Statement of Intent

 How do you intend to use the four areas of the media theoretical framework to communicate meaning and meet the requirements of your chosen brief? (approx. 400 words) 

 

 

Product 1 - magazine 

 

I intend to produce a current affairs magazine called Vista aimed at a 16-25-year-old socially conscious audience. From my research into magazines, I found many common codes and conventions across them, as I studied The Week, The Big Issue and Prospect. They use a bright uniform colour palette and brand identity across all products and platforms, as seen in ‘The Week’, who use bright red branding, a large bold masthead, a slogan, cover lines and a bright powerful image on the front, of which I intend to use all of them. All this combined grab the attention of the audience, enticing them and encouraging them to buy the product.  

My product is published by Dennis Publishing Ltd – an independent publishing company. Their remit is to ‘inspire, inform and entertain’ people along with saying they are ‘restlessly innovating across different platforms to bring our audience new sources of inspiration, information and entertainment’. I intend to use a short summative slogan to sum up the brand of the magazine and tie in with the publishing company. I intend to inspire, inform and entertain the audience by providing unique content for the audience, such as campaigns, petitions and ways to get involved to inspire and encourage audience interaction and a wide range of current affairs topics to inform them. As Henry Jenkins suggests, audiences are active and prefer to participate in media texts they consume, therefore having interactive features is key to engage the audience. 

As my product is aimed at a 16-25 year old socially conscious demographic, socially conscious young people can make their own decisions on political, religious, social etc. views, therefore, do not need biased sources for their news; they simply need an unbiased source to educate them on the world around them. As Curran and Seaton suggest, magazines tend to be repetitive and similar due to large companies being driven by power and profit, however I intend for my magazine to be unique by being politically neutral to simply inform young readers and not influence them with biased news reporting. 

Ensuring there is a wide range of representation in my magazine is a key part to the brand identity. I intend to include multiple races, genders, ages and classes to represent an inclusive friendly community for the readers. Diversity and equality have become key current airs issues in recent times, therefore this ties in with the brief of the magazine. There will also be a wide range of current affairs topics covered to represent the interests of a wider number of the audience to ensure many of them will have something they enjoy reading and learning about. As Gerbner suggests in his ’mean world syndrome’ theory, large consumption of violent or negative media leaves the audience believing the world is more dangerous than it is. Therefore, in my magazine, I intend to report both positive and negative news, so the audience get a more balanced ‘vista’ on the world. 

 

 

 

Product 2 – website 

 

The colour palette must match that of the magazine front cover, and the website must feature the logo and slogan, to maintain the strong brand identity and make it recognizable to the audience across all platforms. 

My magazine is released monthly to recap the current affairs of the past month, and therefore there will be 12 broad subcategories of current affairs topics, including environment, culture, politics, science and more etc. Each month it will take in turn which subcategory is the main focus for that month, and this subcategory will feature on the front cover of the magazine. On the website I intend to have 12 coloured boxes which the audience click on to take them to the subcategory they want to read about. This method is much more unique, exciting and interactive than just a taskbar at the top for each subcategory. There will still be a taskbar at the top or down the side to take the audience to pages such as home, contact us etc. but the current affairs subcategories should be in coloured boxes to create more excitement and enthusiasm about current affairs. This is then a USP for the magazine and makes it stand out, as no magazine has this type of attractive branding. 

My product is published by Dennis Publishing Ltd – an independent publishing company. Their remit is to ‘inspire, inform and entertain’ people along with saying they are ‘restlessly innovating across different platforms to bring our audience new sources of inspiration, information and entertainment’.  

Having a second product allows much more interaction with the audience. Due to the website attracting much more of the audience as print magazine sales are declining, the website must be the strongest feature of the whole branding. I intend to encourage audience interaction, as once the audience have read some of the magazine articles, they may want to read more, so the link to the website will be on the magazine front cover to allow the audience to engage more with the brand, creating cross media convergence. I also intend to encourage audience interaction through features on the website such as polls and audio/audio visual clips to entertain them and so the magazine is more exciting than just reading articles to engage the audience in current affairs. As Shirky suggests, audiences are no longer passive and prefer to interact with the media. Media texts are more open to interaction now, such as comment sections and ways for the audience to get involved, therefore these interactive features are key to encourage audience interaction. 

The representation the website will be the same as the magazine representation of social groups: I intend to include multiple races, genders, ages and classes to represent an inclusive friendly community for the readers as well as diversity and equality becoming key current affairs issues in recent times, therefore this ties in with the brief of the magazine. There will also be a wide range of current affairs topics covered to represent the interests of a wider number of the audience to ensure many of them will have something they enjoy reading and learning about. 

 

 

How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the digitally convergent nature of your media product? (approx. 100 words) 

As shown in my research into audience behaviour, the number of print magazines being sold is declining over time due to the increase in technology usage. Therefore, more magazines are being accessed online which leaves room for much more audience interaction. In addition to this, the target audience of my magazine is 16-25 year olds which is the younger age demographic who are more likely to spend their time online. 

There will be a link to the website on the print magazine to encourage the audience to go onto the site to find many more features, such as links, polls, Easter eggs and audio clips to entertain them. 

On the website there will be clear links to social media pages such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. for audience interaction and discussion points and deb for other readers to create a community and sense of inclusion. 

FINAL PRODUCT - Website Linked Page - Sport

 

The sport page tells the audience about Keelan's story and his upbringing so they can learn more about him.

By clicking on 'subscribe' in the orange text at the bottom, the audience are taken to the form where they input their details and are emailed the paying details.

The video is on the bottom of the sport page, as it is more interactive than just reading an interview transcript.

FINAL PRODUCT - Website Homepage

 

When the audience first enter the website, a pop-up appears offering a discount when they subscribe to the magazine. This call to action makes the audience more likely to subscribe as they have been offered the discount rather than having to look for it.

When the audience click subscribe it takes them to an area where they input their details and they will be emailed about the payment details. This encourages audience interaction where the audience can have their own account and personalise their news.

The homepage incorporates the distinct black and orange brand identity, as seen across both the magazine front pages and contents pages and website. This theme is eye catching to the audience and engages their attention. 

At the top of the page, and across all pages, the audience can easily still have the option to subscribe, if they dismissed the option before hand but changed their mind later on.

Underneath this on the left there is a link to the Dennis Publishing website incase the audience want to look at other similar products.

On the right there is the option for the audience to log into their account, something they can do after they have subscribed, where they get digital versions of the magazine and can personalise current affairs topics to their interests. 

Underneath the Dennis logo, there is the brand name which matches the masthead seen on the front covers and contents pages, reinforcing the brand identity. The orange stands out from the black, making it stand out to the audience. In addition to this, orange is a unique colour, different to other magazine brands, so it makes Vista stand out and memorable to the audience.

On the right under the Log In button, there are social media buttons, taking the audience straight to the social media accounts for the magazine. This is an example of cross media convergence, and encourages audience interaction, as they can get involved by using hashtags and reading more on social media. This targets the 16-25 demographic, as young people have a more active presence on social media, so this is likely to appeal to them.

The search bar allows the audience to easily access the news and current affairs topics that interest them the most.

The navigation bar also allows the audience to easily access the news and pages that interest them the most, and an easy way to explore the website.

The photo slideshow is another quick way for the audience to access the current affairs topics of choice, but in a more interactive way. Providing photos rather than text makes the website more aesthetically pleasing and attractive to the audience.

The hover boxes are another way to access the audience's interests. The colour scheme links to the colours at the bottom of the magazine front covers that indicate which issue the audience are reading, and they also link the the colour of the banners with the topic name on the contents page, creating a strong brand identity.

The hover boxes are also interactive, as when the audience hover over the box the background changes to the same photo as the slideshow, and there is a line of what that topic has to offer for the audience. When they click the box it takes the audience to their relevant page to suit their interests.

The Welcome note is similar to the Editor's Note on the contents page of the magazines, and it provides insight into what the magazine brand has to offer.

The first two issues focus on 2 people related to one of the 6 topics. If there were more issues released, there would be more stars listed. By clicking the image or the name, it takes the audience easily to the relevant page to read more on their story.

Every month, the latest issue changes, offering insight into what is in this issue. This encourages the audience to buy the next issue if it interests them, and it lets them know what to look for in shops and online. 

By clicking 'click here to read his story' it takes the audience to the sport page to read up on Keelan's story.

By clicking 'More details below' it takes the audience further down the page to the competition section, so they can easily access and enter the competition without having to look around the website for it.

The 'Get Involved' section allows for audience interaction, as Henry Jenkins suggests 'if it don't spread it's dead'. The audience can email in or use hashtags on social media to be part of an online community of fans with similar interests.

THE BASKETBALL IN THE RIGHT HAND IMAGE IS AN EASTER EGG, SO WHEN THE AUDIENCE CLICK ON THE BASKETBALL IT DIRECTS THEM TO A SECRET PAGE WHERE THE 30 SECOND VIDEO LINK IS.

The Daily Briefing section is on any news happening around the world to educate and inform the audience, fulfilling the Dennis Publishing aim to 'inspire, inform and entertain'. It updates new stories when something comes to light, but just tells the audience what is big in the world that day that they need to know about.

Competitions encourage audience interaction in an attempt to be part of the community, rather than a passive audience that just reads the news and does nothing. Both competitions are linked to what the stars are famous for:

- Lithasa is an environmentalist, so her competition prize involves a 1 year free digital subscription. Online versions of the magazine saves the environment as less paper is being printed, and the printed magazine market is in decline anyway.

- Keelan's story is to do with sport, so his competition prize involves a personally advised 28 day meal plan and workout tailored to the winner's chosen sport.

The Dennis logo and social media links are in the footer at the bottom of each page, so the audience can access both these easily when they want to.

FINAL PRODUCT - Magazine Issue 2

 

FINAL PRODUCT - Magazine Issue 1

 

Contents Page Updates

I changed the background of the contents page to black to make it looks more professional and it looks messy than the draft before. It matches the magazine front cover and website colour palette theme.

This will be how both magazine issue contents pages will look, just with differing articles, content and images.