Audience Research - Audience Profiles

 A 16-25 year old middle-market aspirer audience are an audience that values status and their place in society. They would be conscious of how they are perceived by others and work hard to be perceived as stylish or on-trend. Aspirers would most likely look up to celebrities and would be more likely to be persuaded by celebrity endorsements as they see celebrities as their role models and who they strive to be like. Because this audience is between the ages of 16 and 25 any celebrity endorsements would have to be in the age range of 16-30 as any older and they begin to lose relatability. A 16-25-year-old audience would most likely be interested in products that are more technologically advanced than older age demographics.

Name: Thomas Buckley

Gender: Male

Age: 22

Occupation: Apprentice Trader at the London Stock Exchange

Social Grade: C1

Annual Income: £22,515

Location: Elephant & Castle

Psychographic: Aspirer

Values, Attitude & Lifestyle: 

Thomas grew up in a working-class household and his parents often struggled to get by, Thomas was smart enough to get a scholarship to a private school but his lower status left him envious of his wealthier classmates. Thomas strived to increase his worth through investing in cryptocurrency and stocks. Thomas values being seen as important and superior to others and so he likes parading around symbols of status such as designer clothing and watches. He is always on the lookout for ways to climb the economic food chain and leave his life of poverty behind him.

Wants & Needs:

• Financial Security
• Status
• Validation from the people around him
• To become well known

Name: Sophia Ahmad

Gender: Female

Age: 19

Occupation: Fashion Student at the London College of Fashion, Part-time retail assistant

Social Grade: DE

Annual Income: £12,251

Location: Central London

Psychographic: Aspirer

Values, Attitude & Lifestyle: 

Sophia was born in England to two Malaysian immigrant parents, her parents worked hard so she could have the life she has now, she grew up watching celebrities and influencers and was particularly inspired by their fashion sense. Sophia studies at the London College of Fashion and works hard so that one day she can become a famous fashion designer who designs for her favourite celebrities and influencers and hangs out with her favourite fashion designers. She is very entrepreneurial and has a consistent online presence where she shows off and advertises her skills and services, she puts a lot of effort into this. Sophia is very aware of current social media trends and is always on the lookout for a new trend she can hop onto. She is also very aware and interested in designer clothes and fashion, using her small salary to buy whatever she can.

Wants & Needs:

• Financial Security
• Recognition from family and friends
• To be seen as a role model

Name: Rebecca Young

Gender: Female

Age: 16

Occupation: Secondary School Student, part-time fast-food worker

Social Grade: DE

Annual Income: £8,321

Location: Barking

Psychographic: Aspirer

Values, Attitude & Lifestyle:

Rebecca Young was brought up by 2 working-class parents in Barking East London. She is a hard worker and a high achiever, Rebecca works hard at school so she can go to a good university and get a high paying job. Rebecca spends most of her free time online, specifically on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, she is always on the lookout for the newest trends and saves up her money from her part-time job so she can afford the same clothes, accessories and decor as her favourite influencers. She values being on-trend and hates being left out of things. Rebecca enjoys watching lifestyle influencers and particularly enjoys trends such as the 'that girl' trend and the 'romanticise your life' trend which she herself participated in on her small YouTube channel and her TikTok. She likes to use her TikTok to show off the things she has and enjoys the validation that she gets from it.

Wants & Needs:

• Financial Security
• Community
• To be on-trend
• To be validated by those around her

Magazine Website - Draft

This is a draft for the layout of my website. The pictures and text are placeholders that I plan to update later, but I made this draft to test out the layout of the website and so I can make changes. In the examiners report, the examiner stated that the websites were often looked at as an afterthought and looked rushed and so I decided to get a head start on my website so that I have a base to start at. I looked at the websites for Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping and looked at the common codes and conventions of magazine websites to create this layout. As the brief states that this is Hearst magazine I made sure to include Hearst branding and based my layout on Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping whilst making changes to make the brand and website unique and stand out form the other Hearst magazines.

Magazine Front Cover Inspo

 

History of Hearst

 

Hearst was started by William Randolph Hearst in March 1887. In 1903, William created the first of the Hearst magazines; Motor magazine, he acquired Cosmopolitan in 1905, and in 1911 he acquired Good Housekeeping. 

The Hearst Corporation went on to become one of the biggest media conglomerates in the world in 1920s and 1930s. In the 40s, Hearst's 'Harper's BAZAAR' famously featured a photograph on it's front cover when previously, the covers had only included Graphics and Illustrations.

In 1965, Harper's BAZAAR became the first women's magazine to feature a man on the front cover, Steve McQueen, and in 1994, Hearst brought France's Marie Claire to the US.

In 2000, Hearst and Oprah published the first edition of O, the Oprah magazine. The magazine was a success and considered one of the most successful magazine start-ups of all time. In 2010, Hearst becomes the first magazine publisher to make all of its magazines available online.