1. Question 3
What kind of media institution might
distribute your media product and
why
Sarah Scorer

2. Production process.
If I was to publish my media product I would have to go through a production and
publishing phase which consists of 5 different steps. These are:
• Thinking – You need to think up ideas, e.g. What type of magazine, target audience, large/niche audience,
price, genre and what it will look like.
• Research – You have to research into similar products which are still on the market so you can see how
they layout their magazine, what their target audience like and the different conventions they use
throughout the magazine.
• Flat plans – You need to produce flat plan so you can try out different ideas before finally making you
product. You can also decide on layout/design etc.
• Construction- Your final product on industrial size paper.
• Distribution – Getting your magazine out their to your target audience whether its a niche or mass
audience and if its commercial or independent.

3. Publishing
My magazines target audience is teenage, early 20’s ‘indie kids’ , it’s very similar to
target audiences from professional magazine such as Q and Mojo. These magazine
are distributed to be mainstream rather than niche as they have a large audience. As
my magazine is the same style, genre and has the same target audience I therefore
think that my magazine should also be distributed commercially to a wide,
mainstream audience. I think that my magazine would also benefit from being
published by companies such as Beaur Media Group as they publish Q, Mojo and
Kerrang which have the same target audience as I do so therefore they know what
audiences like that want out of the magazines that they buy. They own a large
magazine section selling some to mass audiences and some to niche audiences. As Q
and Mojo have a mainstream audience in the music section it is actually a niche
audience in terms of all of the categories of different magazines. However as they
have a large target audience they distribute their products into popular retailers
which also have a large customer population such as supermarkets, WHSmiths, HMV
etc.

4. Who would distribute
• By researching Beaur media group I have seen that they publish Q magazine as
well as their radio station and also Q TV channel. As they are seen across three
different forms of media they get their ‘indie’ music out to a wide audience easily.
As well as their vast selection of interactive media they also have a website and
online social networking sites so therefore themselves and their publishers can
reach their audiences and get to know what they like and enjoy. By the publishers
knowing the magazines audience well means that they can relate to them more,
produce new products/merchandise etc which they know the readers will buy and
enjoy. This means that the publishing company wont be losing money as their
products will be getting sold and they will be gaining more revenue.
• My magazine follows the conventions of Q magazines genre and we have the
same target audience who reads our magazines. Therefore I think that Beaur
would benefit from publishing my magazine as they already know how to make
products appeal to that type of audience. However they are a very well known and
strong publishing company and own a range of magazines from fishing to music
but I do think that music magazines are very popular so it wouldn't be a risky
decision.

5. Advertising my product
• Q is advertised through its corresponding TV channel, radio station, website, social
networking sites and also tour posters/gigs. This is a good way to reach its target
audience since we have had the rise of web 2.0 as nearly every body uses the internet
daily to search for information, talk to friends/family etc. As their target audience is
younger people it is easier for them to see adverts on the internet and TV as they
regularly use these forms of media.
• My product follows the same conventions of Q magazine so would benefit from using
the same advertising strategies. It will be easy to advertise my product over Facebook
or Twitter as it directly targets my audience and is also free and easy to use. They are
also becoming very popular and people use them for almost anything. I would also
advertise over Spotify as this is also becoming very popular with younger people and its
free to search and listen to any music whenever you want to. This is very practical as it
can also be done when you are on the move and not only when you are at home.
Although Q has not done this yet, I think it would be very effective and that my product
would benefit greatly from this. TV is also a good way to advertise products so
therefore I would also apply to have my product advertised on TV channels such as E4,
BBC 3 and various music channels who produce the same music as my magazine. I have
chosen these three channels as they target the same sort of age group.

6. Distributing my product
My product would be distributed to a large
mainstream audience and would need to be
distributed into large supermarkets like Tesco,
Sainsburys, Asda, Coop, WHSmith, HMV etc
just like Q is so that they can meet demand.
However I would also distribute it into smaller
local newsagents so that where ever my
target audience live they will be able to buy a
copy. On my magazine there is also a
subscription section which I would put on the
website so that my regular readers will be
able to receive copies by post instead of
buying it at a retailer, this means that they are
quaranteed to get a copy. The change and the
rise in web 2.0 will make it easier for my
product to be advertised online from online
advertising agencies so that will make my
product more noticeable to new potential
readers.