Distribution Research - HGTV

Through my research of the digital distribution of the HGTV magazine, I looked over their website. The website is not only dedicated to the HGTV magazine, it also houses many episodes of shows that have aired on their television show. It is relatively easy to find the magazine from the HGTV home page, but it is not clearly advertised on the website. Once you find the page for the magazine, they have an option to subscribe with a picture of the upcoming magazine as well as some information on the contents of the magazine. As you scroll down the page, there are some very short articles on houses and decorating, but nothing as substantial as is in the magazine. They also have an "Exclusively Online" section. It has a video of something that is related to the contents in the magazine, either decorating, tips and tricks, or do-it-yourself projects. The final section on the page is "Go Shopping," which features furniture that was used in many of the homes they featured throughout the page as well as some more unique pieces that could easily be added to any home. The HGTV brand also has a Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and Pintrest account. On these accounts they advertise both their magazines and many of their television shows. Their youtube account mostly contains clips from their popular shows, but it also has some organization, decoration, and do-it-yourself projects. HGTV also has a newsletter that you can sign up for. There are many different options when signing up for the letter, you can sign up for specific information you want to receive from them.

Distribution - Traditional

Traditionally, magazines have been distributed in many different ways. Each magazine will have a publisher that fits with the type of magazine. The publishing company will then send the magazines out to supermarkets and other local shops where they can be purchased by consumers. For our magazine, we decided that the best publishing company would be Hearst. This company specializes in our type of magazine and currently are publishing magazines such as Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, and Elle, which are similar to our magazine. These magazine are slightly different from our magazine, but Hearst also publishes Seventeen and The Food Network magazine, which, combined, have all the aspects of our magazine. To distribute our magazine, we would also want to be in supermarkets and stores, but we could also have a mailing list like some of the magazines we looked at. Consumers could subscribe to our magazine and have the magazine sent directly to their mailbox each time there is a new publication. Having our magazine in stores would be good exposure and help to make it more well-known, and having the mailing list would help us to maintain customers.

Revision of Article

For my article, I decided to take out some pieces and conduct the interview with a different person. After looking into articles that were of a similar topic as mine, I decided that I should just interview someone who would do the craft with me and guide me on how to do it. I decided on Ella because she knew how to make the distressed mason jars and had all of the materials. On the first page of the article, I added a large picture of her holding the jars as well as a large title and by-line. This really helped to make the page look more professional and more similar to the other articles I found that were of a similar genre. I also added more pictures to the article and moved the materials to the second page to ensure unity between my partners layout and my layout. Overall, I didn't change much of the writing, only the interview. I also decided to completely change the interview template. Instead of asking about the arts, I focused more on how to create the project and any tips and tricks. I found that this was much more common in magazines of a similar genre to mine.




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Revision of Table of Contents

To streamline our table of contents, we decided that we should have a similar set up. We decided that we would use the font Stencil as our headers, and underneath each title we decided to include a short description because we found that in many similar magazines, they included a short description to entice the viewer to read the article. We also decided that we would change the color of the page numbers for each article. I decided to go with a pastel pink while my partner went with a deep red as her magazine was the winter publication and mine was the spring publication. We also decided to add pictures at the top of the table of contents from the articles in the magazine and add the page number to further entice the reader to want to read our articles. I also decided to change the names of some of the articles that were featured in the magazine. I also redid the cover page craft that my article is centered around to be more spring themed.

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Revision of Cover Page

For my cover page, I decided to add more color to it as it is the Spring publication of our magazine. I also took photos in a different location to add to the spring theme. I talked to my partner and we both decided to change the font of our magazine as well. We changed it from Pristina to Elephant which gave us the look we were going for. I also changed the writing on the front of the magazine because I changed my flat plan to be more similar to my partners. I also made the different subheadings different colors to add to the spring theme but also to create interest on the page and make it more eye catching to possible readers. Overall, I kept a similar layout to the page, but the addition of more color definitely helped to make the cover page more eye catching and interesting.

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Branding Revision

We decided to add more branding to the pages of our magazines. We did this by streamlining the page numbers. Instead of just including a number, we added our magazine title as well as the publication month of the magazine. For my magazine, I decided that it would most likely be published in April so I included April in the page number. The picture below shows the branding we added to the table of contents page. The article pages are the exact same except the page number is changed based on what the page number of the article was on my flat plan. We found that a similar format was used in many of the magazines we researched.

Super Bowl Commercials

To research different advertising methods, we took advantage of the Super Bowl commercials. The first commercial we watched was the NFL one that was based on dirty dancing. We found that this commercial was advertising the NFL, even though it isn't a "purchasable" product. They are trying to increase their views for Sunday night football. Their target audience was most likely mid to late thirty's, as the movie Dirty Dancing was released in the 80's. The inclusion of Odell Beckham Jr. adds in a younger generation as he is more popular among people who are less than thirty years old. By referencing Dirty Dancing, the ad will also draw the attention of female viewers, which could increase the number of females that watch Sunday night football because more females watch the Super Bowl. The second advertisement we looked at was one for the Winter Olympics. The winter Olympics, like the NFL can't be purchased but through advertising, they can increase the views they receive. This commercial appealed to emotions, and made the viewer feel inspired, empowered, but also sympathetic towards Jackie Vonn. While the commercial was primarily targeted at parents, specifically moms, it also had a strong message for little girls. We noticed that both the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics were to be aired on NBC, which is also affiliated with the NFL. The final ad that we watched was for Australian Tourism. This commercial started out as if it were a movie. It relied heavily on celebrity appeal as it featured Chris Hemsworth, and the original Crocodile Dundee. While it appeared to be a movie trailer, throughout the commercial, they were showcasing everything you could do while in Australia. They made it interesting to watch by incorporating lots of humor. While this was an entertaining commercial, it's target audience was most likely slightly older. The celebritites featured in the advertisement were more popular with slightly older generations (around 30 to 54 years-old), as they also have the ability to spend more money on a trip to Australia.

Target Audience Research - Better Homes and Gardens

Through our research of the magazine Better Homes and Gardens, we found that their target audience was mostly middle-aged to older women. On their website, they claimed that the average age of their readers was 51 years old. It was also found that the majority of the females who purchased this magazine were more suburban women who were either retired or spent a lot of time at home, either with family or by themselves. This is similar to our target audience as we were also planning on gearing our magazine to a female population who has free time at home for crafts, cooking or decorating. This magazine has been successful in advertising their product through mobile apps, social media, and magazine sections in supermarkets, such as Walmart and Publix. To persuade a younger population to read their magazine, the company has switched to online advertising instead of print advertising, in hopes of attracting a younger audience in addition to their current audience. Additionally, throughout their magazine, they feature pictures that primarily consist of women. This makes sense as their target audience is geared more towards the female population. The article and projects/crafts that are featured in the magazines are also more feminine. Home projects are more geared towards a do-it-yourself decoration rather than a do-it-yourself dresser or backyard pond. Overall, to advertise their product, Better Homes and Gardens uses a combination of print and digital advertising to ensure the success of their product.

Target Audience Research - HGTV

Through our research, we found that this magazine is very similar to ours. It offers creative do-it-yourself projects and easy home decor. We found that the majority of their readers are female (approximately 60%) which follows the pattern we have seen with similar magazines. For this magazine, the age range was slightly lower than that of the the magazine we looked at, ranging from around 25 to 54 years old. This magazine had the largest age range of any of the ones we looked at. They also had some readers that were between the ages of 18 to 25, but they were the minority. We also found that the majority of the readers of this magazine are home owner and 40% had a college degree. This means that there is a large number of people who have free time at home to simple crafts and redecorate their homes, but also have the funds to do so. HGTV advertises their magazine through their television channel. In the magazine, they feature advice from trusted experts, and in many cases people that are seen on their television shows. They rely heavily on the fact that they are a well-known brand which has proven successful to them. They also have a website that advertises their television channel as well as their magazine. They also have a twitter, pintrest and Facebook account where they have pictures from homes or decoration tips as well as specific boards for shows such as Fixer Upper and Brother Vs. Brother

Target Audience Research- Our Magazine

For our magazine, we decided that our product would appeal most to stay-at-home parents or anyone who enjoys crafting or home decor. We estimate that the age of people who would be reading our magazine will be around middle-aged men and women. Our magazine isn't really location specific so it could be distributed nationwide, meaning in the United States. Furthermore, the topics in the magazine are written in a relatively easy to understand format so our intended consumers would only need above an intermediate level of education. Since we are targeting middle-aged men and women, we estimate that the average income level of our consumers would fit in with the national average of around $32,000. Overall, this magazine would be suitable for anyone with a creative mind.