Evaluation Question 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

Cobalt, my music magazine, is aimed at fans of classic rock aged 16-21, both male and female. This age range means that the vast majority of those who meet my target audience criteria will still be in education, however some may already be in full-time employment. Due to the fact that a large quantity of my audience are still in education, the price of my magazine has been set at £1.50 so it is still affordable by those without a stable income. This price is also very suited to my audience, as the majority of my readers will still be living with their parents, who are likely going to have enough disposable income in order to purchase the magazine for their child. Also, a large proportion of my audience will be busy studying for exams.

As young people, my target audience will have interests such as parting, going out with friends, spending time with family, playing games, watching TV, and eating food. My audience would consist of young people who purchase items that revolve around the media, such as CD's, DVD's, and video games. They would also wear smart and presentable clothes, as they are appreciate of the classic look, rather than the mainstream look.

A large proportion, if not all of my audience will possess a smartphone. This would be beneficial to my magazine as it allows for me to market my magazine to them in the form of a mobile application. Also, advertisements could be placed on existing mobile media such as YouTube videos and website pop-ups. As these mobiles phones support social media, a marketing campaign could be created on a social media platform, which would be easily viewable by my target audience via the use of their smartphones.

Due to the age range of 16-21, the majority of my target audience would fit into Group E on the JICNAR scale. This is because they are students, and are (for the most part) unskilled. However, some people in my target audience will be living at home with their parents, who are more likely to fit into the A/B/C1 categories based on their professions. This gives my magazine a secondary audience, as the parents may end up being interested in the magazine if they see their child reading it. For this reason, I have ensured that my magazine contains content that would appeal to the older audiences, just in case a large number of adults do decide to read it.

In order to figure out if my magazine has been tailored to the wants & needs of my audience I will ask a number of people who fit into my target audience. I will record their thoughts, and post them on my blog. I will ask them questions regarding the following:

- What do you think of the price of the magazine?
- What do you think of the appearance of the magazine?
- Does it appeal to your wants & needs?
- Would you purchase the magazine?

I asked two students who fit my target audience criteria the questions listed above and recorded their responses. I felt that the feedback given has benefited me a lot, as it gave me a great understanding as to how my target audience feels about my magazine, as has allowed me to understand how I can improve it. Their responses can be found below:

• Name: James Shorthouse
• Age: 18
• Occupation: Unemployed (Student)
• Interests: Video games, physics, mathematics, classic rock

• Name: Jack Caley
• Age: 18
• Occupation: Sales Assistant (Student)
• Interests: Biology, medicine, classic rock, video games