Magazines: GQ - Audience & Industry

  



GQ - Audience & Industries blog tasks

Audience

Look through the GQ Media Kit and answer the following questions: 

1) How does the media kit introduction describe GQ?
Male magazines are now progressive changing with the times and through society.

2) What does the media kit suggest about masculinity? 
Masculinity is now evolving and moved into a more central position within pop culture.

3) Pick out three statistics from the data on page 2 and explain what they suggest about the GQ audience.
61 percent ABC1
7.7 grand spent on fashion annually.
138 grand average HHI
Shows the audience of GQ are upper class.

4) Look at page 3 - brand highlights. What special editions do GQ run and what do these suggest about the GQ audience?
Men of the Year
GQ Hype

Shows that GQ is targeting people who want to be successful and care about their looks a lot more (metrosexual).

5) Still on page 3, what does the video and social series section suggest about how magazine audiences are changing? 
Watching short form content online is much more interesting to an audience than to read a entire magazine.


Media Magazine feature: GQ
Go to our Media Magazine archive and read the article on GQ (MM82 - page 12). Answer the following questions:

1) What are the elements that go into choosing a cover stars for GQ? 
The person needs to identity with the GQ brand and who is relevant within the time period.

2) How is the magazine constructed to serve the target audience? 
Uses world class photography to show the advanced nature of GQ and this is for richer people.

3) What does the article suggest about GQ's advertisers and sponsorships - and what in turn does this tell us about the GQ audience? 
Uses high end and luxury brands and portrays rich lifestyles to portray the wealth of its readers.

4) What is GQ Hype - and how does it reflect the impact of digital media on traditional print media?
A online weekly cover which shows the decline of print.
 
5) Finally, what does the article say about additional revenue streams for print magazines like GQ?  
This is needed in order to survive and expand the business.


Industries

Your industries contexts are divided into three areas - Conde Nast, GQ's website and social media content and the impact of digital media on print industries.

Condé Nast

Read this Guardian news article on editorial changes at Condé Nast and answer the following questions: 

1) Who was previously GQ editor for 22 years? 
Dylan Jones

2) What happened to the 'lads' mag' boom magazines such as Nuts, Maxim and Loaded? 
Was shut down and moved online instead.

3) What changes have been taking place at Condé Nast in recent years and why? 
Many editors are leaving the business due to streamlining operations. 

Read this Press Gazette article on Conde Nast. Answer the following questions:

1) What does the article suggest about Condé Nast's recent strategy? 
25 percent investment due to audience shifting more to digital platforms.

2) How does chief executive Roger Lynch describe Condé Nast and why? 
Conde Nast was no longer considered a magazine company.

3) What does Adam Baidawi say about Condé Nast, GQ and culture? 
They are shaping and reflecting culture due to audiences shifting their preferences to what they want.



1) How is Condé Nast moving away from traditional print products?
They have started using streaming for boost their growth due to audiences now consuming content.

2) What examples are provided of Condé Nast's video and streaming content?
Audiences can buy something while watching the show at the same time.

3) What does the end of the article suggest modern media audiences want? 
Audiences want to get involved and not be passive viewers so content is now more personalised.

GQ website, video and social media content 

Visit the GQ website, Instagram and YouTube channel. Note that some of these may be blocked in school. Once you have looked over GQ's online content, answer the following questions:

1) What similarities do you notice between the website and the print edition of the magazine?
Website has much more to offer than the print.

2) Analyse the top menu of the GQ website (e.g. Fashion / Grooming / Culture). What do the menu items suggest about GQ's audience?
Shows how wealthy the GQ audience is.

3) What does GQ's Instagram feed suggest about the GQ brand? Is this appealing to a similar audience to the print version of the magazine?
Uses content which favour both print and online to satisfy the audience tastes.

4) In your opinion, is GQ's social media content designed to sell the print magazine or build a digital audience? Why?
To build a digital audience due to the use of celebrities and major information dump.

5) Evaluate the success of the GQ brand online. Does it successfully communicate with its target audience? Will the digital platforms eventually replace the print magazine completely?
Yes because it perfectly targets the wealth and luxury of their audience and digital platforms will start to replace print as it starts to decline.


The impact of digital media on the print magazines industry

Read this Guardian feature on the struggled of the UK print magazine industry and answer the following questions:

1) What statistics are provided to demonstrate the decline in the print magazines industry between 2010 and 2017? What about the percentage decline from 2000?
55 percent decline. 23.8m to 13.9m  readers.

2) What percentage of ad revenue is taken by Google and Facebook?
Roughly 90 percent.

3) What strategies can magazine publishers use to remain in business in the digital age?
Aims to have a more niche audience with a wide range of interests.

4) What examples from the Guardian article are provided to demonstrate how magazines are finding new revenue streams?
Magazine companies are attempting to be sold to larger companies for example Time INC in the USA was sold to Meredith for 1.8 billion dollars.

5) Now think of the work you've done on GQ. How is GQ diversifying beyond print? 
They upload their print content online to target younger audiences.

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