Centre
number Centre name
|
Southend High School for
Girls |
Candidate
number Candidate name
|
Isabelle Kinseley |
Brief
chosen:
Magazines and online
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
I intend to create a new style magazine for
Conde Nast that appeals to 16–25-year-old middle and up market audience of
style conscious people. The masthead, MUSE, aligns with the magazines main
purpose: to empower audiences and stimulate creativity in their style and
fashion.
I will appeal to my target demographic by reflecting
issues and themes that I have found to be important to them – particularly embracing
creativity. I plan to do this is through intertextual references, adding value
transference and aligning MUSE with values of self-expression and empowerment.
One of the intertextual references I plan on implementing is through the cover
line ‘The Devil Wears Stilettos’ (from ‘The Devil Wears Prada’), associating
MUSE with both style and self-empowerment. This would appeal to my target
audience as, in a preferred reading (Hall), The Devil Wears Prada is a film
focused on style and the fashion industry and is in the cultural capital of my
target audience as the Devil Wears Prada 2 is being released in 2026. Through mid-shots,
to allow my audience to see the stylish clothes and fashion (shown in my front
cover 1 where I will have a mid-shot of my model, with focus on the costume), and
direct modes of address, I intend to showcase the style element of MUSE and
represent young people as having a focus on style and a strong sense of self-empowerment.
Research conducted through a questionnaire showed that many in my target
demographic liked the creativity and sense of independence of close ups, so I
also plan to use close up shots to highlight creativity in young people. For example,
in my front cover 2 I plan to have my model in a close up framed by her hands,
highlighting creativity and being an intertextual reference to a Kate Bush album.
This will appeal to my target audience of style conscious 16–25-year-olds as
the Kate Bush song ‘Running Up That Hill’ is featured in the show Stranger
Things, which is in the cultural capital of 16–25-year-olds as season 5 is
planned to be released in December 2025. To reflect the target demographic,
MUSE will feature models from many different ethnicities to create a sense of
inclusion and community, and appeal to the entire target audience of style
conscious 16–25-year-olds. An example of this will be in my contents page 1,
where I will feature two models from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Furthermore,
my contents page 2 will feature a person of colour as the primary image, reflecting
Condé Nast’s brand values, ‘championing all voices’. To further reflect brand
values, MUSE will highlight current fashion trends, reflecting the zeitgeist,
and ‘creating culturally resonant, high-quality stories’. An example of this is
in my contents page 2, where I plan to feature an article titled ‘The 10 Best
New Designers of 2025’ to appeal to my style conscious 16–25-year-old target
audience.
Product 2
It
is essential that print magazines must have an online presence, reflected in my
research about the declining print sales of magazines. Online presence, such as
websites, are also important to enable more audience participation and
cultivate a fandom around the magazine brand (Jenkins). Therefore, MUSE will have
an online presence in the form of a website to showcase digital convergence. This
also reflect how Condé Nast works, as all of their print magazines also have a
strong online presence.
To
reflect Condé Nast’s own style, the website will be accessible and minimalistic
with emphasis on social media integration. This will be through competitions
and pop ups that encourage audiences to interact on social media, encouraging
an active audience (Jenkins). For example, I plan to have a competition section
on the home page featuring a competition winner’s product (a 30 second video) and
a new competition for audiences to engage with. Through my audience research, I
discovered that audiences enjoy participating and being ‘active’ in a
community. This will appeal to the target demographic of style conscious 16–25-year-old
digital natives, as they are able to explore their own creativity in fashion.
The website will remain consistent with the themes of self-empowerment and
creativity, for example with articles focusing on the use of street art in
fashion and style, highlighting creativity and self-expression. Through mid and
long shots, I intend to showcase the style element of MUSE with the outfits of
the models. I will also make use of direct address to appeal to capture audience’s
attention. The website will feature models from many ethnicities to create a
sense of inclusion within MUSE. Furthermore, use of intertextual references
will further the sense of style and appeal to style conscious 16–25-year-olds,
as these they will focus on fashion and pop culture that will be in the
cultural capital of my target audience, making them feel aligned with MUSE in
interests and values. Intertextual references will include references to
individuals associated with style (for example, I plan to have an image in a
pop up that will imitate an iconic photograph of Marilyn Monroe, known for her fashion),
and will include references to pop culture, which will be in the target audience’s
cultural consciousness (for example, reference to the show ‘Orange is the New
Black’ in an article, reference to ‘Alice in Wonderland’ in an article, and
reference to the Devil Wears Prada in an article). This reflects the zeitgeist
and cultural consciousness of 16 – 25-year-olds.
Websites
can be extremely useful in terms of generating another revenue stream, which is
important for print magazines due to the decline of print sales. To reflect
this, I plan to have a section of my website allowing audiences to purchase merchandise
and print copies of the magazine, as well as a subscription section.
How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your
knowledge and understanding of the digitally convergent nature of your media
production? (approx. 100 words)
Both the print products and
website will uphold a clear sense of brand identity and synergy through the brand
ethos of creativity and self-empowerment. Furthermore, the first two editions
of the magazine will be featured on the website, along with articles about the
two main models. Articles mentioned in the content’s pages will be featured in
articles on the website, and competitions on the website will be referenced in
the editor’s letter section of the content pages as a call to action, encouraging
audiences to visit the website and participate (Hall’s active audience). This
will appeal to my target audience of style conscious 16–25-year-olds who are
digital natives, as from my research I found that audiences enjoy interactivity
on websites. I also plan for the competition to be a fashion-based competition
about the ‘most stylish shops in London’, allowing audiences to embrace their
individuality and creativity, echoing Condé
Nast’s brand values. In the print magazine, the website link will
be in the contents pages, along with social media usernames for MUSE on
different platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, X, and Pinterest.
To
create a sense of brand identity and synergy between products one and two, the
website will employ a house style consistent with the magazine through colour
scheme (for example, the masthead in both the print products – front covers and
contents pages – and the website is red) and photo style continuously
reflecting high fashion and style. Both products will remain consistent with
the themes of self-empowerment and creativity, for example with articles on the
website focusing on the use of street art in fashion and style, highlighting
creativity and self-expression.
