Audience Research

'Kerrang!' Readers Profile

'Kerrang!' readers are made up of 15 to 24 years olds (60% male, 40% female,normally in sixth form/higher education and are intelligent) and are mainly from the UK and Republic of Ireland. An average reader of 'Kerrang!' buys 31 albums a year and are often seen at gigs and tours. The readers pride themselves on their individuality, attitude and passion for music. They are often also active in the computer games industry and regard fashion to be of importance (58% of readers think it is important to look good). The outlook they hold on life is music based, they look at music as a way of life. Judging by the psychographic profiling of these readers, the 'tribes' that can be argued 'Kerrang!' appeals to ranges; emo, metalheads, scene kids and skaters.

Emos

Metalheads


This 'tribe' is dedicated to metal, heavy rock and in some cases, old-school punk. They listen to older, classic metal bands such as 'Metallica' but also listen to newer metal bands like 'Cobalt'. 


Scene Kids





Skaters



This means my magazine will need to appeal to a lot of different social groups. Although I could have a very Skater-looking band on the cover, my other cover-lines may feature images of more Metal themed artists. I could then include a sell-line with something about fashion to appeal to my target audience and include splashes of bright colour to appeal to the Emos and Scene Kids.
The following image is a visual representation of my target audience's interests.

My Magazines Reader Profile

Age: 15 - 23

Gender: 50/50 male and female

Educational Status: 6th form, college, university

Tribes: Emos, Scene Kids, Metalheads, Skaters

Behaviour: Music lovers that think of music as a way of life rather than just a hobby, they like fashion and make-up, and like to keep up to date on what their favourite bands are doing - releasing albums, gigs etc. They're also interested in skating and keeping in touch with technology through things such as Ipods and social networking sites.

Focus Group

I held a focus group consisting of both males and females between 15 and 23 years of age. They were each different members of my target audience; emos, scene kids, metalheads and skaters, but I also included people that consider themselves regular buyers of 'Kerrang!' and 'RockSound' to make sure my magazine is in the league of my competition.

From my focus group I have determined the following;

Front Cover

• Make sure it isn't too 'cluttered'
• Include a lot of detail about what's/who's inside
• Use a main image that catches the eye of my potential buyer, and slightly obscures the masthead
• Use 'eye-catching' colours
• Make the band seem exciting - something that my audience will want to read about
• Use the 'puff' to my advantage and make my magazine seem like real value for money, by including the names of extra artists featured
• Make my sell-lines different colours from my background/skyline/puff. Also, make sure that my sell-lines are big enough to catch the eye of my potential buyer
• Include an opportunity for my audience to 'win' something, making the word 'win' stand-out

Contents Page

• Split it into categories
• Use eye-catching images
• Include a lot of pages - making my magazine seem like value for money
• Use bright colours
• Don't include an editors note - readers find them boring and a 'waste of time'

Double Page Spread

• Make my article seem smaller than it actually is, for example, by breaking it up with images/quote inserts
• Use an interesting image that sums up the artists music style
• Make my artist seem different
• Use more than one column

And finally - make sure my magazine covers a wide range of things. New artists, old artists, gig line-ups, new albums, offers to win something, funny stories etc...