RESEARCH: Industrial Context - Bauer

 

What is it?

Bauer Media, which is part of Bauer Media Group is a privately owned media business, known for currently being the UK's No1 magazine publisher. It is now in its 5th generation family ownership, being originally founded in Hamburg in 1875. It operates within 13 countries and reaches around 200 million consumers around the world. As well as owning magazines such as Take A Break and Closer, it also Bauer Media Group also play a large part within the radio industry, owning radio stations such as KISS, Absolute Radio and Magic, through which around 20 million UK listeners are reached.

Taken from the Bauer Media website: https://www.bauermedia.co.uk/about/our-company

Bauer Publishing UK

Bauer first began publishing magazines in 1953, when Angling Times was launched which, as of June 2016 has a circulation of over 25,000. Three years later, Bauer also bought Motor Cycle News, which as of 2018 has circulation of over 56,000. Some of their Women's Weekly magazines include Take A Break, which was first published in 1990, and remains today the UK’s best-selling women’s weekly magazine, and TV Choice launched in 1999. They each have a circulation of over 369,000 and 1,041,000 respectively (https://www.abc.org.uk/product/7915 , https://www.abc.org.uk/product/8350)

RESEARCH: Industrial Context - History of Magazines

 

RESEARCH: Audience Profile

My primary audience is between the ages of 16 and 24 years old. They would be interested in and be passionate about human rights and equality as well as protecting the environment and avoiding global warming. BLM and feminism are two of the many movements they would support and advocate for. 

They would quite a high cultural competency, being active on social media, however are still aware there are things to be learnt. They like to travel, learn about different cultures and listen to music. They also like to gossip, hence reading my magazine and like to keep up with new trends.
 

RESEARCH: Focus Group

 

PLANNING: Magazine Brief

 

PLANNING: Reflection on Moderators Report

 

• It is best to have an overall design aesthetic throughout both editions of the magazine as well as on the website
• The best designs had multiple images on the contents page, which included page numbers
• Good to show features of "'cutting-edge' periodicals (e.g. Dazed and Confused)"
• DO NOT use actual magazine contents pages, however using actual magazine contents as place-holders are allowed
• Perhaps it would be good to look into InDesign for handling text - it is suggested Photoshop is not as good
• It is clear when someone has participated in detailed research about magazines in terms of their code and conventions (eg. "assessing the conventional size for text on a contents page"
• Less successful magazines tended to not follow the brief as strictly, meaning parts were missed, and did not adhere to the generic codes and conventions or expectations of the genre
• The front cover image should not be a medium close up or a close up, as there is no focus on the fashion, and instead the model themselves. 
• 'Call to action' is good to include, as it pulls attention to the website
• Brief states it is sold to retailers, so BARCODE NEEDED
• Quality of front cover = quality of the contents
• The weakest websites relied heavily on the templates provide on Wix, without personalising them
• Generally, home page was more detailed and stronger overall than the linked pages
• Some of the best work included 'lookbooks', 'make overs' and interviews with 'designers'