Evaluation

Evaluation - The seven evaluation questions.

1. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Here is the link to the reader profile on my blog: 

http://louise1995.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/reader-profile.html

This is all of the information that is on my blog to do with my reader profile:

Reader profile:

Who my reader will be and why?

This is an example of the type of young females that I will be aiming my magazine towards. They are 16 and 17. My reader will be between the ages of 14 and 17 and they also look like normal teenage girls, so these young females are exactly the type of readers that will read my magazine.

For my magazine my reader will be between the ages of 14 and 17. I have chosen this age range as my target audience because it is the typical age range that are known as teenagers and these are the type of people who read gossip magazines. Also this was the top age range in my questionnaire. The readers will also be female. I have chosen young females because my magazine will include things like makeup tutorials, how to style your hair and advertisements for clothes, shoes accessories etc. Also I will include pictures of male music artists and this attracts young females. Another reason why I chose my readers to be female is because my magazines will be specifically aimed at females and I only asked females in my questionnaire. 

What their interests will be?

- Makeup

- Hair 

- Clothes

- Shoes

- Accessories: belts, bags, jewellery, hats, scarves etc. 

- Gossip

- Celebrities: Females because young females can look up to them and see them as idols and males because young females would admire them and fancy them.

- Music

- Music artists: single artists and bands mainly because these were the answers chosen in my questionnaire.

- Fashion

More about why I have chosen this type of reader:

My magazine will be a girly music magazine. It will include girly things and things to do with music and music artists. I will also include puzzles/quizzes to do with music artists for example a title could be, 'Are you a true JLS fan?' and following this could be questions to do with this. As I am a girl myself I think it will be easy to understand what young teenage girls like.

Research about my chosen reader:

An article to do with marketing for young females:

MARKETING TO A TEENAGE GIRL, WHAT TO CONSIDER

It seems like it should be pretty easy to market to teenage girls. Their likes, dislikes, trends, and interests are already marketed like crazy, so one would think it'd be easy to just slip in and find a niche in the teen market. Not so. Instead, marketing to a teenage girl needs to be done in certain ways and it's important to know what to consider.

Teenagers, both boys and girls, are very aware that they are being marketed to constantly. They just need to turn on the television, open a magazine, or even go to school. Schools themselves are open to companies marketing to kids at school - how many soda machines are in the cafeterias and common rooms in a typical junior high and high school? Just that one example can give an idea of how bombarded teens are by companies' marketing tactics. 

Since teen girls are very aware of the competition for their attention and money, they can be a little skeptical and harder to impress. While their skepticism may be a hurdle, it is good to know about it before coming up with a marketing plan. Recognize that teens want something that feels real and believable - if you do, chances are they will be more open to what you have to offer.
Girls obviously have different needs and interests than boys. While this seems obvious, some companies market to just a general teen audience. In many cases this can seem impersonal and some teens may perceive it as disconnected and preachy. Advertisers walk a fine line when marketing to both teenage boys and girls.Companies must be especially careful when marketing to girls - the fine line they walk is even finer when it comes to girls. This is because many people attribute the pressure to be thin, to be beautiful, to be like movie stars and models to the way companies market to teen girls. Many also attribute girls' low self- esteem to insensitive, unrealistic marketing. To take it even further, many have blamed some marketing tactics as causing eating disorders in teenage girls, due to messages sent by companies through their advertising.

Just about every teenage girl, no matter what size or shape or ethnicity, feels vulnerable and sensitive when it comes to appearance. Companies should be careful and avoid playing upon this vulnerability to get girls to spend money on cosmetics and other products related to appearance. Companies who use unreal expectations and models to market to teens risk having both the teens and their parents respond negatively to their campaigns. Plus, it is clearly irresponsible for a company to prey upon teenage girls' insecurity - any company that does so deserves all of the backlash they will most likely get.

Marketing to teens by using unrealistic models and setting unattainable expectations doesn't always work as well as other methods - in fact, there are other options that are proving to be more effective. Since the 1990's, the notion of "girl power" has really struck a chord with teenage girls. Girls like feeling strong and in control - in a teenage world of rules, deadlines, and curfews, teens find a sense of girl power as a fun change of pace.

Often, teenage girls are marketed to with movie or music stars that are much older than they are and often portrayed in ways that are sometimes overtly sexual or just more adult. While using prominent stars is appealing, it doesn't always ring true. It is okay to include some older stars (teens like to feel more adult), but also include some things that still have a teenage feel to them. Find a balance.

An example of girl power and marketing to teens with someone that is their age can be seen with the Hannah Montana craze that is taking America by storm. Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus resonates with teen girls because she's cool, she wears clothes they could wear, and teenage can relate to the lyrics of her music. She exudes confidence and girls respect and want to emulate that. One could assume that the huge popularity of Hannah Montana is because this niche, of a normal yet also glamorous teenage girl, hadn't been addressed before.

With a little creativity and sensitivity to teenage girls, companies can market effectively to this demographic. If a company can market to this group effectively, chances are that the teenage girl will stay loyal to the brand and invest their hard earned money in their products for many years.

2. How did you attract/address your audience?

My target audience is young females. I chose to target young females as I am one myself so I thought it would be easy to relate to them and create a magazine aimed at them. 

I specifically used bright, bold colours as they would attract peoples attention straight away. I used feminine colours as my target audience is young females. I used PINK, BLUE, PURPLE, WHITE and BLACK. I mainly used PINK as it is a very feminine colour.  

I specifically chose to use a picture of a young female so my audience called relate to her and aspire to be her. The young female is dressed in a modernised, feminine way. She is also staring at the camera so you instantly look at her.

I included a 'Free posters inside!' advert to attract people to buy the magazine as they would want the free posters inside. Young females usually like to have posters of male artists as they find them attractive.

I included another picture of a girl to attract young females. Young females would want to know how she got her makeup like that, how she got her hair like that etc. I also put bright coloured shapes behind the picture to make it stand out.

My title is big and bright. I have used a feminine font as it looks elegant and is easy to read. I have also included a logo as it is an unusual shape and would attract people. To make my title stand out even more I included a white border around the pink box.

I have used different types of fonts in different colours because if I just used one colour and one font then it would look too plain. Here I used different colours for each artist so it makes the artist stand out but I used the same font.

I specifically made the price visible as it is not too expensive so people would be willing to buy it. I chose to not make it too expensive as some teenagers today do not have a lot of money. 

As well as using bright colours and shapes I also included white and pink dots just to make the page look pretty and not plain. I chose to use only two colours because if I used more than too colours than it would be too much.



3. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Here is the link to the music magazine questionnaire written analysis on my blog:

http://www.louise1995.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/music-magazine-questionnaire-written.html

This is all of the information that is on my blog to do with my music magazine questionnaire written analysis:

Music magazine questionnaire written analysis

I asked 21 people to answer my questionnaire.

Music Magazine Questionnaire

Please tick the answer that is relevant to you

1. How old are you?

- 10 - 13 : 0 people ticked this answer. 

     

- 14 - 17 : 15 people ticked this answer.

     

- 18 - 21 : 3 people ticked this answer.

- 21+ : 3 people ticked this answer.

2. How much are you willing to pay for a magazine?

- 50p - £1.00 : 0 people ticked this answer.

- £1.50 - £2.00 : 2 people ticked this answer.

- £2.50 - £3.00 : 12 people ticked this answer. 

- £3.00+ : 7 people ticked this answer.

3. What gender are you?

- Female : 21 people ticked this answer.

- Male : 0 people ticked this answer.

4. What type of music genre do you prefer? 

- Rock : 4 people ticked this answer. 

- Pop : 14 people ticked this answer.

- Classical : 0 people ticked this answer.

- Indie : 3 people ticked this answer.

5. What type of music artists do you prefer?

- Bands : 10 people ticked this answer.

- Duo's : 0 people ticked this answer. 

- Single artists : 11 people ticked this answer.

- Choirs : 0 people ticked this answer.

6. What would you like to be included in a Pop magazine?

- Fashion: New trends, New hairstyles, New make up, etc. : 6 people ticked this answer.

- Celebrity gossip: What are celebrities doing?, What do they look like now?, Have they embarrassed themselves?, etc. : 12 people ticked this answer. 

- Personal advice: How to cope with life, How to beat bullies, How to get help, etc. : 0 people ticked this answer.

- How to get a certain look: Look like a certain Pop celebrity, etc. : 3 people ticked this answer.

7. What would you expect to be on a front cover of a Pop magazine?

- A new artist/band : 15 people ticked this answer.

- New make up/hairstyles : 0 people ticked this answer.  

- Fashion trends/new styles/how to dress like a certain celebrity : 5 people ticked this answer.

- Advertisements for competition: Win a date with JLS : 1 person ticked this answer.

8. What would you like to be included in the articles?

- Stories about celebrities : 12 people ticked this answer.

- Instructions on how to style your hair/style your make up, etc. : 7 people ticked this answer. 

- Stories about real life people: How people cope with their problems/how they cope with their lives, etc. : 0 people ticked this answer.

- Quizzes/puzzles to do with celebrities : 2 people ticked this answer. 

9. What name do you prefer?

- Amplified : 12 people ticked this answer.

- Loud : 6 people ticked this answer. 

- Don't stop the music : 1 person ticked this answer. 

- Noise : 2 people ticked this answer.

10. How often do you read magazines?

- Daily : 0 people ticked this answer.

- Weekly : 3 people ticked this answer.

- Monthly : 7 people ticked this answer. 

- Hardly ever : 11 people ticked this answer.

From the results of my questionnaire I have concluded that my target market is teenagers between the age of 14 - 17. The amount people are willing to pay is £2.50 - £3.00. I only asked females as my magazine is aimed at young females. The main genre that was chosen was Pop. People seem to like single artists mainly and they want celebrity gossip included in a Pop magazine. The highest answer for what people expected to be on the front cover of a Pop magazine was a new artist/band. In the articles, stories about celebrities would be included and the name that was the most popular was Amplified. People said that they read 

magazines hardly ever.

This is a picture of Justin Bieber who is a teen heartthrob. He is very popular so I chose to use a person who is similar looking to him as he is also a Pop singer himself. 

                                         

I chose to use this picture as the person in the picture looks quite similar to justin Bieber and the way he is dressed is also quite similar to. They are both wearing a hoodie with their hood up and both have the same hairstyle. Both Justin Bieber and this person in this picture are attractive. I chose to use this picture as my target audience is young females and young females would be instantly attracted to this picture. The boy in this picture also looks very cute and Justin Bieber is very cute. They are also both young and look about the same age. 

This is a picture of Katy Perry. She is a very poplular 

Pop singer. She is very glamourous and beautiful. I chose to use someone like her because she is very beautiful and young girls would wonder how she got her hair and makeup like that and they would aspire to be her.

I chose to use this picture as the girls makeup is similar to Katy Perry's and her hair is the same colour. They are also both very pale. I chose to use this picture as young females would wonder how she got her hair and makeup like that and she also looks kind of glamourous. 

  

This is Jojo. She is a Pop singer and she is very beautiful. Her skin seems flawless and her makeup is very nice. Young females would aspire to be her and would wonder how she got her skin to look like that. She also looks very natural. 

I chose to use this picture as she has similar hair to 

Jojo and it is the same colour. They are both leaning against a wall and are both looking straight at the camera. She also has flawless skin like Jojo. She also looks very natural which could portray that you don't have to wear so much makeup. 

 

This is Selena Gomez. She is known for her acting talents but she is also a Pop singer. She has long dark hair and flawless skin. She is a teenage girl and many young females like her and aspire to be like her. I chose to use someone who looks similar to her as she is very popular and pretty.   

This girl looks similar to Selena Gomez as they have similar hair and their makeup is similar and they are both pouting and posing in the same way. She is beautiful like Selena Gomez to. 

4. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

List of programmes I used to construct my product:

• Microsoft Word
• Adobe Photoshop CS4
• Blogger
• Google
• BlackBerry
• iMac
• Hotmail

Microsoft Word:

I am familier with Microsoft Word as I have been using it for a while. However I am used to the normal Microsoft Word. I have never used Microsoft Word on the iMacs before. It is basically the same but some parts are different. For example to change the font, colour etc you have to click on 'View' at the top of the page then click on 'Formatting Palette'. At first it was very confusing to use but after a while I started to understand how to use it. I used Microsoft word to construct my front cover, contents page and double page spread. So Microsoft Word was the main programme I used. 

Adobe Photoshop CS4:

I have never used Photoshop before now. Photoshop is really confusing and I am still not sure how to use it. I used Photoshop to manipulate some of my pictures. All I mainly used Photoshop for is to crop my pictures, cut out the background and make it black and to change the effect of the picture. I changed a picture to black and white. However no matter how confusing it may be I did manage to manipulate my pictures the way I wanted them to be.

Blogger:

I have never used Blogger before. I have never even heard of it until now. Blogger is also confusing. At first I had no clue with what I was doing but now I know how to use Blogger. I have only used Blogger for my Student magazine project and for my Music magazine project. It is a really good way to present your work. It is easily accessible and anyone can view your work.

Google:

Google is a search engine that everyone uses. I have used it many times before and I am very familiar with it. I used it to search for images to get ideas for my magazine and to also get images of celebrities that look similar to the people that I used in my magazine. I used Google for a lot of images but I only used the images for inspiration as all of my images were taken by me. 

I used Google to find this image. This is an image of a contents page that someone else has created. I used parts of this contents page in my contents page. I basically found this image and used it for inspiration. I just typed in magazine contents pages.

BlackBerry:

I used my phone to take most of my pictures. I then emailed the pictures to myself and then downloaded them onto the iMacs and then uploaded them onto my blog. My camera quality on my phone is quite good as it has flash. My phone is quite new so it works quite well. 

iMac:

I have never used an iMac before. I really do not like them as they're hard to use and are very complicated computers. However I now know how to use the iMacs a little. I know how to access the internet on them and I know how to find where my work is saved. I also know how to find where programmes such as Microsoft Word are. 

Hotmail:

I have used Hotmail many times before so I am very familiar with it. I sent pictures from my phone to my Hotmail to then download them onto the iMacs and then upload them to my blog. Without Hotmail I don't know how I would have uploaded  my pictures to my blog.

5. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

• Use - Existing conventions, no alterations.
• Develop - Existing conventions, no alterations.
• Challenge - Goes against conventions.

This music magazine front cover is what I used to help me make my front cover. I used bright colours and similar fonts. In my colour testing and font testing pages on my blog, I have included this magazine and explained why I have used it for inspiration. For example I included this on my font testing page: 'I think for my magazine I will keep it simple like this magazine and will use only about three or four fonts. I will then use the fonts that I have chosen more than once.' I based my magazine around this magazine because it is a very popular Pop magazine. I also really like this front cover. So I didn't challenge anything because I didn't go against conventions. I mainly developed as I used existing conventions but did have alterations.


These are links to Colour testing and Font testing pages on my blog:

http://www.louise1995.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/colour-testing-pop-style_20.html

http://www.louise1995.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/colour-testing-pop-style.html


6. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

IPC Media is the UK's leading consumer magazine and digital publisher. With more than 60 iconic media brands, IPC creates content for multiple platforms, across print, online, mobile, tablets and events. They engage with 26 million UK adults - almost two thirds of UK women and over 40% of UK men. Their award winning portfolio of websites reaches over 25 million global users every month. Some examples of their brands are: Marie Claire, LOOK and Chat.

My target audience is young females and IPC engage with almost two thirds of UK women. I'd like for them to distribute my media product as they are very successful and they distribute a wide range of magazines, 75 magazines to be precise. However the brands they distribute are not music magazines. But they do have a variety of genres so they could distribute my magazine and introduce the music genre to their brands.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from your school magazine to the full product?

This is an image of my Student magazine front cover and my Music magazine front cover together:

My student magazine front cover is really simple. I did not spend much time on it. However my music magazine front cover is much more detailed and I spent quite a lot of time on it. My music magazine front cover actually looks like a magazine front cover as well. My student magazine front cover looks more like a leaflet. For my student magazine front cover I did not manipulate any of my images. For my music magazine front cover, I did manipulate an image. So I learnt how to use Adobe Photoshop CS4. I learnt how to layer the picture on the background and how to put things on top of it. I also learnt how to get rid of the background and how to change the colour of it. For my music magazine front cover I also experimented with fonts more and found out how to changed the outline and inside etc.  

This is an image of my Student magazine contents page and Music magazine contents page together:

My student magazine contents page is really simple. I only included four pages when realisticly magazines have about 50 pages. I also included too many pictures. I learnt that when making a magazine you don't just need to make it pretty, you need to pay attention to detail and make it look as realistic as possible.

I have definitely improved. I know I have improved but it is also visable because of these images. I have learnt how to use Blogger more as well. Because I had to do another blog I started to understand what I was doing.