Target Audience Mood Board and Analysis

When looking at the NME media pack, I got some ideas of the type of audience I expect my magazine to attract. NME readers are roughly around the age of 21, but I wanted to aim mine at slightly younger readers in the age bracket of about 17-21. NME strikes me as a magazine that prides itself on introducing new and underrated music to an audience that have adapted their lifestyle to suit the music of which they listen too. Therefore, my magazine will focus on all types of music and different types of interests such as films, reviews, fashion, travel, news etc. This way my audience will always be catered for and they are more likely to regularly buy the magazine as all aspects of their lifestyle will be mentioned.

Crowd: The image of the crowd represents gigs and live music. The audience that my magazine reaches will consist of people that enjoy listening to music live with the atmosphere of the crowd.  To put this across in my magazine, I will attempt to include pictures of artists either playing live shows or at least holding their instruments.

Reading Tent: This image represents festivals. Similar to gigs, this is something that my audience will regularly spend their money on as again, they enjoy live music. Festivals are slightly different though as they include a wide range of artists and bands. Like NME, my magazine is going to try to steer away from genre specification. Because of this, festivals seem like a fitting part of my reader’s lifestyle.

Guitar: Many of my readers will be musicians themselves. As my magazine is focused on pure music without limitations as to what style, people will read this magazine if they aspire to be like these musicians. As the magazine will include a lot of articles / pictures of live performances, aspiring musicians will enjoy this magazine as they would feel as though they are learning first hand from the professionals. Having unknown artists in the magazine will inspire these readers as it is suitable for all types of musicians.

The Killers / The Vaccines: I added these images onto the mood board as I felt that these are bands that I would expect to find in NME magazine. These are the types of bands that aren’t really associated with a specific genre as they appeal to a variation of people. This is the kind of feel I would like my magazine to have. I will try to incorporate artists and bands that will be well known to some people and not so much to others. There will be a wide mixture of styles but the overall magazine will have an ‘indie’ feel, similar to the Killers and the Vaccines.

Schuh: I put this photo on there as I can imagine my target audience being a fan of shoes and fashion. Unlike fashion magazines aimed at women where they advertise up-to-date fashion items and extravagant shoes, my magazine targets people who have an interest in buying things that last for a long time and that suit them individually. People that read my magazine aren’t ones to follow the crowd which is why I put Schuh down as opposed to Office or other fashion shoe shops.

Hair dye: My magazine targets an audience that express themselves throughout music and their appearance. The hair dye represents this. This implies that readers of my magazine and NME where suggestive clothing and dress and style themselves the way they want too. Similar to what Schuh represents, they do things because it suits them.

Vinyl Record: This record represents fans of more historic, classic music. People that read my magazine would be people that believe in ‘music legends’ and ‘ultimate musicians’. This is represented by the record as it shows that they have a dedication to the music they listen too in the fact that they buy the original copies.

Vue: My magazine target audience would be interested in films as well as music. Because my magazine is aimed at people that have a genuine interest in all types of music, I felt that they would also have an interest in films. Although Vue is a cinema and this means that only current films are showed, I believe that my audience, similar to the music they listen too, will have an interest in old films, classic films, and underrated films.

Punk: This image was included because I feel that it represents the sub-category that many of my readers would stereotypically fall in to. Due to the fact that they listen to old rock / indie music, watch classic and characteristic films, wear unconventional clothing and enjoy live music and festivals, their representation would be along the lines of indie / punk as they don’t act and dress the same as the mainstream citizens.

Skaters: I can imagine the readers of mine and NME’s magazine to participate in hobbies such as skating, biking etc. This is because stereotypically, skaters and bikers don’t listen to pop music or classical music, they listen to either rock or indie music. Therefore, as this is the more common genre of music mentioned in mine and NME’s magazine, most of our readers are likely to engage in these activities.

Fashion: This photo represents the same the Schuh image did. The magazine targets an audience with unconventional style, taste and interest, but although it isn’t the societal norm, the readers have a genuine interest or passion in being different.