Planning Task One: Magazine Title and Strapline

 Planning Task 1: Magazine Title and Strapline

In order for my magazine to be the most representative of its style focus, I believe that the most impactful title will be a one-word title, connecting elements of both style (the focus of the magazine) and community/awareness, representing how the magazine is designed to raise awareness of style, and to create a platform of style-conscious individuals, aged 16-25.

Therefore, using style-based words, such as "fabrics", "textiles" and "material", combined with community-based words such as "linked" and "networking", I have decided that the title of my magazine will be "Threaded", a single-word title, blending elements of style, as well as the connection and community element of the world of style.

As for the tagline of my magazine, I believe that a short and punchy tagline will be the most impactful, and one which simply explains the purpose of the magazine. Therefore, I have selected the phrase "Stay In The Loop", due to the simple message behind it, which cannot be misinterpreted to mean anything else, reinforcing the aim of the magazine to keep consumers up-to-date in the everchanging world of fashion.

 Research Task Seven: Target Audience

My target research involved creating a survey for 16-25-year-olds, inquiring about their current usage of both print and digital forms of magazines, as well as their interest in different elements of style.

Does My Target Audience Read Print Magazines?

My research has found that very few people from the ages of 16-25 read print magazines regularly. My recipients stated a number of different for this. However, the main reasons were:

• They found it easier to read content digitally.
• They found that print newspapers are too expensive.

Therefore, from this data, one of the steps that should be taken in order to attract this audience would be to lower the price of the magazine, in relation to competing issues. In regards to the issue surrounding the greater convenience of digital content in comparison to print magazines, in order to try to bypass this issue, digital marketing of the magazine, particularly on social media platforms, such as X, Instagram and even TikTok, is likely to expose the magazine to the 16-25 audience in particular, due to their high activity on these sorts of platforms. Therefore, this will boost the convenience of the print magazine itself, as it means that it can be purchased digitally, which the younger generation tends to view as more convenient, and, due to the algorithms used on these platforms, a more specific area of this target market can be accessed, such as those who are more fashion-conscious.

Does My Target Audience Read Digital Magazines?

My research also indicates that my style-conscious, 16-25-year-old target market views digital magazine websites, but not on a regular basis. The main reasons for this are as follows:

• Although mainstream style magazines, such as GQ and VOGUE, are browsed occasionally, due to their expertise in fashion and other areas, social media is generally used more commonly, due to its ability to tailor information to its individual users.
• Others stated that the reason why they do not use digital magazine websites is due to their lack of advertising and exposure, and so potential readers are unaware that they may be interested by them.

Although the easy-to-access, personalised and tailored content of social media platforms is difficult to compete with, a way to bypass the issue of the lack of usage of magazine websites as a result of a lack of effective advertising, can involve social media platforms themselves. By advertising on platforms with such a unique ability to reach such specific audiences, this can be used to try to expose the magazine website to 16-25-year-old, style-conscious people. Furthermore, the idolisation of social media figures by the younger generation can also be utilised, as collaborations with certain creators will help to further promote the magazine to different, more specific demographics. 

What Elements Of Style Is My Target Market Interested In?

Although there were many different factors that survey recipients were most interested in, one of the most common interests was clothing/fashion. As a result, within this magazine, and much like many other style magazines, fashion may be an appropriate choice when selecting a main genre.

Research Task Six: Style Magazine Websites

 Research Task Six - Style Magazine Websites

Research Task Five: Style Magazine Contents Page Analysis

 Research Task Five: Style Magazine Contents Page Analysis

What is a Magazine Contents Page?

A magazine contents page serves as a way for readers to navigate their way through the content of the magazine more easily, organising content into categories, each story with its allocated page number. The contents page means that all the stories that the magazine covers can be found quickly and easily by the reader., rather than them having to flick through the whole issue.

How do Magazine Contents Pages Use Specific Codes and Conventions?

A magazine uses a wide range of different codes and conventions, not in order to help the reader navigate through the magazine as quickly and easily as possible, but to also act as a representative for the identity of the magazine, and the articles within it. Certain codes and conventions used to do this include visual components, such as the colour scheme and use of images, structural components, such as the visual hierarchy, and text elements, such as the titles of the articles within the magazine.

Firstly, the visual components of the the codes and conventions of a magazine contents page help to give the different articles on the contents page their own aesthetics, helping different audiences locate articles more relevant to them much more easily. For example, the use of images on the contents page of the magazine helps with this, as these smaller images stand out on the contents page, and are also incredibly easy to get information from, compared to the large proportions of type which tends to inhabit the rest of the page. As a result, this is the first thing that the reader looks to for information within the contents page, and so the images help them to narrow down the number of articles that may interest them to a small segment almost instantly, which helps them to find an article/articles within the magazine that interest them far easier. Furthermore, the use of colour on the contents page of a magazine can be used in two ways. One of these ways is creating a single generic colour scheme, covering the entire page, helping to differ the contents page of the magazine from the articles within it, so that the page can be found easily, helping readers to navigate through the issue more easily. This use of colour is more suited to magazines with a more specific focus. Alternatively, for magazines covering a wider focus, the contents page may be needed to categorise the different genres of the articles in the magazine, and using different colour schemes is one of the most recognisable, and therefore one of the most effective, ways of doing this.

Secondly, the structural components of the codes and conventions of a magazine contents page help to show the significance that different articles hold within the issue, which is decided by how much attention they are expected to receive, a judgement that is often represented by elements within the front cover of the magazine. One way this is done is through the visual hierarchy of the contents page. This involves controlling how much exposure different articles are given, through elements such as font size and image size. For example, an article connoted in the main coverline and connoted by the main image of the magazine, is likely to be shown in the largest font and using the largest photos, when compared to how other articles are shown. As a result, this means that the expectedly large proportion of readers that are interested by this main article can find it easily, and, at the same time, the minority of readers which are uninterested by this article can be made aware of its position in the issue, and so are able to find alternative, and perhaps more interesting articles, much more easily.

Finally, the text elements of the codes and conventions of a magazine contents page help to clearly and concisely navigate the reader throughout the issue as quickly as possible, contributing more to the practicality and functionality of the contents page, rather than its more creative elements. One way in which this is done is through one of the most crucial pieces of type on the entire contents page - the titles of the articles. These are often short and concise, helping to deliver the focus of the article to the reader efficiently and effectively, rather than using lengthier titles, which take longer to read, and therefore mean that the reader is not informed of the articles as quickly, and is therefore unable to locate them as efficiently.

Research Task Four: Style Magazine Front Page Analysis

 Research Task Four: Style Magazine Front Cover Analysis

Research Task Three: Conde Nast Style Magazines

 Research Task Three: Conde Nast Style Magazines

TATLER

History

Established by Clement Shorter in 1901, as a weekly issue, under the name of "The Tatler", the magazine primarily featured entertaining news, regarding celebrity affairs and other matters of interest, a style which has stayed the same to this day.

In 1979, Tina Brown became the Editor of TATLER, and brought life back into the magazine, after being sold and relaunched under the name of "Tatler and Bystander" in 1977.

In 1982, TATLER was purchased by Conde Nast, as part of the business' expansion strategy, and Brown stepped down in 1983, transferring to another Conde Nast-owned title, Vanity Fair.

In the 1990s, Jane Proctor managed to boost TATLER's circulation to over 90,000, and the magazine was more successful than ever. In 2011, Kate Reardon, previous fashion assistant for American VOGUE, another Conde Nast title, became editor, and the magazine's popularity has continued to this day, now under the leadership of Richard Dennen.

TATLER has featured some of the most famous figures in the world on their covers, from celebrities such as Kate Moss and Victoria Beckham, to politicians, such as Margaret Thatcher, and even royalty, with both Princess Diana and Meghan Markle, among other royals, appearing on covers. 

International Presence

Initially targeted towards the middle and upper class British population, the magazine began to expand internationally, primarily into Asia, with titles such as Tatler Hong Kong (in 1977) and Tatler Singapore (in 1982) both of which continue to be in circulation to this day.

Tatler continued this pursuit into the Asian market, with their only exception being Tatler Russia, in 2008, which was later taken down, primarily due to their attempted invasion into Ukraine. The most recent introduction into Tatler's international portfolio came in 2024, in the form of Tatler Vietnam. Tatler now owns eleven international editions, and is likely to continue this pursuit further into foreign markets.

British Gentleman's Quarterly (British GQ)

History:

Founded by Bernard G. Buchman in New York 1931, under the title of "Apparel Arts", the magazine was initially a fashion-based men's magazine, primarily targeting those working in men's fashion, helping them to advise their customers in the most effective ways.

In 1957, Apparel Arts was rebranded, becoming a magazine issued four times a year. After nine issues of this quarterly release, in 1958, the more appropriate title of "Gentleman's Quarterly", was introduced, or simply, "GQ".

However, in 1967, leading to GQ returning to monthly releases in 1970, despite still maintaining their "Quarterly" title. In 1979, the issue was purchased by Conde Nast, and new editor Art Cooper would go on to revolutionise the issue, transforming it from a men's magazine based purely on fashion, to a more generally masculine issue, introducing more metrosexual elements, such as fitness, movies and food.

In 1984, Nonnie Moore was unexpectedly introduced as fashion editor, despite both being female and having closer affiliations with more feminine magazines, such as Mademoiselle. However, she had a great impact on the issue, helping to make the issue's covers far more approachable for men, helping to boosting sales.

In 1988, GQ expanded across the Atlantic, and British GQ was born, sporting megastars such as Idris Elba, Cillian Murphy and even 007, Daniel Craig.

In 2016, GQ released a separate issue, GQ style, launched by the former style editor, Will Welch, who became editor-in-chief in 2018. Finally, in 2020, GQ released their webstore and merchandise.

VOGUE

History

Founded in New York by Arthur Baldwin Turner in 1892, VOGUE was initially sold as a weekly newspaper, with the Turner's objective being to create a publication that represented and targeted New York's social elites, both male and female, with content surrounding their leisure activities, their fashion, and there general lifestyles.

Turner passed away in 1906, and three years later, Conde Nast purchased VOGUE, making it the longest-owned magazine still in their portfolio today. Nast made the magazine more feminine, specifically targeting the upper class women of New York, along with raising the magazine's price, which led to exponential growth. As a result, during the 1910s, Nast began to internationalise the magazine, setting up British VOGUE in 1916, and French VOGUE in 1920.

Further surges in profits, as a result of both The Great Depression and World War Two. In 1932, VOGUE released their first ever coloured front cover image, a monumental moment in the company's history.

Nast himself is widely regarded as the main reason for the exponential growth of VOGUE over the last century, making ground-breaking discoveries in the world of journalism, such as colour printing and "the two-page spread", well beyond his death in 1942.

 

The 1950s became known as VOGUE's "Powerful Years", due to the growth in wealth in America, following the victory in the war. Jessica Daves became editor-in-chief in 1952, and made the most of the prosperous conditions within The States.

Her departure in 1962 meant the introduction of Diana Vreeland, who had opposing ideas on how VOGUE should be edited, and her command led to an influx in the popularity of the magazine among the youth of the sexual revolution, due to its new focus on contemporary fashion and the open discussion of sexuality.
In 1973, VOGUE became a monthly publication, and Grace Mirabella became editor-in-chief, keen to target VOGUE towards "the liberated women of the seventies". However, during the 1980s, this style began to age, and Mirabella was fired.

In 1988, losing market share to rival magazine "Elle", VOGUE declared Anna Wintour to become their new editor-in-chief, desperate for change. Renowned for her iconic bob haircut and sunglasses, she pioneered in making VOGUE more approachable to a wider audience, helping VOGUE to keep circulation high.

In 2012, still under the leadership of Anna Wintour, VOGUE released a copy of over 900 pages, making it the largest monthly magazine of all time. The magazine continues to run under Wintour's leadership, and continues to be one of the most popular and well-known magazines of all time.

Vanity Fair

History

In 1913, Conde Nast purchased the men's fashion magazine "Dress", before renaming the issue "Dress and Vanity Fair", publishing 4 issues throughout the year. This rebranded magazine began to gain traction across America, entering into the 1920s.

However, The Great Depression led to plummeting advertising revenues, although issues were reaching 90,000 copies in circulation. Despite these impressive figures, in 1936, due to financial issues, it was announced that Vanity Fair was to be absorbed by the more successful Conde Nast-owned magazine, VOGUE, which was reaching circulation figures of 150,000 during this period.

However, in 1981, after 45 years of absence, it was announced that Conde Nast was to revive Vanity Fair, and the first issue for nearly 50 years was released in 1983, edited by Richard Locke. Locke was keen for Vanity Fair to contain longer forms of journalism, such as lengthy articles, targeted towards the elites.

However, Locke was only editor for three Vanity Fair issues, before being replaced by Leo Lerman, another short-serving editor.

However, in 1984, Tina Brown was introduced as editor-in-chief, and made monumental changes to the issue, taking it away from exclusively the elites, hoping to appeal to the masses with information on controversial subjects, along with celebrity affairs. As a result, the magazine became renowned for its celebrity appearances and journalism.

in the 1990s, Vanity Fair introduced its annual "Hollywood Issue", which featured journalism centred solely around the film industry. This copy became one of their most well-known.

Under the ownership of Graydon Carter, from 1992, Vanity Fair became known for their bold and lively front covers. For example, in a 1991 issue, pregnant actress Demi Moore was pictured fully naked.

To this day, Vanity Fair remains one of the most popular magazines in the world, owning issues internationally, especially in Europe, with issues such as Vanity Fair London and Vanity Fair Italia.

Research Task Two: Who are Conde Nast?

 Who are Conde Nast?

What does Conde Nast do?

Conde Nast is a mass media company, founded by Conde Montrose Nast in 1909. The company controls a number of major magazines globally, such as VOGUE, Architectural Digest, The New Yorker and many more, attracting over 900 million consumers every year combined.

The Ownership of Conde Nast:

Conde Nast itself is a subsidiary company of Advance Publications, an American media company, which also holds ownership of another media giant, Reddit, along with partial ownership in Warner Brothers Studios.

The History of Conde Nast:

In 1909, Conde Montrose Nast purchased VOGUE, his first magazine, which was merely a New York fashion magazine at the time. By 1916, Conde Nast introduced British Vogue, making them the first ever publisher of an overseas edition of a previously existing magazine. Furthermore, in 1985, Conde Nast purchased The New Yorker, another popular New York magazine, for a whopping $200 million, and the company still holds ownership to this day.

Conde Nast is regarded to be the originator of the "class publication" magazine genre, which focused on a specific target market, rather than merely trying to appeal to the masses.

In 1959, Conde Nast was merged with Advance Publications, after being bought by Samuel Newhouse for $5,000,000.

VOGUE:

Established by Arthur Turnure in 1892, seventeen years before being purchased by Conde Nast, VOGUE was initially a weekly newspaper, with the intent of celebrating "The ceremonial side of life" according to the Turnure.With their initial price point being $0.10 ($3.50 in today's money) VOGUE instantly targeted upper-class New Yorkers, rather than the everyday public, with the intention of producing content tailored to their way of life.

Turnure died in 1906, three years before the company was purchased by Conde Nast, who would go on to completely remodel the company, transforming it into a more feminine magazine, raising its price, and even starting overseas editions in the following decade. VOGUE saw surges in profits during both The Great Depression and The Second World War. VOGUE began to become renowned for their celebrity appearances, which would dominate the front pages, further increasing sales. The company became a monthly magazine in 1973, after being circulated weekly for over 80 years. Finally, in 1995, due to the recent phenomenon of The Internet, VOGUE released its own website, where its magazines could be viewed digitally, as well as in print format.

New Yorker:

Founded in 1925 by couple Harold Ross and Jane Grant, with the intention of creating a magazine with more sophisticated humour than its competitors. Ross partnered with Raoul Fleischmann, forming the F-R Publishing Company. Over time, the magazine began to specialise in fiction writing, publishing short stories in every issue When it was taken over by Conde Nast in 1985, the magazine was generating just $6 million annually, however was still purchased for the immense figure of $200 million. Over recent decades, The New Yorker has utilised The Internet to show elements of their print copies, as well as exclusive online-only content, and in 2014, the magazine introduced a paywall into their website, requiring a paid subscription in order to access full content.

Developments in the 21st Century:

In 2011, Conde Nast began delivering digital subscriptions of their magazines for iPads, making it the first major publisher to do this.

In April of 2019, the current CEO of Conde Nast, Roger Lynch, took over, planning to further increase the revenue Conde Nast gained from its readers.

In 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Conde Nast was recorded to have had a 45% drop in its advertising revenues, due to print copies becoming temporarily unavailable for purchase.