may be appealing to the reader, who then therefore will spread the word to family and friends about the articles they have read, which relates to social interaction. I have also included personal identification, which can be done throughout the images I have used. If my audience like the images they see, and inspire to look like them, they then can picture themselves in this position, personally identifying them in the magazine. They can also identify themselves through the mode of address that I have used, such as colloquial language, such as used on my front cover ‘Sexy’, ‘Hottie’, and styles, such as a style that would relate to the R&B genre, such as having my models wearing a lot of jewellery (which is something a lot of R&B artists wear), and colours that I have used, such as my 3 colours representing my brands identity; pink, blue and grey. This is where my demographic can represent them in the magazine. This is a sign of attraction from my intended audience.

Due to the fact that not many people in society today purchase many music magazines, nor download their music legally, as seen from my previous research, I have encouraged users to visit my website instead, as my magazine is aimed at a younger generation, who are the ones who tend to use the social media, this therefore can encourage users to visit my website, as they have good knowledge and access to the internet and social medias. If my demographic find my website/magazine appealing and attracting, this may result in them posting the link to my website through different social media’s, such as Facebook and Twitter, causing my website to go viral, which can then lead to more people visiting my website, and purchasing my magazine, to then find an interest and attraction to my magazine, which are all examples of synergy.