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?

As a cutting edge and progressive men's fashion magazine.

2) What does the media kit suggest about masculinity? 

Masculinity is evolving and becoming the centre of global pop culture.

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

£7.7k average annual spend of fashion - upper class as they can afford to spend a lot of money on fashion

61% ABC1 - most of the audience is upper class

£1.2k average annual spend on beauty - audiences also believe masculinity is changing

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

They host events about stars who are moving the culture forward and are changing the way we think. This suggests that their audiences want change and believe in modern masculinity.

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

Magazine audiences are now moving towards social channels and prefer video content about life style and fashion.

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? 

Choosing people who are famous and are at their peak at the right time - "endings are often more popular than beginnings."

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

All shoots in the magazine are done in GQ's style to show the newest and best men's fashion.

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

Advertisers may not be about fashion but tend to align their brand with GQ's and their beliefs. Sponsors and advertisers are typically high end and target an upper class audience.

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

GQ Hype is a weekly, online only cover celebrity which is used as a middle ground for those who wouldn't bring in many audiences with a physical print.

 

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

They are vital for magazine businesses to survive and allows them to see what area they are strong in.

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? 

Circulation decreased and went online only or either closed down.

3) What changes have been taking place at Condé Nast in recent years and why? 

Editors have been leaving due to disputes within the company. "The 71-year-old had been rumoured to be considering leaving after her glossy track record was tarnished by a furore at Teen Vogue with the discovery of anti-Asian emails written in the past by its incoming editor"

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

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

That print subscriptions are growing despite a shift to digital outputs.

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

It was no longer a magazine company as around 300 million people interact with them on websites and social media whereas there is only 70 million people who read the magazines.

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

 “Conde Nast, as much as anything else, is in the business of shaping and reflecting culture. Culture moves, and we have to move with it."

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 are providing video content as audiences are now tending to prefer video content.

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

Distributing interactive experiences across new channels to connect with audiences who are not reachable on cable and broadcast.

3) What does the end of the article suggest modern media audiences want? 

“Audiences want to be participants, not just passive viewers – and of course, they want content 100 per cent personalised for them”

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?

They all highlight the star power they have.

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

That the target audience is men who believe in modern masculinity - masculinity is fluid and always changing and men can take care of themselves. 

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?

It suggests that GQ is adaptive but also classy which appeals to a similar audience but with a difference of content length.

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

I think its designed to focus on building a digital audience as audiences are now seeming to prefer content which is accessible anywhere and that is short so they can gain information faster which you wouldn't get with a physical print.

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 believe it does successfully communicate with their target audience and is an example of how digital platforms will replace print magazines. They successfully do this as they reflect how they are moving to online content at the same pace as audiences. Furthermore, with sales decreasing over time, it reflects how many magazine companies will see a decrease in readership and will eventually have to shift to online content to avoid the risk of wasting money on print copies.