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?

They say that they are the flagship of men's fashion and style in Britain.

2) What does the media kit suggest about masculinity? 

They say that it evolves and has never been broader or stronger.

3) Pick out three statistics from the data on page 2 and explain what they suggest about the GQ audience.

61% ABC1 audiences- This shows their target class for their audience.

1.8M social followers show how many people are interested in their company

£7.7k average annual spend on fashion

This all shows their target audience and how wealthy they may be.

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

-GQ Heroes: Issues and events

-GQ Hype

-Men of the year

This shows that that GQ audiences are also interested in life styles and news content in their magazines, it also shows how diverse the audience is by having multiple interests.

5) Still on page 3, what does the video and social series section suggest about how magazine audiences are changing? 

They talk about how short form video content is what appeals to audiences more than reading a print version.

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

They need to link the star-person on the front cover to the subject of matter to what the magazine contains so that they can have an image to represent the star in that kind of reputation.

2) How is the magazine constructed to serve the target audience? 

The magazine is used to 

3) What does the article suggest about GQ's advertisers and sponsorships - and what in turn does this tell us about the GQ audience? 

They contain of high-end fashion products and expensive companies, this shows that GQ audience members are of a higher class or may possibly appeal to people who may aspire to be like the magazine. 

4) What is GQ Hype - and how does it reflect the impact of digital media on traditional print media?

It was a weekly online exclusive cover seen on their social media platform, this shows how they are extending from print to digital as well, it shows how audiences access their media online more now days.

5) Finally, what does the article say about additional revenue streams for print magazines like GQ?  

They say that it is vital as it is almost impossible to survive for magazines as they need to decide on the key area of whether the brand that they picked is strong enough for them.

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? 
Jones had distanced himself from the magazines because people were saying that it was "denigrated our culture".

3) What changes have been taking place at Condé Nast in recent years and why? 
Many of their editors are leaving as the main aim of the magazines now is that they stay  "digital-first and globally local with everythi"

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

1) What does the article suggest about Condé Nast's recent strategy? 

They talk about their new digital issue of their magazine, this so that they avoid making duplicate messages, this shows that they want to reduce on making the hard copies which shows them acting towards a more efficient and environmentally friendly path.

2) How does chief executive Roger Lynch describe Condé Nast and why? 

He said that they were no longer a magazine company as there was less people who read the actual magazines but had used the website more than reading their magazines.

3) What does Adam Baidawi say about Condé Nast, GQ and culture? 

He says that they are "shaping and reflecting culture" to adapt to their audience's needs.

Read this FIPP feature on Condé Nast diversifying into video and streaming content. Answer the following questions: 

1) How is Condé Nast moving away from traditional print products?

They announced in 2021-2022 a new series on a brand channel

2) What examples are provided of Condé Nast's video and streaming content?

They can buy a product that is being displayed on the TV channel like a "Teleshopping" sort of system.

3) What does the end of the article suggest modern media audiences want? 
It says that "audiences want to be participants and not just passive viewers"

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?
The website offers more content than the print versions.

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

The menu suggests that they want to have a wide variety of content for their viewers to maximise the number of people that want to read their content.

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?

The GQ Instagram account shows a range of clothing and advice in fashion through images

4) In your opinion, is GQ's social media content designed to sell the print magazine or build a digital audience? Why?

I think that it is to build a digital audience as print is getting outdated nowadays meaning that not as many people will read it, as a result, all if not most media products will go digital due to their ease of access and how much people use technology.

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?

I think that GQ may be successful in the future as it covers fashion which is something that changes a lot throughout a small time span, it also communicates with its audience and goes into their pleasures and needs of what they want in a magazine. Not to mention how if they become digital platform based then they can make it easier for everyone to access.

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?
They had their readers and subscribers fall from 23.8 Million to 13.9 Million which is around 55% decline rate from 2000.

2) What percentage of ad revenue is taken by Google and Facebook?
Around 90%

3) What strategies can magazine publishers use to remain in business in the digital age?

Magazines can go into other fields/interests that their audiences have and undergo diversification to reach out to a more vast audience.


4) What examples from the Guardian article are provided to demonstrate how magazines are finding new revenue streams?

We can see this from how magazine companies sell themselves to larger conglomerate companies.

5) Now think of the work you've done on GQ. How is GQ diversifying beyond print? 

GQ has done lots of things such as putting in content which their audiences will enjoy and moving onto the digital platform in which they can just post images and parts of their magazines for people to see easier.